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Guppies, swordtails, mollies, carp, koi, catfish, gouramis, oscars, angelfish, goldfish, bettas, zebra fish, neon tetras, and even piranhas. Did you know that all of these are tropical fish? Not only that, they are just a small sample of the great variety of tropical fish available today. Indeed, you probably have heard about, seen, or even own some tropical fish. Colorful, often exotically patterned, and available in a tremendous range of varieties, they have been collected and raised since ancient times. Today, the keeping of tropical fish ranks as one of the most popular hobbies in the world.

As their name implies, these beautiful and exotic fish hail from tropical areas such as the waters of and around Africa, South and Central America, India, and Southeast Asia. They are now bred chiefly in Florida especially for the hobby market. In their natural habitats around the world, besides their striking beauty and variety, tropical fish have gained importance because of their economic, ecological, medical and scientific significance. They are a plentiful source of protein-rich food, a means of controlling mosquito-borne diseases, and a potential tool in medical research!

Tropical fish are classified into tropical freshwater fish and tropical saltwater fish. The vast majority of fish owners keep tropical freshwater fish, and so they will be our focus for this article. Tropical saltwater fish, also called marine fish, are harder to find, generally more expensive, harder to maintain and raise, and are recommended for very experienced fish hobbyists. Marine fish include saltwater angelfish, eels, and clownfish such as Nemo from the popular movie “Finding Nemo”.

Luckily, for the rest of us there are plenty of tropical freshwater fish to choose from. For example, if you like beautiful and vibrant colors such as green, white, cream, blue, red, and violet, then you would just love the betta fish. If you are attracted to metallic colors such as gold, silver, and black, and mysterious patterns such as zebra stripes and lace patterns, then you will definitely be interested in the angelfish. Other popular picks include the neon tetra, distinguished by its iridescent bands of blue and green. You also have a great variety of sizes to choose from among the tropical freshwater fish, from the one inch long guppy, to the koi fish which can grow to three feet long, and every size in between.

For your information, tropical freshwater fish can be further classified into five categories: Characins, Anabantoids, Cichlids, Cyprinids, and Cyprinodonts. Characins include tetras, piranhas, and hatchet fish. Cichlids include angelfish, cichlids, and oscars. Anabantoids include bettas and gouramis. All fish in this group have the ability to breathe atmospheric air due to a lung. Cyprinids include barbs, rasboras, danios, zebra fish, loaches, minnows, goldfish, and most types of carp including koi. Cyprinodonts include most live bearing (as opposed to egg laying) fish such as guppies, platys, mollies, swordtails, and toothed carps such as the killifish.

Because of their great variety, you can keep tropical fish in many different kinds of containers. These may range from a simple fish bowl for hardy tropical fish like the goldfish and betta fish, to elaborate systems that simulate a natural habitat with equipment for heating, filtering and aeration, and with appropriate aquatic plants and other supplementary living organisms like snails and frogs.

Tropical fish will do fine with dried flake fish food. You can also pamper them with brine shrimp, various worms, or Daphnia (a species of small crustacean). All these fish foods are available at your local pet shop. Feed your fish very sparingly, as fish can be easily overfed and that is bad for the fish and for the tank environment. Generally you can feed your fish 1 to 2 times per day, and give just two or three bite-size flakes per fish per feeding. The fish should be fed only such an amount at a time so that everything will be consumed within about 5 minutes. If your fish do not eat all of the food in 10 minutes or at the end of the feeding session, it is best to get a net and scoop out the uneaten food.

The best temperature for most tropical fish is around 78 degrees, although 76 to 80 degrees is still an ideal range. A few of the hardier tropical fish species, such as betta fish and goldfish, will be comfortable with a bigger temperature range of between 70 and 80 degrees. There are also a few exceptions at the other extreme, such as discus fish, which fare best at a temperature of around 86. The pH range of interest to the tropical fish keeper is between 5 and 9, with the vast majority of fish doing best with a pH between 6 and 8.

As with the temperature, the ideal pH range may vary a bit for different species. Again, the hardier fish will usually tolerate a greater pH range than the less hardy ones. All in all, providing a stable pH kept between about 6 and 8 and a stable temperature between 76 and 80 degrees is usually more important than having an exact value, as long as extremes and sudden changes are avoided. Aquarium thermometers and pH testing kits are carried at your local pet store, or get them online (thermometers | pH test kits).

When you start a new aquarium, there are two main factors to think about. The first thing to think about is how many and what size fish to start with for the container that you have. This first factor is important because putting too many fish together in one tank, or putting fish that are too large in a container that is too small, will cause great fish stress as well as lower the water quality.

The second factor is determining which fish get along well with which fish. This is important because if you have fish that are very incompatible in size and/or aggressiveness, the bigger and more aggressive fish may chase, harass, or even eat the other fish, causing great stress throughout the aquarium. What will stress do to fish? With enough stress, most fish will have weakened immune systems and become more vulnerable to fish diseases. In this article, we give you the information you need to help minimize fish incompatibility and stress.

