INDEX:
1.- CLASSIFICATION OF FRESHWATER AQUARIUM FISH RECOMMENDED FOR BEGINNERS.
2.- RECOMMENDED FISH FOR AQUARIUMS OF 15 LITERS AND ABOVE:
2.1.- BETTA SPLENDENS.
2.2.- KILLIS: GARDNERI, AUSTRALE, STRIATUM.
3.- FISH FOR BEGINNERS IN AQUARIUMS OVER 40 LITERS.
3.1.- TRICHOPSIS PUMILA.
3.2.- RED CHERRY SHRIMP.
3.3.- JAPANESE SHRIMP.
4.- FISH THAT WILL LIVE IN AQUARIUMS FROM 60 LITERS.
4.1.- COLISA LALIA OR DWARF GURAMI.
4.2.- GUPPIES.
4.3.- PLATYS.
4.4.- CORYDORAS: PALEATUS AND AENEUS (PEPPER AND BRONZE, RESPECTIVELY).
4.5.- KHULI.
4.6.- PELVICACHROMIS PULCHER KRIBENSIS.
5.- AQUARIUMS FROM 80 LITRES:
5.1.- ANCISTRUS.
5.2.- TETRA: NEON, GHOST, LEMON, AMANDAE, SERPA AND LITTLE MONJITA.
5.3.- PEARL GURAMI.
5.4.- PUNTIUS TETRAZONE.
5.5.- PUNTIUS NIGROFASCIATUS.
5.6.- PUNTIUS PENTAZONE.
5.7.- CHERRY BARB OR GOLDEN BARB.
5.8.- ZEBRITES.
5.9.- HARLEQUIN.
5.10.- MOLLYS.
5.11.- XIPHOS.
6.- VALID SPECIES FOR AQUARIUMS OF 150 LITERS AND ABOVE.
6.1.- SCALERS.
6.2.- BLUE, THREE-POINTED OR GOLDEN-ORANGE GURAMI.
7.- AQUARIUMS OF 400 LITERS AND ABOVE:
7.1.- AFRICAN CICHLIDS.
7.2.- OSCAR, ASTRONOTUS OCELLATUS.
7.3.- PLECOSTOMUS.
1.- CLASSIFICATION OF FRESHWATER AQUARIUM FISH RECOMMENDED FOR BEGINNERS.
To make the classification, they are going to be divided by aquarium sizes, in order to guarantee that they have a decent living space that allows them to have their free swimming area, hiding places and complete their growth development in perfect conditions.
In this way, the limitation of space for each species is avoided.
Keep in mind that the list below does not consider interspecific incompatibilities between different species. Therefore, once you have chosen a species, the best advice is to inform yourself as much as you can by reading the technical sheets of our entries or go to our Glu Glu Pet store where we will inform you of all interspecific incompatibilities and the best for your pets. fish.
Remember that although different fish can be kept in a certain volume of water, we are talking about the minimum, so the more space they have, the more you will enjoy their swimming, their growth and their beauty.
If you have questions about the coexistence of certain species, you can contact us at Glu Glu Pet.
From Glu Glu Pet we inform you, which tropical freshwater fish are recommended to start in the hobby.
2.- RECOMMENDED FISH FOR AQUARIUMS OF 15 LITERS AND ABOVE:
In such small aquariums, you will have to opt for very calm fish and, above all, be aware that you will have to keep them alone so that the bacterial colony in the filter supports the biological load and because there is no room for more.
In addition, the species presented have a lot of character.
2.1.- BETTA SPLENDENS:
The most important thing is that the aquarium is not too high and that the surface of the water is calm.
They are fish that rise to the surface to breathe, so a high aquarium would require a lot of effort.
On the other hand, the males make bubble nests on the surface of the water, so an aquarium with a lot of current would prevent them.
The betta fish is a beautiful fish with a wide variety of colors and veils.
Only one male of the same species can be kept, as they are very aggressive with each other.
If you want to have females as well, we would go to an aquarium of at least 50 liters for a trio of females and a male, since if only one was put in, the male would stress her too much.
