Every aquarist likes a freshwater community full of different types of fish. However, there are many things that we have to consider when adding different types of fish together in the same tank. We have to make sure that every fish are comfortable with each other and live peacefully without getting hurt or any other issues.
So, how should we choose what fish to add to a 75-gallon community tank? Let us find out.
It is necessary to ensure that the fishes are compatible when planning to make a community fish tank. All these are the best compatible tankmates for a 75-gallon community fish tank:
- Neon tetras
- Guppies
- Cardinal tetras
- Bristlenose plecos
- Cory catfish
- Mollies
- Platies
- Kuhli loach
- Dwarf gouramis
- Zebra danios
- Swordtails
- Rasboras
In this article, we will discuss 75-gallon community tank stocking ideas and learn how to decide what fish should be kept together. So, let us get into it.
Contents
- 1 What fish go together in a 75-gallon community tank?
- 2 How many fish can I keep in a 75-gallon tank?
- 3 How should we decide what fish to keep in a community tank?
- 4 12 Best fish for a 75-gallon community tank.
- 5 Ideas of stocking fish in a 75-gallon community tank.
- 6 How to set up a 75-gallon community tank?
- 7 Conclusion:
What fish go together in a 75-gallon community tank?
We should always add peaceful fish species to a tank to create a good community tank.
Adding peaceful fish to a community tank will eliminate the risk of aggression in the tank, and all of your fish will live peacefully.
Choosing fish species that will not harm and hurt each other is necessary to make a good community tank.
There are hundreds of options available when it comes to peaceful fish.
Also, we should consider many other things when planning to make a community tank.
The other things we should consider are:
- Water Parameters
- Food
- Size of the fish.
- Space requirement of the fish.
- The hardiness of the fish.
Also read: Best Fish For A 15-Gallon Column Tank?
Water Parameters
All the fish you are adding to a tank must share a similar water parameters requirement.
Water parameters include water pH, Water temperature, And water hardness.
Any fish living in a tank with inadequate water parameters will suffer and can go through the critical condition.
Food
Food is essential in keeping your fish healthy and ensuring their longer lifespan.
When we create a community tank by adding lots of different types of fish, it is possible that all of our fish don’t get to eat regularly.
If fish do not regularly get their food, they will become weak and prone to various diseases and parasites.
So, all fish must get food appropriately for good health and lifespan.
If you are adding top and bottom swimmers to the tank, feeding them will be easy as there are varieties of sinking food available for the bottom swimmers, like corydoras and bristlenose plecos.
Floating pellets and flake food is good for top swimmers.
Also, there are varieties of live food you can feed your fish in a community tank, like bloodworms, brine shrimp, mosquito larvae, and tubifex worms.
Also read: How Often Should I Feed My Fish?
Size of the fish
It is normal in the aquatic world for bigger fish to try to feed on smaller fish.
The bigger fish can look at your smaller fish as a tasty snack.
Adding bigger and smaller fish to your community tank will always be a risk to your smaller fish of getting eaten.
Every carnivorous and omnivorous fish will try to feed on fish that are smaller than their size and fits their mouth.
So, we should always consider adding fish that are similar in size, so they don’t try to feed on each other.
Also, adding similar size fish will help you decide the number of fish to add to your community tank.
Space requirement of the fish.
Providing fish with enough space to live and swim comfortably is necessary to ensure their long and healthy lifespan.
Follow the one-inch one-gallon rule to ensure that every fish gets enough space to live and swim comfortably and you don’t end up overcrowding your fish tank.
The one-inch one-gallon rule means one inch of fish per gallon of water.
Also read: How Many Fish In A 10-Gallon Tank?
The hardiness of the fish.
Adding hardy fish and easily adapting to the surroundings will be a great addition to your community tank.
A hardy fish will live between a wide range of water parameters and conditions.
Every fish requires different water parameters to thrive, so adding a hardy fish will extend the range of water parameters, making it easy to manage the parameters.
How many fish can I keep in a 75-gallon tank?
We should always follow the one-inch one-gallon rule to decide how many fish to keep in the tank.
The one-inch one-gallon rule states that we should keep one inch of fish per gallon of water.
For example, guppy fish can be between 0.6-2.4 inches, with an average size of 1.5 inches. So you can keep about 40 guppies in a 75-gallon tank.
Some of the space in the tank will be covered by plants, substrate, and decors, so make sure to deduct some gallons while following the one-inch one-gallon rule.
