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Community aquaria are tanks that are designed to contain more than one species of
fish Fish are aquatic, craniate, gill-bearing animals that lack limbs with digits. Included in this definition are the living hagfish, lampreys, and cartilaginous and bony fish as well as various extinct related groups. Approximately 95% of li ...
. Most commonly they include a variety of species that do not normally occur together in nature, for example angelfish from Brazil,
swordtails ''Xiphophorus'' is a genus of euryhaline and freshwater fishes in the family Poeciliidae of order Cyprinodontiformes, native to Mexico and northern Central America. The many ''Xiphophorus'' species are all known as platyfish (or platies) and ...
from Mexico, and
gourami Gouramis, or gouramies , are a group of freshwater anabantiform fishes that comprise the family Osphronemidae. The fish are native to Asia—from the Indian Subcontinent to Southeast Asia and northeasterly towards Korea. The name "gourami", of ...
s from South East Asia. The aim of such communities is to bring together fish that are compatible in temperament and water requirements, while using their different colours and behaviors to add interest and entertainment value. Though not usually called community tanks, most
marine aquaria A marine aquarium is an aquarium that keeps marine plants and animals in a contained environment. Marine aquaria are further subdivided by hobbyists into fish only (FO), fish only with live rock (FOWLR), and reef aquaria. Fish only tanks often sh ...
fit into this category too, using fish from places as diverse as the
Caribbean The Caribbean (, ) ( es, El Caribe; french: la Caraïbe; ht, Karayib; nl, De Caraïben) is a region of the Americas that consists of the Caribbean Sea, its islands (some surrounded by the Caribbean Sea and some bordering both the Caribbean Se ...
,
Red Sea The Red Sea ( ar, البحر الأحمر - بحر القلزم, translit=Modern: al-Baḥr al-ʾAḥmar, Medieval: Baḥr al-Qulzum; or ; Coptic: ⲫⲓⲟⲙ ⲛ̀ϩⲁϩ ''Phiom Enhah'' or ⲫⲓⲟⲙ ⲛ̀ϣⲁⲣⲓ ''Phiom ǹšari''; T ...
, and western
Pacific Ocean The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of Earth's five oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Southern Ocean (or, depending on definition, to Antarctica) in the south, and is bounded by the continen ...
. Other aquarists prefer communities, called
biotopes A biotope is an area of uniform environmental conditions providing a living place for a specific assemblage of plants and animals. ''Biotope'' is almost synonymous with the term "habitat", which is more commonly used in English-speaking countrie ...
, that represent particular geographic locations, and combine fish with appropriate decorative materials including endogenous rocks and plants. The most popular of these geographically correct community tanks are those replicating the
cichlid Cichlids are fish from the family Cichlidae in the order Cichliformes. Cichlids were traditionally classed in a suborder, the Labroidei, along with the wrasses ( Labridae), in the order Perciformes, but molecular studies have contradicted this ...
habitat of the
East African Rift The East African Rift (EAR) or East African Rift System (EARS) is an active continental rift zone in East Africa. The EAR began developing around the onset of the Miocene, 22–25 million years ago. In the past it was considered to be part of a ...
lakes of
Lake Tanganyika Lake Tanganyika () is an African Great Lake. It is the second-oldest freshwater lake in the world, the second-largest by volume, and the second-deepest, in all cases after Lake Baikal in Siberia. It is the world's longest freshwater lake. ...
and
Lake Malawi Lake Malawi, also known as Lake Nyasa in Tanzania and Lago Niassa in Mozambique, is an African Great Lake and the southernmost lake in the East African Rift system, located between Malawi, Mozambique and Tanzania. It is the fifth largest fre ...
.


