Do you prefer species only tanks or community tanks?

  • Species Only Or Community? 12

    1. Species Only (4) 33%
    2. Community (8) 67%

    Sometimes having a community tank can look amazing, since you will have tons of different sized and looking fish swimming around at all different levels of the aquarium. Although, with some species, just having a species only tank can bring out their natural behavior out to view. Which do you prefer and why? Have you tried both options, or just one?

    When it comes to this choice, it all depends on the aquarium size and the fish that I plan to keep on the inside. Community tanks tend to be great when you have either a smaller tank, or a very large one. Likewise, in that middle spot, I find that species only tanks can be beautiful. For prime example, I had a 75 gallon with about 9-10 Melanochromis auratus cichlids that not only would breed on and off, but also showed their calm and slightly aggressive nature. It always was exciting when you could watch a female (or so you thought at the time) slowly change from yellow with blue/white stripes change completely around and go almost jet black (or a very, very dark blue) with white stripes along the body.

  • My vote would have to be for a community based tank - while some species only tanks do look good indeed, I feel like the fish swim around more naturally when they are inside of a tank with a ton of their other native related fish with them. Plus, who doesn't love seeing a ton of flashing colors fly around compared to just one species color set.

  • Species only since although it may be the same fish species, if you make the tank focus on them but also the background (3D background, a natural setup like they would have in the wild) it can totally make those species just POP.

  • I personally like community tanks since you get to have a lot of different looking fish, lots of variety when it comes to what is swimming around, and better yet get to have more natural types of interactions between species that may or may not the naturally occurred.

  • I think that community tanks honestly look better since like the others have said, it’s a ton of different fish of all different sizes swimming around and giving a vibrant appearance overall.

  • I think if you are into community tank where multiple fish groups move from one place to another at the same time. And you find that calming then you should definitely go for the community tank. But the thing is that often one species only tank is worth it if you can't spend much time maintaining it.

  • I have voted for the community tank. Maintaining it, would be more time consuming than a species only but it's worth while. There is a wide-range of vibrant colours & different species of fish for community tanks.

  • Community tanks can be hard to manage, but personally I think they are more interesting because you get to create a complex ecosystem and watch how it evolves and do what you can to keep it in balance and functioning. It is an incredible learning experience!

  • I always think that community tanks look more interesting. It's nice to see multiple types of fish living together. Also, the different colors and appearances of the fish often make it more vibrant. ^^

  • I voted for community. The reason is because I think that certain fish have a specific role in the tank and they all benefit one other. That doesn't mean that all my angelfish are going to get along with other species but I know that my algae eaters are necessary.

  • I personally would definitely prefer community tank. But for a beginner I would suggest to go for single species tank because it will be challenging and even the expenses will be high.

  • I think it really depends on the tank size and setup. A few tanks look amazing with just one species that is highlighted with the aquascape. Others have their aquascape to more or less reflect the habitat that you may find the given fish in, so a community tank actually becomes way more popular or better to view.


    Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

  • Personally, I don't like having different kinds of fishes in my pond. It makes managing them very difficult for me and it's my I prefer to deal with a single specie.

Participate now!

Don’t have an account yet? Register yourself now and be a part of our community!