Laura S. Jeffrey - Choosing a Fish: How to Choose and Care for a Fish

Is a fish right for you?

Some types of fish are harder to care for than others. Choosing a Fish will help you decide what kind of fish and how many to get. read about the kind of food to feed your fish, what size tank you need, and much more. Learn how to keep your fish healthy and happy for years to come.

About the Author

Laura S. Jeffrey is the author of almost two dozen nonfiction books for young readers. She and her husband have two grown children and live in the suburbs of Washington, D.C.

About the American Humane Association

Since 1877, American Humane Association has been at the forefront of virtually every major advance in protecting children, pets, and farm animals from cruelty, abuse, and neglect. Today were also leading the way in understanding the human-animal bond and its role in therapy, medicine, and society. American Humane Association reaches millions of people every day through groundbreaking research, education, training, and services that span a wide network of organizations, agencies, and businesses. You can help make a difference, too. Visit www.americanhumane.org today, call 1-866-242-1877, or write to American Humane Association at 1400 16th Street NW, Suite 360, Washington, DC 20036

An emperor angelfish

Fish are perhaps the most common pets. They are beautiful to look at and fun to watch. A tank full of fish lets people look at nature underwater.

But fish are not that easy to care for. Because fish live in a different type of environment, you will need to spend a lot of time, energy, and money to take care of your new pet.

Fish make great pets. This is a yellow pearlscale angelfish.

This book will help you choose the right fish for you. It will tell you what to feed your new pet and how to keep your fish healthy and safe. You will learn a lot about what you need to know to take good care of your fish.

Fish are fun to watch.

A goldfish

Fish have been pets for many years. In fact, no one knows just when fish became household pets. Goldfish are perhaps the oldest and most common type of pet fish. Fish farmers in China began breeding goldfish as pets more than a thousand years ago. Ancient art and books show that goldfish were kept in Chinese homes as early as A.D. 800.

Did you know that there are more than a hundred types of goldfish? Only twenty types are sold today. This bumpy headed goldfish is called an oranda.

Goldfish became common household pets in other countries after 1650. This is when European countries began trading goods with Asian countries. At first, goldfish were kept in outside ponds. They became indoor pets sometime during the late 1800s.

Goldfish were first bred in the United States in 1878. Now there are many goldfish farms in the United States. Other types of fish, called tropical fish, are also available as pets.

Today, goldfish come in different sizes and colors. Some goldfish are very small, while others can grow to be more than a foot long.

Most goldfish live to be five years old, but some can live as long as fifteen years or more.

A half black angelfish

Goldfish are popular starter pets. They are easy to care for. They do not need as much time and money as other pet fish.

Once you are a more experienced pet-fish owner, you can fill an aquarium with many different kinds of fish. The wide range of colors, sizes, and shapes that fish come in will be fun to watch. A community tank is an aquarium that holds many different kinds of fish.

Goldfish are popular pets. They are easy to care for.

Social, or friendly, types of fish get along well with many different types of fish. Examples of these are danios, tetras, mollies, guppies, and swordtails.

This is a close-up of a community tank. If you decide to have a community tank, you must make sure that all your fish get along well together.

Semisocial types are sometimes friendly. They can be kept with fish of the same size. Examples of semisocial fish are gourami and angelfish.

Aggressive types of fish are bold and active. They will fight with other fish. They must be kept by themselves or in pairs. An example of an aggressive fish is a male betta.

Also be aware that some fish lay eggs. Other fish, such as guppies and mollies, bear live young. If you get a live-bearing fish, you will need to have hiding places in the tank for the babies, or the larger fish might eat the babies. The babies will need a place to live, too. Be sure your tank is large enough to hold all the fish.

Some fish lay eggs. Read about the type of fish you want before deciding which to buy.

Visit the library to get books on different types of fish. Workers at an aquarium store or a pet store can help you. But just because someone works at a store does not mean he or she is an expert. It is up to you to do some research before you go shopping for your new pet. Ask friends with aquariums about the kinds of fish they have. Once you have fish in your home, it is too late to experiment.

Some fish are hardy and easy to keep. Others are so fragile that they will die if the water temperature in the tank falls a couple of degrees. As a new fish owner, you should choose fish that are easy to care for. That way, your new pet will be able to survive any minor mistakes you may make in the beginning.