Most Hardy Freshwater Fish

[black_bull]

In terms of tolerance of a wide range of water chemistry, as well as the tolerance of ammonia, nitrite, and high levels of nitrate (not that I want a hardy fish so I can not do water changes).

 

[yvez9]

my whiptail catfish survived all sorts of diseases that wiped out my guppies, pleco, borneos

i would have to say he is my hardiest fish as he is the one who went through the most bad things and survived...

 

[AncientMariner]

Never kept them myself but I was told to cycle with Mollys. Supposed to be hardy..

 

[dwarfgourami]

I kept black mollies 30 years ago and found them the least hardy of all the dozen or so species I kept then. Which illustrates an important point: any fish are only going to be hardy as long as their specific requirements are met. Which in the case of the mollies meant hard water. Mine was soft from the pine forests of Scandinavia, and my mollies always seemed to be coming down with ich.

 

[Undawada]

zebra danios are hardy. Platies and Mollies are pretty hardy as well.

 

[black_bull]

I agree with you dwarfgourami: if you don't keep a fish in the right conditions, even a normally hardy species won't be hardy. (Conversely, most fish are quite hardy if their needs are met).

But what about fish that don't really have "preferred" water stats? Are there any fish that can thrive in a wide range of temps, pH levels, hardness levels, setups (planted, bare bottom, etc.)?

Yeah, zebras are very hardy, athough I just lost one to a bacterial infection.

 

[Undawada]

I should add that there isn't a single species of fish I know of that can "tolerate" ammonia or nitrite. Ammonia and Nitrite is poisonous to all fish.

I reccomend fishless cycling, but the above species are a little more hardy than most.

If you want hardy platies or mollies, get the cheap cross variety type. The "pure" strains are terribly inbred and are more delicate.

 

[black_bull]

Don't worry, I'm not selecting fish for cycling I'm basically just curious.

 

[Durbkat]

I found black widow tetras are hardy they survived through cycling my 10g with them and the bacteria and algae blooms the tank experenced and they survived really bad water quality also my common pleco is hardy because while he was in the 10g,during the algae bloom, I put him and my blue gourami in a 1g with an air stone (I know, I know it was worse in the 1g but I didn't know) and the pleco survived but the gourami didn't. Then when my common pleco jumped out of the tank for about 10 minutes he survived that.

 

[dwarfgourami]

The three fish usually mentioned as hardy (which basically means able to tolerate a cycle) are danios, platies and black widows. But even they are not foolproof. Platies as mentioned above are often inbred and can be prone to parasites and bacterial infections. Danios need schools and the room to swim around. Black widows again want schools. Platies do prefer neutral to harder/alkaline water; danios and black widows I don't think have very strong preferences.

 

[fishing4exotics]

Cichlids, they can tolerate high ammonia and nitrites. I know people that have cycled their big tanks with South American cichlids.

 

[fish_keeper2]

thats a pretty broad statement. for one discus which is a south american cichlid that needs near perfect water. the only fish i know that can survive a cycle are danios.

 

[fishing4exotics]

I forgot, walking catfish can survive in mud. They are pretty tuff too.

Oh yeah, off course I am not talking about discus. It is common knowledge that discus are delicate. Why would you even bring it up? You have a very limited experience with fish if the only fish you know that can survive a cycle is a danio.

 

[Matty]

i cast my vote for my white tetras as they have survived everything that ive thrown at them.

 

[juliehainsworth]

My silver dollar, emerald eye rasboras and glowlights were very hardy! I had neglected my tank for over a year (God knows how they survived) but didnt do water changes, light broke and filter broke and tank was just left in a room forgotten about until my dad told me I had to get rid (Not pleased with myself for neglecting), I eventually got myself a small tank for in my room and just left it set up for 24 hours before putting the fish in and they all have survived!

They are much happier in they're new tank with new tank mates..... And will no longer be forgotten or neglected as I spend most evenings in the room watching them........

Out of the lot though I'd say the glowlights are the hardiest fish that I have ever kept, not had much luck with mollies but platies on the other hand have been easier to keep (for me anyway)