Community Tanks

[Back in the fold]

The one thing that causes more headaches than anything for beginning aquarists is the idea of the community aquarium. Just a fine doomed idea like Esperanto . Every type of fish will thrive and live better among only its own kind. They don’t have to always look over their shoulder for a predator. They don’t have to compete for food and they settle down and relax. I haven’t had anything but species only tanks for a long time and I never will try to mix fish ever again. If you like banging your head against a wall and hitting your thumb with the hammer then , by all means , stay after that community tank utopia fantasy. If you want nice fish that act like they are supposed to keep them in separate worlds.

 

[GaryE]

I have a few communities I'm happy with, but they are large tanks. With time, I've gravitated toward tanks of 20 gallons or less only being single species tanks. I have 30gallon tanks with a Cory and a pencil, or a Cory and a tetra, but from there on up (I have 2 40g, 2 75g and one 120g) I do have communities.

It's that problem that as you learn stuff, you have to act on what you know. When I was a kid, three of this and three of that could give me 12 tetras form 4 species in a 20, and I was happy. Now I see 3 tetras of one species and I pity them because I know they need larger groups to be as happy with the tanks as I was at 14.

Single species tanks are hard to sell as an idea. They are fantastic though, especially when the groups grow as they breed without predators.

 

[seangee]

IMO the mistake people make is looking for lots of variety or a large centerpiece. Compatible and complementary fish can be a benefit. In my large tank I have 40+ cardinal tetras and around 30 corys. There is also a BN and some otos. This works well. In another tank I have dwarf chain loach with lamb chop rasbora and neon green rasbora. Not only does this work well, but when I only had the dwarf chain loach alone they were quite shy and hid a lot. With the dither fish they are far more active and often seen out and about playing. Not going to list the contents of all my tanks here but when adding a species my starting point is usually 20 for social fish.

 

[Deleted member 149562]

When stocking my aquariums I try to keep to species from one continent.

Currently everyone from both aquariums hail originally from South America (Amazon area ish). They all get along fine, no heavy squabbling etc, in the wild they would be found close by if not in the same rivers as each other.

The 53 has two Apisto, 30 Neon Tetra, 6 Rabauti Cories and a Bristlenose and the 29 has two Apisto, 14 Purple Emperor Tetra, 5 Panda Cories and a Bristlenose.

When I have taken in rescues in the past, there has been a truly ridiculous mix of fish from all over the place, but at the time it was either join the happy band in my aquariums or be flushed down the loo so it was an easy choice for me to make to take them in and make space for them.

But now its a one continent/region only and they "fit" together cos of that and are still, I spose, seen as being "community" aquariums.

A community aquarium can be very special but ideally having fish that would normally live together or close by in the wild can make all the difference sometimes.

 

[Slaphppy7]

I'm a fan of community tanks, they are all I keep...with fish that are compatible with each other, after careful research

I've never been interested in "biotope" setups, for some reason...

 

[Back in the fold]

@seangee brings up one point that I must agree with. There are certain fish that stimulate others to normal activity. That is the purpose of dither fish.

 

[GaryE]

It comes down to what you want to see, and your priorities.

I like biotope tanks, but I sometimes have to move fish, and...

Dither fish are bought with the assumption the important fish is the one their behaviour stimulates to come out. More and more, I just like them for themselves.

My favourite community was one I had to break up when I moved. I had four wild caught angels (scalare) and 40 plus cardinals. They moved to a friend's place, and I get photos every few months. They look good there too.

It's all tank size to me. If you accept the concept that one shoaling fish is a broken off piece of a community, then you end up with a bunch of fish from each species in your tank, to allow appropriate communities to exist. How many bunches fit in the tank you have defines your community.

 

[Ichthys]

Every type of fish will thrive and live better among only its own kind.

Not true at all. Most fish will feel insecure if dither fish are not present. Dither fish are fish that spend their time out in the open. This tells the less bold species that there are no predators about, because if the dither fish see one they’ll run for cover. Adding dither fish to a tank with shy fish that hide up can change their behaviour in literally minutes. Most fish aren’t too bright, and if there’s nothing out in the open they’ll assume it’s not safe.

Then there are the fish that don’t want to live with their own kind, such as most predators and a lot of cichlids. Keep them together and they’ll just fight and kill or eat each other.

 

[malfunction]

I’ve never really been interested in single species tanks and only ever do them when breeding or quarantining new fish. In the wild, most fish live in communities, so I don’t think species only tanks are more beneficial than a well planned community set up.

Personally, I find community tanks way more interesting as I like seeing the variety. You can have a variety of body shapes, colours and behaviours.

I don’t understand why people would think that a community tank has to be like banging your head against a wall. I think with plenty of planning/research and sensible stocking of compatible species, community tanks are just as harmonious as single species tanks - more so for some species of fish.

 

[Alex Kadyshevich]

The one thing that causes more headaches than anything for beginning aquarists is the idea of the community aquarium. Just a fine doomed idea like Esperanto . Every type of fish will thrive and live better among only its own kind. They don’t have to always look over their shoulder for a predator. They don’t have to compete for food and they settle down and relax. I haven’t had anything but species only tanks for a long time and I never will try to mix fish ever again. If you like banging your head against a wall and hitting your thumb with the hammer then , by all means , stay after that community tank utopia fantasy. If you want nice fish that act like they are supposed to keep them in separate worlds.

The one thing that causes more headaches than anything for beginning aquarists is the idea of the community aquarium. Just a fine doomed idea like Esperanto . Every type of fish will thrive and live better among only its own kind. They don’t have to always look over their shoulder for a predator. They don’t have to compete for food and they settle down and relax. I haven’t had anything but species only tanks for a long time and I never will try to mix fish ever again. If you like banging your head against a wall and hitting your thumb with the hammer then , by all means , stay after that community tank utopia fantasy. If you want nice fish that act like they are supposed to keep them in separate worlds.

 

[connorlindeman]

I've got 1 community tank and 5 species-only tanks. I like both types, but the community is definitely more interesting to watch.

 

[Alex Kadyshevich]

The one thing that causes more headaches than anything for beginning aquarists is the idea of the community aquarium. Just a fine doomed idea like Esperanto . Every type of fish will thrive and live better among only its own kind. They don’t have to always look over their shoulder for a predator. They don’t have to compete for food and they settle down and relax. I haven’t had anything but species only tanks for a long time and I never will try to mix fish ever again. If you like banging your head against a wall and hitting your thumb with the hammer then , by all means , stay after that community tank utopia fantasy. If you want nice fish that act like they are supposed to keep them in separate worlds.

My 75 gal tank has 6 Tiger Barbs, 6 zebra danio, 6 White Clouds....and 1 villain...The notorious Red tail black shark...is he a problem?....he likes to huff and puff ..but that's it...no problem.
By restricticting yourself to a single species you're missing out on the interaction between very different personalities...shame

 

[Back in the fold]

My 75 gal tank has 6 Tiger Barbs, 6 zebra danio, 6 White Clouds....and 1 villain...The notorious Red tail black shark...is he a problem?....he likes to huff and puff ..but that's it...no problem.
By restricticting yourself to a single species you're missing out on the interaction between very different personalities...shame

Eh . . . could be. I like plain , ordinary , dull things that proceed listlessly and uneventfully through their drab and dreary days.