My Son Wanting Fish

[love cichlids]

Ok, so now that I taught him he had to do some research on the fish he wants in his tank, he has decided what he wants. I set up the tank for him today, he knows how but it was way too hot here and he didn't feel like it. He wants 5 neons and a dwarf gourami, I know they need very clean water, I will make sure I see him changing the water properly once a week and more if needed. Would it be pushing it if I put 2 cories in the tank. Would that be too many fish for a 10 gallon.

 

[VampirePlec]

i think that is verry good you are teaching your son about the fish world!

 

[ICEEGRL]

If you get the dwarf ones you could probably get away with a small group. They should be kept in groups of at least 3, but 5 or more is better.

 

[loachman]

I would start with the neons and dwarf gourami.

If you don't have any trouble after about 6 months, consider getting some pygmy cories (Normal sized cories IMO are going to be too big). 6 months should give you enough time to learn about fishkeeping from a practical point of view. It'll be enough time you don't quickly overstock the tank and loose fish, which would likely be hard on your son.

The more fish in the tank, the more diligent you have to be about water changes and keeping on top of water quality. Smallish problems balloon alot faster and you have less room for error. So my advice is always to keep stocking low in a new system.

 

[demonmagus]

try a honey gourami if he likes them, I've heard dwarfs are getting weaker and weaker...

 

[-germ-]

Yep, dwarves are bad news i'm afraid.
If you live in australia you've got round about a 1 in 4 chance of getting a seriously ill fish (iridovirus)...
Or find out where the fish are imported from (if they are indeed imported) don't purchase any from Singapore.

 

[bluefire]

as others have said i think it more about slowly adding fish and just seeing how it goes/how he looks after them before giving him a full tank to look after.

 

[Lynda B]

he knows how but it was way too hot here and he didn't feel like it.

and so it begins.....

My 12 y.o. wanted fish, too.... and we had him watch what we go through for water changes and cleaning and being sure our fish are healthy, he watched me nurse one of my female bettas back to health after a bad fungal infection, and that turned him off..... actually the very idea of sticking his hand into a tank that has fish pee in it turned him off.... the little wuss.....

 

[love cichlids]

My son is 16 but usually he wants a betta, and HE usually comes home with one, from a place that is not good to buy fish. It has been mentioned everywhere here, Starts with a W. He would take care of it and it would die, because it wasn't very healthy in the first place. But I know he knows how to setup a tank. When I went on vacation 2 summers ago, a fishtank got broken, they say it was the cat, but I always questioned that story . Anyway my son knew to put in the filter, the plants, the ornaments, the air pump, the heater, everything in the large tub I used to let water sit out for 24 hrs. My other son, older, he did not know to put everything in the tub with the fish. He would have forgot a few things. So my younger son has learned from me over the yrs. Once he gets into a routine, I will put up a schedule of what he has to do on which day, it will be fine. I will supervise while he cleans and changes the water and let him know if something could be done differently or in a better way.
And I know not to put all the fish in at once, too much for the cycle in a small tank. I will get the gourami, then the neons, then the cories. I think it would be to overwhelming for my son for all to be in the tank. He will be impatient and want all in the tank but I will make him wait to teach him the right way. That is the way I did it after I found out that is the best for the fish and the tank, from this forum, when I wanted to start tropical.
It is so funny now, when I was thinking of getting into tropicals I thought it would be much harder than goldfish that I already had. I sure was wrong, the goldfish were alot more work.

 

[Biulu]

I would not add any neons until the tank is mature. Maybe you could try cardinals, as they are more hardy?

 

[Eigdoog]

I think two-three swordtails would fit in very nice!

 

[love cichlids]

I know neons need a mature tank, don't worry I will becareful when I add them. And my son already looked into swordtails and he made up his mind for neons and a gourami. I seen on other posts dwarf gouramis are not very strong at all so we will get another type of gourami. What type do you think is more hardy and don't have a history of diseases or death like the dwarf ones. I think I will add the cories before the neons, unless they need a mature tank also. Then the gourami will be the only fish in there for awhile if that is the case. Thinking after awhile getting proper lighting for live plants for his tank. But want him to get used to taking care of a tank for a while before I do that. It will all take time, but in the end he will have an awsome tank.

 

[-germ-]

Other small easily available gourami;
colisa labiosa; thick lipped gourami often labelled as peach gourami
or
colisa chuna; honey gourami
or
colisa trichogaster; banded gourami

 

[love cichlids]

Thanks to everyone for the responses and advise, now I just have to wait for tank to cycle and then we can start. Now I know what type of gourami to get, had one a long time ago, but me, stupid me, did not do any research or ask any questions on the forum and he/she didn't last very long. I am still learning and I have had fish for 6 yrs now.