Best fish to put in a new community tropical fish tank?

Question

I just set up my 55 gal tank the other day. I have 2 goldfish in there but since evryone has said to take them out, I just want to start over. What fish should I buy first? How long inbetween putting them in the tank should I wait before adding more species?

Answer 1

The first thing you should look at is a group of schooling fish.

The danios are excellent fish for this, and will spawn easily if you decide to try breeding them in the future. If you want smaller fish, any of the smaller danios (like the ever-popular zebrafish, Danio rerio) are excellent, but a 50 gallon or larger tank gives you room for one of the larger danios instead, and these are in my mind much more impressive fish. Now, here's a piece of advice. These are schooling fish, so buy a school of fish. That means at least six fish, and ten is better. Do not buy just two or three (or one) danios. Two danios alone in a tank will never feel comfortable or behave naturally. Having a large numbers of one fish species does however require that you have fewer species of fish. But believe me, a tank with twenty fish of three species looks much more natural than a tank with twenty fish of ten species.

In a 50 gal or larger tank you can have a second fish school as well. How about six rosy barbs (Puntius conchonius), or any of their medium size relatives? I would however avoid tiger barbs (Capoeta tetrazona) because they are more aggressive and may nip fins. Another possibility is any of the rainbow fishes. The Boeseman's rainbows (Melanotaenia boesemani) and the red rainbows (Glossolepis incisus) are both very good choices because they are very colourful and not too expensive. Get at least six fish for the second school too.

You now have chosen twelve or so medium-sized schooling fish in your tank. All of the fish offered as choices so far stay near the middle level of the tank, but you would like to make use of the upper and lower levels too. Filling the lower levels is relatively easy, since there are lots of good beginners' bottom feeders, but suitable top feeders are harder to find. No top feeder fits our criteria of being colourful, cheap, and hardy. The hatchet fishes (Carnegiella spp.) might suffice but I would not consider them hardy. The African butterfly fish (Pantodon buchholzi) is hardy, but relatively expensive. However the popular live-bearing swordtails and platies (Xiphophorus spp.) will spend a lot of time near the surface, and can be used to make better use of the upper level.

Personally, I have a bias against unnaturally coloured fish strains (red swordtails and their ilk), but you can still find wild-type "green" swordtails in most good aquarium stores (and various club members breed them as well) so if you share this bias you can still have your swordtails. Get one male and a couple of females. I would not recommend mollies for this tank because these fishes are really quite delicate and are not in my opinion suitable.

For bottom feeders, get a school of six Corydoras catfish (Corydoras aeneus is a good choice since it's commonly available and inexpensive) and also add a bristle-nose catfish (Ancistrus spp.) to eat algae. And since no tank is complete without cichlids, a pair of kribs (Pelvicachromis pulcher) completes the population. Make sure the kribs have a cave to hide in. Once together, this selection of fishes will make a colourful, active (but not frenetic) display.

You may have noticed that I have only suggested getting six species of fish for this tank. Many community tanks have much more that that, and that's fine, but I am sticking to my suggestion to have a relatively small number of species. I think that the hardest thing to learn about setting up an attractive display tank is restraint. A modest choice of fish species invariably results in a more elegant aquarium than does a hodge-podge of species.

You may have also noticed that the collection of fish presented here is a bit eclectic in that the fish come from many different parts of the world. This was done on purpose, because if you restrict yourself to fishes from only one locality you will have troubles finding enough species to populate your tank with hardy, colourful, inexpensive, and peaceful fish. But after you advance in the hobby, you may decide to become a purist and only select fish from one location for your next display tank.

Answer 2

The best fish to put in a new tropical tank are zebra danio, they are pretty & hardy. They will survive the ammonia & nitrite spikes while the tank cycles. Start with just 2 or 3 danio, let the tank cycle (it will take about a month) then you can start adding other fish & critters to your tank. Danio are schooling fish, and feel secure with a group of 5 or more so the next fish you should add after the tank cycles is 2-3 more danio. watch the chemical levels, if the ammonia & nititre are still at zero in two more weeks, add another type of fish, you could go with barbs, or black skirt tetra's or silver dollars, or hachet fish( if you have a good secure lid for the tank, because they are jumpers!) You could also add a beta to the 55 gal. They can make it in a community tank as long as there aren't others of the same species, or any other fish with long flowing fins that might be mistaken for a betta. Other good tank makes are ghost shrimp and apple snails, or mystery snails, or ramshorn snails, or columbian ramshorn snails ( they are huge!) Really it depends on what you like. Add fish slowly between 4-5 inches of fish every two weeks to every month... depending on your ammonia & nitirite levels. Before you add more fish make sure that your ammonia & nitrite are at 0 ppm and your nitrates are at or under 20 ppm... you don't want to let your nitrates get over 40 ppm. Go to the fish store and see what you like, research thier tank requirements, compatible species, and foods. Good luck to you!

Answer 3

If your tank is currently empty, you can consider a fishless cycle to help keep your new fish safe from ammonia problems when you get them. If that's not what you end up wanting to do, I would recommend starting the tank off with about 6 zebra danios or white clouds. You will need to monitor the ammonia levels, make water changes as needed to keep it at a safe level for the fish and wait until the ammonia drops to 0 when the tank cycles. Usually 2 -3 weeks or so. Nitrates will climb during this time and will drop to 0 a few days to a week after the ammonia drops. Then it's safe for you to add more fish and even remove the danios.

Here's a link that will help you understand what will be going on in your tank over the next few weeks, why it's important and how to handle it. At the bottom of the page are some more very helpful links.

Good luck with it and welcome to the hobby!

http://www.firsttankguide.net/cycle.php

MM

Answer 4

Tetras are pretty good fish to put in a new tank. They will feel safer if you purchase at least 6 at the same time. Then wait a couple of weeks before adding more. If you have a tank with different types of Tetra fish you will be happy as they are hardy and there are enough varieties to give you plenty of choices. Always put 4 to 6 of the same kind in. Don't put any tiger barbs in with tetras as they are too aggresive. Black Skirt Tetras are really nice. If you like barbs then keep all barbs as they are too aggresive for other fish.

Answer 5

Great that you're seeking advice before simply dumping the fish in there. tropical tanks look really good when done in layers and there's a fish for every layer.
tetras and neons are great for the top as they're small and you can have a large amount to fill the space without over crowding. bottom dwellers like catfish are great to keep the tank clean and add some life to the bottom. other small to medium fish are great for the middle layer, i suggest talking to your local petstore and telling them what you'd like. just remember for a community tank to keep numbers even, don't have one fish on its own with a bunch of others.
for aggressive fish like barbs and angels perhaps only keep one or a few to stop them attacking.

Answer 6

First, make sure your tank is cycled.. google "fish tank cycle"



well if i was you i would go with tetras and a few types of barbs...or something else...research the fish before you buy them

Answer 7

I would go with about 8 tiger barbs, and maybe 20 neon tetras.

Answer 8

tetras are good, but tiger barbs are fin-nippers, if you want something that looks like a tiger barb but isn't vicious, get a black ruby barb.