Picking the right pet fish

Question

I need some help on what kind of fish i should get. The price of the fish doesn't really bother me but I want the best possible fish for my conditions and such. I have a ten gallon tank ready to go, i have gravel and a filter too. Im gonna be at college and I guess it would be pretty easy to take care of them. But I want my fish to be pretty easy to care for. I also want a pretty cool looking fish like maybe a bright colored one. I dont know what kind of water quality I can get from the school so that might be a problem. any suggestions of cool fish are appreciated. and any tips to take care of them are appreciated too. thanks

Answer 1

If your going to college, the easiest and prettiest, eand friendly fish to get would be a betta fish.

With a betta you dont have to wast all the space in your room, they only need a simple bowl, (freshwater).

The are very beautiful and cheap, and are very smart fish and dont run away from you, they like your attention.

The only problem would be to always cover the bowl, but leave holes in the cover. Also, make sure what kinds of fish can go with bettas, or the betta might accidentaly kill them.

Answer 2

with your setup add a heater...and then the possibilities are endless...well there are some fish ya want to stay away from.

Bettas are great in 10 Gallons.  You can put in a school of 6 neon Tetras and maybe 3 Cory Cats.  You could even do Black Light Tetra instead of Neons....Regardless it would be a colorful and full tank.

Ya may want to think about 1 Dwarf Gourami (Neon Blue or Flame) and 6 Neon Tetra and add in a Mystery Snail (Golden or Black).  Stick to one snail though.  Gourami wise...most Gourami will out grow your tank...but the Dwarf Gourami get to about 2 inches to 2 and 1/2 inches.  So no worries here.  As mentioned, Bettas are part of the Gourami family and only one Gourami or one Betta per tank...especially in a 10 Gallon.  You could do a female Betta tank...there will be a pecking order, but with enough plant cover you can have about 5 Female Bettas in a 10 Gallon Tank.  With only 2, one will chase the other to submission...with 3...the 2 more Dominate ones can pick on the 3rd...5 is the best number and can be done in a 10 Gallon with lots of plant cover and hiding spots.  Either way, if you go this route...make sure you look for the different colors...I have an albino female betta.  There are also many color varieties out there...though not as colorful as the males, you can find some striking females out there.

Also the other exception...you can get a Male Dwarf Gourami and put in a female Betta (shorter fins than the males).

Either way you have a lot of choice.

My over all suggestion...

Recap

6 Neon Tetra or 6 Black Light Tetra (a bit different)

1 Dwarf Gourami

3 Cory Cats

1 Mystery Snail

Best of Luck!

Answer 3

Gouramis (Gore-ah-me) are really cool looking. I personally like these. Here's a picture: http://www.biol.s.u-tokyo.ac.jp/users/na...

Answer 4

Well this is what I have in my 10 gallon aquarium.

1 Betta

1 Snail

1 African Dwarf Frog

And I want to add a school of 5-6 tetras (not sure what kind yet)

This mixture is really good for a 10 gallon tank

What I had in my 10 gallon (before I moved them to a 30) was

1 Female Betta

2 Lyretail Mollies

2 Platys

1 Black Skirt Tetra which was a reject from my other tank.

The second is pushing it a little but you could put a betta with either 2 platys or 2 mollies (Balloon Mollies are cool) and a school of small tetras or African Dwarf Frog.

You could also substitue the small tetras for guppies and the betta for a Dwarf Gourami.

A cooler fish would be a school of Glass Catfish or Glass Fish.

Cories are always a good fish to add.

Answer 5

Probably the most colorful fish that would accept the size of your tank would be a betta or a gourami.

Bettas are one of the easiest fish you can take care of.  They don't ask for much. Just feed them and clean the tank maybe once a month, but it is really up to you.  Male bettas are the colorful ones and they can only be kept singly.  They can live okay with some other fish, but not another of it's own kind.

Gouramis.  In you 10 gallon the only kind of gourami you can get would be a dwarf one.  they only get to be 2".  They are in the betta family, so don't put another male in there with him.  They need to establish territory and in a 10 gallon there isn't many places to choose.  After you get one of these you could get a school of something else, like neons, cardinal teras, w/e.

Good luck!

Answer 6

Fancy Guppys are very easy to take care of and they come in a rainbow of colors.  They're small, happy, active fish that are wonderful to watch, so a 10 gallon tank would be perfect for them.  Since you're in school and busy, you could always buy the "vacation" feeders that are intended to feed your fish for days until you get in the habit of feeding them regularly, and they're not expensive.   Good luck!

Answer 7

I have 3 mickey mouse tailed platties and they're really easy. If you're new to having a tank you should change the water at least once a month that's what a Petsmart fish expert told me. And that's what i've been doing. And it helps my tank alot. I also have a ten gallon. I only feed my fish every other day, because if they're fed too much they can die.Also change your filter every 2-3 weeks. If you get any bottom feeders like catfish or dojos, i would feed them shrimp pellets. But it's up to you    

Answer 8

Get a Betta!

They are very friendly, beautiful, curious and feisty little guys that are very hardy and easy to care for. They can also be very personable. Mine enjoys watching tv and will sometimes tickle/nibble my finger.

For a very happy and healthy Betta 10 gallons is wonderful. You would also need to have a heated (75-80F as they are tropical fish) and filtered tank.

They will also want some decorations such as silk plants (plastic can tear their fins) and gravel/marlbes at the bottom.

These would be ideal conditions, and a Betta COULD survive in a small 1/2 gallon cold dirty bowl. Eating only fish flakes.

But than again.. you could survive in a coat closet eating cockroaches.

Male bettas can have tank mates (though they perfer their own territory they wont mind too much if you get them a friend)

Bottom dwellers like Kuhli Loaches, Cories, Otos, and Dwarf Chain Loaches are all good choices as well as midlevel swimmers like Tetras, Rasboras, Cherry/Gold/Golden/Rosy/Checker Barbs, or livebearers) all make great choices for tankmates.

With 10 gallons you could get 3 female bettas. (or one female betta with friends listed above) Three is a good number because bettas need more than two or they will pick on each other and more than that is a bit crowded. Just make sure you have a lot of plants to hide in in case somebody gets grumpy.

Good luck and I hope you find the right fish!