Top Fin Starter Kit?

[Xoetix]

My kid is OBSESSED with fish. Absolutely enthralled. There's a meltdown every time we have to leave Petsmart and leave the fish wall.

So I figure for Christmas, I'll set him up a fish tank, if it's feasible.

The thing is, I know *nothing* about keeping fish. I probably have negative amounts of knowledge, I know so little.

I figure my first step is to ask - Is the Topfin starter kit any good? Or are those like those terrible "starter kits" they have for guinea pigs and what not? From the website:
Includes:

• 29 Gallon Glass tank with hood
• Bright White LED
• Thermometer
• 6 in Nylon Net
• Water test Vial
• 100 Watt Heater
• Top Fin Silentstream 30 Power Filter with cartridge instruction Manual

Is this good? It looks like it has everything, but that's to someone who doesn't know if anything included is any good. Obviously other than all this, it'll need substrate and decor, plus food, etc. But for the basics (really it's the filter part) is this any good?

Additionally - There's a lot of conflicting info regarding what kinds of fish and how many can be kept in a 30 gallon. I know goldfish get huge, but would a 30g work as a starter tank for two goldfish, to be upgraded later as they grow? Or would it be better getting, like, ten little things (tetras maybe? Guppies?)?

 

[zoo mom]

Those would be ok for starters. The rule of thumb is 1-2 gallons of water for each inch of fish at adult size. So no more than 2 or 3 gold fish depending on type and expected adult size. (Ok for a couple small size angel fish but would need a larger tank for adult angels or adult gold fish.) 15 or so neon tetras, etc.
I am not sure of your childs age. But I would think several species of small tetras would be more interesting long term but it depends on what kind of fish attracted them most.

If there is a dedicated aquarium store near you are if you know of any aquarium enthusiasts that would be your best bet.

Good luck.

 

[Shezbug]

If I recall correctly @Wardy has quite a bit of a knowledge regarding fish care?

 

[MnGuy]

Exciting! I am a longtime aquarist. I've never purchased a kit. I prefer to buy my items separately.

The best thing you can do is go to the store and jot down the cost of buying each item separately and see what the best deal is.

My main issues with kits are:

- the heater isn't usually the best quality (I recommend the brand Eheim for heaters.)
- the filter isn't usually the best quality (I recommend AquaClear brand for "hang on the back" filters that hang on the back of the tank.)

TopFin is an OK brand. I'd do a lot of googling about them and maybe join an aquarium forum like The Planted Tank forum and ask some questions: The Planted Tank Forum

Here is some reading from Reddit: https://www.reddit.com/r/Aquariums/comments/sr3dda
I would not skimp on heater quality. Poor heaters can stop working, causing fish to die as water cools too much, or overheat, boiling fish. A lot of the heaters that come in kits are just OK heaters. Most if not all are not submersible, meaning part of the top of heater has to stick up outside of the water and cannot be fully dunked in the water. I prefer submersible Eheim heaters that can be fully sunken under water. This is also useful because you can place your heater at the bottom of the tank so that when you change the water the whole heater remains underwater and continues heating your tank, keeping your fish cozy.

Heaters that are not submersible must be unplugged during water changes, and if you take long changing water and/or your house gets cold, it can cause the water temperature to drop, which could hurt some sensitive fish.

29 gallons is a great size, so you're on the right track there. But I would never recommend goldfish for anything under 55 gallons, and I would never recommend buying fish with the plan to upgrade their tank when they get big, because the reality is that rarely happens because it's super expensive to buy a new tank, it's a lot of work, and few people have space for two tanks.

But a lot of other smaller fish could happily live in a 29 gallon. I recommend finding out what kind of fish your son likes and picking a tank size that fits those fish. (29 gallons will accommodate most common tropical community fish.)

The number of fish you can keep in a tank is more complicated because you have to factor in how experienced you are, how often you change the water, whether you have live plants and how many (they can help absorb some toxins out of the water column), etc. Generally, newbies should shoot to under stock their tanks until they get more experience.

Good luck!

 

[Spearmint]

Awesome!
Not super caught up with the whole water aspect of fishcare, but just what i generally know:
-Wouldn't recommend buying fish from the petstore, as they dont last too long, if possible find a breeder, you'll get more time from the fish.
-Pretty sure you need to soak fish food first to avoid them swallowing air when they eat? (someone confirm this please)
- Water changes weekly

Also here's an awesome YT channel that has some fish care videos (probably shouldnt watch with ur son as has a little bit of foul language occasionally): https://www.youtube.com/@sodapets

 

[Shannan]

Just a reminder, you will probably want to set the tank up and let it "cycle" before adding fish. Look up information on the nitrogen cycle. There are different views on the best way to begin the process. Some recommend starting with one small fish others suggest you cycle awhile before adding fish. So what I did with my kids is have them pick one small fish to start out. Then as they got used to the tank (and it cycled) They could research/ learn (even for toddlers that could mean reading some simple books or age appropriate videos on fish). Then they might have a better idea of what specific fish they would want. As far as choices, I do think that Cory catfish are great for beginners. They help keep the bottom of the tank cleaner, they are fun to watch and get along with other fish. (They do prefer to live in groups so plan on at least two). They also come in different colors so you can mix and match.

 

[Wardy]

My kid is OBSESSED with fish. Absolutely enthralled. There's a meltdown every time we have to leave Petsmart and leave the fish wall.

So I figure for Christmas, I'll set him up a fish tank, if it's feasible.

The thing is, I know *nothing* about keeping fish. I probably have negative amounts of knowledge, I know so little.

