Skip to main content

Top 5 fishes for beginners

Having an aquarium at home has become a hobby for many. So, it's not an easy deal to have any kind of fish at home. Some fishes are so sensitive to the pH levels. Some may not be social. Some need extra care. Some may do well in the community tank and some may not. Some are hardy and some are fragile. So here arises a confusion of how to start with!

Here is the solution for the absolute beginners to the aquarium hobby.

Being a beginner it is a wise choice to choose from the hardy fishes, which can adapt to most of the water conditions. Here are my top 5 picks for beginners!

1. Molly



The number 1 fish that I would suggest the beginners will be this Molly fish. First of all these fish are very hardy and can adapt to many water conditions. There are n number of colors in this breed to choose from. The interesting part is that these fishes are livebearers. They directly give birth to their offsprings.

As a  beginner, it is very easy for you to breed this fish. Firstly you need to have mollies in the ratio of  3 females to a male. All you need is a normal aquarium setup with some Hornwort/Ambulia/Cabomba. These plants are the natural hide spots for the newborn fries, to escape from being eaten by the parents or other fishes. The rest is you need to feed them with pellets and worms. Tadaaaaa you are now a fish breeder.

2. Guppy



The second fish I suggest is this colorful cute and tiny Guppies. They are known for their beautiful color pattern in the tail. Male guppy fish exhibits beautiful color patterns compared to females. Males have bigger tails and vibrant color pattern in the tail extends even to the body. Whereas female guppies are bigger than that of the males. But the male guppies have bigger tails compared to females.
Female guppy even has color patterns but are limited only to their tails.

These are also livebearers. The same setup for mollies is applicable to these guppies. The female and male ratio can be 2:1.

3. Zebra Danio



These are a very active community fish. As these fish are very social, these Danios can be a good companion for the other 4 beginner fishes. Danios are available in many colors in the aquarium markets. You should have at least a group of 6 fishes, as they tend to shoal in groups. Otherwise, they will be under stress. They do well in planted tank setups.

Danios are not livebearers, they lay eggs and then it hatches to fries. This becomes a little tedious process for beginners when compared to breeding the livebearers. Click here to learn how to breed Danios.


4. Beta




Betta fishes are among the beautiful fishes in the aquarium world. The beauty here I refer to is the male Betas. Female Betas are not so graceful compared to males. Mostly these fishes are seemed to be isolated from other fishes, as there exists a profound misconception of its characteristics.

Betas are otherwise called as fighter fish. As the name suggests, the male Betas tend to fight with other male Betas. You can have only one male Betta in a tank. But these are communal fishes. These Betas do well with other peaceful species like Neon Tetras, Black skirt tetras, Harlequin Rasboras.

Breeding betta fishes are not ideal for beginners as they are oviparous.

5. Black skirt tetra




Black skirts are peace-loving communal fishes. They shoal in groups. One must have at least a group of 6 fishes. Though being small, these are the largest tetra fishes. Females and males cannot be identified easily when compared to the top 4. If you observe carefully, males will be slimmer compared to females. The belly will be bigger in females. The anal fin of the males will be broader and the dorsal fin will be pointed when compared to that of the females.

This is not ideal for beginners to breed, as they are oviparous. They spawn eggs and hatch.

I hope you have enjoyed this! Feed your fishes and your aquarium hobby!




Comments

Post a Comment

Popular Posts

Tiger barbs a quick look

Ever wondered having Tigers at your home? Nope! Just kidding... In this post, we are going to have a quick look about the tiger barbs To begin with, tiger barbs are freshwater fish that grow maximum up to 3 inches and can live somewhere between 5-10 years. These are very fun and colorful types of fish and are perfect for your planted tank. Overall these fish are grey and have black stripes across the body. A healthy tiger barb has a brighter color and has red fins. Behaviors Generally, these can be a bit aggressive type of fish, so there is a possibility that they will rip the fins from other slower fish. So, it is not recommended to keep them in a community tank. Although if you are thinking to keep them in a community tank, provide many Tiger barbs in the tank. As they feel better when they are around in the same species of fish as they are. But overall these are very playful fish species that will be very fun to watch. Diet Tiger Barbs are omnivorous fish species. ...

Colorful Barbs for large community aquarium

Do you love a large aquarium? Think of Barbs…? There are many different species of barbs but some of them are better than others for the larger home aquarium.  One of the benefits of keeping a large aquarium over a small aquarium is, of course, the fact that you can stock your tank with more and bigger fish. Many aquarium hobbyists ascribe to the “one inch of fish per gallon” rule which, though it is a little outdated and oversimplified, is a good rule of thumb to start with. Larger aquariums can accommodate larger fish and, for tanks 30 gallons and larger, barbs are a great group of fish to choose from when stocking your tank. What Kind of Fish Are Barbs? The fish known as barbs belong to the family Cyprinidae which they share with a number of other popular aquarium fish including rasboras, danios, and certain species of shark. Barbs are largely divided over two genera –  Barbus  and  Puntius  – though there are some exceptions. These are a type of ray-...

Origin of the Guinea Pigs

Nowadays the popular pocket pet we know as the guinea pig can be found in homes right across the globe. But it wasn’t always this way. The story of how guinea pigs became one of the world’s favorite pets began nearly 3000 years ago in the highlands of South America. Guinea pigs originate from the Andes regions of South America. Originally domesticated as a food source over 3000 years ago they became a popular pet, especially in Europe, after arriving there on ships in the 16th century. Today they are used as pets, food & in medical & scientific research. That’s only the beginning. The plight of the humble guinea pig and it’s a centuries-long rise in popularity is almost as fascinating as the little creatures themselves. Where does the guinea pig originate from? Contrary to its name, the guinea pig does not hail from Guinea but is originally from the Andes region of South America, in what is today known as Peru, Bolivia, Venezuela, Ecuador, Columbia, Argentina, and par...