Best Freshwater Aquarium Fish For Beginners

There are hundreds of fish you can raise in a freshwater aquarium.  If you’re just starting out, you will want fish that is easy to care for.  The best freshwater aquarium fish for beginners are those that require just the basic requirements.

Out of the hundreds of freshwater fish, you can keep in the aquarium, there are only a few that will be good if you’re just starting this hobby.  As you gain more experience and knowledge about raising fish, you can add other species of fish to the tank.  For now, let’s just keep it simple and look at the 14 best freshwater aquarium fish for beginners.

 

1. Goldfish

Basic requirement

• Lifespan: 10-15 years
• Min. Tank Size: 30 gallons
• Temperament: Semi-aggressive
• Care level: Easy-Medium
• Temperature:65-75 degrees
• Approx. Size: 6-8″

Overview

Goldfish are the best freshwater aquarium fish for beginners.  Just about every home aquarium has goldfish.  These fish have been around for nearly two thousand years. For that reason, there are many different varieties of goldfish available.

Goldfish are easy to care for and can tolerate most water conditions. While most fish will be stressed by water changes, the goldfish can withstand it.

When it comes to foods, they will eat just about anything that’s available to them. The most popular food to give them is fish flakes. Fish flakes are cheap and available at any pet store or online such as Amazon.

If you are raising goldfish fry, make sure they are getting the highest quality food available.  Quality food for goldfish fry will help them be healthier and live a longer life.

Since there are so many different varieties of goldfish, the one you should get is the common goldfish. It’s the most popular varieties of goldfish and great for beginners.

2. Danios

Basic requirement

• Lifespan: Up to 5 years
• Min. Tank Size: 5 gallons
• Temperament: Peaceful
• Care level: Easy
• Temperature:65 – 77 Degrees
• Approx. Size: 2.5″

Overview

Danios are freshwater fish found throughout Southeast Asia.  They have a pattern or horizontal stripes that go along their entire body.  These fish are hardy fish and do well in cool waters.

These fish are schooling fish which means you’ll need to buy 10 or more to put in the tank.  They stay in their group for protection from larger fish an hunt together.

Most danios are omnivorous and will eat live foods, frozen foods, tropical flakes, and pellets. For best results, rotate their diet daily between tropical flakes and pellets. Frozen and live foods can be given to them as a treat or to help induce spawning. Food should be given to them twice daily and only what they can consume within 3 minutes.

 

3. Mollies

 

Basic requirement

• Lifespan: 10-15 years
• Min. Tank Size: 30 gallons
• Temperament: Semi-aggressive
• Care level: Easy-Medium
• Temperature:65-75 degrees
• Approx. Size: 6-8″

Overview

Mollies are another species of freshwater fish great for beginners.  These fish are easy to care for and they will eat just about anything that you feed them.

When it comes to feeding, mollies can be fed fish flakes and pellets daily.  To supplements their food, you can feed them live food and freeze-dried food such as bloodworms, blackworms, daphnia, and brine shrimp.

These fish are schooling fish which means they like to swim in groups.  For that reason, it’s a good idea to have more than 4 in an aquarium tank.

Their tank buddy includes other species of mollies, swordtails, guppies, gourami fish, danios, and female Bettas. These fish have the same aggression levels and can live in the same tank together.

4. Tetra

Basic requirement

• Lifespan: Up to 7 years
• Min. Tank Size: 10 gallons
• Temperament: Peaceful
• Care level: Easy
• Temperature:70 – 80 Degrees
• Approx. Size: 2″

Overview

The Neon Tetra is a small tropical freshwater fish that are found in South America. These tropical fish are really easy to care for and which is why it’s popular among fish keepers.

Neon Tetra has vibrant colors throughout their bodies. They have a turquoise color stripe and a red stripe. The turquoise color stretches from the eyes all the way to its adipose fin. The red stripe starts from the adipose fin and stretches to the tail fin. This bright coloring helps the fish locate each other in dark or murky water conditions.

These fish are school fish, which means you should have at least 15 Tetras in a tank. Smaller schools will cause the Tetra to feel threatened and this can cause stress for them.

Neon Tetras will feed on practically anything you give to them. However, the best type of food to give them are tropical fish flakes. They are highly nutritious and formulated for tropical fish like Neon Tetras.

5. Betta

Basic requirement

• Lifespan: Up to 5 years
• Min. Tank Size: 2.5 gallons
• Temperament: Friendly except for its own kind
• Care level: Easy
• Temperature:78 – 80 Degrees
• Approx. Size: 1.5″

Overview

The Siamese fighting fish or known as Betta is a popular freshwater fish from Southeast Asia.  Mostly found in Cambodia, Thailand, Laos, and Vietnam.  In their natural habitat, they live in oxygen-deficient water such as rice paddies and water puddles.   For that reason, these fish are easy to care for and can survive in any water condition.

