When it comes to the best beginner fish in the hobby, I guess you can look no further than my Asian aquarium
However, I think we should first start off with what's been going on with this tank because we actually haven't really done much of an
Update since the inception of this tank originally we scaped it with some rocks and some
Manzanita branches on the bottom to replicate roots, and then we had a large stump in the corner that stump was far more
Rotted than I had thought and I had to remove it simply because it was deteriorating the water quality in the aquarium rather
Rapidly I guess after I did that I almost lost interest in this aquarium until more recently
You see I added in a piece of manzanita from the 375
It's just kind of randomly placed in there, and then I took a handful of
Anubias and tossed it in there
I thought they'll end up where they want to end up whether they're gonna float or attach themselves to some of the wood or within
The substrate or whatever they're going to do and that's exactly what happened now this tank has a much more natural feel to it
especially since I've just
Left it alone the bottom is covered in a substrate that I've mixed
It's got some sand some fine grain sand and that's a multicolored. You know river gravel
That's kind of small in size as well anywheres from one to say three millimeters in size
I've also strewn a bunch of leaf litter
throughout the aquarium giving that an even more natural look and
There's some Java ferns as well as a little bit of moss here and there
But the bottom of this tank is my absolute favorite in fact if I were to base this aquarium compared to every other
Aquarium in the gallery the bottom of this tank is my favorite by first this piece of manzanita
I don't like and I never did like however
I got some really interesting
Behavior out of the fish once I added it into it
So I decided to leave it in there because they were actually acting so much more natural and in line with how they would in
the wild
You see the stocking in this aquarium is about 50 or maybe it's 75 Carla Quinn rasp
Or is an absolute classic in the Hobby and is arguably one of the best beginner fish as well
But not the point of today's video in fact
I wouldn't even rank these guys in my top 10 beginner fish, but I know a lot of other people do
In my opinion one of the best if not the best beginner fish based on my experience and opinion and some information about them is
The gourami all different types of gourami, but in this aquarium we have the pearl gourami
I went with pearl gourami for two big reasons one is their appearance two is their availability and cost
Their availability and cost you'll find gouramis in almost any local fish store all different varieties and different species
However, they're also relatively cheap and affordable anywheres from three to eight dollars each and for such an amazing looking fish
I think it's definitely
Worth the price of course those prices are going to fluctuate all over the world not everybody has the same prices everywhere
But the pro Brahmi, I like them the best for their appearance
One they have that classic
oval-shaped body like the gourami should
But their coloration and some of their features is what attracts me to
Attracts me to them the most they get their name the programming based on these little pearls or these little dots white dots that
Cover their entire body and even some of their fins however depending on where they are in the aquarium
And how they reflect in the light those pearls really shimmer and really give them an absolutely amazing gorgeous look
They even have some blues and reds and blacks
You know a nice mixture of colors, which makes them really appealing especially since they're a beginner fish you're getting a fish
That's an absolute stunning looking fish yet
It's also a beginner which to me is better than a platy or a guppy or some of the other
Top-rated beginner fish which are nothing wrong with them
But I prefer these guys simply because we get those beginner aspects in an absolutely beautiful fish
It's not only if there is a coloration as well as their
their body or their markings on their body absolutely stunning in my opinion
But a couple of other things that draws my attention to them is that?
Subtly that runs from the nape of their head
All the way through their eye and down their body just a simple little black line makes them look a little bit
eloquent looking a little more delicate and
I just can't stop staring at them. I'm always staring at these fish probably more than anybody in this rack. I look at these guys
Of course they're modified pectoral fins
Absolutely fascinating as well, and which really gives them that classic gourami look without them
I don't know if they'd be as appealing to me
But I guess that'd be up to you in personal preferences these modified pectoral fins serve a purpose
They're highly sensitive feelers these guys use them to feel out and explore the entire aquarium sometimes. They're feeling the food with them
It's almost like they're tiny little arms that they can't really do much with besides move them around
But they can move them in any direction
I find that they use them to feel each other the most and see who's around them
And I believe they're using to communicate with them. I'm still trying to study gourami sign language. I'm almost there
I'll translate in a future video. Okay, so they're commonly available they look great
They are easy to care for these guys will of course eat any types of food that I offer them
I give them flakes small pellets frozen foods that readily accept almost anything that I offer which is key to
Survival of fish you need to make sure they're eating
Some gouramis can be aggressive towards other gouramis or even other fish
So you kind of want to watch out for that but most importantly you don't want to put in
Known fin nippers with gourami because they will eat at those modified factorial fins or those feelers
Or we can call them antennas because it's kind of what they look like
they also withstand a wide range of water parameters as well as
Temperatures so this tank runs at about 26 degrees, but they can easily withstand temperatures lower low as say 24 23 degrees Celsius
upwards of 28
PH in this tank is 7.6
They can withstand acidic as well as alkaline PHS as long as everything is consistent and steady
Don't worry about chasing the ideal numbers
Just use and work with what you have any success. I've ever had in the hobby was due to consistency and simplicity
I never complicate or over complicate or look to chase any numbers that I don't necessarily need I focus on
What I can provide the fish and the best of my ability and they tend to do quite well
But when comes to the gourami easily the the most
well known fact about the more at least one of the most interesting things to me is that they are a
Labyrinth fish now what this means and you might have heard of the word on labor ends before which is like a maze
Well, they have a maze like
structure in behind their eyes but in front of their Gill plate
it's a very tiny structure, but it allows them to go to the surface of the water all right gasp a air bubble and
Trap it in that labor that absorb that oxygen that way as opposed to through their gills
Which most fish do now of course they can go between each one, but what that means is that if water
Quality is not favorable to the fish. They can still go to the surface and gasp for air
So if your oxygen content is kind of low which plagues a lot of new beginners or maybe the tank is kind of sort of
Cycling, or you've got some ammonia in the water
They can still you know survive for extended periods by gasping at the surface
allowing them to live even longer than most fish would be able to withstand those things and
Another interesting fact about the labyrinth fish the paradise fish is a labyrinth fish
And that was one of the first if not the first tropical fish ever kept in an aquarium
So as you can imagine you know 150?
I think it was about 150 maybe 200 years ago probably a hundred fifty years ago
we didn't have the technology and availability of providing an environment like this however the
Paradise fish was able to withstand those conditions a lot has to do with being a labyrinth fish so in considering all of this
The gourami in general is a fantastic
beginner fish now because there's so many different variations and strains and
Species of gourami you have a time to pick from my suggestion would be to look into the dwarf gouramis
Or some of the more smaller sized gouramis like the pearls or oak lines or three spots. We're ever gonna
There's so many different types, but they tend to stay under the five inch mark
which means they could probably do really well and say a
30 gallon tank the dwarfs can probably do a little bit better at a 10 or 20
But you definitely don't want to get a giant red tail gourami those guys get absolutely
Monstrous and so like three feet I've seen full-grown ones
They are absolute beasts, but there's still a gourami, but definitely not the beginner type gourami like these pearls
Anyways, that's my
preference for the best beginner fish based on a number of factors
I'd love to know what you guys think is the best beginner fish, and why it is. Let me know in the comments section below
There are a few of their little fish in here
We're not talking about in this video, but I can see them now
but when I'm
Filming they didn't want to come out so I decided how am I even talked to them because it's like they don't even exist in
Here, but when you got bright lights, and you're waving your arms everywhere and cameras rolling the fish tend to not want to cooperate