"Eric Schreiber" eric at ericschreiber dot com wrote in message
...
Mary wrote:

I want to go out this weekend and buy some fish. More than one.
Preferably adding something interesting like, I don't know - a snail
or frog of some type?? I have a 3 yr old son who would love something
like this. And I'd like an algae eater - maybe an oto cat?

If you get oto cats, get several. Five or six would not be too much for
a twelve gallon tank, and they tenk to like to be in groups. Plus, they
have a high mortality rate (though I just discovered one in my planted
tank that's been there for 15 months).

Don't get a Siamese algae eater, as it will quickly outgrow a 12 gallon
tank. I have three that were the perfect size when I got them, but are
far too big for my 20 gallon now. Pity they grow so fast, because
they're great at algae control.

What would you all recommend? I know I can't have many & what I do
have need to be small...

Well, for small tanks, I'm very fond of bettas. Of course, you can only
have one male, which may or may not get along with other fish.

African dwarf frogs are neat looking, and considered good companions
for bettas. Make sure it/they has/have webbed, not clawed, feet.

A couple of mystery or apple snails would be good, so long as you
didn't have live plants - some species that are sold under this name
are voracious plant eaters while others ignore healthy plants, and
they're almost impossible to tell apart.

Also, poke around on this site: http://www.petfish.net/. They have some
useful articles and message bases that will give you other ideas.

--
www.ericschreiber.com
dwarf gouramis are nice looking fish and stay small. I have 2 in a 10 gallon
tank.

lonerider