Question for aquarium lovers.

Fish Gallery for looking and supplies and SOME fish.

I think overall Xtreme Fish and Pets takes better care of their stuff though. Fish gallery has kids doing the maintenance.

So if Xtreme has the fish you want, buy there.

 

I've lost touch with the relative worth of Houston's fish shops, but I know something about tropical fish. You looking to have a freshwater aquarium?

 

If it's for an 8 year old, no need to research it too much. Get a freshwater tank, pump, some colorful (and cheap and easy to care for) fish -- any shop can help you with this -- and go for it.

Your kid will get bored of it pretty quick. What he really wants is a dog.

 

I would argue the fact it is for a kid means making sure the setup is solid and the fish is in good health when buying it. Kids will take a tiny fish death much harder than an adult. Xtreme Fish is a little further out (and don't have the best equipment selection) but buying the fish there you can't go wrong. Plus they know their stuff. Fish gallery is hit and miss depending on who helps you.

 

I also agree with Fish Gallery. Honorable mention would be Aquarium World off of 290, it not nearly as spiffy a FG but they do have a good variety of fresh/salt water fish available. I also agree with starting with a fresh water tank! If your son likes it, you can upgrade to salt water later on! A salt water aquarium is far more expensive and requires a lot more maintenance to keep your fish healthy (ALIVE). Good luck with your endeavor!!!

.......
.......
.......

 

I would consider a 29 gallon tank to start. Not too big, but a nice viewing area. If it were me, I'd use an undergravel filter and a decent outside filter. Don't simply put in an air stone connected to a small air pump, although an air stone is a nice addition. Get a good dual outlet air pump for your undergravel filter, if you go that route. The good air pumps are quieter, which is a plus. You can run your air stone (for decorative bubbles, if you like) off the same filter used for the undergravel filter if you use an air valve to split off a bit of air via the tubing. And get plenty of tubing. A few feet, at least. The store employee can help you with a good setup if you're at a decent shop.

They may suggest leaving off the undergravel filter and bumping up the outside filter in size. Some gravel and perhaps some decorative rocks (stay away from limestone - makes the water hard, which isn't good for your typical community tropical fish). I use LED lights (last far longer, put out less heat, can be color adjusted - most allow you to use a cool blue light if you like, which is nice at night), but fluorescent lights are fine starting out. I had a 30 gallon tank as a kid in my room. Used to have a 135 gallon tank, but have a 90 now. It's a great hobby. Just be sure to change about 25% of the water once a month. A shop will test your water for you if the fish seem stressed. Oh, and start out with a couple of "cheap" fish until the tank's filtration system's (outside, undergravel, or both) beneficial bacteria is established. Gradually add fish. Ask the shop how many whatever size tank you buy will support. A lot of that depends on filtration, as well.

Just some suggestions. Sorry for carrying on. Some of us here are "fish lovers."

 

I like aquarium world out on 290. Fish gallery has a nice setup but they're pricey.

 

And you can now order fish online ( live aquaria ) and have them delivered, so don't feel limited to the storefront shops, and remember, that''s how they get them too so you are cutting out the middle man. I like the sea clear acrylic tanks as they are sturdier and lighter, although the opening at the tops are smaller but no trouble for me. They work fine with a canister filter ( Penn Plax is great and easy to set up ) which is better. Get yourself an LED light. If your fish like sand, I recommend some white sand from amazon (White Aragonite - Crystal Reef Brand ) as it's easier to clean and looks cool. Get bubbles and air pump. heater. thermometer. Buy yourself a python for water changes/ vacuum if you get a 35 gallon or more. Cichlids are the best looking freshwater fish in my opinion. But Gourami are cool too. Like pets for ur kids, you end up doing most of the work, so you should try to make it easy on yourself and get good equipment. For cleaning, I like to use a driveway power washer to save time scrubbing the ornaments or rocks in bigger tanks.

 

Couple of points for beginners:
1. Sand is indeed beautiful, but a bit more maintenance involved. You don't want the sand to be stagnant all the times, so having a group of fish that are located on the ground (cory, catfish) would be helpful, as they dig through the sand a bit and help with circulation.

2. Agree with the LED light, in the end it's cheaper than buying a new standard light annually.

3. Cichlids are indeed very beautiful and have much more character than other fish, but can be problematic for beginners, as a lot of them are highly territorial and can be rather aggressive, especially doing mating season (aka the whole year for a lot of them). Even the best measures (large tank, optically seperated zones) don't help sometimes, I've had species that would terrorize the whole tank when taking care of their babies.
There are some species that are really friendly and less territorial though, I'd recomend keyhole cichlids (they grow rather large, so having at least 35gallons would be good), ram cichlids, cockatoos and some of the Agassizi species. These are very friendly and can be kept in a community tank without issues.

4. I'd recommend buying Amano shrimps, these guys are nice to look at and take care of algae and other waste. Their eggs don't hatch in freshwater, but they live for a rather long time and are super cheap, you can buy them online for minimal transportation fees.

5. Some fish and advice I'd recommend for beginners:
You basically want to find fish for the upper, middle and bottom area of the tank, so that you have a nice mix and no overpopulation in one area.

