Picking species for a tropical aquarium

Some of the lovebird owners prefer to rear fishes in their home along with the birds. The following post hep them to perform well with aquatic faunas.

If you want to set up an aquarium with tropical aquarium fish, there is a multitude of different species to choose among. There is of course the every so common neon tetra, platy, black molly, swordtail, and so on, but you don’t have to go for typical beginner species unless you want to.

As a beginner, you should focus on getting hardy species that will tolerate a mistake or two. It is also a good idea to stick to fairly peaceful species, since aggressive species require species knowledge in order to avoid excessive fighting in the aquarium.

If you are prepared to deal with at least a little aggression in the aquarium, there are many beautiful cichlids to choose among that will do fine even in the hands of a beginner. Be sure to visit a cichlid fact database, cichlid website or cichlid forum before you make a purchase, because many cichlids are not recommended for beginners.

They can for instance be too aggressive or grow really large and require huge aquarium. Another excellent choice for beginners is barbs, as long as you stick to some of the hardy species, e.g. rosy barb, cherry barb, gold barb, or tiger barb.

In the wild, a vast majority of the barbs live in large groups and they must therefore not be kept alone or in small groups in the aquarium. For most barb species, it is advisable to get at least five specimens, preferably more.