plastic bottle as a fish tank is safe?

[Maxi]

i have an argument with my mom,she said that glass fish tank cause bacteria and some ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥ like that so she give me a large plastic bottle.i need to win this!

[Maxi]

also,my fish seems sick

[AustrAlien2010]

You don't want to put your fish in a plastic bottle. Get a decent habitat. You need to take this into consideration, if you want to keep your fish healthy and relaxed. That's why you need the bacteria.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fishkeeping#Nitrogen_cycle

[Maxi]

i heard that plastic will release toxic chems right?

[AustrAlien2010]

Lickok45 eredeti hozzászólása:

i heard that plastic will release toxic chems right?

That could very well be the case. Depending on the type of plastic you use.

Bottles won't do. The surface of the water won't be very expansive, which could cause low oxygen levels.


Of course, it's all safe. Accept your fish may die. If you're going to keep fish, you may just as well do it proper. Get the right gear. You don't want to stress them out. They don't deal with that very well.

You can learn different scents of water, if you have an experienced nose. You don't want that sweet meat/poop-like smell, rather you want a bitter plant/moss-like smell (it's a bit hard to explain through text, if you don't yet recognize the scents). But once you get a hang of that, you're able to deter whether you have the right quality of water before you put them in. Combine that with other tools to measure the PH values and temperature, and manually adjust that (through chemicals) according to their natural habitat.
And you need to remove some, and add some fresh water from time to time. Once you have activated the cycle. It's not very hard. But you need the right tools and water conditioner.
And if possible, a filtering system.

If your fish start to die en masse prematurely, something is very wrong with their conditions. You don't want that to happen.

Lickok45 eredeti hozzászólása:

also,my fish seems sick

What made you think they are sick?
It's your responsability to keep them alive and well, if you own them. Do your homework! I already feel sorry for them.

[Maxi]

now i can talk to my mom about it,thanks guys

[AustrAlien2010]

Don't be like this:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6hV0q8lkiDk

You can't just put tab water in a bottle and expect a fish to live and breed under those conditions. You need to carefully (and actively) prepare and maintain a healthy water condition. In fact, you shouldn't even be using unconditioned tab water. That's harmless to humans, but not for fish. You need to take good care of this water and it's bacteria they live in. Don't just flush and replace it. Because you'll end up replacing your fish as well.

[🜂∴🜏 Cassie]

A bottle isn’t big enough to raise a fish in. And plastic leaches into the water after a prolonged period of time so you don’t want to use that.

Depending on the fish and how big its maximum size would be, you should get a tank based on 1 gallon for 1 inch of fish. So if your fish grows to 12 inches as an adult, you want to get at least 12 gallons in capacity.

[chiefputsilao✖️ping]

in before:
as long as the fish is smaller than then plastic, the fish is safe.

in before:
ever seen a fish dying from being choked to death by a large plastic?
no!
only big fish that eat small plastic die.

Dr. Quack -Dr Lowiqus Bathooven

[🜂∴🜏 Cassie]

Toast eredeti hozzászólása:

Plastic affects the pH of the water, which can be bad for the fish.

There is a type of fish you can put in the tank which cleans the glass. I forget what it's called, but it's a dark greyish color with black spots, and it basiclly eats the nasty buildup that can happen in the tank, but you still need to clean it periodically anyway to freshen the water and suck out the waste buildup in the bottom. You will often see this type of fish with its mouth stuck onto the glass in tanks with several fish in them. I wish I could remember what it's called.

Plecostomus. But most plecos grow to a foot long, so OP should get a bristlenose catfish, which has a sucker mouth adapted for eating algae as well.

[EolSunder]

depends on the plastic. Many materials migrate the materials they are made from into the water, and usually more-so when using heat lights and such. That is why there are call "food grade" materials or "food contact" materials. These are materials that are safer to eat, store, hold such things due to the minimal loss of construction material that will be transfered into the stored food or water. See "degradation" of polymers.

This means certain plastics break down different, either due to heat, time, contact with substances, etc. Glass isnt usually going to do this, that is why glass is a main container for holding fish, food, and other things.

