New Fish

[Lauralynnee]

Hello All- My daughter wanted a small 5gallon aquarium for Christmas and I’m trying to figure out what type of fish to get her as I only have experience with the Betta she has. She originally wanted glofish but from what I’ve been reading they are very fickle. What is a hardy/pretty freshwater fish that would make for a good starter experience for us. Thanks!

 

[Aiken Drum]

The best fish would actually be a betta. Its small, not free swimming, and doesn't need company. Small fish tend to be social and need space to swim about, making small tanks difficult to find suitable inhabitants for. If you wanted something different to a betta a bigger tank would have been preferable.

At a push you could go with 3 guppies, 3 or 4 harlequin rasboras, 3 or 4 neon tetras but these would still be better with a few more fish in the school in a bigger tank.

The only fish i could "recommend" for a 5g would be a betta, although you could get other fish to survive (rather than thrive) in there.