5 Best Small Ornamental Fish for Beginners

Choosing the right ornamental fish is crucial for beginners who are just starting out in the world of aquariums. Some fish are hardy and less difficult to keep, which not only helps newbies gain experience in fishkeeping, but also brings a sense of fulfillment, Today we’re gonna talk about 5 best small ornamental fish for beginners.

1.Guppy(Poecilia reticulata)

The Guppy is a small tropical freshwater fish native to northern South America and the Caribbean. It has become one of the world’s most popular ornamental fish due to its brilliant colors, diverse caudal fins, and strong breeding ability.

Adults are about 3-6 cm in length, with males being smaller and more colorful, and their caudal fins are fan-shaped, sword-tailed, and other diverse forms.

The Guppy is highly adaptable, with a water temperature of 22-28℃ and a neutral to weakly alkaline pH. Omnivorous, can be fed artificial feed, algae or live bait. Suitable for group culture, but avoid mixing with aggressive fish.

2. Zebrafish(Danio rerio)

Zebrafish is a small freshwater fish with a body length of 3-4 centimeters, silvery-white body color, several longitudinal silvery-blue stripes on the side of the body from the back of the gill cover to the end of the tail, and long forked caudal fins, which makes it easy to recognize.

Zebrafish is lively and cold-tolerant, can survive in low temperature around 10℃, suitable for water temperature 20-28℃, more than 5 Zebrafish are recommended to be kept in a group.

3. Swordtail(Xiphophorus hellerii var.)

The Swordtail is 5cm to 8cm long, with a red or orange-red body color, purplish red below the lateral line and black eyes. When it swims in an aquarium planted with water plants, it looks like a red flower blooming in early spring, which is very eye-catching.

The Swordtail is highly adaptable and prefers neutral to weakly alkaline water (pH 7.0-8.0), medium hardness and a water temperature of 22-28°C. It is recommended to have at least 40 liters of water. It is recommended to have at least 40 liters of water, planting water plants (such as Moss, Ficus) to provide hiding space, and need to reserve swimming area.

4. Platy(Xiphophorus maculatus)

Platy is found in Latin America in the state of Veracruz, Mexico, and along the river basins of Brazil and southern Guatemala.Platy is an important species of tropical fish, which is small, delicate, colorful and attractive.

Platy is a tropical fish, but does not require high water temperature, their preferred water temperature is 22-26℃. Moonfish does not require high water quality, can survive in neutral or weakly alkaline water, usually you can control the PH value between 7-7.4.

Platy has a mixed diet, and needs to be fed with artificial feed as the main food, and then with some live bait such as plentiful shrimp, breadworms, water earthworms, red worms and so on.

5. Betta Fish(Betta splendens)

Betta Fish are widely used as ornamental fish. The Betta Fish gets its name because of its violent personality and its tendency to fight with other fighting fish.

Betta Fish is easy to keep, which is why it is popular all over the world. The Thai Fighting Fish prefers to live in water at 22 to 24℃, and care should be taken that the water temperature does not fall below 20℃. It is not demanding on the pH and hardness of water. It has auxiliary respiratory organs, so when the water body is low in oxygen, it can swim to the surface and swallow the oxygen in the air with its pleated gills, so it will not die of suffocation due to low oxygen in the water body.

The Betta Fish’s diet is omnivorous and carnivorous, mainly feeding on fish and worms, grebes, and insect larvae.

For beginners, these 5 small ornamental fish are easy to keep and live, each with their own characteristics. In the process of keeping them, as long as you have the basic knowledge of fish keeping, change the water regularly and feed them reasonably, you can let these small fish live healthily and happily in the tank and add a touch of color to your life.