You CAN have plastics that are safe for holding fish for long periods of time, but they have to be specific for that purpose. Most cheaper plastics and compounds aren't made for doing that. The best types to use for short periods of time are food safe plastics, such as containers, bowls, etc you can buy in the store for food products. These are made to minimalize leeching of compounds into the food/liquids.

Plasic bottles are made to hold liquids, but not for long periods of time. They don't leech the plastic into the water, they are MADE to be food/liquid safe, but they are not made to last that way long, usually heat/temperature breaks down such items. If you are going to put a fish in such a cheap plastic container, just don't have any heat lights near it.

Cleaning the water/filtering the water is the best way to keep contaminants and bacteria out of the water so the fish stays healthy, any liquid the fish is in will build up chemicals due to fish excretions, etc so always have a filtration system for long term use.

[_Soj_]

Birds want to fly free.
Land animals want to roam free.
Fish want to swim free.

Find the nearest lake or river.
You know the rest...

[AustrAlien2010]

This is correct. You cannot maintain a perfect biotope yourself. Using a bottle with tab water won't get you anywhere. You'll just end up with a bunch of dead or stressed out fish, and smelly water.

It takes quite a bit of effort to clean it the right way. (without causing a biological imbalance.) And you should be prepared to spend money on it.

[Γαῖα]

A plastic bottle is a new one on me so got to ask what size is this plastic bottle ?

Fish need room to move, they cant breath properly in tight spaces. Someone has already said it but you just cant use tap water, our chemicals in it are toxic to them. It has to be treated before it can be used to remove chemicals and also check and if required, change your PH value (acid/alkaline content). On top of all that you need to aerate and filter the water constantly.
If you look about the shops and online, you can pick up some cheaply priced tanks (usually secondhand both glass or plastic but in the case of the glass, do check the seals on each edge/side/bottom before purchase (if unsure, get them to fill tank 2/3 and just make sure the outside is dry first, then use a tissue to see if it gets damp. Lastly while filled lift it up as it should remain sturdy. If your talking a single goldfish, you can get round forged glass fish bowls but alway check what size tank/bowl your fish needs prior if your going small.

[HypersleepyNaputunia]

youd be better off with pickle jar or some glass gallon jar with wide lid

[ROFLpl0x]

Glass doesn't cause bacteria. That's ridiculous. People have been using glass aquariums for well over 100 years. If anything, glass inhibits bacteria because it's so slick that it's difficult to stick to and colonize. It's also mostly inert and doesn't affect water parameters. Besides, the health of your aquarium is entirely dependent on the presence of bacteria. That's why you shouldn't rinse off filter media in chlorinated water.

As far as plastic goes, acrylic tanks are the latest fashion. Acrylic is plastic, but almost any plastic is perfectly fine to keep fish in and chances are they were already bred, born and raised in plastic and certainly shipped to the store in plastic where they sat in tanks (or plastic cups in the case of most bettas) decorated with plastic, not to mention rocks painted with what is essentially plastic. What's important is what was stored in the plastic before you started using it for fish. Anything that ever had bleach or any kind of detergent whatsoever is a definite no, and so are a lot of other things, but a soda bottle or vegetable oil jug is fine. Just rinse the hell out of it. That's regarding the safety of the plastic. Size, air exchange, stability, etc. are also important.

Tell your mother she's off her rocker about glass, though, and that you heard that from a 45 year old man that's been keeping fish since he was about ten, a hobby he picked up from his parents who were both avid and lifelong aquarists. Also remind her that it's Christmas and that Amazon has a very nice Marineland Portrait 5 gallon GLASS tank with integrated filter for a measly $46. That's a steal!

https://www.amazon.com/Marineland-ML90609-Portrait-Aquarium-5-Gallon/dp/B00O8SZTKQ/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1545069778&sr=8-1&keywords=marineland+5+gallon

But beware, small volume aquariums are very unstable and can crash on you with the slightest mistake. They're not good for novice aquarists, regardless of being constantly marketed that way, though obviously better than a plastic water bottle or the standard goldfish bowl.