Types Of Tropical Fish

[dred7]

Hi,

I have just got a aqua one 620T 130Litre tank, i have done nothing to it as i am unsure of decorations etc still. My one concern is i have found a lot of fish i like, most i think live in harmony but could someone please help me out which will better suit each other. i want bright fish if possible. i also don't know how many or how little i should have.

• short finned molly
• betta fish
• platies
• sucker fish
• angel fish
• balloon mollies
• siamese fighting fish
• fancy guppies
• sword tail
• platy
• clown rasbora
• black ghost knife
• african cichliads
• kissing gourami
• yellow cichliads
• redtail shark
• silver dollars
• peacock chichliads
• tigerbarbs
• chromis
• yellow wrasse
• gold danios
• clown loach
• bala shark
• clown knife
• bristlenose plesco
• rainbow fish
• blood shrimp

 

[karin]

Welcome to the forum.

I've made some comments after your fish choices. Given the size of your tank you will be able to eliminate some of these species, they just grow too big. See comments after your fish.

• short finned molly
• betta fish (males are not harmonious usually, tend to be very territorial and usually like to be in a tank by themselves)
• platies
• sucker fish
• angel fish (too big for your tank)
• balloon mollies
• siamese fighting fish (same fish as a betta)
• fancy guppies
• sword tail
• platy
• clown rasbora
• black ghost knife
• african cichliads (not usually harmonious unless you pick them carefully)
• kissing gourami (way to big for your tank)
• yellow cichliads
• redtail shark
• silver dollars (too big for your tank)
• peacock chichliads
• tigerbarbs
• chromis
• yellow wrasse
• gold danios (If these are the smaller danios then yes, good choice)
• clown loach (too big for your tank)
• bala shark (too big for your tank0
• clown knife
• bristlenose plesco (good choice)
• rainbow fish
• blood shrimp (depends on your fish choice)

Some of these I don't know well so will let others comment. Look at dwarf gourami, neon or cardinal tetras and many of the other small tetras, a pair of bolivian rams, corydoras. A tank with 15 small tetras, a pair of bolivian rams and 6 cory cats would be a great beginner tank.

Also look at all the beginner resources. You will need to cycle your tank and you should start that soon as it can take awhile. Read up on fishless cycling and then ask us if something doesn't make sense. Also just start reading posts on this forum. You will learn a lot.

 

[dred7]

thank you very much for all of your help, it is greatly appreciated i will defiantly start reading up now on the fish less cycling though i will need to find gravel plants etc to fist put in the tank before this can start, correct?

 

[karin]

thank you very much for all of your help, it is greatly appreciated i will defiantly start reading up now on the fish less cycling though i will need to find gravel plants etc to fist put in the tank before this can start, correct?

Probably nice to have the gravel and will need a heater and filter but that is all. Read up on the articles at the top of this section and then check out a couple of the posts here by others. You will have questions and that is okay, what we are here for.

 

[bassbonediva]

Hi,

I have just got a aqua one 620T 130Litre tank, i have done nothing to it as i am unsure of decorations etc still. My one concern is i have found a lot of fish i like, most i think live in harmony but could someone please help me out which will better suit each other. i want bright fish if possible. i also don't know how many or how little i should have.

• short finned molly<--Mollies are technically brackish fish and although they can live in pure freshwater, they will only thrive in brackish water.
• betta fish<--Males are not suited for community tanks. They are easy targets with their long fins and tend to be very territorial/aggressive.
• platies
• sucker fish<--Depends on which variety. There are some types that will stay small enough to go in your tank (bristlenose, clown, zebra, king tiger, etc).
• angel fish<--You could fit one in your tank, but not much else...angels also tend to be aggressive as they get older (they are cichlids, after all)
• balloon mollies<--Same as the short-finned mollies.
• siamese fighting fish<--Same thing as the betta
• fancy guppies
• sword tail
• platy<--You've got this one on there twice, luv.
• clown rasbora
• black ghost knife<--Will get WAY too big for your tank. For one of these bad boys you're looking at 90 gallons or larger.
• african cichlids<--These would only work if you did an African cichlid tank (nothing else in the tank except the cichlids and *maybe* some synodontis cats)...you'd have to severely overstock to limit aggression...NOT a good beginner fish!
• kissing gourami<--WAY too big for your tank...They reach 12" in length
• yellow cichlids<--See the comment on African cichlids
• redtail shark<--Not suited for your tank...they require A LOT of swimming room, become territorial and aggressive as they get bigger, and reach about 6". They're recommended for nothing less than a 55 gallon.
• silver dollars<--WAY too big for your tank and require being in schools of 5+
• peacock cichlids<--Another one of those African cichlids that needs to be in a species tank. See the comments on the African cichlids
• tiger barbs<--You could do these, but you'd have to make it a semi-aggressive community because tiger barbs are notoriously mean.
• chromis<--Luv, the chromis is a marine (saltwater) fish. Definite no-go.
• yellow wrasse<--Again, this is a marine (saltwater) fish.
• gold danios
• clown loach<--WAY too big for your tank...they get to be 13", need to be in groups of 3 or more, and require a minimum 90 gallon tank.
• bala shark<--WAY WAY WAY too big for ANY tank...they get to be 72" long!
• clown knife<--WAY too big for anything smaller than a 300 gallon tank...they get to be 48" long!
• bristlenose pleco<--This falls under the list of "suckerfish" and would be fine in your tank, just make sure you provide it with driftwood to aid in its digestion.
• rainbow fish<--There are several species that would work in your tank.
• blood shrimp<--Do you mean red cherry shrimp? Yes, those would work, but you'd have to be careful what you put with them because they make tasty snacks for just about anything else.