Community fish

For freshwater community tanks, there are large numbers of species that make successful community fishes. Most of the
livebearers Livebearers are aquarium fish that retain the eggs inside the body and give birth to live, free-swimming young. Among aquarium fish, livebearers are nearly all members of the family Poeciliidae and include guppies, Sailfin molly, mollies, platies ...
, barbs,
tetra Terrestrial Trunked Radio (TETRA; formerly known as Trans-European Trunked Radio), a European standard for a trunked radio system, is a professional mobile radio and two-way transceiver specification. TETRA was specifically designed for use by go ...
s,
rasbora ''Rasbora'' is a genus of fish in the family Cyprinidae. They are native to freshwater habitats in South and akistan s ...
s, outheast Asia, as well as southeast China. A single species, ''R. gerlachi'', is only known from an old Zoological specimen">s ...
s, danios, and rainbowfish">danio">outheast Asia, as well as southeast China. A single species, ''R. gerlachi'', is only known from an old Zoological specimen">s ...
s, danios, and rainbowfishes are peaceful, though a few species are fin nippers, most notably tiger barbs and serpae tetras. freshwater angelfish, Angelfishes,
gourami Gouramis, or gouramies , are a group of freshwater anabantiform fishes that comprise the family Osphronemidae. The fish are native to Asia—from the Indian Subcontinent to Southeast Asia and northeasterly towards Korea. The name "gourami", of ...
s, and ''
Corydoras ''Corydoras'' is a genus of freshwater catfish in the family Callichthyidae and subfamily Corydoradinae. The species usually have more restricted areas of endemism than other callichthyids, but the area of distribution of the entire genus almost ...
'' catfishes are also popular, though angelfish are predatory and will eat very small fish such as
neon tetra The neon tetra (''Paracheirodon innesi'') is a Freshwater fish of the characin family (family Characidae) of order Characiformes. The type species of its genus, it is native to blackwater and clearwater streams in the Amazon basin of South Am ...
s and livebearer fry. The size of the fish introduced within a new or established community tank is an essential factor to ensure harmony within the setup. A traditional and proven practice suggest- If a fish fits into the mouth of another fish, there are more chances of it being eaten by the larger variety. Understandably, all fish are opportunistic animals which makes them prone to occasional attacks on the other small-sized members within the tank. Considering the nature of aquatic animals, it is better to pair similar sized fish to maintain stable and peaceful aquarium communities. If neon tetras are kept around fish unlikely to take advantage of their small size, they are very peaceful towards other fish. Many fishes are not suitable for typical community tanks. These fishes include: * Territorial or aggressive fishes, such as many
cichlid Cichlids are fish from the family Cichlidae in the order Cichliformes. Cichlids were traditionally classed in a suborder, the Labroidei, along with the wrasses ( Labridae), in the order Perciformes, but molecular studies have contradicted this ...
s. *
Red-tailed black shark The red-tailed black shark (''Epalzeorhynchos bicolor''; syn. ''Labeo bicolor''), also known as the redtail shark and redtail sharkminnow, is a species of freshwater fish in the carp family, Cyprinidae. Despite its name, it is more closely rela ...
s should not be placed with others of their species, as they often become territorial. * Predatory fishes such as snakeheads, leaffishes, and
bucktooth tetra The bucktooth tetra (''Exodon paradoxus'') is the only member of the genus ''Exodon'' and is a freshwater fish of the characin family (family Characidae) of order Characiformes. It is native to the Amazon Basin and Guyana. Though first desc ...
s. * Large active fishes that will outgrow their tanks and tankmates, such as
tinfoil barb The tinfoil barb (''Barbonymus schwanenfeldii'') is a tropical Southeast Asian freshwater fish of the family Cyprinidae. This species was originally described as ''Barbus schwanenfeldii'' by Pieter Bleeker in 1853, and has also been placed in th ...
s,
iridescent shark The iridescent shark, iridescent shark catfish (''Pangasianodon hypophthalmus'') is a species of shark catfish (family Pangasiidae) native to the rivers of Southeast Asia. Despite its name, it is not a shark. It is found in the Mekong basin as we ...
s, and larger
catfish Catfish (or catfishes; order Siluriformes or Nematognathi) are a diverse group of ray-finned fish. Named for their prominent barbels, which resemble a cat's whiskers, catfish range in size and behavior from the three largest species alive, ...
es. * Fragile fishes, or fishes that get nervous around more active fish, such as the discus and
threadfin rainbowfish The threadfin rainbowfish or featherfin rainbowfish (''Iriatherina werneri'') is a rainbowfish, the only species in the genus ''Iriatherina''. It is characterized by long beautiful fins, and is among the most attractive of the rainbowfishes. It ...
. * Slow or specialized eaters that cannot compete with other tankmates, such as
pipefish Pipefishes or pipe-fishes (Syngnathinae) are a subfamily of small fishes, which, together with the seahorses and seadragons (''Phycodurus'' and ''Phyllopteryx''), form the family Syngnathidae. Description Pipefish look like straight-bodied seah ...
es.


Water chemistry

Most freshwater aquarium fish do well in water that is soft to moderately hard, and that has a pH between 6 and 8. Brackish water aquaria are a special case and need dedicated community tanks. While a few freshwater and marine fish can adapt to brackish water, most cannot. The most deadly chemical in aquarium water is
ammonia Ammonia is an inorganic compound of nitrogen and hydrogen with the formula . A stable binary hydride, and the simplest pnictogen hydride, ammonia is a colourless gas with a distinct pungent smell. Biologically, it is a common nitrogenous was ...
, produced from fish excretions. It is important to test for ammonia, since it is a chemical precursor of
nitrite The nitrite polyatomic ion, ion has the chemical formula . Nitrite (mostly sodium nitrite) is widely used throughout chemical and pharmaceutical industries. The nitrite anion is a pervasive intermediate in the nitrogen cycle in nature. The name ...
s and
nitrate Nitrate is a polyatomic ion A polyatomic ion, also known as a molecular ion, is a covalent bonded set of two or more atoms, or of a metal complex, that can be considered to behave as a single unit and that has a net charge that is not zer ...
s, also harmful to fish. Ammonia is removed from the water through the
nitrogen cycle The nitrogen cycle is the biogeochemical cycle by which nitrogen is converted into multiple chemical forms as it circulates among atmospheric, terrestrial, and marine ecosystems. The conversion of nitrogen can be carried out through both biologi ...
, which takes place within the aquarium
filter Filter, filtering or filters may refer to: Science and technology Computing * Filter (higher-order function), in functional programming * Filter (software), a computer program to process a data stream * Filter (video), a software component tha ...
, which takes a few weeks to start processing the ammonia. The processed ammonia is converted to nitrite, which is then processed to nitrate. Weekly water changes (25% of aquarium volume), while vacuuming debris from the bottom of the tank, can solve this problem of nitrate build-up, provided the tank is not overcrowded. Build-up of algae is largely related to light level and mineral imbalance. An aquarium near a window is likely to be overgrown with algae. A material known as a "phosphate sponge" is available at aquarium shops to leach the phosphate out of the aquarium and reduce the growth of algae. Also, plants such as java moss (not java fern) compete with algae for another necessary plant nutrient, nitrate, and reduce algae growth. Java moss also forms a ground cover along the bottom of the aquarium.


References

{{Aquarium Fishkeeping Aquariums