Aquarium Fish Types

Aquarium Fish Types
By: Batul Nafisa Baxamusa


Many first time fish owners are confused about the various types of aquarium fishes. There are many aquarium fish species like salt water and freshwater fishes. The following article will cover some aquarium fish types.

Aquariums have always been a part of my house. It has become kind of a family tradition to keep and maintain a beautiful aquarium. My grandmother was the one who was crazy about fishes, and I suppose she passed on a little craziness about fishes to her daughters, who too have aquariums at their homes and they passed on the gene of 'fish craze' over to us third generation kids. We cannot imagine our houses without our fish tank; whether we have the smallest size or the largest at our homes, we have to have one compulsorily. I enjoy watching my fishes swim around the aquarium. My hungry goldfishes always asking for food, or my majestic Siamese fighter who displays his finery in great grandeur. There are many types of aquarium fish species. Many of these types of fish for an aquarium have found a dwelling at our homes. If you are a first time fish owner and have become overwhelmed with the many aquarium fish types, do not worry. This article will cover some information on aquarium fish types and help you distinguish between the various types of aquarium fish species.

Types of Fishes for an Aquarium

Before bringing home an aquarium fish, there are many things you need to consider about the behavior of the fish. You may bring home fishes based on their color and shape, but do you know many fishes are not compatible with each other and are found to be aggressive with each other. Therefore, you need to consider bringing home fishes that are peaceful, friendly and create a happy environment within the aquarium. There are basically three types of fish for an aquarium. These three types of aquarium fish species are community fish, semi-aggressive fish and non-community fish. Let us know more about these aquarium fish types in detail. Know more on how to set up a fish tank.

Community Aquarium Fish Types

Community fishes are the best types of fishes that can be brought home by a first time fish owner. These are peaceful fishes and have no problems sharing the fish tank with other types of aquarium fish species. These are shoaling fishes and enjoy being with many other fishes of their own type. The most common community fishes that are kept by beginners are:

• Molly
• Platy
• Guppy
• Neon Tetra
• Banjo Catsifh
• Barbs
• Bronze Corydoras
• Blue Eyed Plecostomos
• Lemon Tetra
• Harlequin Rasbora
• Honey Gourami
• Leopard Corycat
• Swordtail
• Leopard Danio
• Masked Cory
• X-ray Tetra
• Zebra Loach
These are just a few names of community aquarium fish types. You have a choice of hundreds of types of aquarium fish species. These type of fishes co-exist peacefully in the tank and exhibit a beautiful display of colors and shapes.

Semi-Aggressive Aquarium Fish Types

Semi-aggressive aquarium fish types are a little naughty ones. They can live in a community tank, but end up nibbing and troubling the little and calmer fishes. The Red Tailed Shark and Rainbow shark are types of aquarium fish species that can live in a community tank with only members of their own kind. Tiger barbs can survive with other fishes, but are semi-aggressive. They tend to have a little fin nipping crave that becomes bothersome to other fishes. The following types of aquarium fish species are semi-aggressive:

• Angelfish
• Black Acara
• Aurora Cichlid
• Blue Gourmani
• Dragon Fish
• Fire Eel
• Spotted Puffer
• Red-Tailed Black Shark
• Rainbow Shark
• Paradise Fish
• Leopard Bluefish
• Keyhome Cichlid
• Firemouth Cichli
• Black Gost Knife Fish
• Three Spot Gourami
• Krib
• Electric Yellow Cichlid
These are a few semi-aggressive aquarium fish types. If you get any of these fishes along with your cool and peaceful community fishes, you will surely see some action in your fish tank.

Non-Community Aquarium Fish Types

Just as the name suggest, non-community aquarium fish types should never be kept with any other fish, other than their own type.

These fishes need a supply of live fish in their diet and other fishes swimming in the same tank become a live prey! Put in a few goldfishes and neon tetras with your Tiger Oscars and within 15 minutes you will only find the Tiger Oscars, swimming around, with a satisfied look. These fishes also tend to grow quite large and obviously find little ones as meal. The other types of aquarium fish species that fall in the non-community group are:

• Asian Arowana
• Auratus Cichlid
• Graceful catfish
• Spoyyed Pirhana
• Indian Algae Eater
• Chinese Algae Eater
• Clown Knife Fish
• Cuvier's Bichir
• Electric Blue Johanni
• Florida Gar
• Needle Nose Gar
• Green Terror
• Kenyi Cichlid
• Oscar fish
• Silver Arowana
These are a few non-community aquarium fish types that surely are not to be kept with community or even semi-aggressive type of aquarium fish species.

You also have other types of fishes for an aquarium that can be categorized further in the above three groups. These aquarium fish types are divided according to the type of water, they are found in.

Types of Salt Water Aquarium Fishes

These salt water aquarium fishes are found in marine or saltwater and the following are a few types of salt water fishes species:

• Betta Fish
• Gouramis
• Angel fishes
• Archer fishes
• Butterfly Fish
• Arowana
• Blennies
• Catfish
• Cardinal Fish
• Tetras
• Damselfish
• Mormyride
• Puffer Fish
• Hatchet Fish
These are just a few names of the many types of salt water fish species. You have a wide range of fishes and their subtypes to choose for your saltwater fish tank setup.

Types of Tropical Aquarium Fishes

These types of fishes are found in tropical waters around the world. The following are just a few names from the wide range of types of tropical fishes:

• Anabantids
• Catfish
• Characins
• Cichlids
• Cypriniformes
• Livebeares
• Rainbow fish
• Tropical Arowanas
• Tropical Puffers
• Brackish Fish
These are a few names, from the hundreds of tropical aquarium fish types. There may be few names common to the saltwater and freshwater types of aquarium fish species, but the subspecies that are found in different waters differentiate them.

Types of Fresh Water Aquarium Fish

These types of freshwater aquarium fish inhabit the fresh water bodies. There are thousands of freshwater fishes and a few of them are mentioned below:

• Neon Tetras
• Swordfish
• Platies
• Guppies
• Mollies
• Danios
• Loaches
• Catfish

These are a few aquarium fish types that will help you understand about the different types of aquarium fish species. Just narrow down your choices and do some research about the fishes of your choice over the Internet. You may even ask your friends who have been keeping fishes as pets for help. Fishes are by far one of the best pets in the world. They just stay at one corner of your house, you need to feed them twice a day, change water once a few weeks and never have to hear them cry or howl, dirty your home or fear 'run away' fishes. As a first time owner, I would advice, get some small and sturdy fishes to help you get started and gradually move up to more exotic ones. I can guarantee you, aquarium fish types will surely help you calm your nerves and provide a peaceful, serene environment to your home.