Instructions
Consider the health and natural personality of each aquarium candidate. Starter fish must serve several purposes and thus must have certain characteristics. Because these fish are essentially "testing" the conditioning of your aquarium water, the starter fish must be hardy and hopefully cheap. These fish must be able to brave the mistakes new owners often make, and if they cannot stand these mistakes, they should be easily and readily replaced. Take into consideration the sort of fish you would like in the future. The starter fish must be able to get along well with the future fish. Choosing an overly aggressive fish could wreak havoc on your aquarium.
Choose fish that are known to be attractive, cheap and hardy. A few prime examples are the clownfish, the orchid dottyback, the royal gramma, the blenny, the chromis and the firefish. All of the aforementioned fish are notoriously tough and get along swimmingly with other fish. The clownfish in particular is very popular. It is bright orange with white stripes and a happy demeanor. The orchid dottyback is a fish that grows about 3 to 4 inches in length and gets along well with other fish. However, it will fight any fish that resembles its own kind. For example, the royal gamma is purplish-blue and gold, but it looks remarkably like the orchid dottyback. Therefore, the two should never be housed together. Both the blenny and chromis are small and easygoing fish, while the colorful firefish, although non-aggressive with other fish, can become combative with its own kind.
Avoid starter fish that are too docile, weak, slow-moving, overly aggressive or too large. Both Mandarin fish and cleaner wrass are breeds that are docile. The cleaner wrass feed upon parasites and dead scales. In a new tank, there is simply not enough of this "waste" to feed them. Therefore, cleaner wrass often die in new tanks. Mandarin fish are so docile that they are often overshadowed and bullied by other fish. The Mandarin fish will often fail to compete for food and die. Groupers, although small as baby fish, grow to be exceptionally large. If you buy too many of these, you may end up with an overcrowded tank. Damsel fish are often far too aggressive; these fish will bully even bigger fish. Damsel fish become heavily territorial, and they will hassle new fish introduced to the aquarium.
How to Choose Starter Saltwater Fish
Starting a saltwater aquarium is often a challenging but rewarding endeavor. The savvy fish owner will have to spend several days simply conditioning the aquarium water. After the water has been conditioned and properly cycled, the owner will have to choose "starter fish" to test the safety and suitability of the aquarium's water. If these "starter fish" survive, more expensive fish are added to the aquarium.