Goldfish advice?

[Shanna66]

Laurylina

The current bowl that the betta is in (not to be confused with the one I kept my former goldfish in, it's bigger) has been its home for a really long time, according to the person that gave it to me. I wanna get a goldfish to put in the 2.5 tank (it has a filter), maybe with a tankmate, but I'm guessing it's barely big enough for even just one goldfish although I've seen a goldie that lived in a teeny tiny (I mean super duper teeny) glass bowl with untreated tap water for quite some time. I dunno, fish are more confusing than I thought. ._.

a fill grown goldfish can hardly even fit into a 2.5gal. aslo how long did that goldfish live? did it live to be over 30? even 30 years isnt long for a goldfish, ive heard of some getting to over 50

a 2.5gal is fine for a betta so long as nothing else is in the tank. a 10gal would be the minimum for keeping a betta and other fish species

also remember, the bigger the tank the less work it is for you to keep everything happy and healthy  

[Laurylina]

I see. I had no idea goldfish needed so much space, considering they're pretty shrimpy. See the thing is, my parents think all a fish needs to live is some water and food and that's it, so when I took home my other goldfish (that only lived 2 days, poor baby) they refused to buy a bigger tank for it, even though I tried explaining it needs more space! And I thought 5 gallons was pretty big in general. But 20 gallons, 30, 50? Maybe I miscalculated, but I'm not sure I can afford that let alone find a space in my house to fit it in.

I've wanted a fish for a while, believing they were relatively low maintenance and didn't take up much space, but with more research I found out it's not that true sometimes (in my case, I have a small house and not a very big budget). My parents simply do not want any more pets, and I almost got away with it with a small enough fish.

I may just keep the betta in the 2.5 gal tank if that's all I can do (assuming I can find somewhere to put it) but I still wanna know if it's possible to have a pet goldfish [or another similar coolwater fish] without having to buy a humongous tank. (I keep mentioning goldfish because I really like their carp-like appearance and bright colors) Different sources say all sorts of different things about care and housing for freshwater fish but I'm not sure which sources are more accurate.

If I can't keep a fish without it dying on me after a month, then I'll accept the fact that I can't do it right now and wait until later; I don't want to be too cruel to the fish nor my parents.

Oh, and thanks for the advice you guys.  

[Vanilla eXee]

Laurylina

I see. I had no idea goldfish needed so much space, considering they're pretty shrimpy. See the thing is, my parents think all a fish needs to live is some water and food and that's it, so when I took home my other goldfish (that only lived 2 days, poor baby) they refused to buy a bigger tank for it, even though I tried explaining it needs more space! And I thought 5 gallons was pretty big in general. But 20 gallons, 30, 50? Maybe I miscalculated, but I'm not sure I can afford that let alone find a space in my house to fit it in.

I've wanted a fish for a while, believing they were relatively low maintenance and didn't take up much space, but with more research I found out it's not that true sometimes (in my case, I have a small house and not a very big budget). My parents simply do not want any more pets, and I almost got away with it with a small enough fish.

I may just keep the betta in the 2.5 gal tank if that's all I can do (assuming I can find somewhere to put it) but I still wanna know if it's possible to have a pet goldfish [or another similar coolwater fish] without having to buy a humongous tank. (I keep mentioning goldfish because I really like their carp-like appearance and bright colors) Different sources say all sorts of different things about care and housing for freshwater fish but I'm not sure which sources are more accurate.

If I can't keep a fish without it dying on me after a month, then I'll accept the fact that I can't do it right now and wait until later; I don't want to be too cruel to the fish nor my parents.

Oh, and thanks for the advice you guys.

It's really good to someone who isn't just like "well it's just a fish who cares if it suffers and dies they're pretty lol". Goldfish just grow big, there's no way around that. They need to be in big tanks. Your best bet for the 2.5 is probably the betta, and he'll be much happier there than in the bowl. 5g is considered really small in the fish world. Heck, most people even say you shouldn't start out with anything smaller than 30g. There are plenty of bright colored fish to choose that don't get even nearly as big as goldies (which can and do grow to over 12"). If you can manage to get another tank, we can give you suggestions for fish based on the tank size. If not, (which is understandable, fishkeeping is an expensive hobby) then just stick with your betta for now until you are able to get bigger set-ups.  

