Cleveland Aquarium Society

Your First Fish

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Category: Livestock

Published on Thursday, 08 December 2011 09:23

Written by Karen Daugherty

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Choosing your first fish: how many and what kind

Now that you've set up your tank, decided what type of aquarium community you would like, and found a good local fish store, it's time to get into the really fun part: buying your first fish!

How many fish should you start with?

It is important to stock your tank slowly because a new system has no beneficial bacteria to help break down fish waste. If you add too many at once, the ammonia in their waste will quickly reach toxic levels and kill your fish. I generally recommend introducing three to four small (about one inch) fish per ten gallons of water for the first week or two.

If you select larger fish, you will need fewer to get enough waste to start the cycle. Remember, a three-inch fish is much more than three times the bulk of a one-inch fish and will certainly produce more than three times the waste. If it makes it easier, consider this analogy: three two-foot tall children put together will weigh less, eat less, and produce less waste than one six-foot tall adult.

The number of fish you should start with is also somewhat dependant on the fish's adult size. For instance, I wouldn't add more than two baby Oscars to a new fifty-five gallon tank. It may look empty at first, but Oscars grow quickly and reach over a foot long at their full size (which is more than enough to fully stock a tank that size).

This can be a rather tricky question, as it has so many variables and there is no single, scientifically accurate answer. I would use my suggestion as a guideline and err on the side of caution, adding fewer if you have any doubts.

What kind of fish should I start with?

You will want to add fish that are compatible with the type of community that you want to set up, so that the fish you get today will get along with the fish you bring home two weeks from now. There are several types of fish that are fairly delicate and should not be added to a tank until it is fully cycled. Others seem to be almost bulletproof and will live through many beginners' mistakes with relative ease.

Good Beginner Fish: zebra and leopard danios (regular or long-finned), tetras (with a few exceptions), most barbs, blue gouramis, and (if you have at least a fifty-five gallon tank) certain cichlids.

Fish to Avoid (for the first few months, anyway): neon, cardinal, and rummy-nose tetras, angelfish, German rams, mollies, platies, and algae-eaters (which won't have anything to eat).

The "fish to avoid" are not bad fish and they're not even necessarily difficult to keep. They are just particularly sensitive to the cycling process and often die when added to a brand new tank

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