How To Choose The Right Fish For Your Aquarium (5 Easy Tips)

The Right Fish Matter - Here's Why

So, you’ve built up your aquarium and decorated it to your liking, but you don’t know what to put inside? This is a frequent obstacle faced by many fish keepers, but it is essential to consider while setting up an aquarium.

Due to the wide variety of fish species that require varied water and climatic conditions, not all aquariums will be ideal for every fish.

Each species of fish has varied aquarium requirements, including aquarium size, the installation of a heater, aquarium type (freshwater or saltwater), and even aquarium architecture.

You cannot house a goldfish in a tiny aquarium such as a 5-gallon tank that is more suitable for a betta fish, but you may be able to house a betta fish in a tank that is large enough to house goldfish without keeping them together.

It would also be unwise to place a saltwater fish in a freshwater tank, as this would inevitably result in failure. Neither should a tropical fish that requires a heater be placed in an aquarium that cannot accommodate a heater.

Prior to setting up an aquarium, it is essential to conduct study and select the species of fish you intend to maintain. However, if you have not done so, you may still locate a species of fish to keep in the aquarium, albeit you may need to make small adjustments depending on the fish you select.

Preparing To Add Fish To Your Aquarium

Once the aquarium is set up and you’ve chosen a fish, you must cycle the tank before adding any aquatic life. The nitrogen cycle may get rather technical, but to describe it simply, the nitrogen cycle is created in an aquarium when helpful bacteria can transform your fish’s waste (poop and uneaten food) into a less or non-toxic form that will not hurt them.

The Nitrogen Cycle Explained

The invisible bacteria that develop a colony in filters, gravel, and in minute quantities in the water column convert ammonia to nitrite, and eventually to nitrate, which is eliminated by water changes. Nitrates are more tolerable to fish than ammonia, but ammonia and nitrite are hazardous to fish. However, excessive quantities of nitrate can injure fish, but it will take longer to kill them, and it is easier to remove.

This technique is necessary before introducing any live fish to your aquarium, but it is often disregarded since the ammonia from their waste can kill the fish and is the primary cause of “new tank syndrome” (early fish mortality when adding new fish to an aquarium).

Before the aquarium is safe for fish, this cycle might take weeks to months to develop. During this procedure, you will need to operate the aquarium filters and add an ammonia source, such as fish food or nitrifying bacteria. Regularly checking the water with a liquid testing kit will determine whether or not the nitrogen cycle has been completed.

When the liquid test kit registers 0 ppm for ammonia and 20 ppm or more for nitrates, the cycle is complete and the aquarium is safe for fish. Although an in-fish cycle is possible, it is perilous for the fish, and you will likely lose a few fish before the cycle is complete.

Which Fish Are Right for Your Aquarium? 5 Important Considerations

After setting up the aquarium and completing the nitrogen cycle, you may now pick fish for your aquarium. This is without a doubt the most exciting aspect of setting up an aquarium, but you must examine the following five characteristics before selecting any species.

1. The Size of the Fish Tank

Each type of fish has a unique minimum tank size to accommodate its size or schooling behavior. Smaller tanks are ideal for species that do not grow very large and can flourish in a smaller habitat, such as the betta fish, which can thrive in a 5-gallon tank.

Other typical aquarium species, such goldfish and cichlids, require a larger tank since they grow quite large and create a great deal of waste. These enormous fish cannot flourish in a tiny aquarium and do best in larger aquariums.

Even though they are tiny, schooling fish like as tetras must be kept in groups and require a tank of medium to large capacity to support their schooling behavior.

2. Type of Fish Tank

Because aquariums come in a variety of forms and sizes, you must consider the vertical and horizontal space when selecting your fish.

The aquarium’s decorations are of little importance, unless you want to acquire a fish that needs a certain configuration, such as plecos, who require driftwood as part of their diet. Most fish will like having live plants in their aquarium, but it is not a need for the majority of species.

Lionfish and South American tetras may be housed in tall aquariums with greater vertical room, although the majority of fish species do better in tanks with more horizontal area.

Bowls, vases, and bio-orbs are typically too tiny for fish, thus depending on the size, invertebrates such as shrimp or small snails are a preferable alternative.

A typical rectangular tank is appropriate for the majority of fish species, including the most popular schooling fish, such as tetras, and social fish, such as goldfish.

3. The Filtration Procedure

A filter is a crucial component of the aquarium, since it is responsible for maintaining the cleanliness and circulation of the water. Nevertheless, each filtering system is unique and better suited for particular fish species.

Strong filters are great for fish with a high bioload and a reputation for being dirty, since they will remove more waste from the aquarium faster. Some kinds of fish, such as the danio, hillstream loach, and rasbora, enjoy a current generated by the filter in the aquarium, but long-finned fish, such as bettas, do not.

A small betta fish living in a smaller aquarium will require a smaller filter and tank than a goldfish, yet neither species requires a strong current.

4. Aquatic Conditions

Each tank will have unique pH, temperature, and salinity characteristics. There are fish that do better in alkaline, neutral, or acidic water, despite the fact that most aquarium fish don’t care much about the pH level in the tank.

The red-tailed shark thrives in softer, more acidic water, whereas goldfish need neutral or slightly alkaline pH levels.

If your aquarium is filled with salt water, you can only stock it with marine fish, which require a greater salinity level to survive, but freshwater fish do not require any salt unless they are able to survive in brackish circumstances.

It is crucial to research the fish’s water conditions, as you cannot keep a freshwater fish like a goldfish in a marine aquarium and vice versa.

5. Heating Devices

Depending on whether the fish are native to tropical, temperate, or frigid seas, their tank temperature requirements will vary. Tropical fish such as bettas, tetras, guppies, and platies require a heater since they are indigenous to warmer waters.

Placing them in a tank with chilly or variable room temperature water without a heater is not a smart idea, as these fish require a heater. Temperate or cold-water fish, such as goldfish and white cloud mountain minnows, do not require a heater and may thrive at room temperature, unless the temperature gets very hot or cold.

Final Thoughts

BestForPets (bestforpets.org) conclusion to “How to Choose the Right Fish for Your Aquarium (5 Easy Tips)“, before getting the type of fish you have in mind for your aquarium, you will need to undertake significant research.

Ensure that the aquarium has the proper tank, filtration, heating, and water conditions for the fish species, and make any required adjustments.

Because there is no “one-size-fits-all aquarium” that meets the standards for every fish in the hobby, the aquarium should ideally be constructed to meet the specific care needs of the fish in question.