Best Freshwater Aquarium Fish Combination 2020 | Top 5 Aquariums Reviewed | Buying Guide

Last Updated: August 1, 2020

Marineland 5 Gallon

Koller Products Panaview

Tetra 20 Gallon Complete

So, you can’t seem to ignore the thought of having different species of colorful fish right inside your home, can you? If you like the elegance, allure, and all the feelings associated with nature that an aquarium can bring you, then buy the Best Freshwater Aquarium Fish Combination.

If you have made up your mind to buy an aquarium, start thinking about the combination of freshwater fish to put in it. There are different species of fish in the world today, but not all of them will thrive in freshwater. The best combination of fish species will suit your location and won’t mess up the water often. More so, they are harmonious and they are easier to maintain.

Aquariums play a vital role, providing a safe and comfortable place for your different fish combination to live in. Read on to discover more facts about Freshwater Aquarium Fish Combinations.

Top 5 Aquarium Kits

1. Marineland 5 Gallon Portrait Glass

Marineland aquarium has by far triggered the interest of many who would love to own an aquarium kit. The kit features a sleek design with clear glass and rounded corners. You are in a position to have a clear vision of everything inside the kit since the glass canopy makes it possible to access the view from any preferable angles.

Some of its greatest visual effects are the sunlight shimmering effects produced by the white LEDs during the day and the moonlight glow that comes from the blue LEDs at night. It is huge enough and can hold up to 5 gallon with Z size filter cartridges. Worry not about filtration since the system has an advanced tri stage filtration process with an adjustable filter pump that ensures dust and other materials are well filtered to enhance a clear visual of your fish from any side of your tank.

Unlike the varieties of the kind out in the market, this model can be assembled with ease and within a few minutes.

Specifications:

  • Dimensions: 27.9 x 16.1 x 20.4 inches
  • Weight: 35.2 pounds
  • Capacity: 20 gallon
  • Material: glass

2. Koller Products Panaview 5-Gallon Aquarium Kit

Are you looking for an energy-efficient aquarium kit? Koller Products never disappoint, they are fitted with LED lighting brighter enough with a seven-color selection that illuminates the fish giving a beautiful view. The 7 dazzling colors are; green, blue, purple, aqua, amber, red, and white.

Just like the above product it has an in-built power filter that purifies the water at a uniform rate of 45 gallons every hour. The filtration process removes pollutants like heavy metals, odors, dust, toxic gasses, and unnecessary colors.

Its clarity is worth mentioning, it’s made of clear plastic cover that will leave you thinking its a glass kit. The construction is strong and compact to provide superior strength making it highly durable. It is easy to maintain and set up and it as well guarantees you longer service periods.

Once you purchase the product you get free customer service and setup user instructions.

Specifications:

  • Dimension: 14.2 x 11.5 x 10 inches
  • Weight: 4.8 pounds
  • Colors: 7
  • Material: plastic

3. Tetra 20 Gallon Complete Aquarium Kit

Tetra Aquarium is an amazing large kit that can hold up to 20 glass aquariums with a customizable color change to fit your tank. Some of the inclusions are anemones that sway with every filter current giving your fish a place they can comfortably relax and hide. The kit has its own plants that come to life in every glow of LED color fusion. Alongside this kit, you will get an aquarium hood, a tetra whisper, UL heater, single color fusion, 2 wonderland plants, and a white anemone. 

The décor and the artificial plant adds a natural and unique ocean feel that keeps your fish comfortable and easy. To install this kit, prepare a setup and rinse your décor and gravel with water, use an aquarium stand or a flat surface with limited heat and light source. Add the gravel and fill your tank with water, you can as well decorate the tank to your preference. 

Plug the equipment safely and snap your LED lights and place the hood to the aquarium. Run the filter and the heater for some hours and add fish into the tank, avoid pouring the fish into the tank since that may contaminate the water. Finally, add one bottle of safe start to start cycling the aquarium.

Specifications:

  • Dimensions: 27.9 x 16.1 x 20.4 inches
  • Weight: 35.2 pounds
  • Capacity: 20 gallon
  • Material: glass

4. MarineLand Contour Glass Aquarium Kit

This kit contains sleek design with round corners and it’s made of glass to ensure that there is a clear view. Honestly, you will love its design and how beautiful it looks in your tank. The daylight setting gives a mimic effect of the sun rays during the day while the moonlight setting will give the tank a moonlight glow. You can always switch between the settings to what you prefer best. 

