Hi all. Looking to buy my son a goldfish for his birthday - any recommendations on where to get a fish and equipment? Thanks.

Submitted by aptadnauseum t3_z3q0x3 in philadelphia

Title says most of it - my son wants a goldfish for his birthday. I have never had fish, but did a little research. We can fit a 10-15 gallon tank, there is an outlet nearby. I am prepared to get enough to make sure the fish (and child) are happy, but not interested in too much superfluity, or bells and whistles, as there will be time for that once we get used to our new aquatic family member.

Looking for advice on where in the Philadelphia area to go, what to get, and any tips from other fishy-minded people.

Thank you all very much in advance.

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cutiecat565 t1_ixmxh6u wrote

Is his heart 100% set on a goldfish only? Those things can get huge. He may like a school of several small fish instead.

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aptadnauseum OP t1_ixmz618 wrote

Yeah, he wants a goldfish. I noticed that getting betta or zebra fish might be good, but the requirements differ. Would you suggest something else?

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_chalk_ t1_ixn0m76 wrote

Bettas are a good start. That’s what I started with. Only thing different than a goldfish is you’ll definitely need a heater because they’re tropical.

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aptadnauseum OP t1_ixn22gg wrote

Nice. That's why I was thinking I should set it up where there is an outlet. But they're territorial, right? Is that an issue?

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cutiecat565 t1_ixn1m2u wrote

I zebra fish because you can get a whole bunch of them.

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aptadnauseum OP t1_ixn29l7 wrote

Sweet - that was actually one of my original choices, which is why I know he preferred goldfish. It does seem like the eventual size is a real issue, though, as it seems to be the consistent response when I mention them.

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cutiecat565 t1_ixn2n7p wrote

Oh definitely. My sister got one at a fair and we gave it away when it got to 6 inches. You'll have to be ok with the whole house turning into an aquarium.

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aptadnauseum OP t1_ixn3cbb wrote

Lol, it's already half jungle with the plants. I think we need to stick to one biome at a time. Appreciate the help, I'm convinced no goldfish! So, zebras are my first choice after his choice. Can you just buy like a school of them? Do they propagate rapidly? Do they need a heater and a filter?

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cutiecat565 t1_ixn6z33 wrote

Yep, you can buy a school. The pet store store will know how many based on the tank size. Every type of fish will need a filter and heater. I wouldn't worry too much about the babies. The other fish just eat them. They make special baby containers that hook onto to the side of the tank if you want to keep them alive, but idk if it's worth it.

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_chalk_ t1_ixmzlr7 wrote

Gotta look into the nitrogen cycle as well for the filter so your tank is “cycled” (which could take over a month to set up). Pretty much getting bacteria to help break down ammonia into something that isn’t toxic for the fish. And goldfish poop a lot and can live a long time in the right conditions.

I got into aquariums over lockdown and had no idea of the cycle before but set up my tank with the fishless method (Adding your own ammonia and checking the chemical levels of the water, once you add a certain amount of ammonia and it’s gone to 0 in one day, your cycle is done). If you put fish in without cycling, the ammonia will build up and is poisonous for the fish.

I’m not sure of any great place in Philly for fish. I tried Monster Pets but they aren’t the best to their fish. I like Aquarium Center about 20 minutes into Jersey.

You can get all the basics like a filter, tank, and such at pet smart

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aptadnauseum OP t1_ixn1x8n wrote

Ah, wow. Thank you. Is this applicable for all freshwater fish? Like, should it be a red flag if no one mentions that when I go to purchase the fish?

I spent the last ten minutes looking at places, I found Aquarium Specialties in Wayne, Mini Reef in Prospect Park, and World Wide Aquarium and Pets on Ridge Ave.

Any thoughts? I'm in West, so Jersey is a little farther, and I don't know if transport time matters.

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_chalk_ t1_ixn2li1 wrote

If you go to a place that specializes in fish, they should definitely know about the cycle as it’s needed for all tanks. Some people do fish-in cycles where they set-up the cycle with the fish in the tank providing their own ammonia (poop), but I’ve never done it and read that it could be stressful for the fish.

The cycle breaks down the ammonia through 2 stages then when you do water changes, you take out that last stage’s chemical. There’s methods where people use aquarium plants to help filter the water (because they use ammonia to grow) as well.