Note that it must be fifty liters and up to guarantee hiding places and shelter for the females, where they can rest from the male's stress. The rarer the fish will mean that the selective process has been longer, so its genetics could be much weaker than that of a betta.
You can also have a betta in a community, as long as it is not with guppies, as they will recognize them as if they were betta males and they will have a tragic end.
2.2.- KILLIS: GARDNERI, AUSTRALE, STRIATUM:
Although there are annuals and non-annuals, we recommend that you opt for non-annuals, as you will enjoy them much more and you will not have to be in a hurry to reproduce them to conserve the species.
The fish that I name are the ones that most members of the SEK (Spanish Society for Killis) recommend to start in this underworld of aquarium hobby.
They have an exceptional behavior, they are intelligent and very, very beautiful.
There are an infinity of species spread all over the world, practically each country has its native species of killi.
Both Gardneri, Australe and Striatum are very strong species recommended for beginners, which with good acclimatization will adapt very well.
It is recommended to keep a male with at least two females, because as in the case of bettas, a single female would be very stressed.
A 15 liter tank would be ideal for keeping a trio of any of these species, but the bigger the better as it will be easier for you to stabilize the tank if you are just starting out.
They also have calm and well-oxygenated waters and will greatly appreciate the presence of tannins as well as hiding places for females and shaded areas.
3.- FISH FOR BEGINNERS IN AQUARIUMS OVER 40 LITERS
In addition to the above, you can consider the following fish for your aquarium:
3.1.- TRICHOPSIS PUMILA:
The smallest Gurami of the entire species and perhaps one of the most striking for this reason.
In order to enjoy it to the fullest, it would be ideal to introduce a group of at least 5, in a specific aquarium so that they do not show their shyness, hence an aquarium of at least forty liters is recommended.
With calm waters and beautiful decoration, always natural, it can be the perfect aquarium in any corner of your home.
3.2.- RED CHERRY SHRIMP:
Red cherry prawns are the quintessential prawns for getting started in a world of infinite possibilities and great joy in terms of breeding.
You will see many prawns, neocaridinas, of many colors and varieties, but it all starts with a cherry and a long selection process.
Of course, it is the perfect animal to give more life to an aquarium, and given its ease of breeding, it can be kept in community aquariums, we can also maintain a good colony of cherry trees, as long as we maintain a good number of adults and constant reproduction. of these in a highly planted aquarium with many hiding places.
It is not recommended that a shrimp tank of less than 40 liters be set up, because the smaller the aquarium, the more difficult it is to guarantee the necessary stability of parameters, and this is especially important for shrimp.
Add that if in all aquariums it is very important to have natural plants, in the case of shrimp even more so, as they will find a food base in mosses and plants.
3.3.- JAPANESE SHRIMP:
Its great adaptability and resistance make it one of the first prawns you should have to gradually enter more difficult species.
These prawns are commonly known as “gardeners” since they keep algae at bay that may come out in the aquarium, specifically the filamentous ones.
They conform as the ideal prawns for a community planted aquarium.
They live perfectly in very wide ranges of parameters and, although they require a greater control of nutrients such as calcium and magnesium, without great worries, it is ideal for a beginner level of aquarium hobbyists.
4.- FISH THAT WILL LIVE IN AQUARIUMS FROM 60 LITERS:
They are the following:
4.1.- COLISA LALIA OR DWARF GURAMI:
They are beautiful, calm and add great appeal to an aquarium.
The ideal is to keep a male with three females, so a minimum of sixty liters are required to guarantee resting areas for the females, as well as enough space in the free area for swimming.
Its striking color and the great authority it exerts swimming through the highest areas of the aquarium, like all gouramis, makes it a fish worth having at least once in your life.
They are also very sociable, positioning themselves as one of the stars to lead a small community aquarium.
4.2.- GUPPIES:
The most kept fish in the aquarium hobby.
It is true that a guppy is a very simple fish to keep in an aquarium, which adapts to practically any type of water and is very grateful for its hundreds of offspring, but what is even more true is that most varieties or lines that we see are the result of a great and long selection process in which genetics is greatly affected.
