The BEST beginner fish

Chesherca

lol! I know you love your goldies, dear! And you take great care of them, too! There is some sort of odd beauty in a full-grown properly-housed pleco. It isn't for me, but they are amazing animals in their own right, and I can see why some people like them - Goldfish, too! I personally LOVE Koi over goldies any day ;) But that's neither here nor there!!!

Pearl, it looks like you're on your way to getting some good advice to your friend! Good luck!

Pearl2011

She knows how big plecos get. Are there actually mini arowanas?
She doesn't want to get shrimp if they might be eaten, so I email her about the plants.
Ches, I loves my Goldfish but wouldn't want them again. There just kinda . . .dumb, I guess. I found pictures of them a couple days ago. The water was sooo gross!!
Trying to give her alist of mandatory stuff. Mental block :p

Pearl2011

So far the list had:
pH tester
Ammonia tester
Nitrite tester
Freeze-dried bloodworms
Betta pellets
Tropical fish flakes
Eheim Mini by Hagen
25w heater
Aquarium Salt
Gravel or playsand
2 2 gallon buckets
Thermometer (suction cup kind)
Net
Toothbrughes
Gravel cleaners
Lid and hood
2g QT (opt)

Anything I am missing?

sidluckman

The african butterflyfish is the closest thing I can imagine to a miniature arowana. But the person who suggested this concept was, I believe, being facetious at the time.

Pearl2011

Facetious?

sidluckman

It's hard to know for sure, since we have only written text, but the statement was something like " I think a miniature arowana would be a great tank-mate for a betta in a 5 gallon tank.

I thought it was a somewhat sarcastic in tone, yes. Whaty can I say, it made me laugh.

Pearl2011

LOL, yep, throw in a couple red tailed cats and your good to go! Or the Betta is at least ready to go to its grave.

Olympia

Jaysee is pretty much always sarcastic.
There are mini arowana, but they are deformed short bodied fish. And still much too big for a 5 gallon anyways.

A mystery snail would be fine with a betta in that tank.
I think you missed nitrate test.

Pearl2011

Yes! That was what I was missing! I kept looking at the test thinking what am I missing! :D

jaysee

The butterfly fish is a relative of the arrowana, but it's doesn't really look anything like one. IMO, golden wonder killis are like mini arrowanas. But, they are way too big for a 5 as well. There are other, smaller species that could be kept in a 5 though, but they are not commonly available.

I do not consider those "mini" arrowanas to be mini any more than a fancy Goldfish is a mini. Yes it's smaller, but only because it's deformed. Also, those "mini" arrowanas cost thousands of dollars, AND there is a waiting list for them, since there aren't many fish that have the deformity. They are not bred for it like other species.