Categories: Pets

Choosing Freshwater Community Fish for Your Tank

Most people have had at least one fish or knows someone who owned one once in their life. The choices of fish are almost endless and walking into an aquarium or pet store you can be confused by the pretty colors, the size and sometimes the lack of adequate help to choose. Most people who are just beginning will probably be best to go with Community Fish or non-aggressive fish. There are certain ones that fare better than others and others who are very delicate and need to be handled with care. (Not physically handled obviously). You must do research, as some fish prefer to be in schools of its own kind and others need to be alone. There is also some fish who need to be fed live food and others who live on dry flakes. These are all things you need to know to make your home aquarium a success.

It is also probably not wise to have a saltwater tank when you start out as it requires a ton of regular maintenance, even though the fact that saltwater fish are absolutely stunning may sway you. We are going to talk about freshwater community fish and here is some information to help you choose.

Angel Fish- they eat dry floating flakes or fruit flies and can be kept in a tank with other community fish. They can grow up to 15 cm. They are probably one of the most beautiful freshwater community fish out there. They can tend to be very delicate though, and if placed in a small tank with a more aggressive fish, their life span will be cut short.

Catfish- they are bottom feeders and prefer to be in schools (many of the same type). They can grow 4- 8 cm depending on the type of catfish. They like to hide alot and can also be preyed on by the more aggressive or larger fish.

Live Bearing Fish (Swordtail’s, Guppies, Platys)- the only problem with these fish, depending on how you look at it is that they have live babies, and tons of them. If they are kept in a tank with other fish, the babies will become fish food for the others (such as Angel fish). Another downfall is sometimes the fancy guppies tails become a target for more aggressive fish.

Rosy Barbs- This is one of the first widely bred aquarium fish. The males have black tips on the tail and are bright red when healthy. The females are more robust than the males and lay eggs at the base of plants. Can grow up to 14cms.

Harlequin Rasbora- a part of the barb family, the Rasbora is a small but pretty fish that prefers to school. They are the typical fish shape, (the same convexity on the top and bottom). They will grow to about 5cm maximum.

Blue Gourami- The gourami is a part of the group of fish called “Labyrinth fish” which also include Betta fish. These fish are able to survive with low oxygen levels and eat the common flake food. They get along great with other community fish such as tetras and bottom feeders like catfish. Stay away from fin-nippers or aggressive fish like Cichlids.

Neon Tetras- A very small whitish silver fish with a neon blue stripe in the middle. They prefer to school and are more delicate than other community fish. They are sensitive to water quality. They grow to only about 3.5 cm.

Obviously I have only touched on the different species of community fish. There are many very informative websites out there, and an amazing place to buy fish in the Ontario Canada area is Big Al’s Aquarium. They only sell aquatic creatures and the staff is very knowledgeable and more importantly truthful about what will and will not work in your tank. Although, any pet store should have knowledgeable staff, you have to ask alot of questions and look around to get the best information.