What Fish To Start With For The Container You Have

As mentioned above, the size of the aquarium or other fish container is a major factor in determining which fish to start with or get. You must make sure not to overcrowd your aquarium. For any fish, the rule always holds: the bigger the container the better. Fish tanks are not expensive, and buying a nice, big tank is the best thing you can do for your fish. You should avoid keeping your fish in a goldfish bowl or other small container, no matter how hardy or small the fish is.

In general, for fish that grow up to 1 to 5 inches, you should have at least 1 to 5 gallons of aquarium water per fish. Some good fish to start with for this size include zebra danios, guppies, bettas, white clouds, platies, small tetras, small catfish, small swordtails, small gouramis, and fancy goldfish such as fantails. For keeping a few of these fish and other fish that will not get very large, a smaller aquarium such as a 10-gallon aquarium would be fine.

Keep note of fish that start out very small but that may grow much larger. Examples of these kinds of fish are angelfish and certain cichlids. A small, one-inch angelfish can grow to up to 6 inches long within a year, and up 10 inches from top to bottom. Because angelfish are such tall fish, they do best in larger tanks (at least a 20-gallon tank), especially if you are going to keep a couple of them. The ideal is to have at least 5 to 10 gallons of water per adult angelfish. For larger tanks, some other great choices include oscars, swordtails, mollies, large tetras, large gouramis, silver dollars, and large catfish.

Some fish must be kept in a very large aquarium or even a pond to thrive. Big, hardy, fast-moving varieties of goldfish, such as common goldfish and comets, will usually grow too big for an aquarium. These fish can grow up to around 12 inches long, and they are excellent choices for starting in a pond. If you must use an aquarium for fish that grow up to this size, the ideal is at least 20 gallons of water per fish. Koi, which can grow up to 3 feet long, would need to have about 500 gallons per fish and are pretty much only kept in ponds.

Do remember that after you set up your aquarium, you must wait for it to become established before adding any fish. Aquariums are considered established after 6 to 8 weeks, and “established” means that there are enough beneficial bacteria present to break down the toxins from the food and waste. After that, it is a good idea to start with just a few fish at a time, and add the hardier fish to the tank first, such as guppies, goldfish and catfish. It is also best to avoid the more sensitive (less hardy) fish, such as neons, mollies and angelfish, when you first set up an aquarium. Let it get established for a few more months, make a few partial water changes and then when your water looks really good, you can add some of these fish.

Which Fish Get Along With Each Other

To help ensure that most fish get along with each other well, the general rule to follow is to make sure that your fish are about the same size (with a few exceptions), about the level of aggressiveness and temperament, and about the same level of hardiness in terms of temperature and pH requirements.

Let us first talk a little about fish hardiness. Tropical fish are classified into tropical freshwater fish and tropical saltwater or marine fish. The vast majority of fish owners keep tropical freshwater fish and we will focus on these fish here. The most ideal temperature range for most tropical freshwater fish is 76 to 80 degrees, and the ideal pH is 6 to 8. As you can imagine, most tropical freshwater fish will do great together with each other in terms of common temperature and pH, all you would need to do is try to keep their sizes compatible and avoid keeping aggressive fish and timid fish together. Tropical saltwater fish are much less hardy and require much different conditions, and would not be kept with tropical freshwater fish.

Due to its peaceful temperament and appearance, the angelfish is one of the most compatible fish around, and is often put together successfully with smaller types of fish. The only times angelfish may get aggressive are when they are feeding or spawning. Even when being aggressive, angelfish only tend to be aggressive with each other. You can keep angelfish with many other kinds of tropical fish. Gouramis, swordtails, and larger tetras make very good tank mates for angelfish. The only major rule to follow is do not keep angelfish with fish that could fit into their mouths, as angelfish may try to eat the very small fish. These may include very small guppies and neons.

Though aggressive amongst themselves – especially the males, bettas can be kept in a community aquarium. Just make sure that you do not put a betta with other small, aggressive fish, such as tiger barbs, cichlids, or another male betta! The betta should be kept with the same size or larger fish, as they are known to attack or eat smaller fish such as very small guppies or neons. The larger fish should not be of a very aggressive temperament though, so that they do not try to attack or eat the betta. African cichlids might be too big and aggressive for a betta. Even with these rules, you can still put a betta with many other fish in a community aquarium. For example, you may put a male or a female betta with tetras, swordtails, mollies, platies, some of the tamer barbs, and some gouramis.

