What Aquatic Pet Should I Get

One press picks a pet that lives in water, with a fact on its size, company or tank.

What Aquatic Pet Should I Get

Show all 59
  1. Mystery snailA tropical apple snail from South America that cannot stand water under 10 °C.

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How it works

Want a pet that lives in water? Most of the list is fish, for cool, tropical and brackish tanks; the rest includes shrimp, snails, frogs and turtles.

Read the full guide

Set the tank up first

The RSPCA’s advice for any fish: bigger is better, a filter in every tank, and no fish added until the tank has been set up and running for at least two weeks. It asks for at least 60 litres of water for each goldfish.

Cool, warm or a little salty

Goldfish are kept at 10 to 21 °C, so the RSPCA says a heater is not normally necessary. Tropical fish must have one, set for the species. Brackish fish, such as the figure 8 puffer, live in water with marine salt added.

  • Never release an aquarium pet into the wild: goldfish and red-eared sliders released by their owners have become invasive.

Questions and answers

What is the easiest aquatic pet to take care of?

None is effortless: the RSPCA says fish have very specific needs and want routine care. Wikipedia calls the White Cloud Mountain minnow and the zebra danio hardy, and neon tetras easy to keep in a tank of at least 10 US gallons.

What aquatic pets are not fish?

Shrimp such as cherry, Amano and ghost shrimp; snails such as the zebra nerite and the mystery snail; the Mexican dwarf crayfish and the Thai micro crab; the African dwarf frog; the axolotl, which is a salamander; and turtles such as the common musk turtle.

What aquatic pet can live in a small tank?

The RSPCA advises no tank under about 40 litres. Wikipedia’s articles name 10 US gallons, about 38 litres, for neon tetras and ember tetras, 45 litres for a betta kept with other fish, and about 40 litres for a dozen bumblebee gobies.

Can aquatic pets live together?

Many tropical fish, including danios, tetras, rasboras and many catfishes, are shoaling fish, and the RSPCA says to keep them in groups of six or more. Others are not social and will fight their own kind, such as male betta fish, or other species.

How long do aquatic pets live?

From weeks to decades. Most adult Triops live up to 90 days and cherry shrimp one to two years, while a goldfish can reach 25 years, a red-eared slider 20 to 30, and a musk turtle has passed 50 in captivity.

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Browse Animals and Nature

All 59 aquatic pets

Cool water 8

  • Axolotl A salamander whose adults stay fully aquatic; one typically needs a 150-litre tank.
  • Goldfish The most popular cold-water pet fish; it can live up to 25 years and some pass 30 cm.
  • Japanese rice fish A hardy schooling fish, also called medaka, that prefers water of 15 to 28 °C.
  • Koi Colored carp kept in outdoor ponds; a koi pond usually has a metre or more of depth.
  • Paradise fish Lives in an unheated tank of at least 20 US gallons; among the more aggressive of its family.
  • Pond loach A peaceful, hardy loach that withstands unheated water; kept in groups of at least three.
  • Rosy barb A peaceful subtropical barb of up to 15 cm, best kept in a group of five or more.
  • White Cloud Mountain minnow A hardy 4 cm fish for an unheated tank, most comfortable in a group of at least five.

