Mary Allen
Aquarium newcomers often want as colorful a mixture of different fish as possible. But for a successful community aquarium, more than just the optics has to be right.
Your own aquarium is a lively enrichment for apartments, offices, boutiques, or waiting rooms. The clear water, the green plants, and, of course, especially the brightly colored residents attract everyone who enters the room in front of the glass pane and amaze young and old. It goes without saying that newcomers to the aquarium want to keep as many different fish as possible. But which fish get along well with each other and which should not live together in one tank if possible?
Anyone who buys a new aquarium should know that they are creating a closed ecosystem in which all elements must be coordinated so that the fish can live as long and healthy a life as possible. It is therefore important to plan as precisely as possible and to find out about the requirements of the desired residents before buying. Competent advice from pet shops and specialist literature are the most important sources of information here.
Common Origin, Common Living Space
When choosing several species for a tank, it is not advisable to go only by appearance and personal taste. In any case, care should be taken to ensure that the new residents require similar water values, temperatures, and lighting conditions.
The ornamental fish breeder and aquarium expert Peter Merz from the Fördergemeinschaft Leben mit Heimtiere eV (FLH) recommends keeping species from the same geographical region and from common habitats together: “It not only has more style than a motley crew, but it also makes the attitude easier. Species that have evolved under the same environmental conditions often have similar requirements when it comes to water parameters.
If you then allow yourself to be inspired by the respective location when choosing plants and furnishings, you are well on the way to creating a harmonious biotope. For example, a river from the South American Amazon region with a dense planting of sword plants and parrot leaves can be modeled, or the East African Lake Malawi with many stones and caves.»
Peaceful Coexistence
In open waters, the animals live together in a way that is characterized by eating and being eaten. Of course, things should be more peaceful in the aquarium. It is therefore advisable to decide between stocking predatory species or prey fish. Even if the more peaceful species are large enough not to be eaten, it would cause them unhealthy stress.
In general, it is good to pay attention to the characteristics of the fish you want and to keep animals with similar characters together. Schooling fish can live well with other groups, predators with each other, and calm fish with other calm species.
A Large Pool Has Many Advantages
For a community aquarium with different species, more space is required than in tanks with only one species. Incidentally, the maintenance and effort of large tanks do not necessarily take much more time than smaller ones, because the work is basically the same. However, minor errors that disturb the biological balance do not cause as much damage in large tanks.
One of the most common mistakes beginners make when setting up is introducing fish too early. The fish are only allowed to move in after the aquarium has been “run in” for a few weeks and the optimum water values have been reached. It should also be taken into account that there are enough hiding places and free space to move around in the facility. In general, the welfare of the animals should always have top priority when it comes to selection, design, and care.