so this kid in my gaming clan is bugging me about fish and what not because he saw all the pics of mine in my photobucket album and is asking me all these questions about what kind of fish he can get and what not... hes 14... and im thinking not the most responsible person out there. any suggestions on an idiot proof fish type that can thrive with virtually zero maintenance in a 10 gallon aquarium ran by a complete amature? im thinking of recommending gouramies for him. they are pretty hard to kill off lol. im trying to share all ive learned thru trial and error as well as what ive picked up from the community here on this forum with him and at this point he seems to be a bit overwhelmed. your thoughts or suggestions?

i dont want to see him with goldfish. they going to outgrow that tank in no time.

bettas maybe? im thinking gouramies for sure. i dont know yet.

In my limited experience, Bettas. The live in almost any container without any bubbler things or heaters. You also can forget to feed them and they will not die instantly. In fact you don't even need a filter. They are the essential beginning fish.

yes, gourami would be perfect. further, you could suggest to put
some rooting plants in it so that ammonia and nitrite will be taken by
the plants... lemon grass would be fine and it grows in water

To clarify. "Because these fish are descendants of the wild betta fish which live in oxygen-poor environments, Siamese fighting fish are capable of living in smaller containers than most aquarium fish, without the filters and aerators that other aquarium fish require." (Wikipedia) Basically Idiot Proof. We kept one for 4 years with minimal care, (blame the sister) and he did fine.

betta's are good and you can find some real cool tanks for them under a gallon hell my father as a gag bought my mother a betta and put it in a larger wine glass and it lived for a few years with lil to no issues and just changed out the water like once a week.

the only danger for that is that the kids may bought two or more
of the same kind and will put them together. they will enjoy
watching them fight to death ( i did when i was a boy)... not
good start for responsible happy fish keeping....

How true. I think the kid should be told 1 Betta. If he chooses to not listen, his fault. Though watching Bettas fight is awesome.

yea im tryint to avid bettas, you have to keep them singly if male (im not sure abuot the females). like i said, hes got 10 gallon tank to work with. thats alot of water for one lil beta. i thinking gouramies for sure.

milk101 wrote:

you're no difference with me

Win wrote:


If you go with Batas multiple females can be kept in the same tank. They don't fight!!

Tell him to get a 5 gallon tank and put one of those bio wheel 10 gallon HOB filters on it and run it through a UG filter. He could fit one male beta and some rasboras or a pair of goromies. I used to have a thirty with a male beta, 15 rasboras, some neons and a pair of goromies. Plants always help with the idiot factor too...

Or tetras, I've had some for years and they JUST WON'T DIE AND FREE UP MY TANK !!!!!!!