Top 5 fish for a beginner fish tank
Harlequin rasboras
These tiny fish are known for their bright red coloring. They make a striking appearance in your aquarium in a shoal of 6 or more. Readily available in most pet stores, they are easy to find and easy to care for, often excelling on just fish flakes.
Neon Tetra
Although small in size, these beautifully colored freshwater fish are sure to take advantage of every space in your aquarium and are one of the easiest fish to care for.
Neon tetras love being in groups, so the bigger the group, the happier and more natural they will be. Their feeding is simple; they can be fed essential fish flakes, although they occasionally enjoy bloodworm or brine shrimp as a treat.
Cherry Barbs
Although it may take a while to settle into your new tank, Cherry Barbs are the perfect fish for a beginner's home aquarium.
They can tolerate significant water parameter changes, are friendly (unlike their cousins, Tiger Barbs), only grow about 2 inches long, and are generally an easy fish to care for.
Cory Catfish
Another peaceful fish that will live in harmony with most other fish is the Cory catfish. With over 140 species to choose from, the Cory fish is the perfect addition to a beginner's fish tank (not to be confused with other catfish like Pictus catfish).
Being aggressive eaters, these freshwater fish will take care of keeping your tank clean, thanks to their love of plant matter and algae that can accumulate at the bottom of home aquariums.
Tiger Pleco
A peaceful freshwater fish native to South America (the Amazon River in Brazil) is the Tiger Pleco. Tiger plecos spend most of their time at the bottom of the tank; they do well with sinking foods like pellets, but they also thrive on brine shrimp and bloodworms.
Keeping plecos nice and satiated will prevent them from eating the plants in your tank, which they may tend to do.
Important note: these plecos can grow up to around 6 inches. Which is definitely small in terms of plecos but something to be wary of when deciding how many fish you are going to stock your aquarium with.