In the aquarium hobby, except for some few species, every fish is peaceful toward other species or toward members of the same species. The problem is that you cannot expect 2 or more fish which are 50cm long to live happily in an aquarium that's 150cm long. Nor if these fish require territories.
You should always check how fish behave in shops and you should always bear in mind that fish grow. What is a beautiful (and peaceful) 3cm fish, can be an aggressive predator once it reaches adult age.
Fish don't fight because they want to kill each other. Even males of the Betta splendens species live in peace in the wild. This is because of the Alpha male who is something like "boss of the bosses" and whose presence leads to a peaceful community.
Unlike nature, in aquariums it's hard to copy these natural conditions.
So... Don't think that every combination of fishes is going to create a community tank of your dreams.
If possible, avoid keeping small and big fish together, avoid overcrowding, and avoid anything that can be negative in terms of creating territories.
Most fish do need territories, so plants, rocks, decorations can help you to achieve this goal. In our database of aquarium fish we also mention temperament of each species. Sometimes we may be wrong due to numerous records... We're just humans, and we do mistakes too... Although we do our best to avoid them. Never consider any profile 100% accurate (even though we're focusing on accuracy) and always bear in mind that we may be wrong. Usually we're not wrong, but it's still possible.
Once again. Please, never buy x fishes before you learn about how big they'll grow, and never buy fishes without knowing if they need territories. If you're not sure, simply find the fish in our database, post a comment where you mention size of your fish tank and how many specimens you're willing to buy. We'll give you an answer!
added: Wed Jan 28 6:33:47 MST 2009 (views: 17830)
