How to Choose Fish for a Freshwater Aquarium

Choosing the right inhabitants for your aquarium requires a bit more thought than simply matching their colors to your couch. Follow these simple steps to fish bliss.

Things You'll Need

  • Aquarium Canopies/hoods
  • Aquarium Filters
  • Aquarium Fish Nets
  • Aquarium Gravel
  • Aquarium Heaters
  • Aquarium Lights
  • Aquarium Plants
  • Aquarium Stands
  • Aquarium Thermometers
  • Aquarium Water Test Kits
  • Aquariums
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Instructions

    • 1

      Determine the number of fish you can house by the size of your tank. A general rule of thumb is to allow 2 inches of fish per gallon of water.

    • 2

      Buy your fish from a reputable dealer who will back up his product. You want clean fish that won't get each other sick. A good sign that the seller knows what he's talking about is his show tank. Do the fish seem happy? Is it the way you imagine your tank looking when it's complete? If you see dead things floating in the tanks, look elsewhere.

    • 3

      Read about the fish you want. Some have particular needs, whether temperature, chemical, dietary, or compatibility-related.

    • 4

      Get school fish. Compatibility problems are minimal and it will be easy to see if any of the fish are behaving oddly (indicating illness). Try neons or cardinal tetras, Corydoras catfish, any of the small barbs, rasboras, loaches, or pearl and zebra danios.

    • 5

      Resist the urge to get one of everything you like, particularly with school fish.

    • 6

      Try a bristle-nose or clown plecostomus, or a pair of otocinclus catfish to help control the algae.

    • 7

      Raise killifish, which are excellent for a beginning aquarium, but difficult to find.

    • 8

      Ask your fish dealer about compatibility with other fish in your tank. Be careful of cichlids ' some grow quite large. Angelfish require tanks larger than 10 gallons. Stay away from Oscars, which tend to eat the other fish and are particularly messy.

    • 9

      Avoid the urge to impress people with a piranha. This shy fish has the unfortunate honor of eating many of those unhealthy goldfish. This is not only expensive, but unless you want to quarantine every feeder fish you buy, you're likely to have issues with disease and parasites. They are school fish but need to be well-fed or they will eat each other.

    • 10

      Think about Bala sharks, which are cool-looking non-sharks. They grow to more than 12 inches, however, so unless you're ready to accommodate that much fish, it's best to leave these alone.

    • 11

      Avoid catfish in general. They are nasty predators and tend to grow. And grow. And grow '