I am getting a fish tank, what are some nice fish to get for a fresh water tank?

Answer 1

What size tank?

First of all, have you cycled your tank? In the wild, and in established tanks, there are nitrifying bacteria that break down toxic ammonia from fish waste and excess food into less toxic nitrates. In a brand new tank, these bacteria don't exist, so any fish in the tank will produce ammonia, which, not being broken down by bacteria, will kill or weaken the fish. So, it is vital to cycle your tank.
There are a few methods. Do you have access to an established tank? These bacteria live in the gravel and in the filter cartridge, so if you can get some from another tank, you can put the bacteria right into your tank (don't let the gravel or filter cartridge dry out). If you do this, in a day or two, your tank will be ready for fish.
Another way is to get Bio-Spira. It is the actual live bacteria in a little pouch, and your tank will instantly be ready for fish. http://fishstoretn.com/bio_spira.html

Other methods, which include putting a source of ammonia in the tank and letting the bacteria build up on its own, or putting a fish in and letting the fish produce ammonia (which borders on animal cruelty, because the fish will suffer from the ammonia in the tank), take 2 to 6 weeks before your tank is ready. If you rush that, any fish you buy may die, so try one of the instant methods I mentioned above (bio-spira or gravel from another tank)

When stocking a tank, you have to look at the levels of your tank. You have the bottom, the middle and the top. Let's start at the bottom, shall we? :)
Bottom is usually where your cleanup crew is. That's algae eaters, plecos, cories, etc.
A school of at least 6 corydoras julii or sterbai is great:
http://www.thekrib.com/Plants/People/h-Cory-julii.jpg - you should have at least a 20 gallon tank to get a school of these.
or you can get a school of oto cats: http://badmanstropicalfish.com/profiles/oto_cat.jpg
Get a school of at least 5 of these (tank minimum: 15 gallons). They eat algae.
I would suggest that you DON'T get a plecostomous. Most of them grow to 18-24" and are poop machines. They will dirty your water very quickly. If you MUST get a pleco, get a bristle-nose, they only get 4-5", and only if your tank is over 30 gallons.
If you get any of these fish, be sure to supplement their diet with zucchini slices, spirulina pellets, and shrimp pellets, as they will not get enough food otherwise.

Next, you want your mid-to-upper range. A school of 8 tetras pr 15 gallons of tank is great for this level. If your tank is 10 gallons, get 6 tetras.
Some nice fish are (choose one of the following):
neon tetras http://img225.exs.cx/img225/3290/neontetra6mc.jpg
cardinal tetra http://www.thetropicaltank.co.uk/Fishindx/Fishpics/cardinals.jpg
lemon tetra http://www.aqua-fish.net/imgs/fish/034.jpg
harlequin rasbora http://tropicalresources.net/phpBB2/templates/BMan1Blue/images/profile_pics/fish_profiles_heteromorpha1.jpg
glowlight tetra http://www.solodvds.com/images/fish/Hemigrammus_erythrozonus_s.jpg
zebra danio http://www.winternet.com/~mchristi/fish/zebradanio.jpg
... the list goes on and on and on.

You'll want a centrepiece fish, I suggest either a pair of kribensis cichlids:
http://www.cichlids.dk/thumb/28887.jpg (15 gallons)

Or a pair of bolivian rams:
http://www.azgardens.com/images/Ram-Bolivian.gif (15 gallons)

Or a pair of apistogramma:
http://www.c-u-w.net/jpg/ad_konigs/apistogramma_agassizii_(ad_konigs).jpg (15 gallons)

Or ONE dwarf gourami:
http://www.biol.s.u-tokyo.ac.jp/users/naibunpi/Image/Gourami-photo-old.jpg (10 gallons)

Be sure to keep up with weekly water changes of about 20-40% of the water.

And above all, before you buy anything, go to your local fish store, take a look around and write down the various fish you like. Then come home, research them, ask questions about them, before buying them.

