So, where does this leave us? Well, in my opinion, we need to rethink the 'beginner's fish' moniker for fishes that are hardy enough for novice fish keepers to keep and maintain for a long life span in the aquarium. And that's a bit of an overstatement.Įver kept a Gourami? Many of them are surprisingly tough, but some of the ones commonly sold as 'beginner's fishes' are far more delicate than the term would imply, certainly not in prime health and color in an undisciplined aquarium. Yet, to assign the generalized term 'beginner's fish' to me implies an animal that is near bulletproof. Some can be bred with far less effort than others. They can tolerate environmental fluctuations better than others. Sure, some fishes are simply easier to adapt to aquariums. The reality is that most fishes are far more 'multi-dimensional' than to be given the term 'beginner's fish.' Yet, wouldn't you agree that keeping and breeding guppies- even the fancier varieties, is easier than keeping, say a Leopard Ctenopoma, for example? In fact, many advanced hobbyists aren't up for the challenge, either! To produce a fancy guppy is not as easy as just throwing any two fishes together. Not something that every 'beginner' would necessarily want to undertake, or have the skills for, for that matter. However, to produce truly fancy show guppies- the best of their kind- represents a huge amount of work- housing, feeding, culling, selecting, etc. Wouldn't, say, a guppy be a better call as a 'beginner's fish', because it pretty much ticks every box in the 'beginner's' department? Well, sure, it's easy to breed, hardy, etc., etc. So, what exactly constitutes a 'beginner's fish?' However, when you think about it, how many hobbyists do you know who have bred the Neon Tetra?Īnd then, the very term 'beginner's fish'seems to devalue the fish, as if to imply that once you're no longer a beginner, the fish is somehow not worthy of your skills and should be passed over in favor of more 'exotic' and challenging species. Sure, it's reasonably adaptable, hardy, eats most anything you feed it- making it a reasonable and hardy choice for a beginner. I mean, look at the Neon Tetra, for example.

Yet, when you look at some of the fishes being touted as 'beginner's fishes', it's pretty apparent that there are some aspects of some of them that defy this over-reaching description. Now, on the surface, this sounds pretty good. On one hand, it referes to a fish that, by it's very nature, is apparently adaptable, hardy, and easy enough to care for that it can even be recommended to a novice aquarium keeper with little skill.

It's one of those 'double-edged swords', in my opinion.

I often think of the term 'beginner's fish' that the industry/hobby loves to bandy about from time to time.

Von rio tetra