Hi Friends, I am new and novice. I am planning to have my first aquarium (10 to 15 gallons) with plenty of plants. As a beginner, which is a better option, having fishes of the same family like Tetras or a mix of different families; Tetra, Barbs etc? Bye
Should It Be Same Family Fishes Or A Mix?
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ImperfectFaerie
Fish Crazy
I think that depends completely on your preference. A single species tank could be easier, but if you pick a difficult type to keep happy/needs a mature tank/etc then that could make it harder. A simple community tank of peaceful hardy fish isn't too hard to take care of. It's all in if you research it and make sure that you are meeting the fishes needs. Good luck!
Edit- Side question- are you no longer trying to find a vegan fish? Just curious if you've decided to widen your search or not because that will definately have an impact on if it's community or species. Veggie fish are few and far between so I think it'd prob. be hard to find ones that could go together (at least from what I've read on your other threads with peoples replies).
Edit- Side question- are you no longer trying to find a vegan fish? Just curious if you've decided to widen your search or not because that will definately have an impact on if it's community or species. Veggie fish are few and far between so I think it'd prob. be hard to find ones that could go together (at least from what I've read on your other threads with peoples replies).
dwarfgourami
Fish Connoisseur
It depends on the character of the species you choose, rather than the family. For instance, some anabantoids and sharks are highly territorial, so then you don't want to mix them with something related, or even something that looks like them. So one pair or trio (1 male, 2 females) of gouramis is usually enough for one tank, unless it is a very large one. Or one single redtailed black shark.
Schooling fish need to be in a group of the same species, but there is nothing to say you can't have two groups as long as your tank is big enough.
Some species have such different requirements that they are not going to be able to go in the same tank. You won't be able to keep rams and Malawi cichlids in the same tank, as they have such totally different needs regarding hardness and acidity, nor discus and White Cloud Mountain minnows different temperature requirements).
You need to think about the character of each species and what effect they are likely to have on each other, too. A shy retiring species is not going to be happy with a boisterous aggressive species; a slow easily spooked fish like the dwarf gourami would probably prefer not to share a tank with fast non-stop swimmers like giant danios. Some species, serpae tetras and tiger barbs for instance, are notorious fin-nippers, so they don't want to go in with fish with long flowing fins. Aiming at either a peaceful tank or an active one might help. Small tetras had better not share cichlids large enough to eat them- angelfish and neons are dodgy, but angelfish and larger-bodied tetras should be fine.
But peaceful barbs (eg. cherry barbs) can perfectly well share with peaceful tetras, or livebearers, or most catfish. For more boisterous barbs, the tougher tetras and a plec or synodontis might be a better bet. Corys should not share with any cichlid likely to claim part of the bottom as its territory, as corys have no understanding of territories. But corys are fine with peaceful livebearers (not goodeids though), most tetras and peaceful barbs and loaches. And cichlids can share perfectly well with the tougher catfish, like plecs and synodontis.
And so on.
edit:
just realised that we're talking about a 10-15 gallon tank. A good mix for 15 gallons might include:
trio of cherry barbs and a group of corys or khuulie loaches
trio of female platies or guppies and corys or khuulies
any one group of the above fish and a school of 6 small tetras
P.S. the panaque recommended in another thread as a vegetarian fish will need a MUCH bigger tank
Schooling fish need to be in a group of the same species, but there is nothing to say you can't have two groups as long as your tank is big enough.
Some species have such different requirements that they are not going to be able to go in the same tank. You won't be able to keep rams and Malawi cichlids in the same tank, as they have such totally different needs regarding hardness and acidity, nor discus and White Cloud Mountain minnows different temperature requirements).
You need to think about the character of each species and what effect they are likely to have on each other, too. A shy retiring species is not going to be happy with a boisterous aggressive species; a slow easily spooked fish like the dwarf gourami would probably prefer not to share a tank with fast non-stop swimmers like giant danios. Some species, serpae tetras and tiger barbs for instance, are notorious fin-nippers, so they don't want to go in with fish with long flowing fins. Aiming at either a peaceful tank or an active one might help. Small tetras had better not share cichlids large enough to eat them- angelfish and neons are dodgy, but angelfish and larger-bodied tetras should be fine.
But peaceful barbs (eg. cherry barbs) can perfectly well share with peaceful tetras, or livebearers, or most catfish. For more boisterous barbs, the tougher tetras and a plec or synodontis might be a better bet. Corys should not share with any cichlid likely to claim part of the bottom as its territory, as corys have no understanding of territories. But corys are fine with peaceful livebearers (not goodeids though), most tetras and peaceful barbs and loaches. And cichlids can share perfectly well with the tougher catfish, like plecs and synodontis.
