Now I want to tell you about my first aquarium purchases- for illustrative purposes- not because I relish masochistically delving into painful past experiences.
When I was 15 I bought a 5 gallon aquarium, a little light for the top, some white gravel, a chunk of coral, one of those teensy corner box filters, an air pump, a Pimelodus Pictus Catfish about 2.5 inches long, and 5 Cardinal Tetras. All on the same shopping trip. am still amazed at the &#$*!# petshop salesperson that let me do that. Let me meet her in some dark alley sometime... Overnight the Pictus Cat ate every Cardinal. Then he died from 'new tank syndrome' within about 48 hours. That or massive indigestion.Tthe tank sat empty (besides water) for a while till I was brave enough to buy another fish, an angelfish. Unbeknownst to me the coral had leached enough calcium carbonate into the water to fossilize any remaining life form in the tank...so of course the angel died rather quickly too. So -Never put shells or coral into a freshwater community tank.

Some fish cannot handle the new tank syndrome- that rollercoaster of semi-lethal conditions that occur in a new tank for those first few weeks. Three of these NO NO fish are:

Pimelodus Pictus Cats (or any smooth skinned fish)
Cardinal or Neon Tetras
Angelfish

I made every mistake that can be made- all in one shot...I have been pretty good at that at times :).

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But lets get on with the Good starter fish:

There are four different categories of aquarium fish and it is best that you learn all four.

1. Peaceful
(apologizes to the mosquito larvae before consuming them. AKA Ghandi fish)

2. Semi-Aggressive
(kind of like the little bully kid that lived next door to you when you were eight)

3. Aggressive
(would take your foot off your leg given half a chance and a big enough mouth)

4. Goldfish
(for LARGE cold water tanks and ponds ONLY. I don't care WHAT anyone says, any fish
that gets big enough to fillet and eat does NOT belong in a bowl)

Ok.. so we got that down, right?

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In the list below are types I consider to be 'Ninja Fish'. They are tough as nails and if you succeed in killing them- you haven't been paying attention. But no matter what category of tank you decide on, start with one of the fish listed here.

Jot this list down for when you go fish shopping.

'Peaceful' Ninjas.................. Mollies, Wags, Platies, Danios.

'Semi Aggressive' Ninjas..... Barbs, Large Gourami, Rainbowfish.

'Aggressive' Ninjas.............. Oscars, Texas Cichlids, Snake-heads.

The last category - Aggressive fish - is for 55 gallon and up size tanks.

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A note on Categories

- Just because you choose 'semi aggressive' does not mean you will have a tank full of battling fish. It just means that if you add a 'peaceful' fish, he may well get bullied. The semi-aggressive tank is my personal favorite, having the most active, colorful, and generally hardiest of fish species. And of course there are 'cross over' fish such as larger danios that can fare very well in a semi-aggressive tank also. Best to get a good book on fish and research types.

About Cichlids

I do not recommend any type of cichlid for the new aquarist. It takes a great deal of research and experience to keep Cichlids successfully. By 'successfully', I do not mean just 'alive'. I mean healthy, comfortable and acting as they would in nature. The South Americans and Africans need a LOT of territorial space, and both types require completely different diets and water conditions. If you fall in love with a certain type, research carefully and concentrate on setting your entire system up around these fishes needs. And be prepared to buy a 55 gallon or larger tank to house them in.

About Goldfish

Goldfish are cool fish - literally. They need cooler temperatures than the 'tropical' fish. Thats what the 'tropical' means - warm water. Goldfish also get very large, even the 'fancy' varieties such as Oranda. On top of that, Goldfish secrete up to twice as much ammonia and waste than the tropicals. What this means is that you need to be prepared to have proper housing for these lovely oriental jewels by at least 40 gallons. Do not mix tropicals with Goldfish - ever.

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Well that should be enough to get you started. Next step will be a good aquarium book or
more in-depth web site for more information on various fish, filters and tanks.
The best one I have found so far is FISHGEEKS.COM.

If you would like to see the set up of my favorite tank of all time, click the very expensive fish below.