2022 has been quite the year, if you are one of the lucky ones(like us), your fish hobby grew this year. You bought more tanks and made a few stands to carry them all. But now is the fun part, it’s time to fill your new tanks with fish.
Choosing a fish for your freshwater aquarium can be a difficult decision. There are many types to choose from and you have to make sure that the fish you pick are compatible with each other. Here are some of the coolest freshwater aquarium fish that we love.
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YoYo Loach
Scientific name: Botia almorhae
Conservation status: Least Concern
Higher classification: Botia
Phylum: Chordata
Order: Cypriniformes
Lifespan: about 5-8 years
Yoyo Loaches are one of our all time favorite fish. They are a joy to watch as they love swimming all over the tank. They are great at getting rid of snail infestations and cleaning up the substrate.
The best part is that they start out small and eventually grow to a decent size, so you can enjoy them in a smaller tank and upgrade as they get bigger. They are a fairly hardy fish and are pretty tolerant to many types of water parameters. What shines the brightest is their personality, as they swim around and behave almost like a seal or sea lion. They also like to sleep on their side or play dead, which has given us a scare more than once.
Most people ask “how many yoyo loaches should i get?”, generally, you want to keep at least 3 as they are quite social fish. But if you ask me, as many as you have space for. They do get quite large in terms of size, information is not inconsistent on this but Yoyo loaches have a max size of around 3-6 inches. I personally have 3 Yoyo loaches that are about 4-5 inches, so I guess it will vary, but they grow quite slow and I have 6 in a community tank that is around 1.5 inches each and have been for like 6 months now.
If you are looking for a relatively peaceful and hardy fish, give yoyo loaches and try and be amazed as they become your new favorite fish.
Geophagus
Family: Cichlidae
Scientific name: Geophagus
Phylum: Chordata
Order: Cichliformes
Rank: Genus
Higher classification: Cichlid
The underrated cichlid due to it’s more muted colors but some species are known for their iridescent colors (Like the Altifrons) that are unlike any other fish.
Unlike their African counterparts, these South American Cichlids are more peaceful in nature and can live with a more varied community as long as their companions are not small enough to fit in their mouth (common fish rule).
They are relatively peaceful but some species are known to get territorial towards their own during sexual maturity. They are interesting fish to watch as they are constantly picking up substrate and spitting it out (hence the nick- name “earth eater”).
As they are becoming more popular, it’s definitely a cool fish to have in your tank.
Arowana
Kingdom: Animalia
Class: Actinopterygii
Mass: Silver arowana: 5.6 lbs
Family: Osteoglossidae
Scientific name: Osteoglossidae
Order: Osteoglossiformes
Probably on everyone’s coolest freshwater fish list.
The Arowana is just a unique and amazing fish. Be wary though as this fish is known for their aggression and size. With adults growing up to 4 feet long, you will have to consider if you can adequately house this fish before buying.
There are also mixed opinions about tank mates but some have been successful raising arowanas with all types of tank mates.
Once you set eyes on an Arowana and watch it majestically swim back and fourth, there is no fish like it.
Horseface Loach
Scientific name: Acantopsis dialuzona
Conservation status: Least Concern
Higher classification: Acantopsis
Phylum: Chordata
Order: Cypriniformes
Rank: Species
Another fish from the loach family.
The horseface loach is not a commonly popular fish but man is this fish cool. I can’t say there are many fish like it, with a face like a horse and a body like a long stick, they spend most of their time shifting through the substrate and is known to bury themselves in it as well.
They remind us of a weird cousin to the seahorse and brings something different to your community tank that most have never seen.
