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 fish, and I suppose she passed on a little craziness about fish 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 must have one compulsorily. I enjoy watching my fish swim around the aquarium. My hungry goldfish 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 available as pets, do not worry.

Types of Fish 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 fish based on their color and shape, but do you know many fish are not compatible with each other and are found to be aggressive with each other. Therefore, you need to consider bringing home fish that are peaceful, friendly and create a happy environment within the aquarium. There are three types of fish for an aquarium. These three types of aquarium fish species are community fish, semi-aggressive fish and non-community fish.

Community Aquarium Fish
Community fishare the best types of fish that can be brought home by a first time fish owner. These are peaceful fish and have no problems sharing the fish tank with other types of aquarium fish species. These are shoaling fish and enjoy being with many other fish of their own type. The most common community fish 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 fish. You have a choice of hundreds of types of aquarium fish species. These type of fish co-exist peacefully in the tank and exhibit a beautiful display of colors and shapes.

Semi-Aggressive Aquarium Fish
Semi-aggressive aquarium fish are a little naughty ones. They can live in a community tank, but end up nibbing and troubling the little and calmer fish. 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 fish but are semi-aggressive. They tend to have a little fin nipping crave that becomes bothersome to other fish. 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 Ghost Knifefish
• Three Spot Gourami
• Krib
• Electric Yellow Cichlid

These are a few semi-aggressive aquarium fish. If you get any of these fish along with your cool and peaceful community fish, you will surely see some action in your fish tank.

Non-Community Aquarium Fish
These fish need a supply of live fish in their diet and other fish swimming in the same tank become a live prey! Put in a few goldfish 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 fish 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 that surely are not to be kept with community or even semi-aggressive type of aquarium fish species.

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

Types of Saltwater Aquarium Fish
These saltwater aquarium fish are found in marine or saltwater and the following are a few types of saltwater fish species:

• Betta Fish
• Gouramis
• Angelfish
• Archerfish
• 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 saltwater fish species. You have a range of fish and their subtypes to choose for your saltwater fish tank setup.

Types of Tropical Aquarium Fish
These types of fish are found in tropical waters around the world. The following are just a few names from the wide range of types of tropical fish:

• 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. 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 Freshwater Aquarium Fish
These types of freshwater aquarium fish inhabit the freshwater bodies. There are thousands of freshwater fish and a few of them are mentioned below:

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

These are a few fish that will help you understand about the different types of aquarium fish species. Just narrow down your choices and do some research about the fish of your choice over the Internet. You may even ask your friends who have kept fish as pets for help. Fish 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' fish. As a first time owner, I would advice, get some small and sturdy fish to help you get started and gradually move up to more exotic ones. I can guarantee you, aquarium fish will surely help you calm your nerves and provide a peaceful, serene environment to your home.