New to the hobby - got great advice in tank setup (right here at Aq.Adv.) and all said do your research for fish. I have a 29 gallon soon to be fishless cycled but I have no idea where to start with fish. I am retired so not into big ticket ($) fish and not excited about breeding (yet). Any hints where to start? Local petshop has great advice with a major price tag. (most of their fish are $5-10 apiece) - not to sound too frugal, but I want to be able to afford to start with a reasonable tankful. Any hints are appreciated. Again, you guys are super helpful - glad I am part of this site!
How do I choose fish?
- Thread starter hawaii
- Start date
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Luananeko
Aquarium Advice Addict
Here's the questions I usually ask when someone has no idea what kind of fish they want...
1) Do you like active & interactive fish or do you prefer super colorful fish? Or do you only want fish that have both qualities?
2) Do you like oddball fish, or are you okay with "normal" fish as long as they have the qualities above?
3) Does the sight of a large school of fish appeal to you or do you like a wide variety of unique fish?
4) You said you didn't care about trying to breed the fish, but are you okay with fish that breed on their own? If so, are you okay with figuring out what to do with all the babies (most good LFS will accept them either as free donations or some will give you store credit)?
5) Do you want live plants? Some fish will eat them, while others are hard to keep without them. A tank with live plants will tend to be more expensive to set up, but if you're willing to do maintenance and have a LFS willing to buy back your trimmings then it can help pay for all of your future LFS purchases. A tank without live plants will usually require more frequent water changes or will require you to understock.
1) Do you like active & interactive fish or do you prefer super colorful fish? Or do you only want fish that have both qualities?
2) Do you like oddball fish, or are you okay with "normal" fish as long as they have the qualities above?
3) Does the sight of a large school of fish appeal to you or do you like a wide variety of unique fish?
4) You said you didn't care about trying to breed the fish, but are you okay with fish that breed on their own? If so, are you okay with figuring out what to do with all the babies (most good LFS will accept them either as free donations or some will give you store credit)?
5) Do you want live plants? Some fish will eat them, while others are hard to keep without them. A tank with live plants will tend to be more expensive to set up, but if you're willing to do maintenance and have a LFS willing to buy back your trimmings then it can help pay for all of your future LFS purchases. A tank without live plants will usually require more frequent water changes or will require you to understock.
Luananeko
Aquarium Advice Addict
Well, the questions were intended to get an idea of what you were looking for so we could recommend fish that matched what you liked 
But taking the list to the fish store to keep in mind while looking at the fish in person is helpful too! Just make sure to research which ones can be kept together on your own and not just take the LFS' advice.
But taking the list to the fish store to keep in mind while looking at the fish in person is helpful too! Just make sure to research which ones can be kept together on your own and not just take the LFS' advice.Similar threads
