There are two main types of fresh water fish, coldwater and warm water (tropical). The obvious difference between the two is that tropical fish need heated water. Another category available to the fish keeper is marine fish. These are very colourful and exotic fish that live in salt water, usually from reefs. However these fish are a lot more complicated to care for and I wouldn’t recommend a beginner trying.
Most aquarium retailers nowadays offer a great choice of cold water and tropical fish. I’d recommend that before deciding which category of fish you would like to keep that you go to your nearest retailer and have a good look at the fish on offer. It may be that the retailer offers a better choice of one particular sort of fish, or maybe one type of fish appeals to you more than others.
It is crucial that you decide which sort of fish you want before you begin as once you have set your tank up and started buying fish to live in it you cant change your mind. Some coldwater fish can tolerate warmer water just as some tropical fish can live in coldwater, such as the white cloud mountain minnow, however despite a few exceptions to the rules cold and warm water fish should not be kept in the same tank as this is inhumane to the animals.
© Fresh Water Fish Keeping.com 2006
