Fish species to avoid
This article is about common popular aquarium fish that beginners should not buy but often do. These fish are for one reason or another not suitable for beginners, this can due to them being sensetive or that they grow to big for home aquariums. A few of the fish I mention in this article make great aquarium fish for more advanced aquarists but are not suited for beginners. Some species are not suitable pet fishperiod and you should never ever buy these species.
Species 1: Oscar Cichlid
The oscar is an adorable little fish that are sold at around 1-2 inches of size. The small fish (fry) looks suitable for small aquariums and many beginners buy them. They are hardy and do not demand much from the aquarium keeper. The oscar only have one big drawback that prevents it from being a good beginner fish. They grow large and require a large tank. They grow to be more then a ft and require large aquariums to feel at home. You should not keep them in aquarium smaller than 75 gallon. If you have a bigger aquarium than that they make ideal beginner fish.
Species 2: The common pleco
This species is hardy and would make an ideal beginner fish if it wasn’t for its size. They require huge tanks and can grow to be over 2 ft.
Species 3: Bala shark
The bala sharkl prefers to be kept in large schools and should never be kept alone. They are active fish that grow very big, when you combine this with the fact that they should only be kept in shoals it is not hard to realise that this species never should be kept in private aquariums.
Fish species 4: Neon tetra
This is a small beautiful species that due to its friendly nature would be a creat beginner fish if it wasn’t for one thing. They are however often quite sensitive and should for that reason not be recommend to beginners. They are however often recommended in fish stores but after reading this article you know better than to believe that. Once you have kept aquariums for a little while and is starting to get the hang of it they make great aquarium fish.
Fish species 5: Clownloach
Clown loachesThe clown loach is unsuitable for beginners due to several reasons. The first being that a lot of fish are wild caught and should therefore not be kept by inexperienced fish keepers that are more likely to loose them. Another reason is that the clown loach can be hard to care for and somewhat sensitive. Yet another reason is that they require large tanks once they become adults. They can reach a ft and even if they grow slowly you really should not get one unless you have somewhere to house it when it grows bigger.
This was just five of the many many species beginners should stay away from. Only a small fraction of all the fish in the world are suitable for beginners and you should therefor always research a species before buying it. Researching a fish species should include finding out more about their demands and preferred habitat, their aggression level, if they should be kept alone or in groups, what they eat, how big they get and how hardy they are. There are plenty of websites available online where you can find more information about fish.
