Summary
Fish are one of our planets most common animals, mainly because they've been here for so long. There are
Three types of fish you can get:
Freshwater,
Saltwater,
Brackish. Overall the
Freshwater fish 'genre' is the easiest to take care of, this is due to the availability of freshwater to people in modern society. Not only that, but they have adapted to the constant change in temperature/salinity/etc within many freshwater lakes and the equipment needed to sustain them is cheaper (people have put more money in filtering freshwater for us to drink than saltwater y'know). So if it's your first time caring for fish I suggest you get a Freshwater one. If you have experience with fish and you want a
Saltwater fish, go for it! Heres a few tips for keeping them alive: clean their tank once a week, monitor the temperature of the tank at least once a day, and never EVER name your fish. It will die, trust me,
Saltwater fish are cursed like that. Another thing to keep in mind with fish is that Albinos are not effected by light in any way, their pigment is just for looks.
Freshwater: Easier to take care of and readily available at most petstores.
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Oscars:
Oscars are aggressive in the wild, but in captivity are surprisingly friendly. You can pair them with other non-aggressive
Freshwater fish without worry. But every once in a while you get a bad apple. They are pretty cheap fish priced between $10-$120 depending on longfin/age/etc and can be found in a lot of local petstores, if you can't find one near you you can find one online. These fish are very smart and can be a great beginners fish if you don't pair males together or with other species.
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Goldfish:
Easily the most popular pet fish and the most retarded.
These things are rumored to have a 2-second memory(That's just an untrue urban myth) and will eat until they die (like MOST fish). The best beginners fish ever, but just because you have had a Goldfish doesn't mean you can handle the big guys yet, punk. They are priced extremely cheap, some places will only charge you $1 for one. They are also commonly used as 'feeders' to other fish, that means that they are live food.
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Bass:
Famous fishing-fish, not necessarily pet material but do-able. They cannot be bought live in most stores and I would not suggest one as a pet unless you are looking for a challenge. They can be cheap or pricey depending on where you buy and what species, $15-$95. If you can tame one of these bastards, then I applaud you, sir.
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Cichlids:
These fish can be found all over the world
(Mainly Africa and South America , they are small aggressive fish inside and outside captivity. They can be great for beginner breeders and fish owners everywhere, just don't pair them with other fish species though. They will bully much larger fish.
(I have a bumblebee cichlid named Bruno that has killed every tank member it has had except for the albino Plecostomus that's twice his size)
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Guppies:
These dense motherfuckers are almost as stupid as Goldfish, hell maybe even moreso. Great beginner fish but will astound you on what stupid thing they will do next, either impregnating every female in one day or killing them the next. I seriously hate these things, they are too much work for so much stupid.
(I hate these fucking dumbass fish so fucking much oh my god they won't ever fucking die. I've had a tank full of them for at least 4-5 years and they just keep fucking and fucking. It's so inbreed that you hear banjo music when you open the tank lid.)
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Freshwater Invertebrates:
Not really a necessity for a freshwater system but can add unusual character to a tank. You can purchase anything from big snails that clean the tank, to bright blue crayfish. Some of the more commonly available are Amano Shrimps and various species of Snails.
Saltwater: Harder to take care of usually, but some of the most beautiful animals on Earth.
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Clownfish:
Cute little fish that not only entertain but amaze even fish experts at times. If you're going into
Saltwater fish, I suggest you start here for these are some of the best fish you can get. Sometimes their ingenuity will make you smile, others times their stupidity will anger you. Great pets IMO and even greater when they have a friend anemone too.
•Cichlids:
These fish can be found all over the world, they are small aggressive fish inside and outside captivity. They can be great for beginner breeders and fish owners everywhere, just don't pair them with other fish species though. They will bully much larger fish.
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Butterfly Fish:
These beautiful fish are great editions to your
Saltwater tank, their colors are really bright and contrast with the coral around them. I may not know the price of them (someone tell me) but I can sure tell you they won't break the bank. They are non-aggressive and can swim alongside other fish species without a flinch, unless of course they are aggressive species.
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Saltwater Angels:
These are unrelated to
Freshwater Angel fish. They are just like the Butterfly fish in behavior but look completely different. Another great addon to any
Saltwater display. I only suggest keeping them in groups of 1-10 other fish at a time (depending on tank size) because they get very irritated if you don't.
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Sharks:
You are probably not qualified to own one. Sharks have been around for 400,000,000 years, and are equipped with some of the most sensitive sensory organs on earth. With new advances is aquarium technology and animal husbandry, owning a shark is a real possibility. The most commonly owned species for homeowners are Bamboo/Cat Sharks, however you need
At LEAST a 300 gallon aquarium for one. Sites that tell you otherwise are lying. I know people (They have Marine Biology degrees, though) that own Nurse sharks and blacktip reef sharks, too.
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Saltwater Invertebrates:
These are essential to the survival of any reef system. Crabs, Shrimps, and Snails are the unsung hero of the saltwater community. If you stock your system right you don't even need a filtration system. The Biological Filtration coming from microscopic organisms and the "cleanup crew" of crabs and snails can be enough to filter your whole tank.
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Cephalopods:
You are probably not qualified to own one. Octopus are becoming more obtainable in the saltwater fishkeeping community. For their relatively short life span they are an expensive and timely animal to take care off. Experts only.
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Coral(you could give this it's own whole separate category):
Coral are pretty self explanatory. They are not plants, rather a colony of hundreds of individual animals living as one
for the collective.(it's almost the perfect communist country) They get their color by Zooanthellae algae living in it's skin. They are both photosynthetic autotrophs and heterotrophic. They are facinating animals and can be really easy, or extremely hard to take care of. Learn about the animal before you buy one, or you
will kill it. Learn about Marine system and coral care here:
http://www.peteducation.com/category.cfm?c=16+2167
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Morality and Responsibility of Keeping Saltwater Fish:
Only recently have major advancements in saltwater breeding occurred. Most, if not all the fish in pet stores were taken from the Reefs. Most species come from areas that are not properly protected, and therefore the methods to capture the fish is very destructive. Divers use crowbars to break apart the reef, and Cyanide to stun the fish, most often killing more than they capture. I urge you, if you cannot take care of these fish, don't even bother buying them. And always by tank breed fish and propagated corals if you can.
Buy all of the above here:
http://www.liveaquaria.com/
Learn about all of the above here:
http://www.peteducation.com/index.cfm?c=16