Types of Fish

Fish are fantastic pets to have in the city. They are wonderful and relaxing to watch. While a fish bowl on your counter is not a very good habitat, you can have a relatively small tank that doesn’t take up much room while providing a great home for your fish and hours of stress-busting watching for you.

Photo by AJ Gray https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:The_fish_tank_as_environment_for_freshwater_goldfish.jpg

Here you will find an introduction to caring for pet fish. This page is about the different types of fish and what their different needs are. I have another page about the equipment you will need and a third pet fish page about how to maintain the fish and habitat.

Fish As Pets

There are lots of different types of fish but you can divide them into tropical/coldwater and freshwater/saltwater fish. With very few exceptions (some coldwater fish can do well in a warmer tank) you can’t mix coldwater fish with tropical fish or mix saltwater and freshwater fish. 

You also need to be aware that some species are not friendly to other fish of their own species or other species. You need to be aware of the aggressive tendencies of some fish and not mix the aggressive ones with others.

Photo by Chait Goli https://www.pexels.com/photo/goldfish-swimming-in-fresh-water-4365565/

You have to keep the tank clean, no matter what type of fish you have. The larger the tank relative to the number of fish, the easier this is. You also have to keep the water chemistry balanced.

You can keep them indoors or outdoors. Most of the time you will find freshwater coldwater fish in outdoor tanks or ponds. 

The care for all fish is the same, with some minor details.

Tropical/Coldwater

Photo by Rachel Claire. https://www.pexels.com/photo/clown-fish-hiding-in-green-plant-6123080/

Tropical fish tend to be more colorful. They are also more delicate. They need to have their water heated to a certain temperature whereas nontropical fish can live in room-temperature water. Tropical fish can be more easily disturbed by changes in their environment.  There is a wide variety of tropical fish. Popular ones include beta fish, tetras, mollys, and guppies. But there are many many more!

https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Rosy_bitterling_(Rhodeus_ocellatus)_-_16241287138.jpg

Coldwater fish include goldfish, barbs, danios, and kois. They can grow quite large and are great for outdoor tanks. Their large size means they create more mess in the tank, but otherwise, they are very hardy and easy to take care of.

Freshwater/Saltwater

You can also have freshwater or saltwater tanks. Sometimes saltwater is called marine tanks.  You can have tropical or cold water saltwater tanks or fresh water tanks. Saltwater fish tend to be the most colorful. So a tropical marine tank will have the most colorful tank of all but a coldwater marine tank will have more colorful fish than a coldwater fresh water tank.

Photo by Jeffry Surianto https://www.pexels.com/photo/parrotfish-in-fish-tank-9004401/

Saltwater tanks will require more work than freshwater tanks and the marine fish are more delicate. In addition to keeping the regular freshwater chemistry of the water balanced, you also need to keep the salinity at the right level. Saltwater habitats tend to require more space than freshwater tanks.

Common marine fish include clown fish, angelfish and blennys.

The least expensive and easiest fish to get and take care of are coldwater fresh fish. The most expensive and difficult to care for are saltwater tropical fish.

Indoor/Outdoor

Photo by Nick Night https://unsplash.com/photos/a-small-pond-filled-with-lots-of-fish-MQ3mIGsChl8

Most fish tanks are going to be inside. But if you have a backyard, you can keep a fish pond outdoors with cold water fish like kois. There are similar concerns with an outdoor pond as with indoor tanks with regards to keeping the water clean and the chemistry balanced. You have to be very concerned about the placement of the pond so that it is not in direct sunlight but also not directly under trees that will clog the water with leaves.

Fish That Clean

Photo by Pawel Ciesla https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Liposarcus_multiradiatus_01_ssj_20050321.jpg

No matter what type of tank you have, there are some fish that can work to clean your tank. You can get algae eaters like catfish, snails, and other fish that are known to clean the tank for coldwater, tropical, freshwater, and saltwater tanks.

Conclusion

Freshwater fish, marine fish, coldwater fish, tropical fish, indoor fish, and outdoor fish all need the proper water chemistry and temperature for their species. The tank needs to be kept clean and they all need to be fed regularly. There are fish, like catfish, who will eat debris and waste of the other fish, which helps you keep the tank clean.

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