Page 15 - TBAS-Sept-2020

TBAS September 2020 .................... -15-
put with it. NO! FISH DO NOT GROW TO THE SIZE OF THE TANK! This
is the biggest fallacy in the hobby and if someone tells you that, they don’t
know what they are talking about! A fish’s mouth size will tell you a lot too
. . . big mouth predators should not be kept with small fish. Large fish with

small mouths can be kept with smaller fish.
The next thing you need to know are the water requirements. Do you
need hard or soft water, warm or cold? Maybe this fish needs a higher pH
or lower pH. You can’t mix fish that have very different water requirements
because it is inevitable that someone will be unhappy.
Does the fish need to be in schools, pairs, harems or alone? What if
you purchase barbs? They like schools and are very unhappy in pairs and

will nip and pick at each other and other fish unless kept in groups of six of
more. Perhaps your male won’t get along with a single female but needs a
harem. These are things you must consider.
Food is not something that many people think of when considering
compatibility, but take, for example, the seahorse. Seahorse and related
pipefish eat only live food and eat it very slowly. Most fish you keep with
them will eat all the food before they get a chance, even though they won’t
harm the seahorses. Don’t mix vegetable-eaters with live plant tanks. Many
fish have special food requirements so keep this in mind when mixing

different kinds of fish.
Activity level and habitat go together. Active fish need swimming
room and many sedate fish need hiding places. Often the very active fish
will make slower fish nervous, but sometimes they are used with more
aggressive fish to distract them from fighting with each other. And what do
YOU want? Do you like fish darting and flashing about are more sedate,
slow movers? Some predators are sedate until food goes by. Don’t let that

fool you. Be sure they fit the other rules too.
This article is meant to provide some guidelines and just because
the fish you pick match all rules doesn’t mean they will all get along.
Sometimes you have to change the tank around or add more fish for distraction
or add more habitats. There will always be exceptions to the rule and
remember each fish has its own personality. Until next month, keep those
fish happy.

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