Tropical freshwater fish 30

  • Angelfish A cichlid for a warm tank, around 27 °C; generally peaceful, but may eat very small fish.
  • Betta Highly territorial, so males are kept apart; with other fish it needs at least 45 litres.
  • Bolivian ram A dwarf cichlid for a fairly small aquarium: 80 litres, about 20 gallons, at least.
  • Bristlenose catfish A catfish of up to 15 cm that hides when not feeding; some put its minimum tank at 25 gallons.
  • Bronze corydoras A sociable catfish of about 7 cm for a community tank, best in a group of five or more.
  • Cardinal tetra Grows to about 3 cm and lives for several years in captivity.
  • Celestial pearl danio A danio of 2 to 2.5 cm; a group of six, half of them males, does well in a small tank.
  • Cherry barb A red schooling barb that reaches 5 cm, best kept in a group of five or more.
  • Clown loach A striped loach, typically 15 to 20 cm as an adult, that suits non-aggressive tank mates.
  • Convict cichlid Forms monogamous pairs; a pair should have a 20-gallon aquarium or larger.
  • Discus Calm and highly social; for its size it often needs a tank of 55 to 75 US gallons.
  • Dwarf gourami Generally peaceful and slightly territorial; does well in most community aquariums.
  • Dwarf pufferfish One of the smallest puffers, 3.5 cm at most; a shoaling fish that is stressed when alone.
  • Ember tetra Grows to 2 or 3 cm; kept in groups of at least six, in a tank of at least 10 gallons.
  • Glass catfish A translucent, social catfish of about 6.5 cm.
  • Guppy A small livebearer that shoals, so it should not be kept as a single fish.
  • Harlequin rasbora A shoaling fish of about 4.5 cm, kept in a group of at least six.
  • Honey gourami A peaceful community fish for an aquarium of modest size with dense plants.
  • Kuhli loach An eel-like, nocturnal loach that likes five or more of its kind; a group fits 20 gallons.
  • Molly A livebearer of fresh and brackish water that browses on green algae and takes dried food.
  • Neon tetra A 4 cm shoaling fish kept in groups of at least six, in a tank of at least 10 US gallons.
  • Oscar A cichlid that claims part of the tank and can be very aggressive to fish that enter it.
  • Otocinclus A small catfish that lives in shoals and is often bought as an algae eater.
  • Panda corydoras A social catfish that wants at least eight of its kind and very clean water.
  • Platy A livebearer that grows to 6 cm and is bred in many colors.
  • Pygmy corydoras A peaceful shoaling catfish, usually kept in groups of at least four.
  • Rainbow shark A semi-aggressive fish; an adult needs at least 55 gallons of water.
  • Swordtail A hardy livebearer suited to community tanks, bred in many color varieties.
  • Tiger barb An active shoaling barb kept in groups of six or more; a fin nipper in a small group.
  • Zebra danio A hardy fish of up to 4 or 5 cm that does well in a school of six or more.

Brackish water 7

  • Bumblebee goby A bee-colored goby of 1.5 to 4 cm; a tank of about 40 litres houses a dozen.
  • Figure 8 puffer A relatively peaceful 8 cm puffer for a brackish tank of 15 US gallons at 24 to 28 °C.
  • Green spotted puffer A brackish puffer of about 15 cm whose aggressive nature limits its tank mates.
  • Knight goby A very territorial goby of estuaries that needs plenty of rocks and caves and does better with a little salt.
  • Sailfin molly A livebearer of fresh and brackish water, commonly sold in shops simply as a molly.
  • Silver moonyfish A silver fish of fresh, brackish and sea water that reaches about 27 cm and can form schools.
  • Zebra nerite snail An algae-eating snail of about 2.5 cm that can only reproduce in salt or brackish water.

Shrimp, snails and crabs 10

  • Amano shrimp An algae-eating shrimp that fares best at 18 to 28 °C.
  • Assassin snail A snail of 18 to 32 mm, kept to control unwanted small snails.
  • Bamboo shrimp A freshwater shrimp from Southeast Asia that prefers a moderate flow of water.
  • Cherry shrimp A timid, non-aggressive shrimp of 3 to 4 cm that scavenges for food and may live 1 to 2 years.
  • Ghost shrimp A transparent shrimp of up to 2.5 cm, kept in a group; up to 20 fit a 5-gallon tank.
  • Mexican dwarf crayfish A small crayfish from Mexico; its orange form is the one often kept in aquariums.
  • Mystery snail A tropical apple snail from South America that cannot stand water under 10 °C.
  • Rabbit snail A freshwater snail kept for its looks and its slow, manageable rate of breeding.
  • Thai micro crab A freshwater crab only 1 cm across, active at night, kept at 21 to 27 °C.
  • Triops A tadpole shrimp sold as eggs in kits; most adults live up to 90 days.

Frogs, axolotl and turtles 4

  • African clawed frog Hardy and lives up to 20 or even 30 years in captivity; several US states ban owning one without a permit.
  • African dwarf frog A completely aquatic frog of 2.5 to 3.8 cm, with an average life of five years.
  • Common musk turtle A mostly aquatic turtle of 5 to 14 cm that has passed 50 years of age in captivity.
  • Red-eared slider Typically 15 to 20 cm and lives 20 to 30 years; some US states regulate owning one.