What makes a fish beginner friendly?

When you’re ready to take a dive in the enigmatic world of fish keeping, it’s in your best interest to start with beginner level fishes, as they are easier to take care of and can thrive in the aquarium if the water conditions fluctuate. This will also help you prepare better for keeping moderate level fishes. 

On what basis can you judge if a fish is beginner friendly? Read on to learn- 

1. Hardiness

It refers to the fish’s capacity of adapting to fluctuating water parameters, as when you are a novice, there’s a good chance that your water parameters won’t be optimum at all times. Your fishes thus need to survive and adapt to these fluctuations that may occur. It takes a while to understand the causes and effects of the change in water condition in the tank, hence hardy fishes should be your first choice when you’re getting your first tank as hardy fishes are easy to take care of.

These beginner friendly fish will strengthen your fundamentals of fishkeeping and once you feel comfortable and ready, you can move onto less hardy or intermediate level fishes. Nevertheless you should try your best to provide the correct water conditions to your fish. 

TIP
Choose a fish which can adapting to fluctuating water parameters

2. Compatibility 

In the beginning, it is necessary for a fish to be friendly for a community tank. They should be adaptable, peaceful, and should get along well with other fishes in the tank but not indulge in aggressive behavior and fights. 

TIP
Choose a fish that is adaptable, peaceful, and should get along well with other fishes

3. Size

The size of your fish at its adult stage should be optimal (about 4 inches) and they should be able to thrive in small tanks (37 – 113 litres) their entire lives. It is crucial to know the fully mature size of your fish as the bigger they get, they will outgrow the tank size at one point of time.

TIP
NEVER choose a fish which will outgrow the tank size at one point of time.

4. Other habits

Make sure they don’t produce excess amount of waste for their size in the water which can change the water chemistry, and of course they are easy on the eye.

Examples

A few examples of beginner level fish are – Guppy, Green Swordtail, Black Molly, Platy, Zebra Danio, Common Hatchet fish, Betta, Rosy Barb, Neon Tetra, Angelfish, Blue Gourami, Corydoras Catfish, Red-tailed Shark, Red Rasbora.

Conclusion

Do your research before choosing your fish and keep the above parameters in mind. Don’t take your fish and aquarium for granted and try your best to take good care of them. It’s easy once you get the hang of it.