My comments are next to the fish choice. The ones that I didn't specifically comment on would work fine in your tank without exception.

 

[walkers101]

Hi,

I have just got a aqua one 620T 130Litre tank, i have done nothing to it as i am unsure of decorations etc still. My one concern is i have found a lot of fish i like, most i think live in harmony but could someone please help me out which will better suit each other. i want bright fish if possible. i also don't know how many or how little i should have.

• short finned molly<--Mollies are technically brackish fish and although they can live in pure freshwater, they will only thrive in brackish water.
• betta fish<--Males are not suited for community tanks. They are easy targets with their long fins and tend to be very territorial/aggressive.
• platies
• sucker fish<--Depends on which variety. There are some types that will stay small enough to go in your tank (bristlenose, clown, zebra, king tiger, etc).
• angel fish<--You could fit one in your tank, but not much else...angels also tend to be aggressive as they get older (they are cichlids, after all)
• balloon mollies<--Same as the short-finned mollies.
• siamese fighting fish<--Same thing as the betta
• fancy guppies
• sword tail
• platy<--You've got this one on there twice, luv.
• clown rasbora
• black ghost knife<--Will get WAY too big for your tank. For one of these bad boys you're looking at 90 gallons or larger.
• african cichlids<--These would only work if you did an African cichlid tank (nothing else in the tank except the cichlids and *maybe* some synodontis cats)...you'd have to severely overstock to limit aggression...NOT a good beginner fish!
• kissing gourami<--WAY too big for your tank...They reach 12" in length
• yellow cichlids<--See the comment on African cichlids
• redtail shark<--Not suited for your tank...they require A LOT of swimming room, become territorial and aggressive as they get bigger, and reach about 6". They're recommended for nothing less than a 55 gallon.
• silver dollars<--WAY too big for your tank and require being in schools of 5+
• peacock cichlids<--Another one of those African cichlids that needs to be in a species tank. See the comments on the African cichlids
• tiger barbs<--You could do these, but you'd have to make it a semi-aggressive community because tiger barbs are notoriously mean.
• chromis<--Luv, the chromis is a marine (saltwater) fish. Definite no-go.
• yellow wrasse<--Again, this is a marine (saltwater) fish.
• gold danios
• clown loach<--WAY too big for your tank...they get to be 13", need to be in groups of 3 or more, and require a minimum 90 gallon tank.
• bala shark<--WAY WAY WAY too big for ANY tank...they get to be 72" long!
• clown knife<--WAY too big for anything smaller than a 300 gallon tank...they get to be 48" long!
• bristlenose pleco<--This falls under the list of "suckerfish" and would be fine in your tank, just make sure you provide it with driftwood to aid in its digestion.
• rainbow fish<--There are several species that would work in your tank.
• blood shrimp<--Do you mean red cherry shrimp? Yes, those would work, but you'd have to be careful what you put with them because they make tasty snacks for just about anything else.

My comments are next to the fish choice. The ones that I didn't specifically comment on would work fine in your tank without exception.

I agree with the above apart from the tiger barbs the more you keep the less agressive they are. They are known as fin nippers but if you keep a larger group they are too bothered with their own species to bother anything else.

 

[Carlovel1]

Hi,

I have just got a aqua one 620T 130Litre tank, i have done nothing to it as i am unsure of decorations etc still. My one concern is i have found a lot of fish i like, most i think live in harmony but could someone please help me out which will better suit each other. i want bright fish if possible. i also don't know how many or how little i should have.

