Help please

[Nature freak]

Today was our 3rd day of school. I figured it would be just like every other day, well this morning before classes started i was hanging out with some people and one of them brought over these 4 fish. Him and some other boys were going to throw the fish at some girls, well me being me freaked out and said no give me the fish and well now i have 4 fish in a small glass jar and i don't know what kind they are or anything. I do think they are babies though because one is really small. They are really cute and I'm going to keep them but i need to find out what size tank they need and it cant cost over $30 because thats all i have. I need to know soon because they need to get in a filtered tank so they don't die.

Here are some pics....

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v208/apegirl/Fish1.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v208/apegirl/Fish.jpg

[babeEgrl10]

give them 2 a pet store. they are nice about things le that!

[babeEgrl10]

and i think they r guppies

[onebunnywuv]

i think they might possibly be puffers

[fishiegirl]

They are not guppies. Or puffers

They are convict chiclids. They are probley going to need about 20-30 gallons. You can fish a used one for about $30.

Hope you can do something with them?

[Punkygirl0101]

They look like dwarf puffers.. i could be wrong, and probably am..lol.

Others will help you!

[mr gerbil]

Pet stores are not nice.

They're quite possibly convicts...

[babeEgrl10]

i was just guessing

[babeEgrl10]

Pet stores are not nice.

They're quite possibly convicts...


not where i live. and my friends love animals and work there. so dont underestimate

[fishiegirl]

I am 99.9% sure they are. I used to raise them, so Ive seen them quite often. They are nice little fish, that have the personaltiy as puffer fish, they get to know you and represent you with food, and will follow you back in forth, untill you feed them. The only problem with them is they breed like crazy!!!!!!

I personaly dont see how they look like puffers. Aww wait, they do have the mouth like one though.

[babeEgrl10]

yea.. i agree w/ u!

[Nell]

I'm going to agree that those are most likely convict cichlids.
They are agressive to most other fish, so they need to be kept in a tank of their own or maybe with other compatible fish.
For right now, a 10gal tank will do, but they will need to be upgraded to something larger, at least a 30gal. These fish need plenty of space or they will become agressive towards each other.

Do you have any aquarium supplies?

Until you can get them into a tank, move them into the largest container that you can (make sure it has never been cleaned with soap or other chemicals). Use room temp water (best to let it sit for a couple hours). The water also needs to be treated to remove the chlorine. You can get a dechlorinator at a pet store.
You need to aerate the water at the very least until you can get a tank with a filter, otherwise the fish will die from lack of oxygen. You will also need to change about 50% of the water in the container everyday to prevent toxic ammonia from building up.

[Catmakemebark]

Good for you for saving them! :) I would find a home for them because ciclids are not really first timer fish. They can be pretty difficult.;) I'm sure we could help you if you do decide to keep them.

[Nell]

ah, I just realized that you are in WI too... what part?

[Nature freak]

I live about 40 mins out of Milwaukee.
How do you aerate the water? And is distilled water OK to use?
One of this fish already died, the littlest one which i had named Mikey, I'm really sad now, the other fish keep nudging him and yeah its sad. I wont be able to get a tank until tomorrow. It might be longer but I'm praying on tomorrow.
I hope they live, i am already attached to them.

[mr gerbil]

"I'm really sad now, the other fish keep nudging him and yeah its sad. "

It might be a good idea to take him out of the water ;) .

[Nature freak]

I took him out when i moved them into a bigger aquarium, i gave him is flush down the toilet and that was that, i miss him bunches.

I have a question, is it weird to put dead fish down the garbage disposal, my brothers grandpa does that and i just think its plain gross.

[Catmakemebark]

Aww, thats sad although I dont think the nudging was because they were sad. They were most likly trying to tasted it. Sorry if it sound greusome.
I'm glad you really care about these little guys. I really love ciclids and I'm sure you will learn to love even more. You are already doing what most people would never think about doing which a bigger tank. Keep us informed.:)

[Nell]

sorry to hear that you lost one of them :(

You need an air pump to aerate the water. If you don't have one of those, then stir up the water as often as possible.
You shouldn't use distilled water. Distilled doesn't contain any minerals and therefor does not have any buffering capacity to prevent ph swings. If you're going to use a bottled water, use spring water.

If you're looking to save money, try looking at thrift stores tomorrow for used tanks before buying one new. You can usually get a pretty good deal that way.

[thefab4]

If you can't find used I think Wal-Mart has a pretty good price on their fish stuff. It's not fancy but it would get you through untill you need to upgrade to a bigger tank. I hope the rest make it.

[Nell]

I thought I'd make a list of the supplies you need so you won't end up buying a bunch of stuff you don't..

here we go...
the absolute essentials ASAP:
-tank with cover
-filter (I reccommend the Aquaclear brand)
-heater
-water dechlorinator
-cichlid food (feed very sparingly for the first 2 weeks and then gradually increase to regular amount)

Things you will need but don't have to have just yet:
-master test kit (would be helpful to have right away but we can help you get by without it for the time being)
-decorations and gravel
-net
-gravel vac

If you have a petsmart where you are, they price match, even their own prices on their website. You can get stuff a whole lot cheaper this way if you bring in a printout of a lower price on a product they carry in the store.

The filter will do the same job as an air pump, so you won't need one of those as long as you get them in a tank right away.

I'll be wishing you the best and hoping that the other 2 make it through the night...

[Nature freak]

Well the other THREE made it through the night, they are doing very well and swimming around they are in a jar with dechlorinated water and rocks and they love it. My AP Biology teacher told me to blow bubbles in the water with a straw and that will aerate the water and they will live, I've been doing this and they are doing great.
I am going to the store tomorrow if not then Sunday for sure i am going to babysit tonight to get that 30 dollars and hopefully get them everything they need.
Thank you soooo much for all the help i really really appreciate it because i love these little guys.

[Nell]

glad to hear that they are doing well :)
Make sure to change the water everyday as long as they are in the jar. If it is a large jar, you might be able to get away with 50% water change, but if it is a gallon or less, change all of the water.

When fish produce waste, the waste breaks down into ammonia, and ammonia is very toxic to fish. In a new environment, this ammonia can build up very quickly and kill your fish. Eventually, a type of bacteria will grow that breaks down the ammonia (and later nitrite) that is produced by waste and decaying food. This is what makes it possible to keep fish in an enclosed environment such as a tank.
This takes several weeks, though, before the bacteria have grown enough to break down the amount of waste produced by the fish. This is why it is so important to do water changes. This should keep the levels of ammonia low enough that it won't do much harm to the fish.

When you get a tank and filter, you will also need to monitor the water for ammonia and nitrite and do water changes as needed (probably every other day or maybe everyday for a while) for the first few weeks. the bacteria will eventually establish a colony in the filter and gravel and your tank will be cycled.

Research the nitrogen cycle for more info. Your bio teacher can probably help too.

oh, and when looking for a larger tank, a good website to check out is craigslist.com http://geo.craigslist.org/iso/us/wi (wisconsin)
It is a classifieds website and people often post used tanks for sale for a good price. do a search for "fish tank" and "aquarium." Or you may want to consider posting an ad for a fish tank. (with your parent's help, of course, as it does require meeting and exchanging money with people.)