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Hello all,

I apologize for the newbie question, but I'm having trouble finding
sites that will give me the information I want. I'm a college student
who's always been fascinated by aquriums. In fact, I find myself making
trips to our science facility so I can spend a few minutes making faces
at the fish there! I had a betta last year, but alas, I had to leave
for a few days and the friend who was looking after my apartment
overfed him and he didn't survive.

I'm ready to get another fish, but this time I'd like to have a small
aquarium of my own. I'd like to get some relatively easy-to-care-for
freshwater fish. I'd like to get one or two to start with and expand to
four or five in a few months. I'd like them to be sociable so I can
watch some interactions in the tank.

I would prefer to house the fish in a smaller tank (5 gallons or so) to
begin with, expanding to a 15-20 gallon or so tank when I decide to
move up to 4 or 5 fish. I've looked at the old standby, goldfish, and
am concerned that they take so much water to maintain. I'm only allowed
a 20 gallon tank and from what I can find, I could only comfortably
house three goldfish in such a tank.

So, what species of fish should I be looking into? Is my goal of 4-5
fish in 20 gallons a little too overzealous? Are there any web
resources you can recommend to help me either with a specific species
of recommended fish, or help me decide what species to adopt?

Thanks!


Some ideas to choose from for a 3 to 6g tank (don't pick them all ! ;~).
Betta (1 male or 2 females)
Paradisefish (1)
African Dwarf frog (1 or 2)
White Cloud minnow (2 or 3)
Harlequin rasbora (2 or 3)
Apple snail (1)
Shrimp (varies)

Small tanks are difficult to maintain. The temperature in particular can
bounce around (colder at night with the lights off), so these critters
listed are a bit more tolerant of cooler temperatures.
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