How to keep small and large fish in same aquarium?

How to keep small and large fish together in the same aquarium?

Fish eat anything that fits in their mouth. So, if you keep small & large fish together in the same aquarium, then chances are that small fish would be eaten up by large fish. But this depends on what type of meal your fish wants to eat. An herbivorous fish won’t eat flesh or small fish. Only carnivorous & omnivorous fish will eat small fish. A large algae eater might not eat small fish but care should be taken when keeping small & big fish together in the same fish tank. Small fish could escape large fish if there is enough room in the aquarium, & if there are plenty of hiding spots so my recommendation is to setup your aquarium correctly before keeping small & big fish together.

How to keep small and large fish together in the same tank?

Aquarium Size:

Most of the freshwater fish are happy if there is enough space in the aquarium. Lots of space reduces aggression in a fish, & territorial fish need more space than ordinary fish to form their own territory. If the aquarium has less space, then fish usually fight with other fish. Experts suggest that for an inch of adult fish, there should be one gallon of fish tank capacity, but territorial fish have even high requirements. If you have a 20-gallon fish tank, then it does not hold 20 gallons of water because the tank might have substrate, ornaments etc. 

 

Tank Ornaments:

Artificial or live plants, & ornaments lower the risk of fish fighting with each other in aquariums. If fish can’t see each other, then there would be no quarrel. Tank decorations such as rocks, caves, wood & other types of ornaments can assist in defining the territories for territorial species, as well as tall thick plants offer home, & offer schooling fish such as rasboras, tetras etc. their own regions to live. If you want to add a new territorial fish, then adding a few rocks, or rearranging the ornaments will end up the territories established by other territorial fish.

 

Fish Size:

When you mix up little fish of the same size, then they become friends. Some of them would grow large while others would remain small. They can usually live with even more aquarium mates because they have been introduced together at a young age. Aquarists have successfully kept predator fish with small fish by adding them together when they were young, & had the same size before large fish achieved a big size & learned to feed on small fish.

 

Fish Gender:

Male species are usually highly territorial & aggressive than females especially when they are mating. Do not introduce more than one male of the cichlid fish or any other territorial fish, when females are available. Add 1 male per 3 females of livebearers such as guppies, mollies, platies etc. to lower the aggression in males.