Good (and Bad) Beginner Fish

  • We are currently upgrading MFK. thanks! -neo
I disagree with piranhas being bad starter fish, I started fish keeping in september, with 3 of my friends, we bought 20 half inch piranhas from aquascape, and not one of us lost a single fish. One of said friends feeds them deli meat for christs sake. adequate filtration is key.

Red Belly Piranhas cannot be killed, theyre fantastic fish imo, a little boring, but incredibly hardy.
 
thanks so much man but my first fish was a red devil i learned the hard way that i should start out small but now my red devil is big and fun but great info for a beginner
 
My first fish were actually discus. But then again, I got help from my experienced fish breeding dad. :D He got me in the hobby.
 
Midas Madness;2967791; said:
My first fish were actually discus. But then again, I got help from my experienced fish breeding dad. :D He got me in the hobby.
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Very cool. I used to have discus when I was younger. Difficult fish, but worth it.
 
I guess I am one of those beginners that fell prey to the "Mollies are for beginners" trap. I only have a 10 gallon tank for my three mollies (2 female, one mail), which, as I have learned, is not good enough. Then one of them had babies not even a week later, five of them are left (at least I was aware that they are avid breeders). Before I learned that mollies require a larger tank, I was going to add other species including Tetras (another false beginner species) and Danios. I learned the hard way that Tetras are also not for beginners. I lost all five within a couple of weeks. Reading your post ahead of time would have saved me some guilt and stress. At least I read it in time to know to stick with just the mollies that have. My new concern is keeping the fry that I have and having an imbreeding problem. I'm hoping that nature works out this problem.

I have been reading more about fish and am growing more knowledgeable of the complex mini-eco-system that I am trying to create. That is how I found this site and why I have joined. I can see that this is going to be a great tool for excelling in my new hobby, however, I am also new to the plant side of the aquaria scene. I really wasn't aware of the needs of the plants and was sold plants for my tank that are not able to live submersed. My new book labeled them "houseplants". I was wondering for the longest time why I could not find them on aquarium sites. I have learned that some of the plants that I have that are aquatic are not compatible with my mollies. I know that this is a site for fish, but does anyone have any pointers on what plants to place in my not so great molly tank?
 
great post, should be a sticky:)(on second thought, no one reads stickys, so I take that back;):D:))
 
Really great post. I have been in the hobby for just over a year now and I learned a lot from this! Glad to see I've stuck with the "safer" fish and none of the bad ones, lol. I think in our 6' tank we will get a pleco though based on this- he should fit!
 
This is a great help for myself. My family has always had an aquarium or two. Now I'm in college and I have a tank with four Black Ruby Barbs (Puntius nigrofasciatus), three males and one female. They are a great stater fish in the aspect that they are very interesting to watch. In the morning, about 15 minutes after I turn on the aquarium light, they start hierarchy sparring. Generally, "Poseidon" - the largest male, chases the other barbs if the enter "his" side of the tank. Also during this time he adopts the breeding colors. The other males do this, but not as often. After about an hour or more, they calm down and begin schooling. They really are fascinating!
 
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