Freshwater Aquarium Fish Should Be Carefully Selected

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Buying Your Fish

Now you’ve got your aquarium setup it’s time to think about buying some freshwater aquarium fish.   So what are you looking for?   Do you want a community tank with lots of different brightly coloured specimens or are you looking for just one species to show it off to best effect.  

Whatever you are looking for check the requirements and compatibility of the aquarium fish you intend to buy in advance, and ask the staff at the aquarium store questions where necessary. Make sure that your tank is ‘cycling’, in other words that the water conditions have stabilised, otherwise your new fish will suffer the serious effects of “New Tank Syndrome”.

Your best bet is to go to your ‘fish man’ and browse the fish they have.   Identify the ones you like and find out what their needs are and whether they will coexist with other fish.   Talk to the resident experts and make some notes that you can refer to later at home and then cross reference the information.

There are many different questions to ask including:

• Does this aquarium freshwater fish like open areas or plenty of plants?
• Does this aquarium freshwater fish prefer alkaline or acid water?
• Does this aquarium freshwater fish get along with others?
• Does this aquarium freshwater fish feed at the top or bottom of the tank?
• Does this freshwater aquarium fish need a lot of space?
• What temperature most suits this freshwater aquarium fish?

Consider The Food That Your Fish Will Eat

When buying several different species of fish for your community tank it is very important that you think about their feeding requirements. Fish eat at different levels – some are bottom feeders while others eat at the surface. Putting these together is normally fine provided the surface feeders aren’t too greedy. If they are, they might eat all of the food pellets before they ever reach the bottom. The rule here is to select fish that will not steal from each other so that they all get enough to eat. They will all live happily together and happy fish will generally live to a ripe old age.

All Fish Are Cannibals

Generally speaking fish will eat each other if it is physically possible. You won’t want to come back from holiday to find one overweight cichlid with a satisfied grin on its face alone in what was your community tank. If the mouth of one fish is large enough to accomodate another fish then there is a risk that it will. So choose fish that are roughly the same size.

Aggression Issues

Aggression problems include fish biting other smaller fish who cannot defend themselves. Fish with long flowing fins are often also targets. If you match aggression levels then peace should reign. Serious fights are usually avoided because bullies normally know when to back off.

Male fish of the same species are often territorial and aggressive towards each other so avoid pairing more than one male in the tank. Some male fish, particularly the live bearers, need to a harem of females because they would drive a single female mad with their persistent attention.

The Worst Thing You Can Do

The absolute worst thing that you can do is to just stock your tank with exotic looking fish and hope for the best. This is sadly something that many owners do.   You’re almost surely going to end up in disaster, so don’t just be hopeful – do your research, and you’ll end up with a great set of fish for a long, long time.

Adding Fish to your Tank

When you are finally ready to buy, study the fish at the fish store carefully, make sure they look healthy and that their fins and gills are not damaged. Never buy fish from a tank where any are dead or dying.

Your fish supplier should give you your fish in oxygenated plastic bags for transport home.   Follow the following procedure when you add the fish to your tank:

• Allow the bag to float unopened in the tank for at least 15 minutes to equalise temperature
• Open the bag and add a little of the aquarium water.   Leave the bag floating for another 15 minutes
• Finally, immerse the bag in the tank and tip out the fish so that they have a quiet arrival
• Don’t worry that the new arrivals hide for the first day this is quite normal

During the first 6 weeks you should feed lightly, this will help to minimise pollution during the unstable period as the tank ‘matures’. Overfeeding is one of the most common mistakes made by beginners to the hobby. Add food in small amounts and watch while the fish eat it. Then add a little more and so on, stopping as soon as the fish lose interest or have consumed a reasonable amount.