[Moth Feathers]

Laurylina

I see. I had no idea goldfish needed so much space, considering they're pretty shrimpy. See the thing is, my parents think all a fish needs to live is some water and food and that's it, so when I took home my other goldfish (that only lived 2 days, poor baby) they refused to buy a bigger tank for it, even though I tried explaining it needs more space! And I thought 5 gallons was pretty big in general. But 20 gallons, 30, 50? Maybe I miscalculated, but I'm not sure I can afford that let alone find a space in my house to fit it in.

I've wanted a fish for a while, believing they were relatively low maintenance and didn't take up much space, but with more research I found out it's not that true sometimes (in my case, I have a small house and not a very big budget). My parents simply do not want any more pets, and I almost got away with it with a small enough fish.

I may just keep the betta in the 2.5 gal tank if that's all I can do (assuming I can find somewhere to put it) but I still wanna know if it's possible to have a pet goldfish [or another similar coolwater fish] without having to buy a humongous tank. (I keep mentioning goldfish because I really like their carp-like appearance and bright colors) Different sources say all sorts of different things about care and housing for freshwater fish but I'm not sure which sources are more accurate.

If I can't keep a fish without it dying on me after a month, then I'll accept the fact that I can't do it right now and wait until later; I don't want to be too cruel to the fish nor my parents.

Oh, and thanks for the advice you guys.

Fish are one of the most expensive animals to own. The cost of the tank is one of the smallest expenses, since usually tanks can be found secondhand for cheap prices, or improvised like in the form of using a plastic storage tote.
Even to set up a 2.5 gallon tank for a Betta properly can easily cost 50+ dollars. You need a water testing kit, like the API Freshwater Test Master Kit, in order to know your water's parameters and to cycle the tank. The API kit comes with tests for ammonia, nitrate, nitrite, and some others I believe, and it costs 30 dollars. These testing kits are must-haves for good fish owners and there's no way around getting one.
Then you need fish food, which actually gets expensive. Fish are like humans and need a varied diet. For Bettas, since they're carnivorous, they should have plenty of live or frozen food in their diet, such as daphnia and brine shrimp.
Then also comes the heater, which is a must for any tropical fish. But even if you get a coldwater fish, they'll still need a good, strong filter..which also costs a lot.

Fish really aren't the best pets if you're on a budget. I'd hold off on getting any more until you have a lot of money of your own to spend on fish.
You may want to consider getting a small mammal, such as mice or rats. They're not quite as expensive but are very excellent pets. If your parents won't let you, what about feeding the wild birds? It's really no different than fish; wild birds are 'look but don't touch' type of animals just like fish, that are very entertaining to watch just like fish. They're more interesting than most people would think, and you get to identify individual birds after a time.  

[Laurylina]

Well, I guess then once I find a suitable place in the house to place the tank I'll put the betta in there. It came with a heater, light, food, filter, and test kit so I shouldn't need to buy much else until I start running out of food and filter stuff. The weird thing is, there's a list of fish on the back of the tank's box to consider keeping in the tank which include: Goldfish, guppies, bettas, danios, cory catfish, small barbs and dwarf gouramis. =/ So betta fish are the only fish small enough to tolerate smaller spaces?

Oh well, maybe someday I'll get a fish tank. xD  

[Shanna66]

Laurylina

Well, I guess then once I find a suitable place in the house to place the tank I'll put the betta in there. It came with a heater, light, food, filter, and test kit so I shouldn't need to buy much else until I start running out of food and filter stuff. The weird thing is, there's a list of fish on the back of the tank's box to consider keeping in the tank which include: Goldfish, guppies, bettas, danios, cory catfish, small barbs and dwarf gouramis. =/ So betta fish are the only fish small enough to tolerate smaller spaces?

Oh well, maybe someday I'll get a fish tank. xD

you could put one or 2 guppies in there instead of a betta, or some killifish, but yeah, for the most pat anything under a 10gal isnt going to hold much. and the back of boxes lie. i have a 5gal and on the back of its box it also said i could house goldfish in there, ive even seen goldfish starter kits that were only 2gals. boxes lie so the company can make more money, they really dont care much about the health of the fish

anyways im really happy you decided to do research instead of just making a goldfish suffer just so you could look at it for a couple weeks