10Year Olds 1St Fish Tank Stocking

[rustyspurs]

Hi everyone,
i have a spare 15 gallon tank which i am going to set up in my 10yr olds room as an incentive in her most important year of primary school(p6). her grades stay good= fish stay in room.
i have run a few tanks in the 2yrs ive been fishkeeping and am currently running a 90 gallon with terrapins, i am rehoming the terrapins tomorrow and as such can move my baby oscars into the big tank(the fish in the 90g are too quick for the turts) which in turn frees up the 15g .
my daughter knows the rules regarding overfeeding, cleaning and water changes and is looking for 'colourful fish and some real plants'.
so basically she wants to know your ideas for stocking,
thanks

 

[kizno1]

Would she prefer lots of little colourful fish or a few bigger ones?
I would go for
pair of apistogramma agassizii (my profile pic is of my male)
6 ember tetra or galaxy rasbora
6 marble hatchets or a trio (1 male 2 females) of steel blue killis


Or you could go for
1 sparkling gourami
8 ember tetras
6 cherry shrimp

 

[mtv8dmarine]

If she's looking for colorful then for a child I might recommend tetras, platies, and fish along those lines. We can certainly help more on the plant lines down in the plant section because there's more to know like how much lighting the tank will have and stuff like that. If low light and low tech is your desire than anubias nana is a very hearty plant. Practically any of the anubias varieties are hearty. It just depends on how big do you want the plant to be when it's full grown. She will likely need your help and supervision taking care of them (pruning, any dosing requirements, etc.). Plants also have a photo period structure that needs to be met as well. But, as I said, there's more info and assistance from us plant people in the plant section.

 

[james_fish]

10 Cardinal Tetra's.
Pair of Honey or Dwarf Gourami's.
6 Oto's.

James.

 

[rustyspurs]

thanks for the quick reply,
she has just informed me that there are very nice people on that forum
i will be helping with all the technical requirements(of course) and it is standard low tech lighting, so basic hardy plants will be the way to go. ill check out the planted section, thanks

 

[fluttermoth]

Other people have given you some great ideas; I'd agree that dwarf cichlids are great for kids as they're so friendly

But I'd like to give an honourable mention to Bristlenoses; my kids love them; I think it's the 'ugly' factor and if you get a pair and they breed, there's much joy (and education) to be had from them

Oh, and for plants, Java fern...great stuff, almost impossible to kill off (though my Oscar does a darn good job of it )

 

[rustyspurs]

thanks thats a great idea, she had said about a pleco, but i honestly didnt know about these little ones who didnt get that big , this is exactly why i asked on here, just when you think you have a pretty good knowledge about tropical fish you learn something new

 

[mtv8dmarine]

just when you think you have a pretty good knowledge about tropical fish you learn something new

That's part of the fun of it!

 

[kizno1]

thanks thats a great idea, she had said about a pleco, but i honestly didnt know about these little ones who didnt get that big , this is exactly why i asked on here, just when you think you have a pretty good knowledge about tropical fish you learn something new

My little brothers love my albino pair and all the fry. There fairly easy to keep because you can feed them on fruit and veg but they are really messy so do need massive filtration on the tank.

 

[charlatan]

What about neon tetra's and guppies if it's colour she wants?

 

[kizno1]

Or endlers would work. If you got a trio 1male 2feamles and let them breed the tank would quickly be filled and your daughter might like watching them grow up from tiny fry to adults.

 

[rustyspurs]

shes already a seasoned keeper, i mentioned neons 'they are colourful' and i swear she rolled her eyes

 

[mtv8dmarine]

Well you could take her to your LFS and ask her what looks appealing and then come home and show her how to research the fish and how appropriate it may be. Never any harm showing a child the importance of buying fish responsibly.

 

[jacko32]

i would recommend dwarf cichlids aswell i would go for checkerboard cichlids/ Dicrossus filamentosus then for a pleco i would go for either a peckolitia or hypancystrus genus then some type of either tetra or rasbora i find harlequin rasbora to be the best schooling fish !

 

[mtv8dmarine]

What about Celestial Pearl Danio/Galaxy Rasboras?