I don’t know much about those but I’ve heard good things about World Wide Aquarium

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aptadnauseum OP t1_ixn3i3a wrote

Awesome, thank you for all your help! Do you still have bettas? If so, what else is in the tank, or is it solo-dolo time?

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_chalk_ t1_ixn5gor wrote

Depends on the Betta to be honest. My one guy would not allow anything else that moved faster than a snail in the tank. Would just attack everything. The girl I have now is chiller, I got some shrimps in there with her and she leaves them alone. You should just check if a fish is compatible with a betta. Usually peaceful fish that aren’t known to nip at fins (Otos, corydoras, kuali loaches, are a few chill ones). Also to only have one betta per tank. Two males will fight to the death since they’re very territorial. Some people do sororities with all female bettas with some success but I’ve seen them go wrong fast when one decides to attack all the others randomly.

I have a planted tank with a bunch of rocks, driftwood, and a bunch of plants for the fish to swim around through. Looks cool and helps clean the water. Then for the set up, I have a 10g, with an LED light, a heater set to around 78, and a hang on the back filter.

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aptadnauseum OP t1_ixn8m07 wrote

That set-up sounds perfect. My son is excited about the fish, I'm more keen to have a pretty environment/ecosystem. I think we will start with zebrafish so we can add more friends later, but the set-up you described sounds ideal. Will try to develop something like that.

Thank you again for all of your help, I really appreciate it!

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totallyrad16 t1_ixn2b28 wrote

Don’t buy a goldfish. They grow huge in a short amount of time and need a huge tank (over 60 gal) or you’ll end up having to clean it every three days.

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aptadnauseum OP t1_ixn2gfi wrote

Thanks - wow - I had no idea it was that dramatic.

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iScoopPoops t1_ixnp7kv wrote

10 gallons really isn't large enough for a gold fish. A 20 gallon will fit 1 or possibly 2 of the "Shibuken" breed of gold fish as they don't grow very large and swim slowly. Personally, I think those are better to have as pets as they tend to have really cool patterns, they're slower and have really elegant and long tails. They average around $5-$10 each but you shouldn't get more than 1 or 2 anyway. Don't mix them in with the typical gold fish which are faster and grow quickly.

Gold fish are part of the carp family and are social animals. They prefer to be around other gold fish so only have 1 is kind of cruel. Also, don't mix goldfish with other tropical fish. Goldfish get super aggressive around non-goldfish and also will literally eat anything that can fit it's mouth.

For substrate, don't get the sandy stuff as goldfish will accidently ingest it when they peck at the bottom. Get the gravel style substrate for the fish's safety and it's also easier to clean with a gravel vac.

Don't overfeed the goldfish which is a common and easy way to accidently kill your fish. They only need to be fed twice a day with a tiny pinch for each. Try not to crush the flakes and turn them into tiny little pieces, it will just get ignored by the fish and sit on the floor of the tank which pollutes it. Lastly, don't put real plants in the tank, the gold fish will eat it and die from constipation. Only put fake plants in there.

A much better alternative would be a betta fish. They are solitary fish, don't require much space (a 10 gallon would be on the higher end of tank sizes, while a 5 gallon would be ideal). They have really cool patterns and long flowing tails. A 5 gallon with real natural plants like Amazon Swords and Anubis would be good plants. You only need to change like 1 gallon a week so maintenance is very easy and only takes a minute. Bettas come from warm enviornments though and need a consistent 70 water temp.

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orion3311 t1_ixn2adw wrote

Woolwor...oh, I guess it's been a while.

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bierdimpfe t1_ixn08v4 wrote

Value Pet Center in Pennsauken was awesome for us.

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DisciplineShot2872 t1_ixn693p wrote

Goldfish get really big naturally. A 10-15 gallon tank isn't really appropriate. If there are other fish he also likes there are much better choices.

For reference on goldfish: https://www.cnn.com/travel/article/fisherman-catches-giant-goldfish-carrot-scn/index.html

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aptadnauseum OP t1_ixn8paa wrote

Wow, thank you! Will probably start with a school of zebrafish and add friends later once the tank is set up and happy.

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LilTheGiant t1_ixnaa7t wrote

There’s a little bit of set-up work involved, but check out “El Natural” tank set up for freshwater. Looks amazing when done, and very easy to maintain.

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SgtKetchup t1_ixnysw1 wrote

Monster Pets in south Philly has a large fish selection and really great staff. They'll set you up with everything you need at decent prices, though they are likely to try to talk you out of a goldfish.

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