In this way, if it is the typical “poecilia reticulata” that they sell as “variegated guppy”, then we agree that it is of a correct level to start with, but without generalizing with the entire family of the species.
They are viviparous and you will have an explosion of offspring in no time, so make sure your tank is large and start with one male to 3 females.
As a peculiarity, there are great experts who maintain species of guppies that have already disappeared from their biotopes to conserve the species and be able to repopulate, that is, the guppy for beginners, yes, but not all.
4.3.- PLATYS:
In the same way as the guppies, they are viviparous, peaceful and highly recommended to start with, although in this case there are not as many varieties as in the guppies, you will find many colors due to the mixtures that have been carried out.
Our best advice is that you opt for a specific variety.
4.4.- CORYDORAS: PALEATUS AND AENEUS (PEPPER AND BRONZE, RESPECTIVELY):
Corydoras are bottom fish that will brighten up one of the least traveled areas in our aquariums.
They are school fish so they should be kept in groups of at least five specimens.
There are many varieties, but from our experience, the most resistant and suitable for beginner aquariums are Corydoras paleatus and Aeneus.
4.5.- KHULI:
Very striking fish due to its peculiar shape.
They are like small freshwater snakes, very shy and will spend most of their time hidden.
Despite this, the fact that they are totally different from the rest of the options makes it a good choice, or at least an attractive one.
Also, being so shy, when you see them you will be very happy and you will not be able to take your eyes off them.
To reduce this shyness and since they are gregarious, it is recommended to have a school of five to six.
In definite accounts, a very sociable and very playful animal that will brighten up every corner of your aquarium.
4.6.- PELVICACHROMIS PULCHER KRIBENSIS:
The Kribensis are fish native to Africa that belong to the cichlid family.
With an aquarium of sixty liters it will be more than enough to keep a couple, but if your intention is to have them in a community aquarium, it should be eighty liters and up.
Its ease of reproduction makes it the perfect fish for those who love to admire behavior during the breeding season.
They are very colorful and with an amazing and very territorial character during reproduction.
The ideal would be to start with a couple since they are very good parents and if they have the right conditions, they will create a large family of Kribensis because the offspring are very resistant and as we said, the parents will take care of them tooth and nail.
5.- AQUARIUMS FROM 80 LITRES:
Aquariums with a volume of eighty liters and up are the ideal place to start.
They will allow you a greater margin of error in parameter levels and this will require less worry and more enjoyment.
5.1.- ANCISTRUS.
Ancistrus are bottom fish that are commonly, and wrongly, called “glass cleaners”. I say wrongly because it is not appropriate to keep a fish just because you want to keep the crystals clean. For this, the best option is to control the nutrient levels and avoid the appearance of algae.
The most important thing you should know is that they need a high content of cellulose, so it is mandatory that you introduce wood in the aquarium.
Their diet is mostly vegetable, although they are completely omnivorous and will absolutely not be disgusted by anything they find on their way.
In this species, both space and hiding places are very important.
In an eighty liter aquarium you could keep a male together with two females. If you wanted to have several males, it should be a much larger aquarium so that they can define their own territories without fighting.
5.2.- TETRA: NEON, GHOST, LEMON, AMANDAE, SERPA AND LITTLE MONJITA.
They are very lively, cunning and school fish.
Watching them swim in a group is wonderful and they bring great tranquility to an aquarium.
The smaller varieties are perfect for aquascaping or landscaping assemblies because, as they provide a very small biological load, they do not cause possible imbalances in macronutrients.
Above all, you must choose well the companions with whom they are going to live, and feed them a very varied diet to ensure that they get the best possible behavior and color.
5.3.- PEARL GURAMI:
We are facing another variety that almost every aquarium fan should have at least once in their life.
They are pure elegance, especially in planted aquariums where great harmony will be created.
They are good-sized fish and will add great attractiveness to your aquarium.
In an urn of the dimensions referred to, you can have a trio: 1 male and 2 females, although if your idea is for it to be a community where they dominate, it would be advisable to have a larger volume.
