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Aquarium fish which is small is usually of bright colors and feed on fish flakes more than fish meat. They could range from angel fish to tetras and are chosen for decorative purposes due to their shine which reflects a bright silver under the particular aquarium lights. The fish species are simple and no fun to watch as they have no personality. These fishes are suitable for decoration and for simple aquarium set ups and usually people wanting a tank with low maintenance go for it.

It is a bit more difficult to maintain the larger fish like African fish and cichlids. But they generally are sturdier fish so their mortality rate is very low compared to other smaller weak fish. The main attraction or rather the problem of cichlids is however their cannibalism. They will gobble up the smaller fish in the tank in no time at all. If you feed them anything less than fish meat, they will not like it. Cichlids have different types and their looks also differ. Oscars which find personal favor with many people; can be red, tiger or albino. Then there are jaguar cichlids as well as black belts, and so the list goes on. These fish types need a lot of gravel cleaning and filter since they create lots of waste. Cichlids’ breeding pair costs a lot of money! Cichlids are generally the more expensive fish as they are larger (one tank can accommodate 5-6 cichlids and one half foot Oscar). One thing to remember is that these fish prefer to arrange the tank just the way they like it. So initially though the tank caters to your taste, it won’t stay the same for long. There is so much more to know about cichlids which have a distinct personality.

So the type of fish that you should get for your aquarium depends on the purpose of your getting the aquarium. Decorative small tanks need decorative small aquarium fish. But if you have a bigger tank, you should get bigger fish. Put in some larger fish and see the fun you will have watching them!

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