Many people are so wrong when it comes to keeping fishes in a fish bowl. Here’s a list of fishes that are suitable for a fish bowl. But we would never suggest to use a fish bowl. Most of the people think its low maintenance, but that’s not true. Fish bowl, being small gets dirty faster, making the water poisonous for the fishes. So fish bowl needs frequent cleanings as compared to a fish tanks. Fish bowls are really small, which gives less space for fishes to live in. But if you’re a beginner and wants to use a fish bowl, use a bowl with at least a capacity of 18 litres (5 gallons) of water and these are the ‘FIVE’ fishes which are suitable for it:

1. Guppy Fish: You might have heard for them, the one who eats mosquito eggs and keeps the water clean. Guppies are these small brightly colored fishes who comes in many different colors and tail shapes. They’re easy to take care of, therefore good for beginners. They’re very active swimmers, constantly moving and you might also see males chasing females to impress them by wiggling their fins. So you’ll never get tired of looking at them. They should be kept in a group of 4-5 fishes of their own kind. But remember to never overfeed them. With proper conditions and proper feeding, these are easy to take care of.

2. Betta Fish (heater required): Betta fish also known as The Siamese fighting fish, are highly interactive fishes and can truly bond with you. They come in many different colors and fin structures. They’re very territorial. So they can’t be kept with any other betta fish especially male with another male. That’s because males are usually more aggressive than the females. But Betta fishes can also be trained to do some tricks like following your finger and jumping. So it’s really fun to train a fish. They can hear your voice and can also recognise you. As bettas are tropical they do need a heater to keep the water warm.

3. Zebra Danios: These are easy to take care fishes. They are simply recognized with their zebra pattern from gills to tail with blue-purple lines on their silver-golden body. Zebra Danios are energetic yet peaceful fishes. They must be kept in a school of 5 individuals no less than that of their own kind. They can survive without a heater and withstand a range of water temperature and conditions. Kept with fishes with long fin, they might take a nip, so be careful about that.

4. Tetra (ember/ neon): Neon or ember tetras are also perfect fishes for beginners. The difference between neon and ember tetra is the colour difference. Neon tetras have silver and red body while ember tetras have bright red or orange body. Ember tetras sometimes might also show a little bit of orange colour in their eyes too. Other than this, both the fishes are peaceful by nature and must be kept in a group of minimum 6-10 individuals of their own kind. Both the fishes love lots of hiding places and plants in aquarium. So add more aquatic plants to create more hideouts for them and keeping them away from getting stressed and also it also helps in blocking the light giving them a perfect environment.

5. White Cloud Mountain Minnow: White Cloud Minnows are little similar to ember tetras but there are some differences in the appearance of both the fishes like horizontal line, mouth, eyes, reddish-orange colour at the end of Minnows. So Minnows, they aren’t very demanding for water quality but they won’t live long in heated water temperature. Minnows when kept in right temperature, they thrive well. They should be kept in school of at least a dozen of their own kind. The minnows are peaceful fishes. These fishes are durable and easy to take care of, like any other fish in bowl.

So these are the five fishes which you can keep in a fish bowl. We hope you find this helpful. In case of any queries or suggestions, please let us know in our comment section.

Thank you.