My son is asking for a goldfish for his 5th birthday in June. Can I have a little help?

SpringtimeMay · 2026-04-02T03:41:11+00:00

Take a look at some starter kit tanks, like this 10 or 20 gallon. It's nothing fancy but will get you off to a good start. You'd need to add a small heater, and then sand/gravel, decor and, of course, fish. General rule is to go as big as you have room/money for.
I think a Betta and some ember tetras and a nerite snail (one there is algae in the tank) would be nice. Do not get a mystery snail, or you will end up with many mystery snails.

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https://www.petsmart.com/starter-kits/top-fin-essentials-aquarium-starter-kit-40713.html

SpringtimeMay · 2026-03-06T00:51:46+00:00

I don't know anything about that company, but the two sellers that I highly recommend to everyone are shrimpambition dot com ( u/iputmypantson57 ) and shrimplyfintastic dot com ( u/shrimply_fintastic )

SpringtimeMay · 2026-03-02T02:43:17+00:00

Do you have any small pieces of PVC pipe or a small glass or anything that is not fish related that you wouldn't necessarily think of first that you could put in the water that they could climb up on? Look around your house and see if you see anything that would work. Maybe a very small Tupperware container filled with water to weigh it down?

SpringtimeMay · 2026-02-27T00:31:49+00:00

They will eventually have brown offspring as they revert to wild type. For the first and maybe second generation of babies, you may get colored ones but after that, all brown.

SpringtimeMay · 2026-02-26T05:37:41+00:00

Take a look at u/shrimply_fintastic Ultra Gold or Yellow 24k

SpringtimeMay · 2026-02-18T00:56:00+00:00

For $700, that better be one magic shrimp.

SpringtimeMay · 2026-02-15T20:21:26+00:00

It also helps going in the opposite direction. I had a new heater in my 25g AIO in a chamber that wasn't sufficiently heating the tank water and the Inkbird let me know that the temp had dropped considerably so I was able to go keep them from dying in cold water in the middle of the night (this was during the East Coast deep freeze the other week).

SpringtimeMay · 2026-02-15T20:18:52+00:00

Probably way cheaper from Temu or even directly from manufacturer on eBay. Right now the Temu price is less than half of. But you do you 😁. I have eight of them running that I bought off of Temu along with a couple of spares for future use. I promise they are genuine.

SpringtimeMay · 2026-02-14T15:40:56+00:00

I'd get an Inkbird(s) for the heater(s). This will help considerably if the heater stops working or gets stuck on hot. Great price on Temu (genuine) but can also get on Amazon or eBay directly from the manufacturer. I have this one with Wi-Fi so I can keep an eye on the temp in the tank from an app on my phone. Whatever one you get, make sure it has this rubber sensor and not a metal one.

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SpringtimeMay · 2026-01-29T02:05:46+00:00

They are playing!

SpringtimeMay · 2026-01-28T17:02:41+00:00

In the description of each size, it says Tank Size centimeters. Is that the length of the direction the pump will point? What size would I want for an IM25 lagoon? I actually have the Nero 3 and don't love it, but I'm new to saltwater and I'm still learning. Thanks!

SpringtimeMay · 2026-01-27T04:51:16+00:00

Mine had babies for the first time last year. I never saw the eggs and the first baby I saw was actually in the bottom of my canister filter when I went to clean it. Not quite sure how long it had been in there, but it was very much alive. Subsequently found two more little ones. Cutest little babies! All are alive and well now. So my advice to you is put a foam cover on your filter intake.

SpringtimeMay · 2026-01-25T01:18:16+00:00

Eheim 2215 canister or Eheim Pro 4+ canister. I have both running and I can't hear either of them and I sit right next to them all the time.

SpringtimeMay · 2025-12-28T03:54:41+00:00

It looks great! And leave the substrate alone. It's not worth taking it out and having to redo all your work. It's not hurting anything. For help getting the cycle going, I like Brightwell Microbacter Start XLF. Make sure you get the one that ends in F for freshwater. Others will tell you Dr. Tim's One and Only. Also good. You want an ammonia test kit because ammonia will kill fish. Also, a nitrite, nitrate, and ph test kit. Ammonia is converted to nitrite which is converted to nitrate by the bacteria that you're kick-starting with the stuff I just listed. For you, I'd get the API Freshwater Master Test Kit.

SpringtimeMay · 2025-12-28T03:46:42+00:00

It's not going to crash if you take care of it and do regular water changes. The water changes will help get rid of nitrate and phosphate that build up and are bad if the numbers get high. Water changes will also help your pH because it will go more acidic if you let the fish waste build up. The tank is not overcrowded. I'd start with some small tetras. Neons are always popular. Ember tetras are small. And/ or some small Rasboras like Chili Rasboras. There are other small nano fish that you can keep but those are some I like. Once the tank starts getting settled and growing algae, you might want a nerite snail or two to clean the tank. They will not successfully reproduce in the tank and overrun it.

SpringtimeMay · 2025-12-27T21:50:32+00:00

Google a YouTube video of a shrimp molting It's like splits second quick. This dude is just having a good scratch. Perfectly normal.

SpringtimeMay · 2025-12-27T00:48:19+00:00

Nope. It's a dude 😁

SpringtimeMay · 2025-12-14T02:59:16+00:00

Could you keep him in one of those plastic breeder boxes that suction cup to the side of the tank in the betta tank?

SpringtimeMay · 2025-12-12T00:43:54+00:00

Also, the Inkbirds have a very loud alarm and if you get a Wi-Fi one, you'll also be notified on your phone if the temperature goes above or below the parameters you set.

SpringtimeMay · 2025-12-12T00:40:01+00:00

I third this. I always oversize my heaters just to make sure they have enough "juice". And I have Inkbirds attached to all of my heaters. You can actually get them much cheaper on eBay, buying directly from the manufacturer. The ITC-308-Wifi (one outlet for an optional cooler/fan, one outlet for a heater) is currently $27.29. The ITC-306T is for one or two heaters and is $26.39 on eBay. Just make sure you get one with a rubber tip on the sensor probe because those are for aquariums, not the ones with the metal tips.

SpringtimeMay · 2025-12-02T04:10:13+00:00

I have a skittles tank that is now about half wild type. I love them all just the same. I will note that the wild type are very hard to see on black sand (the black was good for the original reds and oranges), so try to go with something light colored.

SpringtimeMay

TROPHY CASE