The rail light is not a common feature among the varieties of the aquarium in the market. Marine Land Contour is fitted with a sliding glass and rail lights hence the kit can be accessed with ease. The company is well known for its innovative ideas on aquatic equipment and environments. It is small in size and carries 3 gallons and 3 stages secret filtration with filter cartridges that keeps your water clean and free from odors. The kit is easy to assemble and maintain. It is as well molded ribbed to ensure maximum water-carbon contact.

Specifications:

  • Item weight: 10.5 pounds 
  • Product dimension: 9.5 x 10 x 10 inches
  • Material: Glass

5. Aqueon 100527256 Fish Tank Aquarium LED Kit

Aqueon 100527256 is a 10-gallon kit that contains a vibrant LED lighting which brings the best of the aquatic environment. It offers a quiet flow with an LED flashlight that gives you signals on when to change the cartridges. It’s the right time you stop guessing on when to do the replacements. This will reduce the number of times you get your kit out of the tank for maintenance. 

An in-built preset heat helps in maintaining a constant temperature that ranges from 75-78 degrees which is an appropriate temperature for tropical fish. To achieve a perfect set up, you are provided with a setup guide.

The complete kit includes among other things; fish food, stick-on thermometer, water conditioner, fishnet, and a medium cartridge.

For installation and set-up place an aquarium on the stand, rinse the gravel and the décor to your favorite position, add water conditioner into the water, add filter, thermometer, and the heater then ensure there is a proper snug fit. It will take you 24 hours before you add the fish.

Specifications:

  • Weight: 13.6 pounds
  • Dimension: 20.2 x 10.5 x 13.3 inches
  • Material: Glass

Buying Guide: Freshwater Aquarium Fish Combination

Freshwater aquarium fish are not too complex when you know their ideal conditions. Having the best freshwater aquarium fish combination will liven your home or workplace, relieve your stress, and give you little pets to look after.

If you love having fish as pets, you will like them to have a natural environment to thrive in. It can be quite confusing if you do not know a lot about most of these species of fish, the kind of aquarium to house them in, or how to look after them. You can avoid these hassles by going through this buyer’s guide.

The Best Freshwater Aquarium Fish Combination

Keeping pet fish is truly exhilarating. Fish are delightful and can play a significant role in your life if you let them. They beautify your home and fill the emptiness without being as demanding as other pets like cats, dogs, or birds. Notwithstanding, for them to stay active, you will have to know how to manage them.

Freshwater fish often include tropical or cold water species. You can set up the freshwater aquarium as a community tank, but try not to mix cold water fish and tropical fish because of their incompatible temperature requirements. Tropical fish aquariums will require a warm temperature ranging from 24oC to 27oC (75oF to 80oF) for the fish to thrive. For cold water aquariums, you will need goldfish and other breeds that do not need a heating apparatus.

An example of freshwater aquarium fish combination is mixing gouramis, rasboras, and tetras with hardy plants like Hygrophila difformis Vallisneria spiralis, and Hygrophila polysperma.

When decorating your aquarium, you may use gravel, rocks, live or plastic plants, and plastic sculptures.

 

What Factors Should You Consider?

When you visit an aquarium, you will be surprised at the assortment of fish in the aquarium. Of all these species, not all may be suitable for a beginner-level aquarist.

It is wrong to purchase fish without knowing some basic factors about them. to determine whether or not they can thrive in your aquarium. Most hobbyists buy fish without the faintest idea of what it eats, how big it can get, or unusual care requirements. Although acquiring new fish for your aquarium is always fun, it could be disastrous and expensive if you do so aimlessly.

So, whether you are adding more fish to your aquarium or starting a new one, below are some of the criteria to look out for:

 

Fish Compatibility

The best freshwater aquarium fish combination is made up of a variety of fish breeds living happily in your aquarium. To properly mix these different fish, you need to choose fish that are compatible with each other. Do not combine aggressive fish with fish breeds that are peace-loving, as this could lead to the death of your peaceful fish breed.

