Tropical fish advice?

Question

I've just bought my first tank and have had it all set up for the reccomended two weeks and now at last i can buy fishes! Anyone have any advice on what type to start with, i prefer the more colourful ones

Answer 1

You sure did get that tank cycled out fast, wow! I've always had mine go about 6-8 weeks before it was stable. I can say this, if you did get it cycled out that fast, that's outstanding, but DON'T just fill that tank up to the max bio load right away. Gradually build your poplation up adding a couple fish here and there over the course of a few weeks to keep the ammonia and nitrite from spiking.

Depending on the size of your tank, you have many options available. If you have a bigger set up, something like 55 and up, you could go with a group of schooling fish which don't produce much waste, and there's tons of those. As mentioned neons are a colorful choice, but very delicate and sensative to water chemistry. Platties have a wide variety of colors at your disposal. Mollies are pretty hardy fish, but semi aggressive when compared to the other schooling fish. Zebra danio's and glo zebras I think are your all purpose fish. The glo zebras have more color and very hardy. Tetra's and barbs are tough schooling fish as well, but future tank mate options might get limited, meaning no Gourami or guppies, because they are notorious fin nippers.

Gourami are nice colorful options that in some species don't get very large. Dwarf Gourami are really nice in colors, and don't grow very big so there's yet another option. Guppies are neat, but caution with guppies, if you have any male and female combos, be ready to have babies all over the place because they mate every month. Swordtails are nice as well, not a very big fish overall as adult, and have some different colors. White clouds, and killi's are not very big fish, and killi's by far have a wide assortment of colors you might like.

Many of your bigger fish options are going to hinge on your tank size and what else you might have put in there.

JV

Answer 2

Depends on the fish but if you want a comunity tank i would advise buying some surface swimming fish, some middle swimming fish, and some bottom feeders, this way your tank will always look good. Dont buy guppies as they dont live long and are not as hardy as people think. Live bearers are usualy short lived fish but they breed a lot. Good surface swimmers are, Hatchet fish, Butterfly fish and if you want them guppies are surface swimmers. Middle swimmers are, most tetra`s, Rainbows, platy`s, mollyies Danios. Bottom swimmers i would stick to Corydoras or other small catfish. When you buy your fish make sure you watch them for a while first, Check they are healthy and see where they like to swim in the tank and whether they are a shoaling fish. Buy two or three a week NO more or you will have trouble with your water. Good luck. p.s Never wash your filter sponge under the tap or you will kill all the good bacteria. Take a bit of tank water out and give it a quick rinse in that. (They dont need to be spotless).

Answer 3

platties are good starter fish. Try some tetras - they're quite cheap and contrary to what I was advised, pretty damn hardy! 3 of my neon tetras have lasted through two new tanks! Mak sure you get a few though, they tend to school together - they look ace when there's more of them. I wouldn't recommend any of the specialist ones yet, eg, Siamese Fighters or gouramis - they're so fussy and need a very specific pH, otherwise they'll pop it. In a few weeks, I recommend you get a plec too, cos he'll keep your tank nice and clean. People say they're boring, but I think they're brilliant! They grow really big and if one dies (an unfortnate piece of advice caused my first to founder =() , then you really begin to notice the difference they've made to your tank.

Have fun and don't believe anyone who says that fish keeping is a dull hobby. I'm young, eccentric and full of beans (read: NOT DULL!) but my fishies make me smile every day =)

Answer 4

after making mistakes i would suggest mollies, which come in different colours like black, white, gold and mixed. as different types of neons and guppies as well. they ar small but you can have different types all together harmlessly

i have 3 golden, chinese sucking loaches which are algie eaters

i dont advise barbs as i listened to the pet shop and and i found they ganged up on smaller fish and bullied and killed some smaller fish

Answer 5

a good start would be tetras - they are happy in large groups and are reasonably cheap. they are also easy to look after.
from there, speak to people in aquatic shops, they should be able to advise you according to the size of the tank you have and how much you are able to spend.
i wouldnt advise angel fish - they are very pretty but quite aggressive and are likely to eat the tetras.
mollies are a good choice, as are silver sharks - get them very small to start with.
barbs are also easy to look after and come in lots of different colours.

I hope the below links are helpful for you.

Answer 6

Try small ones to start with like neon tetras, platties, zebra danios, mollies, etc then go from there. It's best to read up about them first though to see who's compatable with who. Small catfish & coolie loaches are good too as they keep the bottom of the tank clean.

Answer 7

I love neon tetra's. They seem much hardier than the others. Mine are many years old. Don't put them with angel fish though, because angel fish eat them. As I found to my cost.
Another fish not to ut together are guppies and Siamese fighters. The guppies bite the fighter's tails, reducing it to ribbons.
I love gouramies but I don't have much luck with them. They seem to develop tb very easily.
My most successful fish are the easiest. Tetras, guppies and mollies. Have fun.

Answer 8

i would have to say guppy , neon tetra , platy, molly , cichlid, parrot fish, that are the color ful fish and i think a starter should start with those thing and don't buy any gold fish because goldfish die easilly very easilly

Answer 9

How big is your tank?

If we know we might be able to give you much better advice, because every fish has different needs regarding space

I will be happy to help you


EB

Answer 10

Guppies are a great starter fish - they come in loads of different colours and are pretty hardy! Good luck and enjoy your new tank :-)