First tank ideas for a little girl

ReignsAngel

ReignsAngel

AC Members
Nov 17, 2006
315
0
0
Ft. Walton Beach, FL.
My husband and I are going to buy a friend of ours 8y/o daughter a tank/stand/fish/accessories. She loves fish and is dying to have some of her own. Her mom is going through a divorce and its a tough time for her. We offered to buy it and show her how to care for her fish and tank. We live close to each other, so it'll be no problem assisting with water changes and maintenance.

I would like to get some stocking ideas for the tank (10g). What would you suggest? :)
 
Good on you! :)

No idea how to stock a 10 (maybe go with a 15? not much bigger, but more options...), but I'll throw out my 2 cents. With good filtration... one Dw. Gourami, 4 - 6 smaller tetras, and maybe a Cherry shrimp or MTS.
 
at that age, i would recommend a single fish such as a betta. it instills the value of a single life, and makes them intrinsically be more responsible. for example, if it was a school of tetras, she might not really name each one of them, and it would just be eye candy and one dead tetra would be no big deal.
besides, bettas are hard to kill, beautiful, and not all that expensive.
 
Thanks for the input jm1212, Hooked Newbie, and ThePBM.

jm1212: Nice link. :)

Hooked Newbie: I think a 10g is a good starting point, but maybe its because thats what I started out with. We picked up another 10g this week to use as a breeder tank for our dwarf gourami. We may end up just leaving him in the tank he's in and moving the other fish around (if need be). So we may just use that tank for her. Although 10g tanks aren't the expensive as it is. :)

ThePBM: Very interesting way of looking at it. You brought up a really good point. If I did go with a school of tetras it would be hard to tell them apart and they would likely not get named. I know, for I have a 'school' of tetras myself. lol.

Ultimately, I would like to give her a couple options. Talk with her about the fish and let her make the choice between them. :)
 
how about one male platy, 3 females, and a few hardy corys? since their so active she will probally like them, just drop in an algae wafer and she will like them =)
 
ThePBM said:
at that age, i would recommend a single fish such as a betta...
Click to expand...

Would a shrimp or 2 work too, as I follow PBM's logic.

Or perhaps a BN pleco (my 2yr old loves my rubberlips, and searching for them amongst the rock, to drop their food in)
 
I'd go for hardy fish that are unlikely to jump out. A jumped, dead fish would be hard to explain -- "Well, mr fish jumped out because..." he was unhappy? which would make her think it was her fault.... Success with hardy fish will encourage her.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
AquariaCentral.com
Top Bottom