Schooling fish options...

[Avel1896]

Personally I like rummy nose tetras as a schooling fish.
Nice contrast of colours. Hardy little guys. Very active and peaceful.
Great community fish.

A nice one for sure but too large too hardy and too active for this small tank

 

[Fishfaced]

A nice one for sure but too large too hardy and too active for this small tank

Fair enough. What do you mean by too hardy?

 

[Avel1896]

Fair enough. What do you mean by too hardy?

Housed with calm and slow swimmer it is too hardy and active.

 

[Rocky998]

Housed with calm and slow swimmer it is too hardy and active.

I think he means, whats too hardy. Cause hardy fish are the best fish, they can take some hits from beginners and be fine.

 

[Avel1896]

Ah OK, so only too active

 

[Byron]

I think he means, whats too hardy. Cause hardy fish are the best fish, they can take some hits from beginners and be fine.

This is a misunderstanding. "Hits from beginners" I will assume is meaning things like cycling issues, tanks that are not yet biologically established (established is different entirely from being cycled), etc. There is no fish that will be "fine" from these issues. Some species have a better chance of living through such things, but the internal impact still occurs and it can affect the fish for its entire life. The fish will be weakened by this initial problem, and may then develop any number of disease issues as a result. The fact that the fish "live" does not mean they were not harmed, and if they were, it is irreversible.

And while I'm here, I agree that Rummynose are not appropriate here because of the tank space (not long enough), and they need a larger group (12-15 or more is better with this species), and they are active swimmers though not to the extent that danios and barbs are.

 

[Rocky998]

This is a misunderstanding. "Hits from beginners" I will assume is meaning things like cycling issues, tanks that are not yet biologically established (established is different entirely from being cycled), etc. There is no fish that will be "fine" from these issues. Some species have a better chance of living through such things, but the internal impact still occurs and it can affect the fish for its entire life. The fish will be weakened by this initial problem, and may then develop any number of disease issues as a result. The fact that the fish "live" does not mean they were not harmed, and if they were, it is irreversible.

And while I'm here, I agree that Rummynose are not appropriate here because of the tank space (not long enough), and they need a larger group (12-15 or more is better with this species), and they are active swimmers though not to the extent that danios and barbs are.

When I say "they can take a few hits" im just meaning that if a beginner gets in to fish keeping he hopefully wont get a discus. But he may get something like tetras or a betta, which can survive other parameters and be able to make a few mistakes here and there without "failing"

 

[Bruce Leyland-Jones]

When I say "they can take a few hits" im just meaning that if a beginner gets in to fish keeping he hopefully wont get a discus. But he may get something like tetras or a betta, which can survive other parameters and be able to make a few mistakes here and there without "failing"

I'm thinking that if a fish actually visibly falls ill and dies, then something is definitely wrong and the potential fishkeeper can learn the lesson about causes and remedies.

If a fish survives, then that lesson may not be learnt, other than the fact that I don't have to learn proper fish care, because my fish will survive anything!
In such cases, when the fish then dies earlier than it should've, the cause may then be identified, (wrongly), as 'old age' or a more obvious disease, such as ich. The fact that the fish died because it wasn't living in ideal conditions for a long time, was stressed and more prone to stresses/diseases, would be missed.

 

[Rocky998]

I'm thinking that if a fish actually visibly falls ill and dies, then something is definitely wrong and the potential fishkeeper can learn the lesson about causes and remedies.

If a fish survives, then that lesson may not be learnt, other than the fact that I don't have to learn proper fish care, because my fish will survive anything!
In such cases, when the fish then dies earlier than it should've, the cause may then be identified, (wrongly), as 'old age' or a more obvious disease, such as ich. The fact that the fish died because it wasn't living in ideal conditions for a long time, was stressed and more prone to stresses/diseases, would be missed.

Most definitely agree. Again I'm just saying that there are some fish that are better with beginners than others. Like, you wouldnt go recommend a discus to someone who is looking at starting their first tank. But you may recommend a betta or some other fish. I know I learned about fish keeping the hard way and it wasnt easy at first to accept it was my fault but I have accepted it now and realize ALL the mistakes I made.

 

[Rocky998]

This is just an idea I have (and I dont need these guys) but I was wondering with the peacock gudgeons and 9 lambchop rasboras could I do african dwarf frogs? I may be reaching but idk... Its just a possibility.

 

[Byron]

This is just an idea I have (and I dont need these guys) but I was wondering with the peacock gudgeons and 9 lambchop rasboras could I do african dwarf frogs? I may be reaching but idk... Its just a possibility.

that's easy to answer...no. The aquatic frogs do not co-exist well with fish. I won't get into the "why," but others like @Essjay can tell you.

 

[Avel1896]

But you may recommend a betta

Err.... no. Siamese Fighting Fish is kept any old how in a slapdash way whereas it has rather accurate needs to thrive, in particular :
- No bowl
- No tank mate
- pH 6-7
- GH KH below 8
- Temp 25-26°C/77-79°F
- High protein pellet food (no meal food)
- Live/frozen food
A Betta can live, in these good life conditions up to 7-8 years old.

 

[Rocky998]

that's easy to answer...no. The aquatic frogs do not co-exist well with fish. I won't get into the "why," but others like @Essjay can tell you.

Ok. Thats all I wanted to know. I kinda figured it would be no lol. But I'm fine with the fish I can get for the tank. Obviously this isnt my "dream tank" but its a great tank to start with.

Err.... no. Siamese Fighting Fish is kept any old how in a slapdash way whereas it has rather accurate needs to thrive, in particular :
- No bowl
- No tank mate
- pH 6-7
- GH KH below 8
- Temp 25-26°C/77-79°F
- High protein pellet food (no meal food)
- Live/frozen food
A Betta can live, in these good life conditions up to 7-8 years old.

Well, obviously yes. What I mean is, is that the betta can live in a small tank (minimum 5-10 gallons). Avel, I will directly tell you this. I think you tend to think that when someone says something, they mean EXACTLY what they say. So when I say that a betta is the easiest to care for in fish keeping I DO NOT mean you don't need a filter or a heater or that you can house them in a bowl.

 

[Essjay]

The aquatic frogs do not co-exist well with fish. I won't get into the "why," but others like @Essjay can tell you

African dwarf frogs are best kept in a species only tank.
They find their food by smell, and by the time they've found it, the fish have usually eaten it all. Frogs starving in fish tanks is quite common.
Frogs are sensitive to meds and if the fish are ever sick they can't be treated with frogs in the tank.
Frogs have to go to the surface regularly to breathe and if the tank is tall it wears them out swimming so high on a regular basis.

I once kept them with a betta. Never again. It was a nightmare trying to feed the frogs where the betta couldn't reach the food

 

[Rocky998]

One time I actually saw a local toy store selling LIVE african dwarf frogs. They were like $10 and came with a bowl... I almost got one. (This was before I knew about them needing larger tanks or really anything about aquariums). So glad I didnt get one.