Best first fish after cycle

[Hopfrog]

Hello all!

So I am currently pretty far along in my cycle for my new planted 40G breeder and I am thinking ahead to the first fish to put in it after I quarantine them for at least a few weeks. From what I have read there seems to be a lot of mixed information out there on what the best starter fish are for a tank. Guides will tell you that this species or that species is "hardy" and good to be the first fish in a freshly-cycled tank, while other guides will tell you no, actually, those fish aren't really "hardy" at all. Plenty of sources will also tell you that certain fish only do well in a "seasoned" tank that has been running at least six months or so. So I turn to all of the pros here - what are actually some of the best species to have as the first one in a newly-cycled and "unseasoned" tank? I am wanting to do a freshwater tropical community, so suggestions for that would be appreciated, but feel free to go beyond that for anyone else who is interested in this as well.

 

[Naughts]

What is the pH/ GH/ KH and temperature? Fish that match your water parameters will do well. 40G is a good tank size.

There is no point buying a fish because it is hardy, unless it is something you are interested in keeping long term. That said, fish that eat biofilm or algae should not be put in a new tank as they will not thrive.

 

[AbbeysDad]

Assuming that a tank is properly cycled - that is there is enough beneficial biology to support fish, then any fish should do just fine AS LONG as they are introduced one or two at a time so the BB can keep pace with the bio-load.
Also, when starting a new tank, the new tank itself is a quarantine tank.
My friend Byron starts new tanks without regard to 'conventional cycling' as with lots of fast growing plants (that use ammonia as their N2 source) and just adding a fish or two at a time, the tank 'cycles' naturally as it matures.

 

[P J]

Just be careful adding fish from the very clean (extremely low bacteria count) South American rivers, e.g Orinoco such as rams and neons - the tank should be well filtered for 3 to 4 months to ensure they survive. Otherwise introduce your desired fish appropriately.

 

[Essjay]

I doubt that many neons and rams will have come straight from the rivers. Most will have come from farms in the far east with a much higher bacterial content than our tanks.
Obviously, wild caught fish are different but there are few wild caught fish in the hobby.

 

[TWynnB]

I just finished stocking my 40 g breeder last week.
When I started a few months ago, I had an idea albeit it not specifics on what fish I wanted in there (rainbow but not sure which one). I would do this, and figure out the best order. I put the cory cats in near last since they're bottom feeders and it was initially a very clean tank. Put your hardiest fish in first, your most sensitive last since it will be the most established then.
The other thing to is - hopefully your hardiest and smallest are the same. I put in cherry barbs first. Small and hardy! Not as much work for your bacteria to catch up. I never even had a blip in ammonia after it was initially (fishless) cycled.
Hope you enjoy yours as much as I do mine!

 

[Byron]

Hello all!

So I am currently pretty far along in my cycle for my new planted 40G breeder and I am thinking ahead to the first fish to put in it after I quarantine them for at least a few weeks. From what I have read there seems to be a lot of mixed information out there on what the best starter fish are for a tank. Guides will tell you that this species or that species is "hardy" and good to be the first fish in a freshly-cycled tank, while other guides will tell you no, actually, those fish aren't really "hardy" at all. Plenty of sources will also tell you that certain fish only do well in a "seasoned" tank that has been running at least six months or so. So I turn to all of the pros here - what are actually some of the best species to have as the first one in a newly-cycled and "unseasoned" tank? I am wanting to do a freshwater tropical community, so suggestions for that would be appreciated, but feel free to go beyond that for anyone else who is interested in this as well.

The questions we need to have your advice on are,

In the final tank, what species do you intend having? Some may be better than others, but we need to now what you are intending. As someone else pointed out, never add any fish you don't intend having permanently in the display, that is just risking disease for no reason, and cruel to the fish if they then get removed.

Do you intend plants, and here floating are especially important not just for ammonia control but many fish need them or will be better for having them, and in new tanks this can be a significant help.

Something else to keep in mind, is that shoaling species (like all tetras for example) should always be added as the entire group together. They will settle in faster, and if the species is one that has an hierarchy it will form quickly and adding later can cause serious issues.