Beginner, Intermediate or Advanced.

[sharkweek178]

It might be fun to create a sort of tier list of fish according to how difficult they are to keep. For example, I think platys are a good beginner fish. Colorful, peaceful and hardy enough to survive some beginner mistakes. Goldfish are an intermediate fish. Very dirty and they grow bigger than a lot of people outside the hobby realize. Discus fish seem like a more advanced level of care to me.

Edit: I think I'll take the actual tier list out and we can just give our opinions.

 

[gwand]

It might be fun to create a sort of tier list of fish according to how difficult they are to keep. For example, I think platys are a good beginner fish. Colorful, peaceful and hardy enough to survive some beginner mistakes. Goldfish are an intermediate fish. Very dirty and they grow bigger than a lot of people outside the hobby realize. Discus fish seem like a more advanced level of care to me.

Beginner: platy



Intermediate: goldfish



Advanced: discus

Beginner: platy, white cloud mountain minnows
I have no experience with intermediate or advanced care fish

 

[GaryE]

Ah, I wish we could do this. But how easy a fish is is a combination of who the aquarist is (not necessarily their experience, but their 'commitment' or level of interest) and how the fish lives. What water comes out of your tap? How large is your tank? What's your budget (sadly)? Do your significant others support you in your hobby? How is your job for leisure? How healthy were the fish when you bought them?

I know some beginners who were able to make supposedly impossible fish thrive because they liked working at it.

 

[sharkweek178]

Ah, I wish we could do this. But how easy a fish is is a combination of who the aquarist is (not necessarily their experience, but their 'commitment' or level of interest) and how the fish lives. What water comes out of your tap? How large is your tank? What's your budget (sadly)? Do your significant others support you in your hobby? How is your job for leisure? How healthy were the fish when you bought them?

I know some beginners who were able to make supposedly impossible fish thrive because they liked working at it.

I'm assuming a reasonable level of effort and commitment on the part of the owner. Of course there are always variables. We wouldn't say to someone "Go get a betta" without knowing a few things first like the water hardness. I'm hoping to provide a general idea across a range of parameters.

 

[Uberhoust]

Beginner: Smaller fish, with high temperature and GH ranges. Easier to care for. Generally non aggressive fish. Generally fish appropriate for 20 gallons or smaller (typical starter size tank) Guppies
Intermediate: Medium to Small fish suitable for tanks 75 gallons or smaller, more narrow parameter ranges (temp and GH) but ranges not outside typical values, some behavioral issues ok as long as tank mates are checked for compatibility. Angels,
Expert: Any size tank, any fish, this fish keeper knows the parameters required for all his fish and understands the interactions between species, and has the means to provide the conditions that the fish require. Hi Temp fish, super low ph dwelling fish, large predatory fish, special habitat fish, fish that need difficult to feed fish. Redtailed catfish.

 

[Tacocat]

Beginner: most tetras and livebearers and danios and rasboras, neocaridina shrimp, and some corys
Intermediate: Loricariids, most cichlids, puffers, most bottom dwellers
Hard: leaf fish, archer fish, arowana

Note: I haven't kept some of these fish it's just what I infer from reading about them

 

[Stefan3289]

Out of the fish I have kept (not all at same time period/in same tank)

Easy: cory catfish, rasboras, dwarf gourami, paradise fish, betta fish, guppies, peacock “goby”, synodontis (though limits tank mates in my experience), zebra danos

Medium: Mostly any non dwarf cichlid: severum, acaras, geophagus, PB parrot convicts, angel fish

Hard: I don’t think I have ever kept a fish I’d classify as “hard”, though balancing the cichlid tank with comparable tank mates proved to be quite a challenge.

 

[Back in the fold]

The ONLY fish that I have never been tempted to buy and try is Discus . They definitely are The King of Exotic Aquarium Fishes and exquisitely beautiful but also quite expensive . They are expert level fish and belong in a big aquarium with the water EXACTLY to their requirements . Almost any other fish is forgiving of rookie mistakes and momentary lapses of care . I have some Aphyosemion australe Orange/Red Killifish that , according to some books , should not have lasted as long as they have in my care . With reasonable care and feeding anybody can keep almost any fish if they did their homework and cater to specific needs . That’s just my opinion but I think it’s right .

 

[GaryE]

I had Discus twice, and both times the "King" thing may have been accurate, if you think royalty is overrated. They are just big fish that need space and clean, warm water. We overcrowd them, and they die.
Give them 40 gallons a fish in a large group, and they are dead easy.
What's hard is being a hobbyist who wants to keep them correctly. Four Discus in a 180 gallon, with no other fish and moderately soft water changed out at 50 gallons a week religiously is physically easy. Mentally, the temptation to add tankmates, or add more Discus makes them hard. Succumb to it, and good luck. You are then a water changer more than a fishkeeper. That isn't fun, to me.
The fish have it worked out...

I've seen huge wild caught Discus breed 2 weeks after arrival at the importers'.

 

[sharkweek178]

One of my future tanks is going to be a single species pea puffer tank. I've held off on that because I felt like they were intermediate level. I waited until I could prove to myself that I could maintain the water quality of a tank and also cultivate the live foods they need. So now I can move forward with that soon.

 

[GaryE]

I think this is post number 5000 for me. So I may as well use it to take on some things...what's a beginner, intermediate or advanced aquarist? I ask because I think the fish follow the aquarist.

A beginner has fish because they are pretty, and tends to depend on others for information about them. They are at the pure consumer phase - fish die, fish get replaced. They haven't made many mistakes yet.
If they are on this forum, it's to ask 2 or 3 questions, and then to ghost. They like their tank, but they don't really commit to making it work. That may come in time, or the tank can be heading for a garage sale.
Intermediate comes quickly, sometimes right after you start. It's an attitude, not a skill level. If you're reading this thread, you are at least there. You decide this is interesting. Fish, plants and even snails interest you. You may not have made all the mistakes yet, but you will because you venture out of passive fishkeeping. When you do, you want to grasp the reasons, and don't just see it as an opportunity to get new fish. The ones you have begin to matter. And the people like you who keep fish begin to be very interesting to talk with. You read about fish here, and in other online sources. You join a fish club and go to meeting where actual human beings can become "fish friends".
You may lack skills, but it begins to dawn on you that changing water is a simple task. Reading about fish to keep them appropriately is enjoyable. Overfeeding is bad. Live plants are neat. This hobby seems to have secrets for experts. Seems to. It's actually deceptively easy.
Advanced? You set up biotopes after research, and you have enough experience to troubleshoot. You may try some fish you consider difficult. You may succeed with them. You probably breed fish, at least sometimes. You read about fish. You begin to formulate projects and they work well. You can talk fish with people, and not just listen. You can change your ideas.

If you love white clouds and want to pay attention to how they are kept, they will be easy. You have to buy healthy ones, do what is needed, and enjoy. But a lot of the fish you'd consider intermediate will be the same story.

 

[Back in the fold]

@GaryE 5000 posts ? You don’t have enough to do .

 

[AdoraBelle Dearheart]

@GaryE 5000 posts ? You don’t have enough to do .

*Looks at own post count*

We're not even close to the people who have the most posts though! And I have plenty to do, I'm just not doing it while typing on here.

 

[Fishmanic]

if you divide posts by years on the forum, @Back in the fold posts much more per year than @GaryE

 

[Back in the fold]

*Looks at own post count*

We're not even close to the people who have the most posts though! And I have plenty to do, I'm just not doing it while typing on here.

Yeah but mine is over four plus years and I’m retired with only to do what I want to do . See ? I’m a special case and I’m different .