What fish should i start off with?

Question

I have bought a freshwater tank and was wondering what the first fish i should put into it. What sort of cat fish are good also?

Answer 1

Cories nice and easy

Answer 2

wow, you have a *lot* of options here!

first and most important: how big is the tank? the old rule "one inch of fish per gallon of water" is a pretty good one, but very important to plan that one inch rule on the ADULT size of the fish, not just whatever size it is when you get it. basically, if you have a small tank, don't get fish that grow large. the old tale that fish only grow to the size of their tank is absolutely NOT true.

second: how long has the tank been set up? it's a very bad idea to just toss in the total maximum number of fish into a newly set up aquarium. start off with just 2 or 3 fish for 2 weeks, to start the nitrogen cycle. if the water stays clear, slowly add a couple of fish every couple of weeks until you have what you want.

now, the opinion part: excellent starter fish for freshwater aquariums would be all of the livebearers. they are inexpensive but are lively & colorful, and if you have plants for the babies to hide out in, you will have a tank full of tiny baby fish soon. swordtails, mollies, platys, and guppies are all livebearers.

Answer 3

Everyone has already said how good cories and plecs are, and they're right. You'd be daft not to put in a few cories. But if you want something a bit more unusual, rather than a plec, why not raise a hoplo? They won't clean the algae from your tank, but they're enthusiastic and lively bottom-feeders, who tend to burrow and rake the gravel.

I wouldn't suggest livebreeders. If you're just starting a tropical tank, if you put in livebreeders from the start, then you're probably going to end up stuck with them. While they look attractive in the shop, after a few generations they will often start looking very drab indeed. Instead, I'd suggest rainbowfish. There are a number of attractive species (Lake Kutubu, neon, Australian), and they are very good, placid tankmates for cats. They're also very greedy eaters!

Answer 4

Start off with something hardy like tetras or a pleco (sucker fish) until you get used to caring for them.
Check all the fish you buy are community fish and will not eat the others.
Also remember not to add to many fish at once as the tank needs to develop its own little eco system and good bacteria

Answer 5

Mollies, Tetras, Guppies, and Platys are all hardy fish and they all get along well with each other. Make sure you have a gallon of water for every inch of fish you purchase. Oh yeah, and I've found that whichever type you buy, you should purchase them in pairs. Something about having another one of you own species seems to help the fish adjust better to the new tank.

Answer 6

Once the tank is up and running, there are lots of fish to choose from. We have had great luck with silver dollar fish. If you get a few of these they look great in a tank. Neon tetras in a large school look great as well. Of course this all depends on the size of the tank!! Good luck!

Answer 7

If you are thinking to have more than 1 fish, I think barbs will be a nice choice, especially Rosy/One Spot Barbs. These active little fish have the golden red scales that shine like goldfish, beautiful and hardy, a good choice to consider for beginners. Champagne Tiger Barbs are good too, as they are cute, adorable, more attractive and with no "Fin-snipping" habit compair to other Tiger Barbs. Zebra Danios are also great, a hardy and interesting fish to have but must take notice on them cos they can jump out from the tank if cover is not available. Plecos make the best choice among Bottom dwellers and Catfish, can be mixed with majority of fish, even Arowanas, but may grow quite big. (Other Catfish could be aggressive to others). If you are thinking to have only one fish, you can consider Siamese Fighting Bettas, as they are attractive, beautiful and hardy but may have difficulty mixing around with the others. (Including community fishes, territory fishes, and its own kinds including Females too), or Arowanas as they are beautiful, hardy and "high-class" but with not other fishes added as they can be eaten, except Pleco.

Answer 8

i suggest few guppies, lots of tetra (they are too beautiful to keep in gang, if you have enough budget, get carnival tetras), 2 mollies (molly is good in cleaning the glass and oil which floating on the water, i strongly suggest), few barb, few pink danios (happy and active fishes to look at), some cat fish (sorry not sure abt those name, mostly i will look for beautiful but body remain small type) or you can have shrimps ~~!! such as cherry shrimps, banana shrimps, etc. they are good bottom food eater and cleaner, yet they look pretty (for me :-P )..

but since you just have new tank, please be sure let the tank cycle at least 10 days then only start putting fishes inside .. or they all will die very soon ...

Answer 9

corys are good so are plec's as they ae good at cleaning the algae from the tank, i started of with small fish like gourami's and then i went into sharks but now i have gone back to small fish i currently have guppies which are great especially if you want to breed them or decide to as its fun watching the babies grow up and develope there colours, i wll also be gettng some sword tails to add to my collection. also it decides what size tank you have for the kind of fish you get.

Answer 10

great!!!!!!!!1
u have purchased a new tank
i am having a fish tank since 6 yrs presently(flower horn)
i suggest u to start with live bearers(mollies and guppies(colorful))
and barbs
this will give u some experience
then u can add gold fish(newly) not with the same set(mollies, guppies)

take care of tanksize and no of fishes proportion

shop owners will help u

then slowly go for cichlids like oscars, fire mouth, texas, flowerhorns.,..............

i will guide u....

all the best

Answer 11

Goldfish would be best first then see what other fish is easy to take care of....also go to the local pet store Pet Smart or Petco or a neighborhood pet store and you can ask them questions on this too...good luck