# Best fish for a 9 year old wanting a fish?



## Brennaamorgann (Jan 5, 2014)

Hello everyone! After I get Louie a bigger tank I am giving my smaller 1.5 gallon to my brother, who wants a fish of his own. What would be the best fish for him and for a 1.5 gallon? I was thinking a gold fish or some guppies, but I thought the tank might be to small (even though on the tank's box it said it's perfect for goldfish and bettas.)

Thank you for the replies back.


----------



## LittleBettaFish (Oct 2, 2010)

I think the only fish you can humanely house in a 1.5 gallon tank is a betta. Goldfish are perhaps the worst choice for a tank this size. 

Guppies are pretty active fish and seem to be quite group oriented. I think a 1.5 gallon tank doesn't really offer much in the way of available swimming space.


----------



## Aus (Feb 3, 2012)

Yeah, heck no on the goldfish. 

I kept a small betta in 1.5g quite happily. With a tank that small, you'd need to teach the 9yo about water changes, as they'll have be done twice a week. But that's manageable, I think. 

As long as you have all the things bettas need - a heater, some silk plants, good food, a bottle of Prime (awesome dechlorinator) and the water's kept clean, I think bettas make an excellent first kids' fish, as they are so friendly and personable. And at 9yo, the boy will be able to handle many of the tasks necessary to upkeep, too.

I think learning how to keep another species of creature alive and well is a valuable experience for a child.


----------



## JustinieBeanie (Apr 22, 2013)

+ 1 to both of the above!  Goldfish shouldn't be kept in anything that small, primarily due to the following three things : they will outgrow the tank size, they like to be kept in groups, and they are highly efficient at making a mess.


----------



## Brennaamorgann (Jan 5, 2014)

Then why does the tank box recommend Tetras, Goldfish, and Guppies?

He might like a Betta, he likes Louie a lot. I hope it will teach him some lessons and help him mature more.


----------



## LittleBettaFish (Oct 2, 2010)

It's best not to base your stocking decisions on what is shown on the box. These companies are not in business for the welfare of the fish. They are in business to make money. 

It's like how pet stores routinely sell people goldfish in bowls.


----------



## Brennaamorgann (Jan 5, 2014)

Wasn't basing my choices on that, you mistaken my tone! I think it's a be ridiculous for them to give recommendations for the tank when they are un true.


----------



## rickey (Jul 7, 2013)

Brennaamorgann said:


> Wasn't basing my choices on that, you mistaken my tone! I think it's a be ridiculous for them to give recommendations for the tank when they are un true.


I have lobbied against this deceptive advertising practices for years. Undoubtedly the Goldfish is the most misunderstood, mistreated and abused of all the pet fish in the aquarium trade. Millions are sold each year as feeder fish, they are NOT very good beginner fish, and this whole bowl mentality that is all propagated by the aquarium industry in general. The Japanese have bowled Goldfish for hundreds of years but their pets do not live in bowls, it is a way of displaying the Goldfish for shows and a Japanese fish bowl looks nothing like the modern Goldfish bowl. 

Japanese Goldfish Bowls

May second pet peeve is the sell of products that they won't tell us what the ingredients are, Pour this stuff into your aquarium it's good for XXX but we can't tell you what's in it and Oh Yea if you do many research it may be listed on Chemwatch as a hazardous compound but done worry we trying to help. We will not disclose our "proprietary ingredients." You don't want to tell us what in IT but we use it because?
I'll get off the soap box now 
Thank you for listening

R


----------



## Joshaeus (Dec 8, 2013)

rickey said:


> I have lobbied against this deceptive advertising practices for years. Undoubtedly the Goldfish is the most misunderstood, mistreated and abused of all the pet fish in the aquarium trade.
> 
> R


It might be the most abused, misunderstood, and mistreated of ALL pets, not merely fish (who in general tend to be on the receiving end of some very cruel and/or clueless people).


----------



## Joshaeus (Dec 8, 2013)

By the way, that's an epic goldfish bowl...


----------



## Aus (Feb 3, 2012)

It really is epic isn't it? 

Wonderful post about goldfish, rickey. I am glad people -are- lobbying against the mistreatment of them, it's heartbreaking to see tiny bowls advertised as good for goldfish.. and I knew what you meant, Brenna.. it's outrageous that so much misinformation is offered, as it makes people with good intentions unwittingly cruel to their pets. Look at how many people join up here, post-Christmas, saying "help! got this fish for Xmas, then googled it..." and their 'gift' ends up costing them $$$ they didn't expect or plan for.. lots of stress on all concerned. 

As for the additives.. some are better than others. Some I avoid, others have their specific uses. There's a lot of 'snake oil' out there, though. It would be good if they all actually clearly listed their ingredients, however. 

Oh - another fish for a small tank I thought of was mountain minnows. They're cold water fish, and very small.. not brightly coloured, but very pretty as they zip about. I don't know a lot about them, really, but have seen them successfully live in smaller tanks.


----------



## LittleBettaFish (Oct 2, 2010)

I agree with goldfish being probably the worst treated and most poorly understood animal in the entire pet industry. I saw a picture in a magazine of an interior designer with an absolutely stunning house, except for the large bowl filled with a number of common goldfish on the coffee table. I thought that would really bring the room together when they all start dying of ammonia poisoning. 

Aus did you mean White Cloud Mountain Minnows? They are an active fish, and I think the OP's 1.5 gallon tank would be far too small for them. However, I will never understand why people don't purchase WCMM and fish such as medaka for smaller tanks instead of goldfish. They are much more suitable for that purpose than a fish that has the potential to grow up to a foot in length.


----------



## rickey (Jul 7, 2013)

Fathead minnow (Pimephales promelas) or Bullhead Minnows (Pimephales Vigilax) Maybe? don't know. We use them in research as bio-indicators.

R


----------



## Aus (Feb 3, 2012)

> I thought that would really bring the room together when they all start dying of ammonia poisoning.


Gosh, you crack me up, LBF. :lol:

Yes, White Cloud is what I was thinking - but forgot the OP only has 1.5g to work with. I'd probably stick with a single betta and a couple cherry shrimp for live snacks, at most, in 1.5g. 

I would actually like to research the minnows, as I wouldn't mind a smaller coldwater tank. Sadly, if I can manage more large tanks, they'd all be earmarked for bettas.. a big 40- 60g tank with a couple of big, fancy goldies is a bit of a pipe dream for me atm, but I do love them and envy those who have them. 

Oh oops, hijack the thread much, Aus? :X


----------