How should we decide what fish to keep in a community tank?
To decide what fish to keep in a community tank, you first have to decide rather you want to make a community tank of big fish or small fish.
Now there are some most popular community fish that will look great in your 75-gallon tanks, like guppies, tetras, bristlenose catfish, corydoras, rainbowfish, zebra danios, and rasboras.
These are the fishes you can keep together in a 75-gallon tank.
They all are peaceful fish and will live peacefully with each other.
Now when you go for big fish to create a community tank, the options are lesser than for smaller fish.
There needs to be more than a 75-gallon tank for big fishes like the Bala shark, common adult plecostomus, silver dollar, and others.
You can also not keep angelfish and goldfish together, as they have different water parameter requirements.
We should always keep fish together which have similar water parameters and conditions requirements.
Also, having a similar temperament is necessary, as adding peaceful and aggressive fish together in the same tank will result in chasing and bullying.
Let us discuss the best fish we should consider adding in our 75-gallon community tank.
12 Best fish for a 75-gallon community tank.
All these are the best fish for your 75-gallon community tank:
- Guppies
- Mollies
- Gouramis
- Zebra danios
- Neon tetras
- Corydoras
- Bristlenose plecos
- Rainbow fish
- Swordtails
- Platies
- Cardinal tetras
- Kuhli loach
Guppy Fish
- Scientific Name: Poecilia reticulata
- Difficulty Level: Easy
- Size: 1.2-2.4 inches
- Tank Size Requirement: 10 Gallons
- Diet: Omnivore
- Water Temperature: 72-82 °F
- Water pH level: 6.8-7.8
- Swimming level: Middle
- Temperament: Peaceful
- Planted Tank Suitability: Yes
Guppies are peaceful creatures and are popular for their colorful and attractive fins. Primarily male guppy fish have long, colorful fins.
Keeping them in your community tank will make your tank look beautiful.
They are schooling fish and should be kept in a group of at least 5 of their own.
They will love interacting and swimming with other peaceful fish in your community tank.
Also read: Can Guppy Live With Molly?
Molly Fish
- Scientific Name: Poecilia sphenops
- Difficulty Level: Moderate
- Size: 4-5 inches
- Tank Size Requirement: 20 Gallons
- Diet: Omnivore
- Water Temperature: 75-80 °F
- Water pH level: 7.5-8.5
- Swimming level: Middle and top
- Temperament: Peaceful
- Planted Tank Suitability: Yes
Mollies are also a great fit in a community tank. They are easy to take care of and will peacefully live with other fish in a community tank.
They are shoaling fish and should be kept in a group of at least 3-4 of their own species.
Dwarf Gourami
- Scientific Name: Trichogaster lalius
- Difficulty Level: Moderate
- Size: 2.5-3 inches
- Tank Size Requirement: 10 Gallons
- Diet: Omnivore
- Water Temperature: 75-80 °F
- Water pH level: 6.8-7.8
- Swimming level: Mid and top
- Temperament: Peaceful
- Planted Tank Suitability: Yes
Adding a pair of dwarf gouramis will make your community tank look amazing.
They are beautiful and non-aggressive fish that will love to swim and interact with other peaceful fish in a community tank.
Zebra Danios
- Scientific Name: Danio rerio
- Difficulty Level: Easy
- Size: 1.5-2.5 inches
- Tank Size Requirement: 10 gallons
- Diet: Omnivore
- Water Temperature: 64-75 °F
- Water pH level: 6.5-7.5
- Swimming level: All levels
- Temperament: Peaceful
- Planted Tank Suitability: Yes
Zebra danios are peaceful fish and love to live and interact with other non-aggressive fish in a community tank.
You can find multiple color varieties in these species, which will make your tank look very attractive.
They can live in low water temperatures, which makes them a good option for unheated aquariums.
Also read: Can Zebra Danios Live With Neon Tetras?
Neon Tetras
- Scientific Name: Parcheirodon innesi
- Difficulty Level: Easy
- Size: 1.5 inches
- Tank Size Requirement: 10 gallons
- Diet: Omnivore
- Water Temperature: 68-82 °F
- Water pH level: 5-7.5
- Swimming level: Middle
- Temperament: Peaceful
- Planted Tank Suitability: Yes
Neon tetras are also a good addition to your community tank, as they look very attractive.
Provide them with enough space, and they will thrive in your community tank.