5.4.- PUNTIUS TETRAZONE:
They are the most restless. If you want to have a calm aquarium where harmony prevails, it is not convenient to put them in the aquarium.
They are very strong, but in every way.
Calm fish end up making life impossible, so keep that in mind.
Otherwise, you won't be the first one who has gotten nervous after a week by having a group of fish that aren't even sleeping.
If you choose your companions well, preferably from the same family, or if you have them alone, they are very grateful fish that will bring out very good colors, although we have already warned you that they can end up stressing even yourself.
5.5.- PUNTIUS NIGROFASCIATUS:
In the same way as the previous ones, they have a reputation for being very lively, in the sense that they will not stop bothering calmer fish such as gouramis, even daring, despite being much smaller, to confront them and bite their fins.
In aquariums planted with fish of a similar character, they will fill life to the last centiliter.
They adapt easily to neutral water and are very strong, so if you like fast and nervous fish, both this species and the previous one will give you great joy.
They are also group fish like the previous ones.
5.6.- PUNTIUS PENTAZONE:
Despite belonging to the same genus as the two previous fish, their sociability and interspecific compatibility have absolutely nothing to do with it.
They are highly sociable and very friendly companions of virtually any species.
They will only present aggressiveness among the males, since having to keep them in a group of at least eight or ten specimens, they will bother to attract the attention of the females, exhibiting all of their character as well as their best color.
5.7.- CHERRY BARB OR GOLDEN BARB:
They also belong to the Puntius genus, but in this case they have nothing to do with the first ones we have mentioned.
They are very calm and peaceful fish that require aquariums with great vegetation, that is, preferably planted with a dense forest of background plants.
Although in many places you can read that they can be perfectly kept in 40-litre aquariums, keep in mind that you are not going to have only this species, it would be very rare, since they are school fish that, as a general rule, in most aquariums They usually accompany gouramis or colisas as protagonists, therefore leave the 40-liter aquarium for another occasion.
5.8.- ZEBRITES:
They are very active and fast fish that will not hesitate for a single moment to peck at the fins of calmer fish, so in the same way as the barbels mentioned before, tetrazona and nigrofasciatus, be careful when choosing the inhabitants of the aquarium.
A tip, that the aquarium is covered, because they are excellent manakins.
In definite accounts, they are very showy and in an aquarium of sufficient length to see the runs they make and how agile they are is quite a sight.
5.9.- HARLEQUIN:
A very easy fish to keep, which you will have to have in a group of at least 8 or 10 to enjoy them to the fullest.
They are very calm and peaceful, requiring heavily planted aquariums in order to observe their beauty and behavior.
They are highly recommended for beginners due to their great strength and easy maintenance.
Fully compatible with most species of the hobby and a good option to create a nice school of fish.
5.10.- MOLLYS:
With similar behavior and care than guppies, they need more space due to their larger size.
Their reproduction is simple and they do not lay eggs, but the young are born directly from the female's womb without the need to lay eggs.
There are different varieties such as sailboats or balloons, but they all have the same character and are perfectly compatible with fish that require the same types of water and its parameters.
In the case of the ball mollys, the aquarium could have smaller dimensions, as long as it is taken into account that as soon as you least expect it, you can have a birth explosion.
5.11.- XIPHOS:
They are from the same family as the platies but with a longer body and a more lively attitude.
Due to their great swimming speed, they need larger aquariums with a wide free area for them to make their races.
They are also ovoviviparous, they do not lay eggs to reproduce, they are very friendly and will not create any kind of problem, except for the mischievous member of the family.
6.- VALID SPECIES FOR AQUARIUMS OF 150 LITERS AND ABOVE:
We are already entering a considerable volume of liters to be the kings of the aquarium and fool all the eyes of our visitors.
6.1.- SCALERS:
One of the species that reigns in freshwater aquariums.
They are Amazonian fish, very strong and of good size.
The fact that the scalars are hierarchical means that they must be kept in groups, and always in an odd number so that a hierarchy can be established successfully and without any problem.
There are many varieties of scalars, but the recommended ones for beginners are: tricolor, marble, zebra, it is of a suitable level for beginners.
