What makes a freshwater fish a good candidate for beginners?
Keeping fish is a relaxing hobby even for the absolute
beginner. With the sheer magnitude of fish choices available online and
at the store, the new fish hobbyist may have a hard time making choices.
How big of a tank should I get? How many fish should I get? Which fish
should I get?
Another way to look at the fish choices is that surely you can pick
a few fish which experience has shown us to be kind to the beginning
fish hobbyist. This article considers what makes a freshwater fish a
good candidate for beginners, and then provides lists of good fish for
beginners and fish that should not be your first choice. We will
conclude this article with online sources for buying freshwater fish.
What makes a fish a good candidate for beginners?
When evaluating which fish to start out with, consider fish attributes that work for the beginner hobbyist.
Compatibility
With compatibility, look at how well the fish will do in a community
setting. Is it a peaceful fish, aggressive towards others, or not
particularly "aggressive" but a little too willing to eat others? For
freshwater tropical fish, schooling fish are a safe bet.
Hardy/Undemanding Constitution
Some freshwater fish adapt better than other fish to variances in their environment.
Feeding Requirements
When just starting out, go with fish who are not finicky about their
food source. You have enough to worry about without having to spend time
every day preparing special food (for example, if the fish requires
live food).
Price
Over all, freshwater fish are more affordable than marine livestock.
However, just looking at the wide range of freshwater fish available,
you'll see that some freshwater fish are more reasonably priced than
others. Using prices from
LiveAquaria.com
(Doctors Smith and Foster's livestock site), we compare the following
freshwater fish for their prices (for evaluation purposes, we limited
the survey to fish reaching a maximum adult size of 2-3" in the tank):
| Type of Fish |
Price |
| Glowlight Tetra |
$1.49 |
| Betta - Male |
$2.49 |
| Albino Aeneus Cory Cat |
$4.99 |
| Hexazon Bar |
$6.49 |
| Besemani Rainbow Fish |
$12.99 |
| Sidthimunki Botia Loach |
$19.99 |
|
Considering that many freshwater fish prefer to be in schools of at
least six fish, the price of adding fish to your tank can really add up.
We kept this list to fish that would reach an adult size of 2-3 inches.
Many larger freshwater fish can be found in the $50 dollar range
depending on availability and demand!
Adult Size and Size Requirements
All fish start out small but will grow, grow and grow. Not everybody
will be happy with fish that stay at 2-3 inches. However, our list of
beginner fish does limit fish to about under a foot at adult size so
that your beginner fish will not outgrow your starter tank.
Breeding
Some people want fish that breed well in tanks because they want to
enjoy that aspect of fish keeping or they think they might save money
with fish that self-perpetuate. Livebearers (guppies, platies, and
swordtails) are notoriously effective tank breeders. Keep in mind that
breeding does include its own challenges such as keeping the fry (baby
fish) from getting eaten and successfully feeding the fry.
Good Freshwater Fish for Beginners
Here is our list of freshwater fish that would be great for the beginner to start with. For pricing purposes, we used the
LiveAquaria.com site.
- Anabantids (Bettas and Gouramis) Bettas are also
known as Siamese Fighting Fish (as in the fish that will attack its own
mirror image). Bettas and Gouramis are beautiful labyrinth fishes
meaning that they get air at the surface of the water through a
labyrinth organ. The downside with male Bettas is that you can only keep
one Betta male in a tank (you can have other fish but no other male
Bettas). Gouramis are usually peaceful additions to the community tank.
Price range for Bettas is $2.49 to $6.49. Price range for Gouramis is
$2.49 to $12.99.
- Cichlids. There are so many different Cichlid
species, that you will have no problem picking one that suits your
aquarium. Cichlids can get large and are territorial during breeding
season. They can be prolific in captivity? Price range for African
Cichlids is $5.99 to $39.99. Price range for New World Cichlids is $3.99
to $59.99.
- Cyprinids (White Cloud Mountain Minnow, Zebra Danios, Rasboras, and Cherry Barbs)
These little guys are hardy. You will find tons of color and pattern
variations. You will also enjoy watching their schooling behavior. If
you had to pick one fish to start with, you could not go wrong with a
White Cloud Mountain Minnow. Price range is $1.29 to $7.99.
- Livebearers (Guppies, Platies, and Swordtails)
These beautiful fish will stay small (under 3 inches for the most part)
but that is not the only thing about these guys that makes them a great
pick. Brilliantly colored and happy in the community tank, these
peaceful fish are extremely easy to keep. Out of all the starter fish,
they are the easiest to breed in captivity. Guppies look like they
should cost way more than their going price; you'll easily get excited
about these fish. Price range is $1.99 to $5.99 to $34.99.
- Tetras are so cheap it is practically criminal!
Tetras are great additions to the community tank and their vivid colors
will attract your attention every time they dart around in their little
schools. Price range is $1.49 to $7.99 with most of them in the under $3
range.
- Loaches are bottom dwellers that differentiate
themselves from most of the fish in this list. They are more secretive;
they tend to hang out alone, with many being nocturnal. Loaches require
currents in the water as they are stream dwellers in the wild. They will
also take care of your snail population if you have a problem with it.
Price range is $2.99 to $13.99.
Freshwater fish that are not great for Beginners
Here is a brief list of fish that you should not pick the first time you stock your freshwater tank:
- Discus. For the most part, too expensive for the beginner. Go for an Angelfish if you like the silhouette.
- Birchirs. These guys are interesting in that they
can survive for short periods out of the water due to their lung like
swim bladder. The problem with birchirs is that they will eat any other
fish that they can get into their mouths. Reaching adult sizes of one to
two feet, they can fit quite a lot in their mouths! They are also
notorious jumpers.
- Dwarf Plecos. These fish are expensive! They are good starter fish if budget is not an issue.
- Bala Shark. This fish is not a shark at all but
receives its name from its triangular dorsal fin. The bala shark is a
peaceful, hardy fish but it will grow too large for the beginner's first
tank (up to 10 inches when reaching adult size).
- Goldfish. Goldfish are coldwater fish; you cannot
keep them with other tropical freshwater fish. They are also extremely
messy (read - tons of filtration and maintenance). Beautiful and with
many not that expensive, they are still a favorite of many hobbyists.
- Mollies. Mollies like brackish water. So while they
do well in freshwater, they do even better in brackish water. This is
okay as long as you want to keep a brackish tank.
- Pencil Fish. Interesting-looking but more sensitive to nitrate levels than other fist. Who wants to keep a "canary" like that?
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