The first aquarium for the majority of new fishkeepers is a community aquarium containing small, peaceful tropical fish. The range of ideal community species (which tend to occupy the middle waters of an aquarium) is enormous; it includes South American tetras as well as Southeast Asian danios, rasboras and the (generally) peaceful smaller barbs.
These species will do well in near neutral, moderately soft water (pH 6.5 to 7.5, DH 4 to 8) maintained at about 76 degrees Fahrenheit. One common factor among these types of fish is that they only do well when kept in shoals of six or more.
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