Which Tropical Fish Should I Get For My Fishtank?

Question

I don't have any fish at the moment so which fish are best and easiest to keep?

Answer 1

Tropical community fish are some of the easiest to keep. They also tend to be smaller so you can have more in your tank. With tropical fish, keep it to one gallon per inch of fish. So, if you have a 10 gallon tank, you can have 5 2-inch fish or 2 5-inch fish. Don't get all your fish right off the bat, either, gradually build your tank up so you don't overload your the ecosystem of your tank with ammonia. And, lastly, before you get your fish, test your water. You can take a sample to any PetSmart for free testing. Completely worth it.

Answer 2

Hi there
Go for some "community fish" to start off with.. The likes of guppies, swordtails, platies, tetras and small corys should be a good start. They are fairly easy to keep and some of the above quite readily breed in the tank as well. I would recommend a good book mentioned below and magazines to get a good idea on what you should start with first. As you can see the fish list above is divided with fish that swim at all levels of the aquarium utilising all the space available. Its important that you stock your tank gradually and make sure you do not overcrowd the fish you put in there. You will find that once this tank is up and running you will probably move onto harder and more unusual species, which indicates you probably caught the "fishkeeping bug"!

Hope it helps Good Luck!!!

Answer 3

We started with tetras and a pleco as they are both really hardy and easy to keep, the plus side on the tetras is that there are so many different ones you can have a really colourful happy community tank and the plec will help keep you tank algae free. Remember to let the water stand for a few days in the tank with nothing in it, and to only add a few fish at a time
Good luck

Answer 4

I really like any small fish.
e.g. Cardinal Tetra, Zebra Danio, White Cloud Mountain Minnow, Hatchet Fish. That sort of thing. Guppies are alright until they start breeding.

Saying that, I always fantasise about having a tank with some nice Red and Blue Snake-skin Discus fish or some Oscars. I think they sometimes look a bit cramped and difficult to keep.

Answer 5

Guppies and platties are the cheapest and easiest to keep, but they can breed quite fast!

Gourami are nice elegant fish
And all the tetra species make cool little shoals that often reflect the light v nicely.
If your adventourous get a male and female Thailand Fighting Fish , (but they can be agressive as the name implies!)These require more experience though , so best stick to the more laid back species at first

Answer 6

Is this a freshwater tank or Marine tank? What size is your tank? Are you going to go with live or plastic plants?

Is the tank cycled yet? If not - you need to first cycle your tank (so you don't end up killing your fish in the Nitrogen cycle).

Here is an article on fishless cycling that I highly recommend!
http://www.tropicalfishcentre.co.uk/Fishlesscycle.htm

Also - you will need to put some sort of water conditioner in your tank when you fill it up if you are using tap water. Use API Tap Water Conditioner. Here's a link for that...
http://www.petco.com/shop/product.aspx?sku=30856&cm_ven=tag&cm_cat=80&cm_pla=30856cm_ite=30856

Lastly - here is a very good link of all kinds of species of fish. Once you have your cycle complete - add the appropriate amount of fish to whatever the size of your tank is. Here's the link for species info...
http://www.aquariacentral.com/species/

Best of luck to you in your new hobby!

Answer 7

i might want to bypass with Tropical, there are lots of more desirable thoughts and the care aspect isnt any more desirable then a chilly water tank might want to be. If something it would want to be more desirable uncomplicated. In a chilly water tank your restricted to goldfish, and some kinds of cray fish. thats no relaxing. also Goldfish have a tendency to provide off tonsss of ammonia's. which will make your water really cloudy in case you dont have a sturdy clear out on it. So keep on with tropical. that could be my determination.

Answer 8

Sorry bud but this is a how long is a piece of string question as theres so many things to take into consideration, your best bet is to go into a pet shop tell them what sort of tank you have or get some books. practical fishkeeping is a good one or my all time favourite is a pair of kribeneses dont have two males in the same tank thou, if you get a 4inch clay flower pot soak it in a bucket water overnight then cut it in half with a hacksaw they will be breeding sometimes within weeks.

Answer 9

gold fish are easiest but a proper set up tropical tank is better. add guppy's and you,ve got colourful fish that breed like rabbits.

Answer 10

set up a sea water tank and get a Clown Fish and seahorse .. alternatively get a Titan Triggen Fish