Fresh Water Fish For Beginners

Keeping fresh water fish is very fun and very rewarding. Every fish I have and have ever seen has had a completely unique personality to them no two fish are alike. My entire tank of almost twenty fish will come up to the glass when I am around. They will not group together and beg if anyone else stands in front of it but they know me personally and will beg just like a dog. I have two eels roughly 14 inches in length that will get very upset if you walk past the tank and do not give them food. They will swim laps in the tank until they get what they want. Keeping an aquarium is one of my favorite things to do in my spare time. I spend many hours staring at my fish it is so peaceful and interesting seeing the wildlife you raised. Any one who is new to the hobby will enjoy it the smiles the fish will bring to your faces. I have composed a list of fish for beginners and why they are good for beginning aquarium hobbyists.

Fresh Water Fish

Mollies are a great starter fish you can get a few of them depending on your tank size. The rule of thumb for filling your fish tank is determine how large the fish is capable of growing. So mollies can get about 3 inches long so for every single molly you get you are going to need 6 gallons of tank space. You buy 6 mollies you are going to need at least a 36 gallon tank. Some people go 1 inch of fish per gallon others go 1.5 inch of fish per gallon but I have found that my aquarium strives happily with 2 inches of fish per gallon.

Cichlid's are another great start fish although they are semi aggressive and cannot be mixed with a lot of other fish they are easy to keep and beautiful fresh water fish. If you have a big enough tank with enough hiding spaces you can keep cichlid's with a variety of non aggressive fish but you must have at least a 100 gallon of bigger tank to do so.

Common Pleco or algae eater is a great start fish as well although you must at least research what it needs to live before getting it. They require wood in their diet if it is a new tank with no edible algae. Just because you see algae does not mean that is what the fish eats. These fish are amazing looking and are always a sight in any aquarium as they hang right on the front so you can see their gorgeous bodies.

Cat Fish and Bass are one of the easiest fish to keep but they are very susceptible to ich and other diseases so be prepared. Also these fish grow 12-18 inches in length and require a bigger aquarium to house as well. Also very cheap and easy to get just go fishing and acclimate accordingly. Columbian sharks & Iredecent Sharks are cat fish in the fresh water hobby and these fish both take years and years to get 6 inches in length. They are just like sharks and very fun to keep also a gorgeous site in any sand aquarium.

Beginner "No No's"

Rays although fresh water rays are gorgeous and one of the rarest things to see in an aquarium many people want to throw $150 on them before they are ready. Stay away from these unless you have been keeping fish for a while now they require special treatment and diet.

Gold Fish are what many other people want to get because they are easy to keep. Well most gold fish are disgusting and carry a ton of diseases. They also poop a ton making it harder on the aquarium owner with the extra food needed and extra water changes. They raise all levels in the aquarium because of how nasty they are. Stay away from gold fish also because a lot will die a few days after getting them and it causes many people to quit the hobby early thinking if they cannot keep a gold fish they cannot keep anything. Point in theory gold fish was sick before you bought him.

Oscars are one of the meanest fish you can get and should not be kept with anything else. Many stores will sell them to you with any other fish of your liking without telling you that Oscar is going to devour and murder what ever fish you put in with him. Unless and Oscar is the only fish you want stay away from them.

Eels & Puffers these are commonly sold as fresh water fish but in reality they are brackish fish and require some salt in their water and special diets as well. These fish should be avoided for a few years until you are ready to advance your knowledge. After you master brackish you are ready for salt and a wait a whole new hobby.