How to stock your tank
It’s all very well to hear people talking about the beauties
of an aquarium, how to maintain adequate pH, keeping nitrate
and phosphate levels adequately balanced, and so on … there
seems to be plenty of technical detail available!
But what about the actual fish? How do you choose which
ones you want? How do you know whether they’ll be too
big for the tank when they grow up, or whether they’ll
be compatible with your other fish? How do you find out how
to stock your tank?
Here is a quick rundown of the things you’ll need
to bear in mind when choosing fish for your tank, as well
as a brief look at a couple of the more common types of tropical
fish. Hopefully it’ll give you a good idea of where
to get started!
Freshwater vs. Saltwater
Obviously, the water type is different, but what does that
actually mean in terms of the kind of aquarium you’ll
end up with?
Specifically, freshwater tanks are generally recommended
for beginner aquarists – especially if children are
going to be involved in looking after the fish.
This is because freshwater fish are much easier to look
after, and are generally more resilient to less-than-perfect
water quality and fluctuations in temperature (and, really,
all the sorts of mistakes that beginners are prone to make!).
In general, freshwater tanks are both cheaper and easier
to maintain than saltwater ones.
Saltwater aquariums often have more colorful fish, but maintaining
the chemistry of a saltwater tank is a pretty finicky business,
and is best undertaken by someone well-versed in the lore
of fish-keeping.
What to think about when choosing your fish
Unfortunately, choosing fish for an aquarium isn’t
as simple as you might think. You can’t just go into
a pet store and select arbitrary numbers of the fish that
you find the most appealing – you need to invest some
forethought into your tank to ensure that your fish lead
happy, healthy lives.
Some things to think about:
Fish size. When you buy fish, they’re usually babies.
Some will stay about the same size, but other will grow much,
much larger – so you’ll need to bear the size
of your tank in mind! As a standard rule of thumb, always
buy for the adult size. If there’s no guide on the
tank or if you’re unsure, ask the assistant. This is
really important, because fish are sensitive little creatures:
if they’re subjected to overcrowding (which happens
when fish are too large for their surrounds), they can get
so stressed out that they die. Really.
Recommended diet. Not all fish dine equally – some
fish eat live food, some eat frozen food, some eat flakes,
and some will eat anything (but don’t rely on that
last one when it’s tank-stocking time!) Because different
fish eat different things, unless you’re prepared to
invest time each day in measuring out the accurate quantities
of various fish foods, it’s best to get fish that eat
the same thing. It’ll make it easier and less expensive
for you to take care of your new pets (and will ensure that
the kids can participate, too, if they want to get involved).
Compatibility.
Contrary to popular belief, fish do actually
have personalities – and some of them can get pretty
aggressive. Many tropical fish have well-deserved reputations
as bullies:
they can nip the fins of other, more peace-loving fish, they
can ‘barge’ smaller fish, and they can get into
fights (which are frequently pretty vicious). To eliminate
the likelihood of your fish getting into scraps, you should
aim to buy fish that have mutually compatible personalities – which
means, no territorial fighting fish in with a school of peace-loving
roamers!
Water temperature. Just because the dozen or so species of
fish in that wall of tanks in the pet store are all labeled ‘tropical
fish’, doesn’t mean that they’re all tropical
fish from the same region. Different fish thrive in different
temperatures – and because you can only have one temperature
at a time in your tank, it’s best if you choose fish
that are comfortable in the same temperature range.
Life expectancy. Some fish live for upwards of ten years – which
is a pretty serious time commitment! If you’re a free
spirit who likes to roam about (and, let’s face it, tropical
fish tanks don’t normally go down so well when you’re
trying to thumb a ride), consider how long you’re likely
to want to keep this fish tank for, and shop accordingly.
So what types of fish can I buy then?
Shopping for tropical fish is fun! As long as you’ve
got your tank dimensions figured out and know basically how
much money you want to spend (and have perhaps printed out
the above list, to take with you to the store), grab your
wallet and head to the pet shop/fish breeder. One of the
best parts about keeping a tropical tank is that the beauty
of the fish doesn’t depend on the size of your checking
account!
Some common breeds that you’ll likely encounter:
Clown Loach. Clown loaches are colorful, lively, and humorous
fish with plenty of quirky personality traits (like lying
on their side when resting, and making loud clicking noises
when they eat!) Clown loaches do best in schools, so if you
like them, get at least three or four. These fish grow between
6 and 12 inches – they’re pretty sizeable! – and
prefer to eat meaty food.
Congo Tetra. These peaceful fish are popular choices for
beginners, as they’re very brightly colored and like
to flash around the tank in divertingly attractive schools
(again, you’ll need to get more than a few of these
to keep them happy). These are a medium-sized fish, generally
growing to around 5 inches in length, and require a minimum
of 30 gallons of water for adequate swimming space. Tetras
love clean water, and lots of live plants to dart around
and hide behind, but aside from this they’re pretty
easy-care.
Elephant Nose. These are really amazing fish to look at – they
have a long, protuberant ‘trunk’ for a nose (hence
the name) which they use to hunt small live food - although
they will also eat frozen and flaked food too, if it’s
all that’s available. They grow to be about 8 inches
long and need a sandy, gravelly bottom on the tank. These
are fairly territorial fish, but will do fine as long as
the tank isn’t overcrowded.
Tiger Barb. These fish derive their names from the characteristic
black barring (‘tiger stripes’) on their flanks.
They’re very striking fish, but they can be quite aggressive
toward other species (they’re known as fin nippers).
Aggression is minimized by keeping them in schools, where
they’ll be distracted from the other fish in the tank
by working out the necessary hierarchy among themselves – it
can be pretty diverting to watch! Tiger Barbs grow to about
3 inches and need plenty of space for schooling. They’re
omnivores, so they eat all types of food: the one feeding
rule is to do it regularly, to avoid aggression!
Further Reading
For more information on the technicalities of keeping a
tropical fish tank, check out Katy’s
Tropical Fish - A Complete Guide. As the
title promises, it’s a complete
compendium for the responsible fish-keeper of any experience
level, and is packed from start to finish with valuable gems
of relevant, detailed, and easy-read information.