When they are kept in a small school, they will likely nip other fish fins, so consider keeping them in a school of at least 6.
Cory catfish
- Scientific Name: Corydoras
- Difficulty Level: East
- Size: 2-4 inches
- Tank Size Requirement: 20 gallons
- Diet: Omnivore
- Water Temperature: 72-82 °F
- Water pH level: Between 7 and 8
- Swimming level: Bottom
- Temperament: Peaceful
- Planted Tank Suitability: Yes
Cory catfish are one of the most common bottom dwellers every aquarist prefers to add to their fish tank.
They will ensure to keep your tank clean of small dead fish, decayed plants, and other waste.
They will come to the water’s surface every now and then to breathe air, as it is their normal behavior.
They are shoaling fish and should be kept in a group of at least 5-6 of their species.
Also read: Can Cory Catfish Live With Plecos?
Bristlenose Plecos
- Scientific Name: Ancistrus cirrhosus
- Difficulty Level: Easy
- Size: 5 inches
- Tank Size Requirement: 40 gallons
- Diet: Herbivore
- Water Temperature: 73-81 °F
- Water pH level: 5.8-7.8
- Swimming level: Bottom
- Temperament: Peaceful
- Planted Tank Suitability: Yes
Bristlenose plecos are also great bottom dwellers and will help you eliminate soft algae and other waste from your tank.
They should not be kept in a group of their own species.
They are peaceful fish and will happily live with other non-aggressive fish in a community tank.
Rainbow Fish
- Scientific Name: Milanotaeniidae
- Difficulty Level: Easy
- Size: 4-7.9 inches
- Tank Size Requirement: 30 gallons
- Diet: Omnivore
- Water Temperature: 74-78 °F
- Water pH level: 7 and 8
- Swimming level: Middle
- Temperament: Peaceful
- Planted Tank Suitability: Yes
Rainbow fish are also a great option to add to your community fish tank.
They will thrive living with other tropical freshwater fish like guppies and tetras.
Keep them in a male-to-female ratio of 1:2 to avoid the fighting of males in breeding seasons.
Swordtails
- Scientific Name: Xiphophorus helleri
- Difficulty Level: Easy
- Size: 5.5-6.3 inches
- Tank Size Requirement: 15 gallons
- Diet: Omnivore
- Water Temperature: 64-82 °F
- Water pH level: 7-8.5
- Swimming level: Middle and top
- Temperament: Peaceful
- Planted Tank Suitability: Yes
Swordtails are livebearer fish that comes with the option of multiple colors and breeds.
Due to their low-maintenance nature, it is the best option for beginners.
Also, their beautiful color will make your tank look attractive.
Platies
- Scientific Name: Xiphophorus spp.
- Difficulty Level: Easy
- Size: 2.8 inches
- Tank Size Requirement: 20 gallons
- Diet: Omnivore
- Water Temperature: 70-82 °F
- Water pH level: 7-8
- Swimming level: Mid and top
- Temperament: Peaceful
- Planted Tank Suitability: Yes
Platies are livebearers and also a great addition to your community tank.
They are very attractive and will make your tank look beautiful.
When it comes to algae control, platies will also contribute to it.
Consider keeping them in a group of at least 3-6 of their own.
Cardinal Tetras
- Scientific Name: Paracheirodon axelrodi
- Difficulty Level: Easy
- Size: 1.25 inches
- Tank Size Requirement: 20 gallons
- Diet: Omnivore
- Water Temperature: 73-80 °F
- Water pH level: 5-6
- Swimming level: Middle
- Temperament: Peaceful
- Planted Tank Suitability: Yes
Cardinal tetras are similar to neon tetras. Only the red stripe on the cardinal tetra makes them different from the neons.
Cardinal tetras look more attractive than neon tetras because of the red stripe.
Kuhli Loach
- Scientific Name: Pangio Kuhlii
- Difficulty Level: Easy
- Size: 3-4 inches
- Tank Size Requirement: 20-Gallons
- Diet: Omnivore
- Water Temperature: 73-86°F
- Water pH level: 5.5-6.5
- Swimming level: Bottom
- Temperament: Peaceful
- Planted Tank Suitability: Yes
Kuhli loach is also a great cleaner and mostly stays active at night.
They will tend to be quiet during the daytime and will start scavenging for food at night.
They are peaceful fish and will do great with other non-aggressive fish in a community tank.
