Freshwater Aquarium Compatibility

If you are just starting out your new aquarium, you want to make sure you get fish that are not only compatible with each other, but they can easily be transferred from the freshwater they came out of and go into your freshwater aquarium.

There are quite a few fish that can do this easily, which include (but are not limited to) Angelfish, Barbs, Bettas, Cichlids, Minnows, Eels, Goldfish, Guppies, Koi, Loaches, Rainbow Fish, Sharks, Swordtails, Shrimp, and Crabs.

The problem here is you can't just throw all of these different fish in together and hope that they'll all be fine. What you need to do is see if they are compatible with one another. For example, koi get along with very few other fish. They really only work well with Goldfish, so your options would be fairly limited. However, Angelfish get along with almost anybody except Bettas, Cichlids, Goldfish, Guppies, and Koi.

Surprisingly, even Sharks get along relatively well with most other fish, except Bettas, Cichlids, Eels, Goldfish, Guppies, Koi, Oscars, Shrimp, and Crab. Even freshwater plants can't survive with certain fish around. They can't be with South American Cichlids, Oscars, or Plecostomus.

So the best way to "test the water" (pun intended) is by following this method. The first fish you should put in the tank are the least aggressive first and make sure that fish will be the biggest in the tank. Then gradually add fish in order of increased aggressive behavior with each fish being smaller than the one before it. The most aggressive fish comes last and should be the smallest fish in your tank. If you use this method, it allows the more peaceful fish to set up their territories first, and by making that first fish the biggest, you give them a fighting chance over the more aggressive fish you put in after.

I hope this little guide helps you as you're selecting which fish to put in your new freshwater aquarium. Follow this method and select the correct fish to go together and they should produce a relatively peaceful environment.