What is a good beginner hardy pretty fish that can live in a 10 gallon?

[Fran101]

Its not for me, its for my mom. she has always wanted a fish. and she has decided that a 10 gallon would fit perfectly on her bookshelf, so now we are just looking for the perfect fish for her

It has to be HARDY, nothing thats gonna drop dead at the tiniest little thing

something easy to care for

something pretty

It has to be OK living in a 10 gallon tank

something active preferably. no fighter fish please




What would you put in a 10 gallon?

thanks!

[Zoom]

Danios and mollys and/or platys.

[Fran101]

Originally Posted by Zoom

Danios and mollys and/or platys.

I googled them, thats not the kind of fish my mom would like. they are pretty.. just not her style.

We were thinking maybe just 1 goldfish? she really like Moors, the ones with the big bubble eyes

[Labyrinth]

I've always loved just plain old goldfish. I used to have a 20 gallon tank that I kept filled with just a bunch of the large "feeder" goldfish they sell in petstores. Some of them lived for years, and grew pretty large since they had such a large tank.

[Xandra]

So you're looking for something largish? Or you just don't like the platies and mollies... cuz I was going to suggest some fancy guppies. Very active and pretty but smaller.

Black moors are cool, but I kept mine in a pond (kind of useless because I could never seen them against the black liner).

This is a good site for browsing fish, and they have search filters for tank size and ease of care.

Tropical Fish for Freshwater Aquariums: Black Moor Goldfish
So apparently the moor would grow too large, but I suppose when it did you could sell it or give it to someone with a pond. I've heard people say that goldfish are particularly "messy."


Dwarf Gourami. Never had one, but is looks cool, pretty, larger, cheap, will fit your tank but needs "moderate" care:
Tropical Fish for Freshwater Aquariums: Dwarf Gourami Labyrinth Fish

Do you have a tank heater? Or is the ambient temperature in Florida good enough for tropical fish?

[Fran101]

Originally Posted by Xandra

So you're looking for something largish? Or you just don't like the platies and mollies... cuz I was going to suggest some fancy guppies. Very active and pretty but smaller.

Black moors are cool, but I kept mine in a pond (kind of useless because I could never seen them against the black liner).

This is a good site for browsing fish, and they have search filters for tank size and ease of care.

Tropical Fish for Freshwater Aquariums: Black Moor Goldfish
So apparently the moor would grow too large, but I suppose when it did you could sell it or give it to someone with a pond. I've heard people say that goldfish are particularly "messy."


Dwarf Gourami. Never had one, but is looks cool, pretty, larger, cheap, will fit your tank but needs "moderate" care:
Tropical Fish for Freshwater Aquariums: Dwarf Gourami Labyrinth Fish

Do you have a tank heater? Or is the ambient temperature in Florida good enough for tropical fish?

I dont have a heater but the weather here is so hot we won't need one. we dont have "winter"

thanks for the links! im gonna go search. Ya ive heard goldfish are horibbly messy, but they are so cute! lol

[SisMorphine]

Why no Bettas? They're gorgeous and VERY hardy. And if you get a Betta then you can get some super small snails to help clean the tank

[Fran101]

Originally Posted by SisMorphine

Why no Bettas? They're gorgeous and VERY hardy. And if you get a Betta then you can get some super small snails to help clean the tank

maybe ive never seen a healthy one. all the ones at the store are sitting in those cups, not moving, and really depressing. and the water is blue so you can't really see them, they look like they are inches from death

If I could find some other way to get one (order one maybe) it would totally be a possibility.

would a betta need a 10 gallon?

and where can I get snails? thats so cute! lol

[SisMorphine]

All of my Bettas came from pet stores, and except for the few who met with untimely deaths to cats and roommates, they lived for 2-3 years and really I was a HORRIBLE fish owner in high school and only cleaned their bowl once every 2 or 3 months, and also didn't realize that they needed to be in a filtered tank of at least 2.5 gallons. I'm so happy I've learned more since!!!

Bettas usually do really well in a 5 gallon. In a 10 gallon you can even divide the tank and have 2 of them.

The snails you would want would be Nerite snails since they don't get too big.

Check out AquaBid.com - Sell or buy aquarium related equipment and fish in an auction format! . It is ADDICTIVE. LOL!

[FoxyWench]

in a 10 gal a single "fancy" godlfish (moors, fantails ect) would work nicely as long as youve got good filtration (goldfish are messy)

you could do a realy nice set up with some nice silk/plastic plants (theres some realy relaistic ones) and a nicely colored big ole fancy goldfish