What’s A Community Aquarium?

When most people think of a freshwater aquarium, they imagine an aquatic garden-of sorts that houses a diverse group of tropical fish. They think of an aquarium that looks something like the one pictured below. Indeed, most freshwater aquariums are well suited to provide many different types (or species) of tropical fish with a great home. These types of aquariums are called community aquariums.

Perhaps the best way to define a community aquarium is to explain what it is not. So, let’s do just that.

Some types of tropical fish require very specific aquarium conditions, and ones which many other fish are not used to. Discus Fish, for example, do best at low pH and water hardness levels that are beyond the tolerable range of most tropical fish (see January’s Fish of the Month post for a description of Discus Fish care). Moreover, Discus Fish are delicate animals that will not do well with fast-swimming, boisterous, and/or aggressive fish.

For the above two reasons, many hobbyists choose to keep Discus Fish in what’s called a “species tank” – in an aquarium that houses only one type of fish. A “species tank,” therefore, is the exact opposite of a community aquarium.

So, a community aquarium is basically one that houses many types (or species) of tropical fish.

Now, just because a community aquarium, by definition, houses many different types of tropical fish, that doesn’t mean that you can mix and match any fish species you want. No, not all tropical fish will do well with one another, and not all fish will thrive in the same aquarium environment (see Aquarium Care 101: Part 1 for more information).

So, before you go out to buy fish for a community aquarium, be sure to determine whether or not the fish you plan to get will coexists peacefully with one another, and whether or not they like similar water conditions (which include water hardness/softness, pH, and temperature).

Just a bit of planning is well worth the small effort. It’ll make aquarium and tropical fish care simple, easy, and fun. After all, how much fun can watching an aquarium full of expensive fish that fight to the death be?

Aquarium Care *Video*: Now Available For All!

Fellow Tropical Fish Lovers:

One of the aquarium care videos (usually available for members only), is up and running at the Kick-Ass Aquarium Information Page. It’s now available for all! Just scroll down through the information page to view this aquarium care *video*.

The video explains how biological filtration works, and how to “jump-start” the biological filtration process. In other words, it explains how to “cycle” your aquarium (“cycling” a new aquarium is also explained in Aquarium Care 101: Part 4).

This bit of knowledge is extremely important to understand, regardless of the type of fish or aquarium filter you have! Let me say it again: The information presented in the aquarium care video is EXTREMELY important to know!

In a nut shell, that’s because the beneficial bacteria, which are responsible for between 60% to 100% of the filtration in your aquarium, need time to multiply to sufficient levels. For the sake of avoiding redundancy, I’ll leave it at that… just check out the video and you’ll understand exactly how biological filtration works, why it’s important, and how you can use it to make aquarium and tropical fish care really simple and easy!

So, I highly encourage all people interested in the aquarium hobby to view this essential aquarium care *video*.

After all, just 10 minutes of your time, which is the length of the video, may very well save you a small fortune and your tropical fish.

Here’s the link again: Kick-Ass Aquarium Information Page

Happy Tropical Fish Keeping,
Luke

The Humble Guppy? A Fancy Fish For Your Aquarium

The guppy has become a staple of the aquarium trade to the point that its name brings to mind the common, dull, and even boring.

But, the guppy doesn’t deserve this insipid reputation! The guppy’s longtime presence in the aquarium hobby and its ease of breeding has spawned a vast variety of interesting color variations. In fact, most aquariasts now use the term “fancy guppy” to name this colorful tropical fish.

Indeed, today’s guppies exhibit all the colors of the rainbow and a multitude of body markings and patterns. Although the males of this tropical fish species possess distinctive large tails and are far more colorful than are the females, you can often find female fancy guppies that have a flash of blue, yellow, red, and/or orange on their tails.

Caring for these tropical fish in the home aquarium is simple as long as you provide them with clean and stable water conditions (see the how to sex live-bearing tropical fish on this site.

That brings to mind another issue to consider: fancy guppies are prolific breeders and even a small batch of guppies is capable of producing dozens of babies in no time.

So, if you don’t want many baby fish in your aquarium, I advise purchasing no more than three fancy guppies. However, for many hobbyists who enjoy breeding fish, this isn’t a problem. Conversely, it’s an added benefit that makes fancy guppies all the more enjoyable to keep.

Aquarium Care:

Scientific Name: Poecilia reticulata

Origin: Central America

Water Temperature Range: 70-80 °F (21-26 °C)

Water pH Range: 6.5-8.0

Temperament: peaceful

Maximum Size: 1 inch (2.5 cm)

Minimum Tank Size: 5 U.S. gallons (19 liters), though, as I indicate in The Kick-Ass Aquarium Book, a larger aquarium size is strongly advisable.

Diet: flake food, frozen brine shrimp, cyclops-eeze, frozen bloodworms (not recommended)