There are well over 2,000 different species of fish you can choose from to stock your aquarium with! Most, but likely not all, of these can be bought from your local fish store. As you can see then, deciding what type of species of fish you want to stock your aquarium with can be a daunting task. To help you to make a decision, here is a little information about 5 of the most popular species of aquarium fish:
Catfish
Now, at the start of this piece we said that there were over 2,000 different types of fish you could choose from when looking to stock your fish tank. In fact, if you like the idea of stocking your aquarium with Catfish, then you should probably know that there are over 2,000 different types of Catfish you can choose from!
As scavengers and bottom-feeders (fish that like to roam around the bottom of your fish tank), Catfish are a very popular choice of fish to stock an aquarium with as they normally help with the overall ecology of the tank. Add to that the vast variety of types of Catfish usually means that you can find one that fits in well with the habitat you decide to have in your aquarium and it’s not too hard to see why this species of fish is in great demand. However, before you decide to stock your fish tank with Catfish, do keep in mind that generally Catfish are nocturnal and so will need feeding after dark. As such, you will need to adapt your feeding plan to fit in with their eating habits. As far as Catfish eating habits go, Catfish can grow to be very large fish given half the chance, so if you have a small to medium size fish tank, you may need to give some thought to the long-term planning of your aquarium if you are going to stock Catfish.
Rainbowfish
Rainbowfish are always a popular choice among fish tank enthusiasts because of the way that tend to change colours as they swim about in the tank. This clever act is achieved by a trick of the light when swimming, but it’s hard not to admire the different bouncing colours produced by having a stock of Rainbow fish in the tank.
Fighting Fish
A lot of aquariums you see will have a stock of Fighting Fish as they’re fairly easy to take care of and, provided you don’t inter-mix the sexes or species of Fighting Fish, they get along with other types of fish in the tank. As a result, the ecology and habitat of the aquarium are much easier to take care of. One word of caution, if you are thinking of adding Fighting Fish to your fish tank stock, make sure you check that they’ll get along with the other stock in your aquarium.
Goldfish
Goldfish have to be one of the most popular species of fish that you can find in most aquariums. Contrary to what you may have been told, Goldfish are fairly sturdy fish to keep in an aquarium and are good mixers with other fish. As a result, not only do you not have to take so much care of them, but having Goldfish in the aquarium usually allows you to mix other types of fish in the aquarium easier. One additional benefit of having Goldfish in your aquarium is that hey reproduce fairly easily so you’ll not have to spend a great deal of time and money replacing fish stock.
Piranhas
Surprising as it may at first seem, lots of people who have fish tanks like to stock them with Piranhas. Note, however, that Piranha are an extremely difficult fish to take care of and they may not be the best species of fish to keep in a community aquarium. Therefore, if you are thinking about stocking your fish tank with Piranha, why not decide on one of the other popular species of fish until you become more experience with keeping an aquarium.