Bettas are omnivores fish, which means they require both plant and animal food.  Live foods are their favorites food.  This can be in the form of bloodworms, small fish, and daphnia.

Beside live foods, Betta fish will eat flakes, pellets, and even plants.  These fish aren’t picky and will eat anything that’s given to them.

Having Betta in the tank is great, but you’ll need to watch out for the males.  It’s recommended never to have two male Bettas in the same tank.  By doing so, they will fight each other until one dies.  If you’re planning to have a lot of Bettas in the same tank, just make sure not to have two males with each other.

6. Guppy

Basic requirement

• Guppy Lifespan: Up to 5 years
• Min. Tank Size: 15 gallons
• Temperament: Peaceful
• Care level: Easy
• Temperature:65 – 82 Degrees
• Approx. Size:  6″

Overview

Guppies are another favorite freshwater fish great for beginners. These tropical fish are from South America. Guppies are really easy to care for and will survive in most water conditions.

There are about 300 varieties of Guppies in the world. They come in all different types of colors, sizes and tail shapes. The tail shapes are what attract most people to them. It’s a fan-shaped and comes in many different colors.

These are schooling fish and prefer to live in a large group of 15 Guppies or more in a tank. If you have a small school of Guppies, you may see them hide in the plants and rocks. If they do, this behavior is their way of telling you that they are stressed or they are ill.

These tropical fish are peaceful fish and get along with other schooling fish. They make great tank buddies with Betta, goldfish, Neon Tetra, and gouramis.

As for food, the best type of food to feed them is tropical fish flakes. It’s highly nutritious and formulated for Guppies.

 

7. Dwarf Gourami

Basic requirement

• Lifespan: Up to 4 years
• Min. Tank Size: 10 gallons
• Temperament: Peaceful
• Care level: Easy
• Temperature:74 – 79 Degrees
• Approx. Size: Up to 6″

Overview

Dwarf gouramis are among the favorite fish for beginners. They are easy to care for and are peaceful fish that can be kept with a wide range of other community fish.

The dwarf gouramis are the smallest species of gouramis and these are the easiest to care for. They can survive in just about any water condition.

As for food, they prefer to eat a diet of fish flakes. Tropical fish flakes are best for dwarf gouramis as it’s formulated for them. However, they can be fed pellets and dried food as well.

With this species of gouramis, they like to be in large groups. However, you’ll want to have males and females within the group. Having all-male in the group can cause them to become territorial.

8. Plecostomus

Basic requirement

• Lifespan: Up to 5 years plus
• Min. Tank Size: 25 gallon
• Temperament: Peaceful
• Care level: Easy
• Temperature:60 – 80 Degrees
• Approx. Size: 5″

Overview

Plecostomus or “pleco” for short is an algae eater that every aquarium should have.  Thanks to these fish, you won’t have to worry about having algae issues in your tank.  Besides keeping the tank free of algae, they keep the bottom of the tank clean as well.

These fish are bottom dwellers and feed mainly on algae and any leftover food that sinks to the bottom of the tank.  Plecostomus will sometimes feed on dead fish too.

They are easy to care for and once you have them in the tank, you’ll never need to worry about them again.

9. Cory Catfish

Basic requirement

• Lifespan: Up to 5 years
• Min. Tank Size: 10 gallon
• Temperament: Peaceful
• Care level: Easy
• Temperature:72 – 78 Degrees
• Approx. Size: 2.5″

Overview

These small tropical fish from South America are great for beginners.  They are bottom-feeding fish that spends most of their entire life on the bottom of the aquarium.  They will scavenge for leftover food or even feed on dead fish.

Cory catfish don’t require much care and you can put them in the tank and let them be.  They can live alone or in a group as they get along well with other fish species, especially other bottom-feeders such as the pleco.

 

10. Angelfish

Basic requirement

• Lifespan: Up to 10 years
• Min. Tank Size: 30 gallons
• Temperament: Semi-aggressive
• Care level: Easy
• Temperature: 76-82 degrees
• Approx. Size: 6″

Overview

Angelfish have become common in many aquariums over the years. These tropical fish are native to South America, particularly to the Amazon River Basin area.

These tropical fish require little to no maintenance to keep them alive and active. They are used to the extreme conditions in their natural habitat, which is why they are easy to care for.

Angelfish prefer live foods as their main choice. In their natural habitats, they feed at the surface and mid-water. Some also forage along the sandy bottom for worms and bottom-dwelling insects.

In captivity, Angelfish should be fed live foods. However, if live food isn’t available, freeze-dried foods and flakes can be an alternative.