I figure my first step is to ask - Is the Topfin starter kit any good? Or are those like those terrible "starter kits" they have for guinea pigs and what not? From the website:
Includes:

• 29 Gallon Glass tank with hood
• Bright White LED
• Thermometer
• 6 in Nylon Net
• Water test Vial
• 100 Watt Heater
• Top Fin Silentstream 30 Power Filter with cartridge instruction Manual

Is this good? It looks like it has everything, but that's to someone who doesn't know if anything included is any good. Obviously other than all this, it'll need substrate and decor, plus food, etc. But for the basics (really it's the filter part) is this any good?

Additionally - There's a lot of conflicting info regarding what kinds of fish and how many can be kept in a 30 gallon. I know goldfish get huge, but would a 30g work as a starter tank for two goldfish, to be upgraded later as they grow? Or would it be better getting, like, ten little things (tetras maybe? Guppies?)?

I am not familiar with Topfin and cant get on petsmart website cos i am in the UK..

Few tips that might help you out

I would suggest a unplanted tank initially plants can be a nightmare to establish and hard to sustain you can get some really real looking plastic plants nowdays.
I wouldnt consider goldfish in a tank that size forget about how big they grow they are dirty fish creating a lot of waste and therefore water quality issues.
Plan on completing a 25% water change weekly stir up the substrate and syphon all of the crap out.
Dont overfeed the fish this will cause water quality issues and cause outbreaks of algae, if the fish havent eaten the food in a minute you have given them to much they have small bellies and small feeds a few times a day is more beneficial.
wouldnt be overly fussed with the nitrogen cycle buy a bottle of Seachem prime and follow instructions you can add fish straight away then ( the only way to cycle a tank correctly is by adding a prawn and allowing the nitroge cycle to do it's thing adding one or a couple of fish to start a tank cycling is harsh on the fish as they will encounter issues with nitrate for certain and possibly ammonia prime will mean you can add fish and nitrite and ammonia will be kept within safe levels )
you will need some rocks and wood to create caves and shelter, i would also suggest a air pump and a airstone to help with gas exchange and bubbles look nice.
I am sure the heater that comes with it is fine the only way to avoid heater problems boiling or freezing is to have two heaters that are both under rated for the tank but can maintain a minimum temp if one fails but wont boil if one fails but you also need and digital temp controler attatched to them both its not needed a failed heater is rare.

For a 120 litre tank i dont think you can go wrong with tetras,rasboras and guppies very active fish great colour and are pretty hardy ( guppies are live bearers as well so good chance you will get fry, the males are the most colourful however i would suggest at least two females per male minimum male guppies enjoy a bit of romance ).

look at fish that will swim at different levels -

Corydoras catfish swim at the bottom of the tank they are workers as well they will search through the substrate for uneaten food ( look for dwarf corys for a tank size )
Tetras, Rasboras , mid to upper levels of tank ( these fish do better in groups )
Hatchetfish top of the tank

one of my favourite fish is a Kuhlli loach Latin Pangio Kuhlli looks like a eel but its a fish very lively of a evening

if you keep on top of water quality you could keep maybe 30 smaller fish in a 120 litre

6 guppies
2 x 8 Tetras
2 dwarf corydoras
2 hatchetfish
kuhlli loach
and maybe a dwarf gourami

Hope this helps any questions fire away

 

[SunnySandi]

Howdy, I was a hobby aquarist a few years ago. I can’t give much info in regards to water parameters, but I second cycling the tank. I used to run 2 10 gal and a 5 gal.

For my 10’s, I let them cycle for a week before testing if it would be suitable for fish, for larger I’d say at least 2 weeks. I planned what I was going to stock the tank with before picking decor and picking my heat parameters. For example, I wouldn’t want to mix a tropical and a cold water fish as neither would be happy.

For a first tank I wouldn’t recommend a planted aquarium or live plants. Love plants while beneficial could introduce pests to the aquarium.

For stocking, my main tank was a 10 gal tropical community. It was at the height of stocking limits with 2 dwarf gourami, 4 lampeye tetras and 2 corydoryas catfish.

My second 10 was a male double tail betta, 1 cory and some shrimp

I would look into what fish dwell in which part of the water column, for example in my tank. The top swimmers, the fish that hung out near the top of the tank, were the dwarf gouramis. My mid-swimmers were the tetras, and my bottom swimmers were the Cory cats. This prevented too much competition in one area of the tank.

For fish I would NOT recommend, goldfish, koi, Oscars, plecos, sharks of any variety, tiger barbs

If you plan on getting something like neon tetras, or any type of tiny schooling fish, I’d recommend getting 1-2 more than expected and planning for die off (Anytime I’ve gotten neons from Petsmart I always lost a few in the first few days).

I guess my last hot take is to purchase your fish all at the same time (I’ve had mixed reactions from folks), reasoning being so that no 1 fish can establish territory and bully any newcomers, especially if you plan on something like dwarf gouramis which can be picky to each other and other fish if allowed to establish before adding new fish.

 

[MnGuy]

A quick note on cycling your tank:

- Yes, you must absolutely cycle your tank before you add fish. This process is way too complicated to explain here. PLEASE do proper research on this on a fish forum.

- Treat adding fish later as a continuation of the gift. Don’t expect to give a tank full of fish on Christmas morning.

-Do not under any circumstances add a few starter fish to your tank to begin the cycle. This is cruel, as the water in an uncycled tank will burn a fish’s gills and overall harm its health. This is a very outdated technique.

- You can cycle your tank using bottled bacteria you can buy at the pet store or by adding used filter media from a healthy, established tank into your aquarium.

- Cycling takes time and it varies tank to tank. It is rarely, if ever, accomplished in a week. It can take a few weeks to a few months. You can only know by testing th water. Patience is key.

- You need to take testing into your own hands or find a trustworthy store. Many places just want you to buy fish so they can make money.

Good luck.