Sunday, December 5, 2010

Types of fish in a nutshell, Tropical community prefered.

Learning about all the different types of fish your fish store offers is certainly a daunting task for the beginner.  The aim of this section will be to teach you how to place all those fish in certain categories and to show you what categories work together.  It is important to note that you can't just get any fish you want and put it in your tank.  Careful attention must be made to potential size, aggression and social behavior.  Having a good stock is 65% of being successful.  This entire guide will be focused on building a tropical community setup.  This is the easiest and is very rewarding.

Shoaling fish- These types like to be in groups of 5 or more.  They usually stay small, 1-3 inches.  Hardiness varies a lot of type, some can be finicky.  If you are unsure when buying from this group, ask the guy which one have low death rates and are good eaters.

Tetras

Reputation- Very popular starter fish, good looking group fish
Size- 1-3 inches
Color- 7 out of 10
Numbers- 5 or more
Diet- Tropical flakes as a staple, treats on occasion.
Cost- 1$-7$
Notes- Stay away from neons, not hardy.  I Recommend black skirts.


Danios


Reputation- Famously hardy
Tank- 10g min for zebras, 29g+ for giants
Size- 2-4 inches
Color- 5 out of 10
Numbers- 5 or more
Diet- Tropical flakes as a staple, treats on occasion.
Cost- 1$-5$

Notes- A good choice if you can stand their looks. Some long-finned strains are common.  Robust and probably the most foolproof schoaler out there.

Rasboras

Reputation- Less popular and lower selection than tetras but still deserve consideration.
Tank- 10g min
Size- 1-2 inches inches
Color- 7 out of 10
Numbers- 5 or more
Diet- Tropical flakes as a staple, treats on occasion.
Cost- 1$-5$

Notes- Popular in planted tanks.  Display great shoaling behavior but a bit small for my taste. Could Possibly be finicky.

Cories (corydora) catfish

Reputation- Very popular"clean up fish" Hardy and interesting personalities
Tank- 10g min
Size- 1-3 inches
Color- 5.5 out of 10
Numbers- 5 or more
Diet- Sinking pellets, other random stuff too.
Cost- 3$-6$
Notes- Get these because you like them and not because they will clean your tank.  They require additional feeding so they will cut down on your entire tank's stocking budget.  Cool fish though.

Livebearers

Guppies

Reputation- Very popular due to coloring, price and live bearing nature. Most of the time are hardy.
Tank- 5g could work but usually 10g +
Size- 1-2 inches
Color- 8 out of 10 males 4 out of 10 females
Numbers- 3 or more
Diet- Tropical flakes as a staple, treats on occasion.
Cost- .2$-4$
Notes- If you want babies, go for 1 male per 2 females. Otherwise, go all males.

Platies


Reputation- Good fish but below guppies in terms of popularity.
Tank- 10g +
Size- 1.5-2.5 inches
Color- 6.5 out of 10
Numbers- 3 or more
Diet- Tropical flakes as a staple, treats on occasion.
Cost- 1$-5$
Notes- Are some cool strains out there.  If you want babies go with 1 male per 2 females.  Males and females look the same.  Swordtails are very similar but males have a long sword on their tail..

Mollies- Livebearers as well, get a little larger than platies, around 3 inches.  20g min. These guys DO require salt.  I would stay away just because of this fact.  Go with platies instead if you like this look.

 Misc.

Plecos (sucker fish, algae eaters, sucker catfish...)-  These guys are extremely misunderstood.  The common ones get 18 inches, not suitable for most tanks.  They are also waste machines.  Do not get one to clean the algae or eat waste.  If you have loads of algae you are doing something wrong maintenance wise.  They need to be fed things like algae wafers, fresh fruits and vegetables such as zuchinni and romaine lettuce.  Fancy plecos such as the clown pleco stay small but their diet is a bit of commitment.  I would stay away from all plecos for now..

Gouramis- These can make great centerpieces but sometimes show aggression towards smaller fish.  Only males are sold.  Also I have heard that these are almost always injected with hormones to buff up coloring which supposedly compromises health in the long run.  20g min. Just be weary I'd say.

Catfish- Can work out well but you must consider the potential size.  They can eat fish easily half their body length.  Be very weary. Bumblebee catfish and upsidedown cats (schoaling)  may work, but anything larger like the pictus or rapheal will wreak havoc on a community tank.

Loaches- I've have a group of skunk botias for a few years now and they are great fun.   Need to be in groups and 20g +.  Some loaches are rather reclusive and some get large so do extra research.  Stay away from clown loaches starting up.

Freshwater sharks- Don't be reeled in by the name to get one of these.  The common ones like red-tails and rainbows are 4+ inches and are territorial.  Only suitable if you are going with a more aggressive, larger stock which I won't really cover just yet.  Columbian sharks are brackish fish.  Iridescent sharks get 3 feet long.

Small cichlids- Some cichlids could work in smallish tanks.  They are aggressive and get larger. Note that you will need to base your stock around them  and its often hard for the beginner to pass up all the colorful community fish to get 1 or cichlids. Rams can be housed in a 20g, go for a couple and hope they are peaceful.  Then go for a small group of top dwellers like hatchets.  You could also probably do a couple angels in a 29.  They do get big though, so you may need to upgrade.  They will also eat smaller tetras so be smart. Kribs and apistos are also possibilities but they are usually for the more advanced keeper.


Not recomended-

Goldfish-  This will surprise almost everyone but it's true.  Common goldfish get a footlong and are waste machines.  They require cool water, so you cannot mix with the tropical fish above.  The fancy ones get 6" inches but are very bulky.  These guys need big tanks, 40+ just for juveniles, and are not good for starters.  Don't be fooled by the price on your conception to keep them in a bowl.


Pacu, arowana, oscar, large cichlids, any fish over 6"-  Those cute little pacus will get 3 feet long and 50 pounds.  Please don't even think about buying one, they shouldn't even be sold and are near impossible to get rid of.  Arowanas need a 180+. Oscars are very aggressive and will need a 75+.  Most cichlids are aggressive and it takes an experienced keeper and researcher to get a good mix.


Now that you know a bit about the types of fish out there, you need to choose what you want.  Let's say you have a 20g.  Buying fish at around 2 inches on average, I'd say you can get 10-20.  This means you could do 5 zebra danios,  5 platies and 5 cories.  That's a pretty well balanced setup.  People always say that a lot of these grouping fish need numbers of 5 or more and by all means, go for that if you can, but I've never had something die because I had 4 opposed to 5.  You are suppose to get 5 to disperse aggression among all the fish.  But if you have something like a 10g, that doesn't leave many options.  You will probably end up getting groups of 3 or something so just know that is it not entirely recommend.  This article is very basic and soon I will go into more details about the theory regarding stocking and feeding.  Water changes and feeding can affect your stock as much as tank size. Post a comment if you want advice on your stock.

13 comments:

  1. Wow, I didnt know common goldfish could grow up to a foot!

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  2. Well I used to keep Seamonkeys, fish would be a more difficult challenge.

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  3. im thinking of starting a tank so thanks for the info, followed ;)

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  4. great information, i want to get some salt water fish.

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  5. ive never seen a foot long goldfish... i want a goldfish

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  6. I'm no racist, I like every kind of fish equally

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  7. nice guide, i was actually planning on buying a fish because we have a tank we havent used for a while haha, a few pictures would had been nice but hey, no sweat its nice as it is

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