As mentioned earlier, big varieties of goldfish such as common goldfish and comets can grow up to around 12 inches, and are excellent for the pond. They are very compatible with koi in a pond in terms of size as well as temperament since both are very active and fast-moving. These goldfish and koi can also both be kept in water ranging from 35 to 80 degrees, and are therefore also compatible in terms of hardiness. Fancy goldfish such as fantails are round in shape, small, slow moving, timid, and less hardy. They should not be kept in a pond with the big, hardy varieties of goldfish above or koi. They would do great with other smaller tropical fish such as angelfish and guppies in an aquarium.

Finally, if you are a beginning fish hobbyist, it is probably best to be careful about keeping unusual fish like piranhas, blind cave tetra, and pufferfish. These fish will probably be hard to start with and difficult to keep with most other fish. For example, although the piranha is not as aggressive in a tank, you would not want to keep much fish other than piranhas together. As another example, the blind cave tetra would probably be easily picked on by most other fish. It is usually best to keep unusual fish by themselves.

If you have questions about how to start an aquarium or pond and fish compatibility, just ask us and we will help you any way we can.

Pufferfish

There are thousands of varieties of fish available for the fish owner today. Many people keep fish like goldfish, platies, angelfish, tetras, and catfish. These are some of the more common varieties of fish. There are also many types of uncommon, unusual fish that you can get. Some of these fish look like dragons while others look like parrots. There are also fish that puff up into balls, swim upside down, have teeth, have no eyes, or that come with some other interesting, fascinating characteristics. A few of these fish have even starred in movies and stories. Let us now take a look at some of these unusual, extraordinary fish.

There are two kinds of fish that you can get which look a lot like dragons, the dragon eel and the dragon goby. The dragon goby is long, thin, and tubular in shape. It also has curved fins all along its back which gives it the appearance of a dragon. This fish is normally about 6 to 8 inches long, is gray or silver in color, and has a large mouth. The dragon eel is usually brown with white and orange or yellow spots, and can grow up to 3 feet in the wild. The fish has a mouth filled with fang-like teeth which it keeps open almost all the time, as well as two antennae that look like horns, making it look like a dragon.

The parrotfish is another fascinating fish. It has huge puffy cheeks as well as tusk-like front teeth that are fused together resembling a beak, hence the name parrotfish. The parrotfish comes in colors that range from blues, yellows, browns, blacks, and reds to bright orange or greens. In the wild, the most aggressive female is capable of taking over a group and changing into a male. This interesting characteristic may well occur in your aquarium too. Parrotfish are also known for burrowing into gravel or producing a cocoon around themselves when going to sleep.

The black ghost knife fish is all black except for a white or creme colored stripe down its back. It has a pointy mouth and a pointy tail. It moves through the tank by moving its long dorsal fin in a wavy motion, much like a shark! You may want to put a special ghost knife tube in the tank for it to hide in. This is a clear plastic tube in which the fish thinks it can hide in, which makes it feel more secure while letting you view it easily. Though the ghost fish likes to hide, it can become quite friendly and will even eat out of your hand. This fish can grow to about a foot in length.

The piranha is definitely a different sort of fish in a class by itself. This fish has gotten quite a reputation from a lot of movies and stories over the years. It is not as aggressive in a tank, but you should not put too many fish other than piranhas together. When they are small you can feed them flakes, plankton, and tubifex worms. As they grow most people feed them what are called feeder fish. Piranhas are schooling fish that can grow up to a foot in an aquarium, but pictures taken from a river in South America show that they can grow up to over 2 feet long!

The fresh water puffer fish is a small, cute fish that is round in shape. Puffer fish come in a variety of colors and subspecies. You may even have eaten one kind of puffer fish – a fat, poisonous, and very expensive variety served at some sushi restaurants. As a pet, the green spot puffer is one of the more commonly kept types of puffer fish. Puffer fish have the ability to puff up with water or air when they get excited, scared, or upset. They also have a unique and comical way of swimming, making them even more interesting to view.

The upside down catfish is a fascinating type of catfish that swims upside down. These fish have been admired for countless centuries, as their images have been found in ancient Egyptian art! Like other types of catfish, they tend to get along well with most fish and are also very easy to keep. They have large eyes, forked tails, and three pairs of barbels or whiskers. They are usually light brown with dark brown spots, and they usually grow up to 3 or 4 inches long. These fish developed the ability to swim upside down from the old days in the wild, when they swam upside down along the water’s surface to eat water insects. Another interesting fact about these fish is that their undersides are darker than their backsides, which served to camouflage them as they swam upside down in the wild.

The blind cave tetra is quite unusual and unique because it is totally blind. This fish originally started as an albino that has mutated from being in caves – to a point where its eyes did not develop. Even though the fish has no eyes, this fish has no trouble eating and surviving. It may even be a bit of a fin nipper if you put it with long finned fish. It can grow to a couple of inches long. Most nipping can be minimized by keeping the fish well fed.

This is just a small sampling of some of the more unusual fish that can be kept in your home aquarium. There are many, many more!