Guppy Questions

Question
I have a couple of goldfish, 3 years old, very hearty.  My young daughter has a 1 gallon bowl and wants 1 or 2 fish, very small. I don't want to add heater or other accessories that sensitive fish need to flourish. We also don't want babies. I thought of guppies. Questions: would this tiny fish be a good choice? Can we have 2 females so breeding isn't an issue? Seems to be that "guppy breeding" is all I get when googling re: information. If guppies are too sensitive, etc., is there another tiny fish that would be a good choice? I want her to start very simply, with little "technical" responsibility, just a fish to take care of and nurture, until she is older and can move up.  Thank you for your help!

Answer
Hey Lisa,

I know what you mean about only finding breeding information, it's hard to find regular care sheets.

Guppies do need a filter and heater unfortunatly, and probably wouldn't do well in a bowl. They would probably be tricky as a first fish for your daughter.

Yuo could get a Betta, which would work nicely. You have most likely seen bettas before, but just in case they are beautiful, brightly colored fish (many color variations), and have very long fins.

Some info on bettas that most people don't know:  
You will most likely see Bettas in very small bowls in Pet stores, by themselves. This is for a few reasons. They are alone because they are actually all males, and males will fight each other until death. So make sure you don't buy two for the (same) bowl. If you can find a female (most likely will be in a tank instead, so they can be with other females. they are hard to find, so good luck!) they can go in the bowl with the male as long as the male isn't really agressive.
Also, non agressive male bettas can actually go into a regular tank with other fish as long as none of them are male bettas. So, when your daughter is older, if she gets a tank, he can go in there with your other fish. =]

The reason bettas can be in such small areas is because the originate from Asia, and during the drought seasons they actually live in mud puddles. Which is good becuase if your daughter forgets to clean the bowl, you don't need to worry much. Sure, they prefer heaters and filters, but they can survive in bowls fine. Living in puddles also affects why they attack other males. When they live in the puddles, they chase other males out so he has more food and can breed with the females in his puddle.

THINGS TO GET:
*fish food. they have food that is made especially for bettas which works fine. I would try to get some betta pellets and some tropical fish flakes, so your fish has a variety. Make sure you teach your daughter howto feed her betta so she doesn't over feed him. Feed him until he is uninterested in the food or spits it out.
*water conditioner, to get rid of the chlorine (you could use bottled water, but you need to change the water once a week so it could get expensive...its cheaper to just buy the conditioner) add really warm water, which will help keep him less stressed. Bettas like warm water, and its good to  try to give it to them at least once a week if a heater cant be used.
* any decoration you might want, like rocks or gravel.



I hope this all helps you out! good luck setting everything up!
best wishes, chelsey
(ps, sheesh i wrote a book!)