And so on.
edit:
just realised that we're talking about a 10-15 gallon tank. A good mix for 15 gallons might include:
trio of cherry barbs and a group of corys or khuulie loaches
trio of female platies or guppies and corys or khuulies
any one group of the above fish and a school of 6 small tetras
P.S. the panaque recommended in another thread as a vegetarian fish will need a MUCH bigger tank
nmonks
A stroke of the brush does not guarantee art from
As dwarfgourami has said, it's the mix of fish that matter, not whether they're related. In fact a "family" means something very specific in biology, and within a family diversity can be considerable. Pike livebearers and guppies both belong to the same family (Poecilidae) but couldn't be more different as far as aquarium care goes!
As a broad rule, I find the following ideas work well:
1) Fish of the same size mix best visually. If all the fish are of totally different sizes, even if they get along behaviourally, the "visual" can be cluttered and busy, especially in smaller aquaria. So for example kissing gouramis and guppies would probably coexist, but they wouldn't look that good. Kissing gouramis and larger rainbowfish or barbs, on the other hand, complement one another.
2) I go with the ratio 1:2:1 when mixing fish. This is one surface dweller for every two midwater fish and every one bottom dweller. So you could go with one danio to two neons to one Corydoras, for example. Not that I mean just keep one danio, but rather for every one danio, get two neons.
3) Lots of a few species look better than a few specimens of lots of species. So, instead of three zebra danios and three pearl danios, get six of just one species. The result is that the fish school properly. Even where fish don't school, as with, say, gouramis, you can get to watch the animals interact. Of course, this is only safe where the tank is big enough for (typically) aggressive males to get away from one another if need be. So read up on any species before buying more than one specimen.
In a 10-15 gallon tank, your best bet is either to keep a pair of something entertaining and breedable (say, a pair of dwarf cichlids) or else go with a school of some "mini fish" that would be complemented by a nice arrangement of easy plants such as Java ferns. Small danios, dwarf barbs, dwarf Corydoras, and so on would fit the bill nicely. Trying to do too much in a small tank is tricky and you can easily end up with a jumble of fish. Personally, I like keeping pairs of fish in small tanks and trying my hand at breeding. This is very engaging, and with livebearers in particular not inordinately difficult. There are some "rare" livebearers in the hobby that are both pretty and fairly easy to breed, but yet uncommonly bred, and so become a very nice achievement as and when you get a brood. Selling rare livebearer fry isn't difficult, either.
Cheers,
Neale
As a broad rule, I find the following ideas work well:
1) Fish of the same size mix best visually. If all the fish are of totally different sizes, even if they get along behaviourally, the "visual" can be cluttered and busy, especially in smaller aquaria. So for example kissing gouramis and guppies would probably coexist, but they wouldn't look that good. Kissing gouramis and larger rainbowfish or barbs, on the other hand, complement one another.
2) I go with the ratio 1:2:1 when mixing fish. This is one surface dweller for every two midwater fish and every one bottom dweller. So you could go with one danio to two neons to one Corydoras, for example. Not that I mean just keep one danio, but rather for every one danio, get two neons.
3) Lots of a few species look better than a few specimens of lots of species. So, instead of three zebra danios and three pearl danios, get six of just one species. The result is that the fish school properly. Even where fish don't school, as with, say, gouramis, you can get to watch the animals interact. Of course, this is only safe where the tank is big enough for (typically) aggressive males to get away from one another if need be. So read up on any species before buying more than one specimen.
In a 10-15 gallon tank, your best bet is either to keep a pair of something entertaining and breedable (say, a pair of dwarf cichlids) or else go with a school of some "mini fish" that would be complemented by a nice arrangement of easy plants such as Java ferns. Small danios, dwarf barbs, dwarf Corydoras, and so on would fit the bill nicely. Trying to do too much in a small tank is tricky and you can easily end up with a jumble of fish. Personally, I like keeping pairs of fish in small tanks and trying my hand at breeding. This is very engaging, and with livebearers in particular not inordinately difficult. There are some "rare" livebearers in the hobby that are both pretty and fairly easy to breed, but yet uncommonly bred, and so become a very nice achievement as and when you get a brood. Selling rare livebearer fry isn't difficult, either.
Cheers,
Neale
Thanks dwarfgourami & Neale Monks. You have put in tons of useful information. The advantage I always face on this site is that whenever I put a question, I get such informative replies that I realise I need to know still more. And I ask another question. It is all helping me understand fishes. THANK TO YOU ALL.
dwarfgourami
Fish Connoisseur
Can I just say that I personally think that a 10-15 gallon tank of normal proportions is on the small side for danios, with their activity levels. And it's hard to fit a decent school of danios into 10 gallons anyway.
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