What fish should i get?

Question

This is my first fish and I'll be getting at 8 or 10 gallon fish tank. I need some suggestions on how many and what type of fish should i get? Also I would like at least one fish that cleans algae if possible.

Answer 1

There are quite a few choices, depending on whether or not you'll be using a heater in the tank. I'd recommend going with a 10 gallon tank, because it will give you a little more room.

The number of fish you'll be able to keep will depend on the size the fish will be as adults. You'll be able to get more of a smaller fish like a guppy than a larger fish, like a gourami. Some fish will be too large or too active even for a 10 gallon.

If you don't want to use a heater, I'd suggest starting with guppies (get only males if you don't want to have a constant supply of babies), white clouds, smaller danios, or cherry barbs.

With a heater, you could keep most of the above, plus platy (also called moons), variatus, neons, glowlights, or other smaller tetras, rasboras, corydoras catfish, kuhlii loaches, a male dwarf gourami OR a male betta OR a group of female bettas.

For an algae eater, you'd need to get one of the smaller plecostomous (around 5" as an adult) or a group of otocinclus catfish. I'd wait until the tank has been running about 6 months before adding either of these.

You won't be able to keep all the fish listed above in the tank, so you'll need to do a little research to find out which you would like most. Some are fine by themselves (and should only be kept one to a tank) while others should be kept in groups of five or more of their own kind. Something to think about when you plan your tank.

Below are links to a few websites where you can find information on these species (photo, adult size, temperature needs, etc.).

http://www.elmersaquarium.com/h701elmers_freshwater_handbook.htm - look at fish listed under communities 1-3, hardiness of "A" or "AA" are the easiest to keep.
http://www.peteducation.com/index.cfm?cls=16 - freshwater categories have info on fish, plus tank set-up, equipment, problems, etc.
http://www.fishlore.com/ - all kinds f info!

Good luck with your tank!

Answer 2

you do not need an algae eater until you actually have algae, which a new tank will not have until it's several month's old, and anything under a 10 gallon is too small for 99% of algae eaters. plecs should not be kept in anything less than 15 US gallons, and thats for small plecs such as the bristlenose or bulldog.

get a 10 gallon over an 8 gallon, the bigger the tank the better.
the link below shows species of fish that will truely thrive in that size of a tank.

bettas also like this size of a tank, but you have to be careful what tankmates you choose for them, as they can be quite sensitive to tankmates, some like em, some hate em, and some get bullied by em!

Answer 3

4-5 Male Guppies.

Very colorful fish, quite hardy and don't need a heater...

To be honest, I find that fish never really do a good job at cleaning algae. They only eat soft algae... It's easier to just scrub off the algae with a sponge.


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Answer 4

Don't get a pleco they get way to big for a 10 gallon.
Instead get a few otocinclus catfish, they only get about 2 inches and are algae eaters. Plecos can get up to 18 inches depending on what kind you get.

Answer 5

here is my yahoo group website to join:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/starteraquariums/

this will give you a good idea what type of fish to put into a 10-gallon aquairum. most of the information will provide you a suggested quantity when you click onto some of the links that I listed. look for Live Aquaria.

Answer 6

Nice choice...Might I suggest a Beta, a Algae eater, plcostamus as a start. Nice fish and not aggressive.

Answer 7

I'd suggest a tank more like a 20 gallon as a first tank. Small tanks are actually harder to maintain.

http://www.hagen.com/pdf/aquatic/bag.pdf
http://www2.tetra.de/tet_internet_import/import_data/The%20fascination%20of%20aquariums_GB_2006_T062048.pdf
Here two good free books.

Answer 8

beta fishy