Tropical Fish for Beginners
You’ve decided to buy a fish for your tank, but you aren’t sure what to get?
This happens when you’re new to this habit of fishkeeping.
It becomes overwhelming to conclude with dozens of options available at your disposal.
The choices are overwhelming, and you don’t want to make the wrong decision.
So, before you make a trip your trip to the pet store, it’s best if you already know what you should get.
That’s where this post will help with the recommendation of these 5 Tropical fish for beginners:
- Neon Tetra
- Black-skirt Tetra
- Betta Fish
- Fancy Guppy
- CatFish
Now, based on the size of your home aquarium, its environment, other tankmates, you’ve to decide which one tropical fish suits the best.
Neon Tetra
Neon tetras are tropical freshwater fish among the most popular aquarium fish in the world.
They are peaceful, schooling fish that should be kept in groups of 6 or more.
These little guys grow to around 1 inch long and come in a range of colors from blue to green, red, and orange.
They are very hardy fish and easy to care for, making them an ideal beginner fish!
Neons can be kept in tanks as small as 10 gallons, but they will do much better in 20 gallons or larger tanks.
A school of neon tetras swimming together is an excellent choice for beginners because it is easy to care for and will thrive on the more basic aquarium setup.
Because they are so popular, they are also easy to find and reasonably priced.
They are also beautiful fish, with their silvery bodies and black skirts.
This makes them a great option for beginners who want an attractive tank.
Also, Neon tetras are happiest when they are in a school of at least six of their kind (or more).
This is not only for the sake of the individual fish, but because they become much more lively and colorful when kept in a school.
If you have fewer than six neons in an aquarium, then they can become nippy at each other, especially if the aquarium environment is poor.
The aquarium should have plenty of hiding spots for the neon tetra to use.
Live plants are great for this purpose, as long as you make sure that the plants are not poisonous to your neon tetras or any other fish you keep them with.
Black-skirt Tetra
The Black-skirt Tetra is an excellent choice for beginners because it is effortless to care for and will be suitable for a basic aquarium setup.
Because they are so popular, they are also easy to find and reasonably priced.
They are also beautiful fish, with their silvery bodies and black skirts.
This makes them an excellent option for beginners who want an attractive tank.
These are also a good option for tanks with larger fish such as Angelfish and Gouramis, as they grow to about three inches across, so they’re not going to be eaten by your average home aquarium fish.
Please make sure you get at least six of them to school together since they’re friendly little guys.
These energetic fish like to swim in the mid to upper levels of the aquarium.
They have beautiful silver bodies with black stripes and flowing black fins.
Betta Fish
Siamese Fighting Fish, or Betta fish, are popular freshwater fish.
They are known for their stunning colors and long fins. These fish aren’t too expensive, usually selling for $5 or less.
They are a more difficult freshwater fish to keep alive because they have a labyrinth organ that allows them to breathe oxygen from the air.
This leads to surface tension issues in aquariums with high evaporation rates.
Siamese Fighting Fish should be kept in small groups of 3-6 fish in a 20-gallon tank with good water filtration.
They like soft, slightly acidic water with no chlorine or chloramine.
The temperature should be kept between 75 and 86F and the pH between 6 and 8.
It is important to use an aquarium heater and a thermometer when keeping these fish.
Although they don’t live as long as most other tropical fish (2-3 years), they make a great addition to any aquarium.
They come in various colors, including red, blue, white, and yellow, and many different breeding techniques have resulted in some exciting color combinations, such as marble bettas.
They are also available in many tail types: veil tail, Halfmoon tail, crown tail, and delta tail.
Fancy Guppy
Guppies are some of the most popular tropical fish for a good reason.
They’re gorgeous, easy to care for, and fun to watch.
They’re also very hardy fish that can survive in a wide range of conditions, so they’re great for beginners.
Guppies are tiny fish, and males range from 1 to 1½ inches, while females can be up to 2 inches in length.
Before you get your hands on this tropical fish for your home aquarium, one thing you should note is that similar to neons, they are small in size.
This means if you’ve large fish inside your tank, you need to keep an eye to make sure baby guppies aren’t getting eaten by their tank mates.
CatFish
The catfish is a playful and eager companion that will bring fun and excitement to your tropical aquarium.
These tropical fish are well suited to beginning aquarists because they are hardy, cheap, and easy to care for.
Catfish are also excellent little scavengers and will help keep your tank clean by eating leftover food, algae, and other debris.
You can even buy catfish that suck the algae off of your aquarium walls!
Catfish make great tropical fish for beginners because they’re simple to care for and require no special attention.
In addition, because they live on the bottom, you can easily layer them with other mid-level swimmers like tetras for an interesting tank dynamic.
Cory Cats come in many different shapes, colors, and sizes, making them a great addition to any community aquarium.
Their hardiness has made them a favorite pet for decades.
Another famous catfish is the Otocinclus Catfish or Oto Cat, known in the aquarium trade.
The Oto Cat is an algae-eating machine that will help you keep your tank clean with little effort on your part.
Concluding Lines
Next time you visit your local fish store, take a moment to consider choosing from this list of 5 easy-to-handle tropical fish for beginners.
These simple choices will increase growth potential in your home aquarium without much of an effort from your side.
Further Reading:
8 Low Light Aquarium Plants That Require Minimal Maintenance
How To Choose The Right Internal Filters For A Turtle Tank?
5 Budget-friendly Internal Filters Suitable for Turtle Tanks