Ideas of stocking fish in a 75-gallon community tank.
| Fishkeeping Idea | Community Fish For 75 Gallon tank |
|---|---|
| Stocking idea no 1 | 12 guppies, 3 mollies, 5 zebra danios, 5 cory catfish, 5 amano shrimp, 2 dwarf gouramis |
| Stocking idea no 2 | 1 kuhli loach, 5 amano shrimp, 10 cardinal tetras, 5 platies, 2 dwarf gouramis, 4 sword tails |
| Stocking idea no 3 | 1 Bristlenose pleco, 12 guppies, 5 zebra danios, 2 dwarf gouramis, 10 neon tetras, 5 platies |
| Stocking idea no 4 | 5 cory catfish, 5 amano shrimp, 10 neon tetras, 5 rainbow fish, 4 mollies |
| Stocking idea no 5 | 1 kuhli loach, 12 guppies, 10 neon tetras, 6 zebra danios, 5 cory catfish, 5 amano shrimp |
| Stocking idea no 6 | 1 bristlenose pleco, 1 kuhli loach, 10 neon tetras, 12 guppies, 5 red cherry shrimp, 5 zebra danios |
How to set up a 75-gallon community tank?
For setting up a community tank, all you need is:
- Substrate
- Light
- Filter
- Heater
- Live aquatic plants
Substrate
Adding a substrate will help you make your fish tank beautiful and provide a place for your fish to search for food.
Also, it provides a place for your plants to root.
Make sure to choose the substrate wisely when keeping a bottom dweller fish, as they will require a soft substrate like sand. Otherwise, the sharp or hard substrate will harm their barbels.
Also, varieties of colors are available on a substrate, which will make your tank look attractive.
We will recommend using the dark color substrate as it will help you mimic your fish’s natural habitat, and also, the tank will look beautiful.
For a 75-gallon tank, you will require at least 75 pounds of substrate.
Also read: How Much Substrate For A 75-Gallon Tank?
Light
Light is also necessary if you are planning to make a planted tank.
Light will help your plants in their growth.
Also, light is necessary for your fish’s health.
Make sure to keep the light on for at most 8 hours a day, as too much light will grow algae.
We recommend using the HYGGER CLIP ON FULL SPECTRUM AQUARIUM LED LIGHT as it will provide your fish and plants with enough light.
You can buy this product at amazon: Hygger Clip On
Consider adding a timer so that the light automatically gets on and off.
Filter
A filter is something that is very much necessary for your fish tank.
A filter helps you to keep the water clean and protected from harmful toxins like ammonia and nitrite.
Consider adding a good filtration system with biofilter media to protect your fish tank from excessive waste and harmful toxins.
There are varieties of filters you can choose from:
- Canister filter
- Internal filter
- Hang-on filter
- Aquarium sumps
- Sponge filters
You can consider using a Fluval high-performance aquarium filter for your 75-gallon tank, as it will ensure that your water is clean and protected from harmful toxins like ammonia and nitrite.
You can buy this product at amazon: Fluval High-Performance Aquarium Filter.
Heater
The heater is also a necessary part of the aquarium, which we should consider adding.
A heater will not only help you to keep the tank heated but will also ensure stable water temperature.
We recommend using the Fluval M200 Submersible heater for your tank.
You can buy this product at amazon: Fluval M200 Submersible Heater.
Live aquatic plants
Adding live aquatic plants to your community tank will make your tank look attractive.
Adding plenty of aquatic plants will ensure enough oxygen in your tank.
The fish also use plants as their hiding spot.
These are some best plants you can consider adding to your community fish tank:
- Java moss
- Java fern
- Anubias nana
- Amazon sword
- Micro sword
- Vallisneria
Also read: Can I Put Seashells In My Fish Tank?
Conclusion:
Consider adding peaceful fish to your 75-gallon community tank.
Fish like neon tetras, guppies, mollies, platies, rasboras, zebra danios, corydoras, and bristlenose plecos are community fish and will peacefully live with each other.
Avoid adding aggressive fish and peaceful fish in the same tank, as it will result in bullying and chasing.
Many fish require a large group of their species to live comfortably, so when planning to stock your community tank, take care of that.
Follow the one-inch one-gallon rule to stock your fish, so you don’t end up overcrowding your fish tank.
A heater, light, substrate, filter, and plants are necessary items to set up a fish tank.
Reference: AquariumIndustries