By definition, a community aquarium houses a collection of different species in the same aquarium. It can be a collection of species that all originate from the same geographic area or simply a collection of species, regardless of geographic origin that are chosen for specific reasons, such as trophic guild, habitat preference or from a less biological perspective: personal choice. Regardless of the community being put together, there are a few guiding principles that will increase the chances of success — success being largely measured by the longevity of the species or specimens housed in the community. The guiding principles not only include things like the size of the aquarium, water chemistry, size of the inhabitants, behavioral considerations and the feeding requirements of the species one would like to keep, but also things such as filtration, circulation, aquascaping and lighting.
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