Fish are friends not food!
Who can live with who?!?
The critical choices of picking a fish
Tropical Freshwater fish
Why is it critical to pick the right fish?
Have you ever went to your local pet store and picked up some awesome looking fish? To get them home anxiously wait for them to acclimate set them free to enjoy them and wake up the next morning to realize you bought a serial killer! Working in the fish apartment for three and a half years I quickly realize people were just picking out fish because they look cool..what!! Knowing who and what is going into your fish tank is critical to running a successful tropical fish tank.
Questions to ask yourself before buying your new addition!
How big is my tank? General rule for the amount of fish in a tank is one inch of fish per gallon of water.
What is it? How big will it get? Some freshwater fish get HUGE! You could end up investing more money and space in your house to accommodate your new addition? Or you will have you have to rehome the fish.
Is this fish friend or foe? Know what your buying! you have to be sure you're not buying a fish that will literally eat all of your fish.
I'm going to touch base on the more common tropical fish found in local pet stores.
Community fish- tetra ( green, black, neon, glow) guppies, platys , mollys, danios, shrimp, snails, iridescent sharks hatchetfish(odd ball) community fish are peaceful and easy going.
Semi aggressive fish- tetra ( serpae, red eye,black skirt, silver dollars)
Angelfish, German Rams, Barb, gouramis puffers, bala sharks, red tail sharks, loaches/botias
Semi aggressive fish are known for being a little territorial. They get the thrill out of the chase!
Aggressive fish- cichlids (African jeweled parrot convict) Jack Dempsey Oscars severum
Aggressive fish are extremely territorial and generally do better house with their own species they give the thrill out of the kill.
Every fish tank needs a bottom feeder. plecotomus ( use caution when picking out which pleco species you want some stay under 4 inches and some good as long as a man's arm)
Cory cats are generally found in a community tank or a semi aggressive tank Siamese algae eaters can also be in a community tank or a semi aggressive. Loaches classify as a bottom feeder and should be kept with a semi aggressive group.
Golden fish should never be housed with tropical fish do do goldfish and koi prefer in cold water temperatures and the gold fish species is it dirty or fish and they produced more ammonia through their waste.
Tropical freshwater tanks can be back vibrant and beautiful with different species living peacefully within their walls as long as you always remember the critical questions when buying a new fish how big is my tank? What is it and how big will it get?is this fish friend or foe? if you follow these basic guidelines you are one step closer to having a successful tropical freshwater tank.