Which Are The Hardy Fishes?

[novice-India]

Hi Friends, It has been suggested by Thirdfloor, that as a novice I should start with keeping Hardy fishes. I looked on the forum for a list of Hardy fishes but could not find it. Can someone please guide me to the list or else give me a list of Hardy fishes which even a novice like me can handle. Bye

 

[merry78]

-in a large (30-50 gallons or more) coldwater tank, goldfish are very hardy.
-in a medium size tropical tank (20-40 gallons or more), mollies are quite tough in brackish (slightly salty) water, or platys and guppies are quite tough in freshwater.
-in a small tank, (10 gallons or less), a single male betta (kept alone) is fairly tough, as long as you keep the water in good condition.

Keys to keeping any fish healthy are:
1. Do a fishless cycle on your tank first. (see pinned topic at the top of the thread)..
2. keep water very clean by doing 20-40% water changes weekly with dechlorinated water, and vacuuming the gravel with a gravel vac.
3. know your local pH and try to keep fish that are well matched to this pH, instead of adjusting the pH to suit your fish.
4. feed a variety of foods according to your fishes evolutionary requirements.
5. research any fish that you decide to keep so you know their needs and compatibility before you buy them.
6. live plants will nearly always improve your tank health.
7. ask for advice on this forum rather than taking the advice of your local fish shop, or at least double check what they say with independent research. (local fish shops usually give profit-oriented advice, that is often not the best for your fish).
8. the solution to pollution (that is usually the cause of fish problems) is dilution (big tank, frequent water changes).
9. watch your fish and get to know their normal behaviour so you can detect problems early.
10. ask questions!

welcome to the forum, hope you enjoy your new hobby as much as most others here do!!!!!
and well done for researching before you start!!
merry.

 

[rowdyburns21]

Go Merry LOL

 

[rdd1952]

For a tank of 20+ gallons, danios are very hardy. Most tetras seem to be fairly hardy with a few exceptions. Most community fish are relatively easy to keep and if you properly cycle the tank before adding fish, you shouldn't have any problems. Here is the pinned topic on fishless cycling.

 

[beginner]

Merry has given some very useful tips for beginners like me. Thanks

 

[Musho3210]

but dont worry about pH too much, unless you are trying to breed some hard to keep wild caught fish or something. Most fish can adapt to your pH as long as you give them a long aclimation (2 hours isnt bad of a drip acclimating, start with like 3 drips per second and every 30 minutes let it drip faster) and just time itself. Just try not to fiddle with pH too much.