Good Starter Fish

[botia]

hi

i would like to know some good starters for a 90L freshwater aquaria

 

[waterdrop]

I assume you are trying to think about a "first introduction" for the first part of your stocking plan following your fishless cycle?

I really like harlequins (rasbora heteromorpha) as a great starter fish, even better than zebra danios, which are often suggested. The harlequins seem even hardier and they are just a great all-around fish in many ways. As is typical of shoaling fish they need to be in groups of at least 6 as a bare minimum, so you have to think about how that will impact your stocking plan per the inch guideline (which I recommend as a way for beginners to start to think about a plan that will get them through the first two years successfully and give them the "feel" of how a correctly running tank works.)

Sorry if I've been hasty, I haven't checked to see if you have other threads, so my answer may be off base for you.

~~waterdrop~~

 

[Geoff-]

Depends what sort of tank you want to end up with - any fish you choose need to be compatible with later fish you want to add.

I had good success with serpae tetras, they seem quite hardy and are very enthusiastic feeders. Great fun to watch. However if you add "slow" eaters later (eg my German Blue rams sample food like they're taste testing wine!!) the serpaes end up eating the bulk of the food so they're quite fat these days. Again, they're a schooling fish so ideally you want 6 of them.

 

[bristlenoseitplecoman]

I suggest having a bristlenose pleco. They only get 5 inches long unlike the common pleco and are diligent workers when it comes to cleaning. Remember to feed them algae wafers and try not to get more than one because if you get 2 males (males are territorial) they will fight until one is severely injured or surrenders to the other.

 

[Miles_hot]

Botia

Forgive the presumption that you're new to fish keeping..... Have you cycled the tank - i.e. grown the bacterial colonies in the filter?

If that question makes little or no sense I would suggest that you have a read through the Beginners sticky at the top of this forum where you will find that you have to make a choice between Fishless cycling (where you pretend to be a fish to add waste product - Ammonia - to the water to grow your bacteria) and Fish In cycling (where you buy fish much quicker but have to do a lot more work - water changes - to keep you new fish alive).

Hope this helps

Miles

 

[crazychris]

Depends what sort of tank you want to end up with - any fish you choose need to be compatible with later fish you want to add.

I had good success with serpae tetras, they seem quite hardy and are very enthusiastic feeders. Great fun to watch. However if you add "slow" eaters later (eg my German Blue rams sample food like they're taste testing wine!!) the serpaes end up eating the bulk of the food so they're quite fat these days. Again, they're a schooling fish so ideally you want 6 of them.

Serpaes can be nasty fin nippers though can't they?

 

[KkAaNnEe]

I enjoyed platies as my first fishes

 

[Gytas]

guppys are i think the best started fish but only get males or females if you don't want a tank full of fry in 2 months

 

[crazychris]

guppys are i think the best started fish but only get males or females if you don't want a tank full of fry in 2 months

Guppies aren't very hardy these days though.

 

[eaglesaquarium]

Trigonostigma heteromorpha, espei or hengeli...

 

[dafrnhm]

I started with 6 Guppies and 6 Mollies.

The guppies died, apart from 1 who is still going strong.

No mollies died, I have 9 mollies now and 1 has just given birth to another 5. I think this is because my water is hard, so for me I don't think there is a definitive answer to this question. Its whatever suites your tank.

 

[MarlinMan]

I started with Neon Tetras...they're doing fine...Again should be kept in groups of at least 6. I have 8 and they are very happy!

 

[fluttermoth]

Neons normally aren't recommended for new tanks; they often don't do very well and need a more mature set up.

I'd recommend glowlights or phantom tetras or any of the rasboras.

 

[cascadingwaters]

I started with harlequin rasboras and cherry barbs. They are all doing well together, and the cherries sometimes school with the rasboras. I love them but I wish I had gone with a school of white clouds.

 

[eaglesaquarium]

White clouds are sub-tropical, so they need lower temps than many other fish in the trade.