Many people think that keeping fish is really easy, as you just need an aquarium and some nice looking fish. Unfortunately, before starting your new hobby you need to learn a lot about it, especially that there are many different fish to choose from.

So, if you are a total beginner and you have never even attempted to keep fish before, we have some important hints for you. And first of all, you should know what exactly makes certain kind of fish a good choice for the beginner.

Your first freshwater fish

Tropical fishkeeping can be a lot of fun, but firstly there are some things to consider, before choosing the right fish. As you may imagine, every kind of fish has different needs and behaves in certain ways. That is why, you can’t buy any fish and put them into one aquarium, hoping that they will survive and get along with each other. So, what are the characteristics of fish perfect for beginners?

There is no doubt, that you will do whatever you can to treat your fish well, but as a beginner you may accidently make some mistakes. Because of that, you should try to find fish which are hardy and are able to deal with some worse conditions in the aquarium. Fish needs to have optimal conditions and some of them do not react well when there are some changes in the water parameters. That is why you need to start with keeping those fish that do not mind such shifts and can deal with beginners’ mistakes.

What is more, you need to look for fish that do not need too much attention, as you are just starting to learn about fishkeeping. There are many kinds of fish that are easy to care for, and that is exactly what you need. As it was mentioned before every kind of fish is different and it also concerns their level of aggression. You need to choose peaceful fish that won’t attack each other. It is very important as dealing with aggressive kinds of fish can be difficult and discouraging. Last but not least, you have to know the size of the grown fish that you want to keep. They simply have to fit in your tank, so it is quite important information. The best idea for beginners is to get small fish that will have 2 or 3 inches.

To help you with deciding on which fish to buy, here is a list of those fish types that are perfect for beginners:
- Neon Tetra
- Danios
- Platies
- Guppies
- Kuhli Loach
- Cherry Barb
- Fire Mouth Cichilid
- Pearl Gourami
- Tiger Pleco
- Cory Catfish
- Mollies
- Sword Tails
- Betta