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About Richard Hight
Expertise
I own several freshwater aquariums from 10 to 125 gallon. When provided with the correct information and detail, I can answer most questions about freshwater aquariums. Set up, cycling, maintenance, likely and unlikely tank mates, feeding. Moving? I've moved fish both across town and across the country and can help you get your little aquatic friends to their new home safely. I know about most freshwater tropical fish and some Cichlids including Angels, Bettas, Blood Parrots, Brichardi Cichlids, Cory Cats, Danios, Farlowella Cat, Gouramis, Green Severum, Guppies, Kribensis Cichlids, Mollies, Oscars, Platys, Swordtails, Tetras, Tiger Barbs & Uaru Cichlid to name several I currently own. If I don't know the answer to your question, I will certainly do research and find the best answer for you. If I don't know the answer and unable to find it, I'll tell you. I will not give it my best shot or an educated guess as this could potentially put your pets in danger. I am NOT an expert with Goldfish, Koi, Cod, or Frogs etc. I also cannot answer any questions about saltwater fish or aquariums.

Experience
Many years of personal experience with fish and aquariums

Education/Credentials
High School Graduate

 
   

You are here:  Experts > Animals/Pets > Pet Fish > Freshwater Aquarium > Beginner Fish

Freshwater Aquarium - Beginner Fish


Expert: Richard Hight - 11/6/2009

Question
Hi
What types of fish make good cycle fish and how many should I use?

Answer
Hi Tyler

It greatly depends on what type of tank you want to keep. For a peaceful community tank, Zebra Danios and Whiteclouds make great starter fish. Tiger Barbs make good starters for a semi-aggressive tank. A good rule that I've always used for cycle fish is one inch of fish per 10 gallons of water. Of course when your tank has completed its cycle, it would be one inch of fish per gallon of water to fill it to capacity.

If you want to keep aggressive Cichlids, you should use a bacteria supplement such as Tetra SafeStart and add all of the fish at once. This will minimize aggression between them. Most who keep aggressive Cichlids, prefer a fishless cycle since all of these fish need to added to the tank at the same time.

Hope this helps, good luck!

Richard

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