What is the best fish to get for a beginner?

Question

I just bought 6 guppy's, they all died day by day. What kind of fish can I get that doesn't get a lot of disease and doesnt require too much maintenance?

Answer 1

Stick with goldfish at first. You'll have to have a good filtration system, though. Or be willing to clean the tank every so often.

Answer 2

Fish are easy to keep as long as you don't over feed. Over feeding is the main cause of fish dying in the take as waist builds up and polutes the take. You should first set up your take with feeder fish( they are very inexpencive). Feeder fish are Coy fish that most people feed to Oscars, Leaf fish, etc. The feeder fish
( get the brown ones two should do it) the brown feeder fish will turn white, black and orange. They are very beautiful as they grow.
You will need some baby food but remember not to over feed. You can feed baby food once a day till they are large enough to eat regular fish food. They will establish the take for you and then you should be able to get any kind of fish you wish or just keep the Coy. Fish will only grow as big as the area they live in. So the bigger the tank the biger your fish will grow.
The water quality is most important for keeping fish. You should have a gravel base filter, with a carbon filter that mounts on the back of the tank. Also you should follow all directions that come with your tank for setting it up. If you bought a used tank you can find hundreds of books on fish at the library Internet or stop by any pet store that sells fish.
With Coy you don't need a heater as long as the room you have them in dosen't drop below 68 degrees. It is a good idea to get a heater that you can adjust the temp on. Also your tank should have a light on the top. Remember that fish can't close their eyes so for them to sleep they will need a place that the light can't get to or turn the light out after a few hours of darkness. Every living things needs rest or sleep.You should have an airiator that put oxagen into the water as the bubbles brake the surface of the water it makes a small wave. That wave mixes with the air in the top of the tank and oxagenates the water.
The feeder fish (coy) are a carp and they can live in very poor quality water. But remember if you had to live in that tank how clean do you want the water to be.
Don't clean the very bottom of the tank (below the gravel)with a water vacuum. It will disterb the natural filtering system that will astablish in the tank(call a bio filter). Use the vacuum only to remove left over food and dropping from the surface of the gravel. You can also get a lot of information from your local pet store about fish and maintenance for the tank...Good luck with you fish...You will enjoy them I'm sure...P.S. Sorry about any missed spelled words as the spell check isn't working...

Answer 3

It sounds like the guppys died of ammonia poisoning. The wastes that fish excrete in the water is ammonia. When too much of it builds up, it is toxic to fish. To remedy this, change the water (25-30%) on a regular basis. As far as choice of fish go, goldfish are very messy, and because they are so cheap, are not cared for as well, hence are sometimes diseased. Bettas are nice, but they don't swim around much, and in my opinion are kind of boring. If you are looking for a species of fish that are hardy, I would suggest cichlids. Cichlids are very personable fish, and fun to keep. On the other hand, you have to be careful picking them because of aggression and potential size (Some can reach lengths of 20 inches or more). All in all, I think the problem is the ammonia. Do a search on the internet for 'cycling your aquarium', and you will find all the info you need to keep a healthy community tank. Hope this helps.

Answer 4

What is your tank setup?

All fish can get diseases. They are dependent on your care since aquariums are small. Think about it; only something as big as the world oceans can allow a bigger margin for error.

Now to your question. Assuming you have the basic setup, I'd recommend freshwater angels. 5 gallons of water per angel. They're hardy somewhat forgiving. They like live plants to swim through, since they are laterally compressed (flat as a pancake) and a taller tank to 'hover' around. They can eat tropical fish flakes, but blood worms make an irresistable treat. Temperature should be around 78*F. They won't root up plants and don't produce as much ammonia waste as goldfish do (so ix-nay on the goldfish).

All fish benefit from a partial water change. You will notice their behaviour becomes much livelier when you do. Ammonia buildup = stressed out fish = soon to be dead fish. Clean water, good food, and warm water stimulates angels to spawn.

There is your usual silver angelfish, then a recessive gold variety. There are black and white zebras and lace patterns.

My silver angelfish is pushing 8 years now. I never expected that. I'm a bit of a lazy person myself, changing the water in the 27gal. tank when I feel like it (I do top off the water level though).

Just a note though: angels are cichlids, and it is cichlid family behaviour to have aggressive tendencies. Angels are fine with other fish AS LONG AS the other fish cannot fit into their mouth cavity (i.e. neon tetras). They get incredibly territorial when they want to spawn. You can tell by all the pushing, shoving, and pecking they'll do to any creature that gets too close.

I find guppies difficult due to their more basic pH and soft water preference.

Good luck!

Answer 5

Goldfish are pretty easy beginner fish, but be prepared to have a good filteration system. They can be quite messy. Also, a god tank size. Goldfish can get very large and will need a large tank eventually.

A small community tank might be fun. Things like neons and scissor tails are my favorites.

Betta's are fun and easy fish, but you can only have one male in a tank.

What kind of fish do you like? Are you looking to have a couple larger fish like Goldfish or Oscars or do you want a tank with many different kinds of fish?

Edit to add: Unlike what others may have said, Betta's shouldn't really be kept in bowls. They require a temperate of around 80 degrees which is extremely hard to keep in a bowl since you can't really put a heater in it. They also need filteration to keep from an ammonia build up. Many Bettas will live for a year or two in a bowl, but their life span in much closer to the 5 year range if they are taken care of properly.

Answer 6

Get a betta they do really well in just bowls don't need filters and are soo.. much cleaner than gold fish. Gold fish poop alot and are really just nasty are really used as feeder fish as sad as it is they don't live long. betta's can be fed once every day or two and be fine or put in larger bowls with a water plant and they will feed off of it and hav to fed less often

Answer 7

A beta fish. They last a long time, and don't die immediatly like gold fish or the guppys that you bought. Just don't get two in a bowl. They'll kill eachother!

Answer 8

Neon tetra's and tiger barbs are hardy fish, just make sure your tank has been set up for about a week before you put any fish in it and you get a water testing kit that will test your ph levels.

Answer 9

Tiger barbs..They are hardy and does not require a lot of maintainence if the water is kept clean.Do not buy them as a pair as it will start 'fin-nipping' and do not buy a huge number if the tank is not cycled.

Answer 10

A pleco (cant remember its full name)
they are bullet proof. my friend once went on holiday and the fuse blew, when he came back a week later all his fish were dead, the water was filthy and cold and the pleco was still fine. but i reckon theres a problem with your ammonia, nitrites and nitrates, cos guppy's are quite tough. it sort out the problem with your water quality first