Top 10 Beginner-Friendly Fish for Home Aquariums
Setting up your first aquarium is exciting, and choosing the right fish species is essential to ensure a smooth start. Beginner-friendly fish are generally robust, hardy, and easy to care for. Here are the top 10 fish species that are perfect for beginners, with some additional information on the tank requirements and care basics.
1. Betta Fish (Betta splendens)
Tank Size: Minimum 5 gallons- Temperature: 75-80°F
- Personality: Peaceful, though males are best kept alone
Betta fish are quite colorful and have long fins. These fish are low maintenance and don’t need much space. While they can be territorial, one Betta can do well in a planted aquarium with a gentle filter.
2. Neon Tetra (Paracheirodon innesi)
Tank Size: Minimum 10 gallons- Temperature: 70-81°F
- Personality: Peaceful, schooling fish
Neon Tetras are desired for their deep blue, red colors. These shoaling fish want to be kept in at least six of themselves. So, they are very good friends with other similar small peaceful fishes and don’t like high lighting or planted setups.
3. Guppy Poecilia reticulata
Tank Size: Minimum 5gallon tank.- Temperature: 72°F-82°F
- Personality: Peaceful schooler
Colorful and energetic, guppies come in a wide variety. This makes them very easy to breed. With a small tank you will see a very vibrant, living display.
4. Zebra Danio
Minimum Tank Size: 10 gallons- Temperature: 65-77°F
- Personality: Active schooling fish.
Zebra Danios are extremely hardy. You’ll have no trouble keeping this very fast swimmer in a school as well as in most new aquarists tanks.
5. Platy (Xiphophorus maculatus)
Tank Size: Minimum 10 gallons- Temperature: 70-77°F
- Personality: Peaceful, social fish
Platies are some of the least demanding, most hardy fish in the colourfull varieties. They are peaceful and, thus very nice to keep in community tanks, especially with other livebearers like Guppies and Mollies.
6. Cherry Barb (Puntius titteya)
Tank Size: Minimum 10 gallons- Temperature: 73-81°F
- Personality: Peaceful, schooling fish
These bright red fish add a color of the same name to the most monotonous tank, thriving well in five or more individuals. Easy care, too. It goes nicely with other peaceful fish.
Min Tank Size: 10 gal- Temperature: 72-78°F
Corys are peaceful bottom swimmers. They are used best as a small group for tank cleanliness purposes, are very tolerant to the choice of other peaceful tank mates.
8. Molly Fish (Poecilia sphenops)
Tank Size: Minimum 10 gallons- Temperature: 72-78°F
- Personality: Peaceful, social fish
Mollies are very versatile fish that can survive in many different water conditions. They are livebearers and come in many colors, so they are a good choice for adding diversity to a beginner tank.
9. Swordtail (Xiphophorus hellerii)
Tank Size: Minimum 20 gallons- Temperature: 72-82°F
- Personality: Peaceful, slightly more active
Swordtails are lively, beautiful fish with an interesting shape of the tail. They require a bit more space, but they are relatively low maintenance and recommended for beginners.
10. Harlequin Rasbora (Trigonostigma heteromorpha)
Minimum tank size: 10 gallons- Temperature: 73-82°F
- Personality: Peaceful schooling fish
The Harlequin Rasboras are small orange fish with a characteristic black mark. They do very well in schools and add much visual interest to a planted aquarium.
FAQs (frequently-asked questions)
Most of these species can be kept together, but the size of the tank and water parameters are important. Research compatibility for each species based on your tank’s specifics.
Betta fish, Guppies, and Zebra Danios are some of the easiest because they are hardy and don’t require much.
Feed once or twice a day only as much as they will consume in 2-3 min to avoid overfeeding and water pollution.Do all fish need a filter?
Yes, aeration maintains the quality of the water, and this is an essential requirement. Even at small tanks there is a provision for a gentle filter.