Neon tetra, these are very easy to keep and quite colorful, I personally love red neons. Buy a swarm of 15+ so that they stay in a group instead of roaming alone.
Guppies are another species for beginners, there are very pretty ones available and they reproduce like crazy. You typically keep a 1:3 or 1:2 male/female ratio, as the males are extremely horny and will stress out the females by constantly chasing them for teh sexy time.
The neon and guppies mostly swim in the upper and mid zones of the tank.
Swordfish are another nice species, but tend to be really overbred nowadays and prone to illness, so you'd have to find a place that doesn't sell you crap.
Edit: Forgot to mention a mid/ground species that I own: Sickle tetra. These are very chill and rather beautiful. They barely swim and can be seen as boring though, depends on your kid. A different species that I added a while ago are Odessa barbs, these are one of the most beautiful smaller fish and shine in many different colors, mainly red and silver. Tend to be a bit expnsive though, so I'd only add them when your tank is established and not prone to illnesses.

As I've mentioned above, cory or other catfish species are nice to have and populate the ground area of the tank. For cory, I'd recommend buying a small group, as these are very social fish. 5-6 of one species is a good start.
Many people also add one pleco (not a group), these are taking care of soft algae. For these, it's recommended to buy some kind of root, as they contain nutrition for them and are also their favourite spot to hide and chill.

A nice build species-wise would be a swarm of neon, a small group of guppies (neons and guppies for the high and upper mid area of the tank), then a pair of the mentioned dwarf cichlids for the mid and lower zone, to finish it off you buy some cory and shrimps (Amano, the small species would likely be eaten by larger fish) for the bottom.

6. Plant-wise, you want something for each height-level as well. For the ground, I like to have some java moss, which you can build up like a carpet with proper care, the shrimp will also love it.
A larger plant that's nice to have and easy to grow is the amazon sword, it can function as the center-plant of the tank. For midground, dwarf sagittaria and pygmy chain sword are easy to maintain.

7. Very important: When first populating the tank, make sure you have a lot of fast-growing plants that start the proper chemical/biological cycle and take care of the necessary conditions for the fish that you'll later add. It can take a bit of time for the right conditions to settle in at first, so buy testing stripes or liquid tests to make sure everything is right. Also I'd only buy very cheap fish at first, as the first weeks/months can be tough and you'll often face some kind of illnesses there that will rapidly decimate your fish population. After that period, you can buy the more expensive fish and it'll be very rare to see an illness, given you take proper care of the fishtank.

8: A species that you don't find as often, but that's by far my favourite fish: Spiny eel. I have three macrognathus pancalus and three macrognathus lineatomaculatus. These guys are the most adorable fish you can imagine and have a ton of charisma. They are very friendly and won't attack other fish, also they'll eat out of your hands and explore every new fish and plant you'll add to the fishtank. They tend to live much longer than other fish (10+ years) and are not prone to any illnesses. Mine only eat bloodworms (you buy them frozen, every fish store should have them available refrigerated), so it takes a bit more of care than normal fish. When they become accustomed to you, they'll eat the worms out of your hands and you can also pet them. It's so much worth it though, the spiny eels quickly became the favourites of every person I show them to.

If you have other questions, feel free to ask.

 

I just put 5 dozen goldfish in my water troughs, does that count as an aquarium? This morning I get to go drive around and break the ice off of all 7. It's times like this I do wish I had a kid.

Don't remember the name, but I bought a bunch of stuff from a place on 59 around Fondren, maybe? Next to a Carmax? It's been years, so I really can't help you.

 

For an 8-year-old you want to minimize cleaning and fish death. Get a small tank with an over the back filter and put a beta in it. If the filter stops, it won't die because betas have a labyrinth organ which allows them to breathe air from the surface. Betas are colorful, charismatic, hardy, and have decent lifespans. Gouramis are also good for this. Both betas and gouramis are territorial. Corey catfish are fun. Neon tetras in a nice big school. Stay away from guppies. Guppies will multiply exponentially and you will end up with a thread asking if people want guppies.

Petsmart is fine for this type of setup. No need to pay the overhead for a small fish shop unless you want to support a small local store. Petco can be OK but overall their tanks are nasty.

For lighting, get an electric power timer, which will keep the algae in check. Water + too much light = algae. Keep your light cycles short- on for peak times when people will see the tank, the rest of the time off.

Do not get an 'algae eater' plecostomus. These guys are poop machines and make a huge mess. They're really just bottom feeders and won't do much for your algae.

Amano shrimp are great for algae and cleaning your tank in general. You don't need too many. The females are constantly pregnant but their offspring will never survive because the babies need brackish (low salt) water. They are ugly IMO but they are fun to watch- always busy.

I always recommend sand for any tank. Pool filter sand is the best. The bigger your substrate, the more cracks and crevices it has for poop and leftover food to sift down into and decompose.

"Pest" snails are actually good for your tank and will turn the substrate for you- if you're seeing too many it means you're feeding your fish too much. Snails + shrimp = cleanup crew

If you don't mind spending the money, a canister filter is by far the best filtration you can get. It's quiet, out of sight and doesn't require frequent cleanings. Otherwise, a hang-on-back filter is good (although relatively loud). I can't remember the last time I saw an under-gravel filter for sale.

 

Deckard is older than dirt leave him alone. Petsmart sucks and so do snails. Avoid both. Sand is a PITA, aquasoil FTW.

 

Since there are so many in the know, can anyone explain this place across from the Kroger on Shepherd? Why coins?

 

Coins are great pets and the maintenance is relatively easy. I'd start with Bitcoins because their poop is only virtual and they don't have to be fed. After that, I'd go for little pennies and work my way up until you're comfortable enough to keep Dollars or Euros.

 

Okay, my guess is that they inherited that sign that used to say something like "Stamps Gold Coins" but they only sell two things, "Fish Pets", so they decided to just leave "Coins" instead of painting over that part.

 

Duh...