I’m curious at taking care of fish. I am a terribly irresponsible person, but I feel if I have a food self cleaning and self cleaning tank, I can take care pretty easily with enough alarms to remind me.
Which equipment, fish, and setup do I need for what I’m aiming to do?
Let me know in the comments!
I’d get a plecostimus, you’ll want a tank, heater, water pump/aerator (especially if you get a deep-ish tank), gravel, bucket and some plastic tubing (the last 2 for gravel cleaning/water cycling)
You should let your water mellow and do some chemical tests on it before adding fish to it, you might want to start with some throw away fish or particularly hardy fish.
Don’t over populate your aquarium, don’t rush too many fish into it too quickly.
Another decent option is a beta fish in a planter aquarium, you won’t need to do barley any maintenance with that. They love hanging out in the roots of plants
It’s been years since I’ve tried to keep fish, but I’m not sure I’d recommend Plecos for a newbie. They can live a long time and it’s easy to underestimate just how big they get (between 15 and 24in). Realistically, you can technically put them in a small tank while they’re little, but they really should go into a large (80+ gallon) tank. They can also have a tendency to get more aggressive as they get older/ bigger.
Plecos are pretty easy to keep, but definitely something of a commitment. So, like most fish, it’s best to know what you’re getting into before you toss it in a tank and see what happens.
Source: was young, dumb, and thought putting a pleco in the tank would keep it clean and mostly just ended up with too big a fish in too small a tank with no real way to get rid of it. Also, this website to refresh my memory.
Don’t know that they do much damage, and never seen one in the wild, but people tossing plecos made them invasive in NW Florida.
Yeah, I can believe it. I imagine it’s less direct damage and more being able to outcompete native species for resources like food or space. Plus they’re probably tougher to prey on.
I lost control of my tank (went off to college and couldn’t be around to actively maintain the tank + didn’t know what I was doing) and mine ended up dying.
Competition is what I meant by “damage”. In any case, they’re not the devastation lionfish brought.
I’ve somehow killed all my plecos. Probably didn’t get them enough algae.
Yeah what the other poster said. Plecos grow big and live a long time, so it’s sad if you have to get rid of your aquarium for whatever reason and have to give it away. Only get one if you’re prepared for the commitment!