Pet Fish

[heifeng]

Hi,

I am just curious what type of fish people have raised successfully out here with minimum effort.

For the last 3 weeks I have tried to take care of fish out here. I have bought the 1 yuan each googly eyed gold fish (yes, I'm sure that's the scientific name) and also the big bellied ones that have a puffy looking crown, and even tried to raise some that I 'fished' from a local pond. I just use tap water (yeah, I know poor fish) and a large clothes washing type of bucket for their aquarium. The problem is these fish are really going to fishy heaven quickly. I don't know what the deal is. I see other fish living in simple bowl aquariums with no filter and they seem fine...I've alternated the days I am changing the water, amounts of 'clean' water I have been adding and haven't been over feeding them. Is the water temperature likely killing them, is it the tap water ph? I swear I have been following the instruction of the people I buy the fish from...assuming they know what they are talking about:twisted: Other fish I have 'babysat' never died so quickly....wahhh...

So, in conclusion, what really hardy inexpensive fish (p.s. I'll definitely need to know the name in Chinese to ask for them) are there that are easily available out here and what are the simple methods should I use to keep them alive...

(free to supply me with pet fish related vocabulary (the colloqial names that people might call some of these fish, supplies, etc) if you want..that might make this question more relevant to living in China hehe.)

Thank You!!

[venture160]

kiss fish are pretty easy and can be found all over the place in Beijing 接吻鱼

if you are in Beijing check out the flower/fish market near 农业科学院. They have about 100 stalls selling fish equipment from tiny minnows to exotic tropical fish from the great barrier reef. Just walk all the way to the back past the flower and tea stalls. Sorry I forget the exact name of the market.

[Shadowdh]

Just a thought about the water change... I keep fish (and turtles and a newt) and I dont actually do a complete water change at all, I change about 10-20% of the water every so often, also I cant remember if the water in BJ has stuff added to it (like flouride or other heavy metals) so you may need to condition the water before use, sometimes just leaving it standing for a couple of days will be ok other times you may need to add something to the water...

[johnd]

I agree with Shadowh, the tap water probably has chlorine added - if you leave the water in a bucket for a few days, the chlorine will naturally come out. I think leaving it in the sunshine might also speed this up.

[HashiriKata]

I've got 2 paradise fish (similar to fighting fish, but plainer looking) and they've been with me for a couple of years now, requiring minimal maintenance.

I bought 2 so that they'd have the companion of each other but because they kept fighting each other, I ended keeping each one in its own bowl next to the other (and they still staring and showing off at each other through the glass walls of the bowls!). I just use plain tap water and without heating, and change the water once a week. I feed them once a day and sometimes forget to do so, but they seem to be happier not having enough food rather than too much (too much food tends to quickly pollute the water).

I'd recommend paradise fish, if you want the toughest and the easiest to look after, as long as you keep each one in its own bowl.

BTW, these fish are also quite intelligent. Each time you come near, they'd greet you by swimming towards you and frantically wagging their tail (if you remember to feed them regularly, that is! ) .

PS: You can see the photos of the same kind of fish as I've got in this page: http://www.geocities.com/shtinkythefish/pfish

[heifeng]

Thank you everyone so much for your advice so far!

[cdn_in_bj]

Hey, I'd meant to reply to this post earlier but I lost track of it and totally forgot.

I don't think it's totally your fault. From what I've seen here, the fish markets have very high turnover of their stock. It seems that most retailers get new fish supplies from their wholesalers every week, so the fish that we end up buying are already stressed due to being moved around so much in a short period of time. That said, there are a few things you can do to maximize your success with new fish. Firstly, I think you should get a proper tank. Then you can enjoy watching your fish even more. And with a proper filtration system your fish will be happier. Tanks here are quite cheap, so there's really no excuse not to Secondly, when you get you get your new tank, it is best to let it run for a few weeks to let the "good" bacteria build up in the filter before fully stocking it with fish. Thirdly, as mentioned by johnd and Shadowdh, condition your water. I do one 40% water change weekly and use two buckets - one for the dirty water which goes down the toilet, and the other for the clean water from the tap. In otherwords, I let my water sit for a week. A few days is enough, really, as the water in Beijing is not that heavily chlorinated, but I find it's easier to just do everything at the same time. Fourthly, when you bring new fish home, don't just dump them into the tank. Let the bag float in the tank for 40 minutes or so before letting the fish into the tank to prevent temperature shocks. Some people also advise letting the fish adjust to the tank water by slowing introducing tank water into the bag, but due to the high turnover mentioned earlier, I don't think the water from the store is going to be chemically that much different from your tank. Lastly, the water here is hard and if you are keeping fish that prefer softer water, you can add some driftwood to your tank. Don't worry if the water tanks on a yellowish colour - this is caused by the tannins in the driftwood and is not harmful to the fish as long as you keep up your water changes.

As for types of fish, goldfish are a good start. Guppies are also easy to raise and quite inexpensive. I also had good luck with neon tetras - a dozen or so of these in a tank look beautiful. However, in my experience, small fish are more sensitive to bad water and disease - it seems they can die in the blink of an eye.

I keep discus now, but I wouldn't recommend these to a beginner as they can be very fussy. I recently have had unexpectedly good luck with a variety of Australian rainbowfish called 刚果美人 (rainbowfish in general are known as 美人). These are not cheap at 20-30/pair but they seem to be very easy to care for (they can tolerate a wide temperature range and are not fussy eaters) and look nice as well. The ones I have are thriving. If you like how they look I suggest you give them a try.

http://cjh406.spaces.live.com/blog/cns!ACD09875835F2A20!1667.entry

Anyways, good luck and let me know how you make out.

[tigerfish]

Keep the water clean and enough oxygen inside the water are most important two factor, i think.

And don't give the gold fish too much food. As i know the fish can't feel hungry and full, so they can eat too much food until to going to heaven.

just my suggestion.

hope help, but maybe it's wrong!

[Patriot]

Keeping them in those clothes washing buckets?

I wouldn't want to live either i were them.

[cdn_in_bj]

I just picked up a small, 10L tank this past weekend. The type with a one-piece glass front and sides, and plastic corner and edge protectors. I actually prefer the clean look of the tanks without the plastic attachments, but I think these "naked" tanks would be too easy to damage if you ever have to clean one in the sink. Anyways, the cost was 60 RMB for the tank and some gravel (I already had a small filter and plastic plants from before, so I didn't need to get those). Currently the community consists of some guppies, but I plan to add neon tetras and maybe real plants in a few weeks once the bacteria load in the filter has stabilized.

I also got some frozen bloodworms as a treat for my discus. I don't know if it's instinct, or if these guys were brought up on this food at the fish farm, but I have never seen them go after food like this. Good stuff.

[heifeng]

Again, good to know, thanks:mrgreen: I'm not going to buy any more fish until I actually know what I'm doing now...in the meantime I have some new fire bellied newts (they look like this)

and I've raised a 6inch turtle (that seems to be quite a hardy pet) for the past year. Maybe I'll just buy fish to feed him...hehe

(Hey by the way, that laundry bucket is actually quite big, so it isn't as bad as it probably sounds, but eventually I'll make an investment into buying an actual aquarium ...)