Angelfish are picky eater, and for that reason, you should rotate their foods on a daily basis. Today, you could feed them brine shrimps and the next day, you can feed them fish flakes. On top of that, feeding should be done twice per day, once in the morning and once in the evening.

As for tankmates, angelfish have a mild temperament and are known to be sociable with other different schools of fish. Some of the ideal companions include cichlids, tetras, loaches, catfish, swordtails, gouramis, and discus. While they seems to get along with a lot of other fish, you may want to watch them closely when introducing new fish into the aquarium.

11. Discus

Basic requirement

• Lifespan: Up to 5 years plus
• Min. Tank Size: 25 gallon
• Temperament: Peaceful
• Care level: Easy
• Temperature:60 – 80 Degrees
• Approx. Size: 5″

Overview

Discus is a controversial fish to keep for beginners. Some say they are difficult to keep, while others think discus is one of the easiest fish to keep.

Like any other fish, discus is easy to care for if you follow the very basic rules. For discus, keep them in groups of five or more, as they are a shoaling species. Keep the water clean and clear, as discus can become ill easily. As for food, make sure to feed them only high-quality nutrients, twice daily for adults, and 3 times daily for juveniles.

As long you follow the basic rules, discus is a great fish for beginners to keep.

12. Swordtails

Basic requirement

• Lifespan: Up to 3 years
• Min. Tank Size: 10 gallons
• Temperament: Peaceful
• Care level: Easy
• Temperature: 74 – 82 Degrees
• Approx. Size:  Up to 2.4″

Overview

Swordtail fish are tropical fish found in Central America and the southern part of North America. These tropical fish are peaceful fish and easy to care for. For that reason, this makes the swordtail fish a great fish for beginners.

Swordtail fish are naturally greenish color, but due to crossbreeding, you’ll find them in many different colors. In addition, they have other varieties of fin shapes too.

These tropical fish are not picky eaters. They will eat anything that is fed to them. However, like most other tropical fish, they prefer live foods. Live foods such as small crustaceans and insects are their favorites.

Besides live foods, they can be fed fish flakes, pellets, and freeze-dried foods as well. When feeding them flakes and pellets, make sure it contains only high-quality ingredients. Using low-quality products can jeopardize the swordtail fish’s health.

Swordtail fish are schooling fish and they prefer to stay in a group. When purchasing them, make sure to have 5 or more in the tank. Large groups of fish provide protection for them from other fish species.

Swordtail fish tend to get along with a lot of other fish species. Some of them include mollies, Corydoras, platies, tetras, and angelfish. However, every fish has its own temperament so you’ll want to keep a close eye on the fish when new species are introduced into the tank.

13.  Barbs

Basic requirement

• Lifespan: Up to 5 years
• Min. Tank Size: 20 gallons
• Temperament: Peaceful
• Care level: Easy
• Temperature:79– 84 Degrees
• Approx. Size: 3.5″

Overview

Barbs fish are a favorite along with fish keepers, especially the Tiger Barbs.  These are tropical fish that live in the Amazon basin of South America.  They are easy to take care of and will eat anything that is given to them.

Barbs are social fish and prefer to stay in a large group.  For that reason, when you’re buying Barbs, make sure to get at least 5 or more to put in the tank.  If you have a large tank, it’s best to put at least 10 or more Barbs.  Barbs stay in the school of fish for protection from other large fish and for finding food.

These tropical fish can eat anything that is given to them, but it’s recommended to feed them tropical fish flakes.  Tropical fish flakes are formulated with the right ingredients for tropical fish like the Barbs.  When feeding them, make sure to give them enough that they can finish within 3 minutes.  If they still seem hungry, add some more food, but not a lot.

14. Cichlids

Basic requirement

• Lifespan: Up to 5 years plus
• Min. Tank Size: 25 gallon
• Temperament: Peaceful
• Care level: Easy
• Temperature:60 – 80 Degrees
• Approx. Size: 5″

Overview

Cichlids are by far the most popular freshwater aquarium fish to keep for beginners. These tropical fish are from South America and are easy to care for.

There are many different species of cichlids available to keep, but the most popular one for beginners include Angelfish, Discus, Convicts, and Oscars.

Cichlids are one type of fish that eats a lot! Since they eat a lot, cichlids also excrete a lot of waste. The tank will need to be filtered well to remove all the waste.  If not, the waste can build up and cause the water to become cloudy.

If you’re planning to keep a couple of them in a tank, make sure to have a good filter, and perhaps two filters would be better.

Conclusion

Above are what’s recommended as the best freshwater aquarium fish for beginners.  They are easy to care for and can live in any type of water condition.  However, like with any living things, not understanding the proper care for the fish can lead to the fish dying. To prevent that from happening, make sure to understand the basics of fish keeping first in order to keep them happy and living for a long time.