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| Goldfish tank. |
Stocking an aquarium just refers to adding fishes into the tank, but it far more than that. Properly planned stocking is very useful. This small step helps avoid common problems like overstocking, water imbalance, fights for territories, and stress in fishes and gives your tank a healthy and happy environment. And people overlook this so easily but have to tackle the above problems within few days after adding the fish.
So here how to perfectly stock a fish tank:
The number of fishes.
- Follow the 1 inch per fish rule. If a fish is 1 one inch in size, it needs roughly 1 gallon/3 liter.
- Consider how big the fish will get as time passes. Like the Neon tetras grow at most 1.5 inches, whereas angelfishes can get up to 6 inches long. Obviously, you can add more tetras than angels in the same tank.
- Leave enough space to swim per fish.
- Take into consideration the space that would be taken up by decorations, plants, rocks, etc.
Also after adding the fish, you can carefully observe whether each fish is comfortable swimming through the tank.
Swimming Level.
Many fishes swim at a particular part of the tank. The water regions in a tank are the bottom-level, Middle-level, and Top-level fish. The fishes belonging to the particular level will spend most of their time in that region. So it is important to know that our tank has fishes from all these levels, and each species has its own space.
Fishes swim at any level:
- Zebra danios
- Rosy barbs(suggested)
- Pearl danios
These fishes can be added in small quantities and will keep swimming throughout the tank.
Top-dwelling fishes:
The top-level has the least decoration, so you could add more colorful species here. Their mouths are generally upside. Top dwelling fishes are generally jumpers so a lid is suggested.
- Betta fish.
- Gouramis.
- Guppies. (suggested)
- Mollies
Middle Dwelling fishes:
This category has a huge variety and is easy to choose from. And the most famous fish is the Angelfish, which makes the centerpiece of any aquarium. These fishes are also known to feed on the surface as well as the bottom.
- Neon tetras(at least 10+)
- Angelfish(suggested)
- Tiger barbs.
- Rainbowfish
- Discus.
Bottom-dwelling fishes.
This includes fishes that spend fish of their time at the bottom. Their mouths are generally downside. And they need special sinking pellets. Even though being at the bottom, they become a superb addition to the tank. 
- Plecos(not suggested)
- Catfish
- Red-tailed black sharks
- Corydoras.
- Siamese alga eater.(suggested)
Choosing get along species.
Being a community tank, the species should get along well. When getting any fish know the temperature, pH, and other requirements of that fish. And check if they are similar to other species you have in the tank. Here are some examples:
Angelfish are tropical warm-water fish (24-30 C), whereas goldfish are cold-water fishes(20-24 C) so they can't be put together.
Tiger barbs are known to nip long-finned fishes. So adding angels with them would not be a great idea.
Plecos get massive in a short time. So other bottom dwellers are always a better choice.