Choosing Fish For Your First Aquarium

The first decision that is to be made is the type of aquarium that is to be built. Is it going to have fresh water or a salt water? Most fish cannot live under both conditions and this simple choice will effectively narrow down the your fish options. Freshwater fish tend to come from rivers, although they do like to swim around as they migrate from throughout the entire river basin to the sea. Saltwater fish are acclimated to sea conditions, such as the salt content, and are often quite colorful.

Tank size is also a major issue as it will determine the number of aquarium fish that you can fit inside the tank. Obviously, smaller tanks will hold less than larger tanks and will limit the size of the fish as well. Keep this in mind as over populating a fish tank can be hazardous to your pet's health. This is because there must be enough oxygen for the fish to breath in and survive.

1) Cyprinodonts: Typically, Cyprinodonts feed from the top of the tank and like to dart around a lot which makes them a joy to watch. This is a very common freshwater fish to own as they are easy to deal with and pretty to look at.

2) Cichlids: These tend to be very colorful little fishes from all over the world, and I just love them. They tend to be a bit territorial do to their parental responsibilities, but don't tend to go after fish for the fun of it. However, due to their territorial nature and general proneness to disease, you can visit this discus fish care site for more info on that, cichlids are sometimes best left in a tank of their own.

3) Rainbowfish: These are small and peaceful little guys, which is great as they won't cause to much trouble in a tank. Their skin is the real prize, as it changes colors as they swim around in the light of the tank.

There are a few traits that need to be looked out for if you decide to mix and match different species of fish. Aggression is the first thing to look for. Very territorial fish tend to not like being around other fish and this gets exaggerated further if you decide to put two aggressive species in a small tank. If you decide that you'd like to own an territorial species of fish then it may be wise to keep all species separated in different tanks.

Another note to consider, and it ties into aggression, is the feeding habits of the fish. Some fish like to eat at the surface of the water, while others like to eat off the bottom of the aquarium. This is important to note because if you get to many surface eaters then not enough will fall to the bottom feeders, effectively starving them. You may want to consult this video to make sure that you get a nice mix of bottom and surface feeders.