• short finned molly<--Mollies are technically brackish fish and although they can live in pure freshwater, they will only thrive in brackish water.
• betta fish<--Males are not suited for community tanks. They are easy targets with their long fins and tend to be very territorial/aggressive.
• platies
• sucker fish<--Depends on which variety. There are some types that will stay small enough to go in your tank (bristlenose, clown, zebra, king tiger, etc).
• angel fish<--You could fit one in your tank, but not much else...angels also tend to be aggressive as they get older (they are cichlids, after all)
• balloon mollies<--Same as the short-finned mollies.
• siamese fighting fish<--Same thing as the betta
• fancy guppies
• sword tail
• platy<--You've got this one on there twice, luv.
• clown rasbora
• black ghost knife<--Will get WAY too big for your tank. For one of these bad boys you're looking at 90 gallons or larger.
• african cichlids<--These would only work if you did an African cichlid tank (nothing else in the tank except the cichlids and *maybe* some synodontis cats)...you'd have to severely overstock to limit aggression...NOT a good beginner fish!
• kissing gourami<--WAY too big for your tank...They reach 12" in length
• yellow cichlids<--See the comment on African cichlids
• redtail shark<--Not suited for your tank...they require A LOT of swimming room, become territorial and aggressive as they get bigger, and reach about 6". They're recommended for nothing less than a 55 gallon.
• silver dollars<--WAY too big for your tank and require being in schools of 5+
• peacock cichlids<--Another one of those African cichlids that needs to be in a species tank. See the comments on the African cichlids
• tiger barbs<--You could do these, but you'd have to make it a semi-aggressive community because tiger barbs are notoriously mean.
• chromis<--Luv, the chromis is a marine (saltwater) fish. Definite no-go.
• yellow wrasse<--Again, this is a marine (saltwater) fish.
• gold danios
• clown loach<--WAY too big for your tank...they get to be 13", need to be in groups of 3 or more, and require a minimum 90 gallon tank.
• bala shark<--WAY WAY WAY too big for ANY tank...they get to be 72" long!
• clown knife<--WAY too big for anything smaller than a 300 gallon tank...they get to be 48" long!
• bristlenose pleco<--This falls under the list of "suckerfish" and would be fine in your tank, just make sure you provide it with driftwood to aid in its digestion.
• rainbow fish<--There are several species that would work in your tank.
• blood shrimp<--Do you mean red cherry shrimp? Yes, those would work, but you'd have to be careful what you put with them because they make tasty snacks for just about anything else.

My comments are next to the fish choice. The ones that I didn't specifically comment on would work fine in your tank without exception.

Agree with everything except:
Clown Rasbora- Too Active for the Aquaone 620T, gets quite chunky. A 4 foot tank/200 litres is ideal
Sucker Fish- Im pretty sure you're talking about Chinese Algae Eaters/Sucking Loach- these definatly grow too big and get really aggressive
Gold Danio, Molly, Platy, swordtail and Guppys-All need a water temp of around 22ºC which is lower than the tropical average.
Rainbowfish- Only rainbowfish suitable for you tank are Threadfin Rainbowfish, Celebes Rainbowfish, Dwarf Neon Rainbowfish and any rainbowfish from the Pseudomugil family

Carl

 

[waterdrop]

Hi dred7 and Welcome to TFF!

To begin fishless cycling you just need a good liquid-reagent based test kit, some simple household ammonia of the right type, the tank, a filter where the right filter media have been worked out with the members here, a heater, your household tap water and perhaps some gravel/substrate. You don't need plants or light or decorations (and to some extent it can help not to be bothering with them yet.) The other thing you need is information and knowledge, so its always good to question your assumptions and have fun discussing them with the members you've found here.

By discussing species, you've got a start on about the 4th or 5th priority item to be considered in getting started but that's fine because it eventually takes a lot of discussing (as you can see!) Its great that you are reading our article on the Add & Wait Fishless Cycle (the thing nearly all beginners here are working on, unless they fell into some bad advice at the LFS typically) and its good to get started...

The Fishless Cycle can often take a couple of months, so getting started is important and allows you to be multitasking with learning tank maintenance skills and (as you are doing) starting the sometimes long process of building a fish stocking plan. Building the stocking plan breaks down roughly into first judging the overall amount of fish load your system can handle, next beginning to learn the minimum shoaling numbers of many species, next learning the peculiarities and idiosyncrasies of the individual species you think you like (what you've started on here) and then also taking in to account the water chemistry and temperatures various species prefer (you also have some start on this too!)

You're off to a good start. Keep visiting the local shops within traveling reach and take notes on things you see, especially fish that seem interesting (it can change as you go along.) Although brightly colored fish can indeed look striking from across the room, one of the joys of freshwater tank keeping is learning the more subtle beauty of all types of freshwater fish at close range in your own home.

~~waterdrop~~

 

[Aqua Tom]

thank you very much for all of your help, it is greatly appreciated i will defiantly start reading up now on the fish less cycling though i will need to find gravel plants etc to fist put in the tank before this can start, correct?

I have just started a fishless cycle myself & have a topic about it. It is a good idea to start your own thread then the experienced members can put us right when we mess up.

Here is a link to my thread so you can get the gist of it.