i got a 20 gallon with a bunch of community fish and a couple tiger barbs when i was 9 but i had like 3 unfilltered tanks when i was 7 or 8. i still have the 20gallon running with the same fish that i boughtit with +/- 3 or 4. i love that tank, though. when most of the fish die in it. ill be putting in like 3 or 4 bigger fish like 4 inches, all the fish in it now are like 1 1/2 - 3 inches =]
mine was a 10 gallon with a Red tailed shark, rainbow shark, pleco, dwarf puffer and 4 goldfish from walmart fish tanks that had dead fish floating in them
I wondered why all my fish went in fish heaven lol!
My first tank was a 10 gallon. It came with one of those box filters that sit in the tank that are driven by an air pump. Within a year, I upgraded to an under gravel filter.