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Old May 13th, 2009, 08:23 AM
Joe549 Joe549 is offline
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Join Date: Feb 2009
Location: Kingston, ON Canada
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Suggestions for Fresh Water Fish

I recently acquired a 30gal tank w/gravel and a stand. I had planned on giving it away, however after cleaning the tank and bringing it inside I decided I liked it and opted to keep it. I haven't had a fish tank in over 15 years. I cleaned all the gravel and stones and purchased a filter I found online and filled the tank and got everything running and ready.

Now I need to get some fish. I plan to keep it a fresh water tank. I am just looking for some opinions on fish, I would like to get a variety over time but would prefer ones that are more colourful. Any suggestions?
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Old May 13th, 2009, 08:06 PM
JennieV JennieV is offline
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Location: Montreal, Quebec
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Hi Joe, welcome to the forum!

I found that keeping cichlids was working out best for us, as mollies and guppies reproduce fast, but they also can get ill and die faster, at least from my experience. I once got a batch of mollies that seemed fine, and were doing great, but within one week - all died. Waste of money and time. Plus, I think that cichlids have very interesting habits and are fun to watch.

I love angel fish, kribensis, blue (german) rams. Look them up and see what you feel is for you. Some are easier to keep than others. All that I mentioned are community fish, which means they will get along well with bottom feeders (loaches, sucker fish and such) as well as schooling fish, if you want to add a splash of color (rummy nose tetra, blood-fin tetra...).

My advise would be to decide what main fish you want to have and build from there: habitat, plants, tank mates etc...A good rule of thumb is an inch of fish per gallon, roughly. So like a pair of Angel fish will grow quite big, so I would stick to smaller tank mates...Always RESEARCH your fish before buying, it will save you time and $$$ (no dead or stressed fish).

P.S. When buying fish, look for give-away signs: always closed fins mean the fish are very stressed, spots, damaged scales, dead fish in the tank - all negative and I would avoid buying those. Look for bright eyes, no cloudiness..lively, moving around, not afraid.

Good luck!!

Last edited by JennieV; May 13th, 2009 at 08:10 PM.
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Old May 13th, 2009, 10:06 PM
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Dee-O-Gee Dee-O-Gee is offline
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Location: Niagara, Ontario, Canada
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I have a fresh water tank and ones I truly enjoy are Strawberry, blueberry and lemon tetras--very colorful.

Angel's are nice but they should be purchased (in two's) when very young if you want to introduce them into a "community" tank with tetras, danios or mollies.

They are beautiful to watch

Good luck Joe549
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