The 10 Best Freshwater Fish For Beginners




Starting a freshwater aquarium can be an exciting time for everyone! You get a piece of a freshwater setting like a home aquarium. It is crucial to choose the right freshwater livestock for your aquarium. When selecting freshwater fish, make sure to do your research on which fish are aggressive towards each other. Having a freshwater aquarium can be great for a home office with COVID being present! If you are new to a freshwater aquarium, here is our list of the top 10 best freshwater fish for beginners with aquariums!

Freshwater fish present such a glamorous and unique appearance. The uniqueness usually drives everyone to want an aquarium in their own home! You see these gorgeous aquariums in settings like dentist offices, clubs, and restaurants. However, most people don’t know which fish can live together. Always ask your local fish store questions before purchasing anything. Purchasing the wrong fish can ruin your aquarium. The list below represents fantastic fish to start with getting for your aquarium.

The 10 Best Freshwater Fish for Beginners

As mentioned above, knowing everything about fish is very difficult. However, here is our list of the best beginner freshwater fish. Before taking action, always do your research on these fish. Ask your local fish store any questions that you may have!

Bristlenose Pleco

When having a freshwater aquarium, you need a fantastic cleanup crew! The Bristlenose Pleco can be found sucking on algae throughout the aquarium. The pleco sucks on the walls of the acrylic or glass! They are generally very hardly fish that can survive a wide range of PH levels, nitrates, and nitrites. One thing to keep in mind with Bristlenose Plecos is its tendency to grow at a fast rate. Upgrading freshwater aquariums may be necessary when housing these fish over time. With these qualities, this freshwater fish is a fan favorite for freshwater aquarium beginners!

Freshwater Angelfish

I am biased with the Freshwater Angelfish selection! However, this was my first freshwater fish for my home aquarium. Freshwater Angelfish are perfect for any beginner new to the freshwater aquarium scene because of how interactive it is with the owner. I remember feeding this fish freshwater flakes and the angelfish following my finger everywhere! Some freshwater fish stores may classify this angelfish as semi-aggressive. The Angelfish can go with most community beginner freshwater fish. I have personally housed this fish with other fish such as freshwater tetras and mollies! They are also very hardy and can withstand water parameters for freshwater being unbalanced. 

Black Moor Goldfish

The Black Moor Goldfish is a fan favorite among freshwater aquarium beginners. This goldfish has a very vibrant dark appearance to the fins and completes any freshwater aquarium. One thing to monitor is the intense amounts of food that the Black Moor Goldfish eats! They are known to eat algae in freshwater aquariums, which pairs nicely with the pleco! The goldfish is generally a community fish and gets along with most other community beginner freshwater fish in your aquarium. We highly recommend having this freshwater fish in your aquarium! 

Neon Tetra

The Neon Tetra brings a bunch of colors consisting of blue and red from the Amazon Rainforest! The Neon Tetra may be the most popular freshwater fish for aquarium beginners. The neon tetra usually works best in an aquarium in a large school with five or more tetras. This freshwater fish is very cheap, and most people can afford a bunch of them for their freshwater aquarium! Beginners may have trouble keeping them alive at first. However, once water stabilizes, they should be smooth sailing! 

Mickey Mouse Platy

This freshwater fish is a fantastic option for beginners because of how easy it is to care for, as well as the Mickey Mouse appearance on the tail! If you are a freshwater aquarium owner and a Disney fan, this is the freshwater fish for you! A popular aspect of this freshwater fish is the fact that it is a livebearer, meaning that it gives live birth! The livebearer is very interesting and unique to see inside of the freshwater aquarium! The diet for this fish is meaty foods, with the occasional fish flake option. Generally, this freshwater fish is ideal for beginners because of how hardy it is in the home aquarium!

Bala Shark

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The Bala Shark is the kingfish when it comes to freshwater aquariums! For any beginner, this freshwater fish is perfect for any large aquarium. Despite the name, this shark is known as a gentle giant! The shark has a gentle behavior and massive size. A school of these freshwater fish will make beginners hooked on the hobby to keep upgrading their aquariums in size! The Bala Shark can grow up to a foot long in diameter, and usually eats an array of meaty flakes that is common for their fish. If you are thinking about purchasing the Bala Shark, make sure to buy several of them for a proper school of freshwater fish!

Clown Loach

The Clown Loach is a fantastic freshwater loach for beginners because of its ability to get rid of a pesky freshwater snail invasion in an aquarium. For example, when you buy plants from places like Petco and PetSmart, many tiny snails can take over your freshwater aquarium. Other than this freshwater fish’s abilities, they present a beautiful color for beginning your freshwater aquarium. These guys are usually very active and can be seen swimming around your aquarium on the bottom near the gravel or sand. 

Kissing Gourami

The Kissing Gourami can entertain any freshwater beginner because of the rate that this freshwater fish puffs out the lips on its mouth. When you have two of these fish together in your aquarium, it can be comical seeing them “kiss” each other in the aquarium. However, one quality to keep in mind is their tendency to be aggressive sometimes, which lands them in the semi-aggressive category. The Kissing Gourami needs at least 50 gallons as they tend to grow in size.

Emerald Green Cory Catfish

The Emerald Green Cory Catfish is a great beginner freshwater fish because of its ability to act as a vacuum for extra food and waste that is in the water. This freshwater catfish will devour just about anything leftover in the gravel or sand. When it comes to caring for the fish, this may be one of the easiest freshwater fish to keep alive. The catfish can function in fluctuating water parameters in the home aquarium. The Cory Catfish can be seen at the bottom of most aquariums. This freshwater fish also offers a great affordable price that can be found at your local fish store. 

Black Skirt Tetra

The Black Skirt Tetra offers a fantastic option for a freshwater fish for beginners. Like most freshwater tetras, they are a great community schooling fish that can be paired with almost all community livestock. This freshwater fish can withstand various water parameters, making it an ideal option for beginners to the home aquarium hobby. 

In Conclusion

In conclusion, you have to do research when getting into a new hobby!! You took a good step starting with a large freshwater aquarium. However, you must be prepared for what is to come in terms of problems. Anything devastating could happen at any time. That is why you need the right resources to solve these problems!




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