Also, some fish are very active and require a lot of open space to swim around and nooks to hide in.

No matter how easy your freshwater fish are to care for, they still have specific needs. Some of these needs are water composition, plant preferences, and temperature. It will be better if you get fish species with similar needs that can live under similar conditions.

Hence, the fish in your aquarium must have compatible personalities. This will make your aquarium easier to take care of and keep your fish healthy.

 

Your Experience

Your experience in taking care of fish also matters. It will be frustrating if an inexperienced aquarist decides to buy fish breeds that are recommended for more experienced aquarists.

Some fish require expert handling, usually because they require in-depth knowledge and experience on how to manage them. Such fish breeds are often advanced, more expensive, and could die quickly if they are not given the right care.

 

Aquarium Size 

Most freshwater fish are social, so they do very well in a group. When thinking of what kind of fish to add to your aquarium, consider how big it can grow and how many fish you will need to have a comfortable group. Larger, social fish will need many buddies and require a larger-sized aquarium to stay healthy. Smaller fish do well in a smaller aquarium.

Also, do not forget that your aquarium will need space for plants and other elements.

 

Aquarium Set-up

A typical aquarium set-up is not only made up of the fish. Furnishings like gravel, rocks, background, driftwood, plants (live or plastic), and other decorations are part of your aquarium. For a cover, you may use a canopy. 

Other things you need are aquarium stand, heater, lighting, thermometer, filtration apparatus, fish food, air pumps, air stones, fishnet, water quality testing kits, water conditioner, siphon hose, and bucket for changing water.

Also, there are height and surface area to consider in setting up and maintaining a living biotope. The surface area contributes to supplying excellent in-tank oxygenation and helps in creating amazing aquatic themes.

 

Aquarium Material

It is always better to go for all-glass aquariums because they are more reasonably priced and resist discoloration and scratches better.

Professional Recommendation: Before you add freshwater fish to your aquarium, first do your research. Know the needs of each fish you are adding to the tank. Also, get professional advice from the aquarium store.

 

 

What Are the Benefits of Having the Best Freshwater Aquarium?

With a list of the best freshwater fish for your aquarium, you should be able to easily make up your mind. Having the best combination of fish in your freshwater aquarium offers a lot of benefits. Some of them are:

It Helps Children Relax

Everyone knows how hyperactive children can be. However, they are in the habit of calming down when they are around a fish tank so that they can sleep quietly. Most children are calmer while watching the pet fish in the aquarium.

They are more inclined to find the aquarium entertaining. It is also a good time to get them settled so they can learn a little more about nature and aqua life.

You Will Sleep Better

Your aquarium may come with LED lights that can help you sleep. This light is the reason some people have their freshwater aquarium in their bedrooms, especially those suffering from insomnia or restlessness.

Watching the fish inside the aquarium under the LED lighting should help you feel restful and eventually drift off to sleep. The effect it has on a person is hypnotic and guarantees a perfect night’s sleep.

You, Will, Become More Productive At Work

Having a freshwater aquarium offers many benefits for people working in a stressful environment. With an aquarium in the office, your stress levels will reduce. This, in turn, will also help reduce your blood pressure.

With reduced stress levels, you will focus more on your work and accomplish more.

It Reduces Stress

This is probably one of the most amazing benefits of having an aquarium in this busy world we live in.

After the stress of the day or week, a good way to wind down is to sit and stare at your amazing freshwater aquarium. You will visibly relax while your mind wanders. Studies have shown that you can get exceptional relaxation when you view an aquarium.

Great for People with Alzheimer’s

People with Alzheimer’s disease often have issues with taking medicine, eating, and doing a lot of normal things. According to studies, if such people have an aquarium around them, they could be calmer, eat better, and need fewer supplements.

For this aquarium to serve such patients more effectively, you should place it in the dining room. This also makes them exhibit behavior that is less offensive.

 

Did You Know?

The larger your aquarium is, the better the aesthetic value, the more the fish you can add to your aquarium, and the more stable the water-world.

 

Expert Tip

Place your all-glass aquarium far from windows, cooling ducts, and heating ducts to avoid direct sunlight and varying temperature.