6.2.- BLUE, THREE-POINTED OR GOLDEN-ORANGE GURAMI:
It is one of the most recommended species of considerable size for beginners, due to its great adaptability to different parameters.
They are larger than the rest of gouramis, so the aquarium should be larger.
You must have a male with several females, because he will stress one only one excessively.
In aquariums with many plants they look much better, and although it is not recommended, if you only want to have one specimen you could do it in a smaller aquarium.
7.- AQUARIUMS OF 400 LITERS AND ABOVE:
Finally and to finish the aquariums of 400 liters and up.
7.1.- AFRICAN CICHLIDS:
There is a wide variety of species of these precious cichlids.
They can only be kept among themselves, it is not recommended that they share an aquarium with fish from other regions of the world.
Its great territoriality and character, together with its great reproductive capacity, will constantly cause disputes to dominate certain areas of the aquarium, and for this reason they are recommended for such large aquariums.
In addition, there are large species and even if you opt for smaller ones, in smaller aquariums you will not be able to enjoy them and admire their wonderful behavior perfectly.
Most of them live especially in Lake Tanganyika or Malawi, two impressive places worthy of admiration for any aquarist.
Aquariums must respect the conditions of these lakes, which are characterized by having a sandy and rocky bottom without the presence of plants.
The latter can be caught with tweezers and include anubias, as the others will end up eating them.
As you already know, plants are essential in aquariums, but in this case their possession is too difficult.
For this reason, it is vital to have an oversized filtration and optimal oxygenation.
7.2.- OSCAR, ASTRONOTUS OCELLATUS:
With a person's name, it is considered one of the most intelligent fish.
The Oscar Fish has recognition capacity.
Its large size means that it is not available to everyone, but whoever can have it will consider it one of the family and will not greet you because it has not developed vocal cords, it will know who you are as soon as it sees you.
Normally it is kept in "naked" aquariums, without plants or decoration, as it will unearth the first ones or it will be damaged by the objects that we introduce for pure aesthetics.
If anything a thin layer of sand or gravel would be ideal.
7.3.- PLECOSTOMUS:
The fish that has caused the most problems in many fans for two reasons: either mistake them for an ancistrus, or because they sneak it as such.
It is the king of the loricariids, but as in the case of the previous ones, its large size makes it very difficult to keep.
In aquariums of at least four hundred liters they will be able to grow in their maximum splendor and amaze any look they receive from outside the aquarium.
Above all, we want to make it clear that they are recommended fish for beginners due to the great resistance and adaptability that they all have to various ranges of parameters.
Of course, the latter must be constant over time without causing variations that destabilize the aquarium.
We are a bit tired of reading the few options that are given to all new fans and we wanted to go further, expressing the reasons for our choice of each species and some brief advice, recommendations, for your greatest enjoyment and to avoid blunders. .
The most important thing is that you inform yourself as much as possible about each species that you are going to keep, so that no one can lead you into error and to end up being a great fan of aquariums.
And remember, nobody is born learned, don't be afraid, be ambitious but with your feet on the ground, always going from less to more.
They have always said that patience is the key to science, but even more so in this hobby, so good luck and welcome to this great aquarium adventure if you are new.
And if you have doubts when choosing or opting for one type or another, or you don't know if the species you like will be compatible, don't hesitate a second longer and ask us at Glu Glu Pet, we will help you with great pleasure.
Other articles that may interest you:
- Diseases of the Drunken Fish.
- Varieties of the Pez Borrachito.
- The Lemon Tetra is one of the most beautiful fish for a community aquarium.
- Chinese neon or White Cloud Mountain fish, named for its place of origin in southern China.
- Black neon tetra.
- Neon Tetra or Neon Innesi, is a warm and fresh water fish.
- drunk fish.
- The best care of the Tetra nun.
- Aquarium maintenance.
- What do you need to have your first aquarium.
- The best aquarium plants for beginners that you should know.
- The best plants for cold water aquariums.
- The best groundcover plants for your aquarium.
- The best substrates for a planted aquarium.
- Aquascaping for beginners.
