When I was a newbie in fishkeeping hobby, I started with community fish. Community fish are the kinds of fish that stay together in groups like molly, guppy, tetra, gourami, cichlids and others. They are generally peaceful and love to share with others in the tank.
Although community fish stay together in groups, there are certain kinds of community fish that can be kept together with other kinds of community fish like mollies and guppies, barbs and tetras, gold fish and bala sharks. On the other hand, although cichlids are also considered as community fish but they are quite aggressive that they cannot be mixed with other kinds of community fish.
Setting Up a Community Tank
If planning to set up a community aquarium, the tank must be big enough to accommodate the number of fish planned to keep. Small to medium sized gravel and sands are appropriate. Plants are also required, these will serve as hiding place for fish that are chased and bullied. It is also important to have proper water filter to keep the water in good condition. There must be oxygen and right temperature of the water.
Food
Community fish’s food depends on what kind the fish are. However, most of the community fish eat most of the fish food from pellets to flakes to live fish food like brine shrimps and worms.
Breeding
Some of the community fish are live bearers like molly, guppy, and platys, and others are egg layers. Molly, guppy and platy are easy to breed. Once the females are fertile, they would just give birth. They eat their kids so make sure to notice if there are pregnant fish and separate them and monitor when they will give birth. When they give birth, separate the kids from the mother as soon as possible to avoid from being eaten.
