First tank ideas for a little girl

ReignsAngel said:
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.
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As far as I know, there are no "shark-like" fish that would really be compatible in a 10G... For the Platies, I'd go with 3 (1m/2f) if babies wouldn't present a dilemma or all 1 sex otherwise. Shrimp or snails should be fine with them. Is her son interested in any other type of fish? I know that as a kid I would have have thought shrimp were "way cool" (still do).
 
I think if there's only a single ten gal planned, I'd get same sex livebearers. What fun is it if you can't raise any of the babies and just get to see them get eaten?.
 
ThePBM said:
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.
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a betta would be nice .... maybe guppys or plattys (oh wait sorry too many babies)

A betta would be really nice, cause then she could name it and it could be her little fish, and they are not easy to kill :-D

:dance: -Fawn
 
Maybe since you have some suggestions, you should ask her which of choosen fish she wants now?.
 
bluekrissyspike said:
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.....
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! no, they wouldnt be fine in a 10 gallon tank, even if it is for a while. There are no shark looking fish suitable for a 10g.

If i were to give a little girl a 10g tank, I would OVERfilter it, and stock it with some active fish, like platies or guppies.

2 (same sex) platies and 2 (same sex) guppies would be more than enough to keep a little kids attention.

I'd also like to add that the feeding should be done ONLY by the responsible adult.
 
Definitely NO SHARKS for a 10G!!! They get way too big (think about how big a 6" fish really is when compared to a 10G tank which is only about 18" in length and 12" in width or something like that). Go with platys, maybe balloon belly mollys?
Perhaps some ghost catfish? I think most little boys like seeing things like skeletons in fish...(how old are we talking again? lol)
Maybe a male swordtail? I dunno...
 
spirals said:
Definitely NO SHARKS for a 10G!!! They get way too big (think about how big a 6" fish really is when compared to a 10G tank which is only about 18" in length and 12" in width or something like that). Go with platys, maybe balloon belly mollys?
Perhaps some ghost catfish? I think most little boys like seeing things like skeletons in fish...(how old are we talking again? lol)
Maybe a male swordtail? I dunno...
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Even worse- they're only 10" wide. Ghost catfish are not very hardy. I'd stick with the various glass tetras for skeletal viewing.
 
i think u should get some livebearers and cool lookin snails get one of those neat dwarf frogs there kool to watch and the little boy should like him
 
cichlidsrextrem said:
i think u should get some livebearers and cool lookin snails get one of those neat dwarf frogs there kool to watch and the little boy should like him
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I've never kept them, but from everything I've read Dwarf Frogs are HIGH maintenance. Probably not a good choice for a first tank. I think a mix of livebearers (as discussed) with snails or shrimp might be the best choice. Whatever the choice, I applaud the reasons for the tank and think it's great to teach them the right way early.
 
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