What are some types of tropical fresh water fish that i can get to maintain a healthy system?

Answer 1

It's not about the fish, it's about your tank, and tank size, and your personal taste.
Are you setting up a new tank? You'll need to cycle it first. Google: Fish Tank Nitrogen Cycle for details on how to cycle it (very important if you want to keep your fish alive).
While it's cycling, take a trip to your local pet store with a pen paper. Write down the fish you like, go home and research them to see if they are compatible and will fit in your tank.

Some good suggestions would be
Various tetras:
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

And for centrepiece fish,
http://www.cichlids.dk/thumb/28887.jpg

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

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

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


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".
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.

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.

Answer 2

It all depends on the type of fish you like. If you are just starting out I would suggest community fish like mollies, guppies, or neon tetras, with a bottom feeder like Cory cats a placo or a mystery snail. To make an aquarium look good I always go with a combo of fish, some fish like to stay at the top of the tank, while others like the middle or bottom. If you have had tanks before and would like more of a challenge then something more aggressive might work. Fish like convicts, gouromis, oscars, or dragon fish would work. You just want to be careful when getting in to aggressive fish, some like the oscars and dragon fish are avid meat eaters and anything you put in with it will be food. You don't want to mix community fish with aggressive fish as you aggressive fish will kill the community fish. Sometimes it is ok to mix semi-aggressive and aggressive or semi-aggressive and community fish together. Angel fish are a bright and colorful fish that can be easily taken care of. Angels need a lot of room to live. The height of angels limits the size of the tank. They need a taller tank because of there shape. Usually I leave angels by themselves but they can get along with others. I hope this helps
best of luck

Answer 3

I like Amano Shrimp for small tanks with non-aggressive species. They are especially good if the tank has plants in it. They love algae & junk on the bottom.