All good suggestions...i remember as a child when my mom got our first tank the thing I most appreciated was the variety of shapes and colors of the fish. I know that a bala shark would outgrow the 10G in a while but it might get a year or so and would give her a different shape of fish to look at.
I would suggest tetras they are so neat, and I love danios too! In every tank I've had I've always had neon tetras, but I've discovered danios and lfs since I was 12 lol I don't know if there is a proper name but the Red Danios I think are cool, kinda like a red/pink. 10galleon I think is good for a girl her age!
But then what does she do with all the babies? I agree with the posts that suggested all male guppies, that would be super colorful. Platies are great too, and what 8 year old wouldn't get a kick out of the Mickey Mouse ones?
If she likes the betta idea, I'd like to throw out the idea for harlequin rasboras as tankmates. Mine did well with my male betta before I moved them to my 45.
Or, this might be a cool idea for a kid and I've seen it done before:
Get an opaque divider for the tank, and a betta for each side (you don't want them to be able to see each other). Then she can choose totally different decor for each side. Just a thought.
mickey mouse platies would be a great idea for the tank. they are hardy and pretty much the perfect community fish. plus, there isnt any color difference between amles and females, so you can get a tank of all females or all males.
I like the idea of the mickey mouse platys for a little girl of that age. She will have a blast with them. They are quite hardy too so they will not die on her for no reason. They are very active and fun to watch.
I appreciate all the feedback i've gotten on this thread! Wonderful! Some great ideas and points have been made.
The project will most likely begin next weekend or that following week. I think platies (or a betta for that matter) would be awesome and I have a feeling she will like them. I'll have to take a look and see if they have the mickey mouse variety here. As i've never had platies personally, can someone tell me a bit about them...How many would be suitable for a 10g? If we were to add a couple shrimp or snails to the tank would the platies view them as snacks?
Her mom told me today that her son would like to be a part of it. He said he wants a shark for the tank. lol. Any compatible tank mates someone can recommend? Maybe even something that has shark-like features? hehe. I have no idea, being that its such a small tank.
rainbow sharks have a maximum size of 6" and 1 would be alright in a 10g at least for a while...a red tailed shark also stays small at maximum size 5" (from research i've done..) i'm not entirely sure if tankmates would be possible or if they would just be dinner.....
you can keep platies with shrimp and snails. i would keep snails, because shrimp are sensitive to water conditions. name of the game here is keep stuff that won't die, right?
10 gals aren't all that expensive, i think you should get her brother his own tank so they can keep them right next to eachother and design it how he wants. i'm assuming her brother is also going through the divorce unless it's some other situation.