Good luck and enjoy your tank :)
http://www.fishforums.com

Answer 2

I have a 120 gal. and a 55 gal. If you are a beginner go for plattys and/or mollys. They are easy to keep for beginners, and if you have a lot of plants and caves etc, they breed regularly and have live young. Don't be upset if you lose the majority of babies. Other fish eat them, so you may only get 1-4 that actually make it to adulthood. You may also want to try some of the Tetra famuly. They come in a huge variety of shapes and colors, and are also pretty easy to keep. They do not, however, breed in a community tank. TIP: go to your fish storeand get a box of Dr. Wellfish aquarium salt. If you follow the directions on the box, and the advice of the fish store employees, this make a big difference in the life of your fish. The salt in a freshwater tank keeps down disease, and the mollies breed a lot better, and seem to have a better survival rate in the salt water. Here is anothr tip that works so well it's amazing. When starting a new tank, after yoiu get it all set up, and before adding any fish, put a small chunk of raw hamburger in the tank and let it rot for about a month. This gets your bacteria colonies going in your gravel bed, which makes your tank run so much more effeciently. A good strong bacteria colony is the key to the whole thing. It's hard to wait for a month to add fish, but it is so worth the wait. Then add your fish slowly, don't over populate, so the bacteria colony can stay ahead of the mess. The size of the burger chunk, and the amount of fish you add, depends on the size of your tank. I use a quarter size ball of burger for a 55 gallon tank, and a half dollar size for a 120 gallon. dime size for a ten gallon, etc. In a 55 gallon tank only add 5 or so fish at any time. 2 or 3 in a ten gallon. I hope this advice makes your fishkeeping experience as rewarding as possible.

Answer 3

Fancy Male Blue Guppy

Guppies Live Best in a group with at least 3 males and about twice as many females. For example 3 males and 5 or 6 females can often live together in an aquarium, but one male and one female or a few males will not get along well together in the same aquarium.

Answer 4

Angel fish are nice Siamese fighters,Don't be alarmed by the name as thy only fight other Siamese fighters,So you can only have one in the tank neon's are Petty Guppies mollies are all nice to look at fish you will need a few catfish to keep the tank clean.

Answer 5

My sister has a beta fish. Just make sure you dont buy 2 and put them in the same tank. Beta fishes are very pretty. They also chnage colors. Also guppys and angel fish are very pretty too.

Answer 6

If you like bright and/or colorful fish, I think the nicest looking ones for freshwater are African Cichlids. Most aquarium stores should have several varieties of them.

Here are some sites with pictures and iformation about them:

http://www.vatoelvis.com/
http://www.vatoelvis.com/Photos.php
http://www.malawimayhem.com/
http://www.cichlids.com/

~Kyle

Answer 7

Goldfish...they are smart. They know when I'm coming to feed them..I put my head on one side of the tank they follow..I go to the otherside they follow again. They act as if they know me and are happy to see me coming towards them. When i clean the tank..they sit still so i can pet them. It's really cute. mine are huge though....I need to ge a bigger tank.

Answer 8

Depending on your tank size, personal dedication and resources, you might wanna try any of the following:

1. small, low maintenance, colorful, peaceful shoal fish
a) guppy (livebearer, easy to breed)
b) platy (livebearer, easy to breed)
c) swordtail (livebearer, easy to breed)
d) neon tetra
e) zebra danio
f) harlequin rasbora
g) golden pencil fish
h) white cloud mountain minnow
i) :red eye tetra

2. small, low maintenance, colorful but semi-aggressive fish (with ocassional fin-nipping and fighting):
a) tiger barb
b) molly (livebearer, easy to breed)

3. medium sized, low maintenance, air-breathing (no need for air pump) fish
a) bronze corydoras (they clean algae and left-over food)
b) paradise fish (aggressive)
c) blue gourami (aggressive)
d) pearl gourami (aggressive)
e) betta a.k.a. Siamese Fighting Fish (super aggressive)

4. bottom dwelling fish:
a) kribensis
b) corydoras family of fish
c) clown loach
d) rainbow shark

5. round and triangular shaped, semi-aggressive fish:
a) angelfish
b) silver dollar
c) discus (require pristine water conditions)
d) parrot fish

6. bearers of good luck according to legend:
a) gold fish (they poop a lot)
b) flowerhorn a.k.a. Luo Han
c) arowana

7. elongated fish (can reach to over 1-3 feet):
a) eel
b) bichir a.k.a. Dragonfin
c) hammerhead shark

For added variety, you might also consider peaceful freshwater creatures that are not fish, such as:

1. aquatic frog
2. pet lobster
3. freshwater crab
4. freshwater snail
5. freshwater turtle

Have fun with your tank!

Answer 9

i'd say, 2 goldfish, some male and female guppies, black mollies, and maybe 2 bottom feeders to clean your tank. and don't forget the neon tetras!

Answer 10

I like mollys they follow your finger especially the white one's for some reason