If you are looking for a peaceful tropical fish that will thrive in your freshwater aquarium, consider these ten large species.
They come from all around the world, and they vary in colours, shapes, and sizes.
This list is excellent if you’re starting to set up a new tank or if you need some new ideas to replace old ones!
1) Goldfish.
The goldfish is a freshwater fish that belongs to the family Cyprinidae and order Cypriniformes.
It was one of the earliest fish to be domesticated and is one of the most commonly kept aquarium fish.
It was initially found in Asia but has been introduced to various locations, including the United States.
Large goldfish can reach a length of nearly 1 ft (30 cm) and weigh more than 7 lbs (3 kg).
Large Goldfish live for about 20 years on average, with some living as 40 or 50 years!
Goldfish are omnivores.
They would eat plants, insects, crustaceans, and sometimes even small frogs if large peaceful tropical fish were large peaceful tropical fish large enough.
Goldfish typically spawn in the spring when water temperatures exceed 68 degrees F (20 degrees C).
Males build nests from whatever materials they can find and defend them until the females are ready to lay their eggs.
Females deposit 2000-8000 bright orange eggs that hatch within a day or two, depending on temperature.
The male will dart out and fertilise them externally.
The young fry can swim about freely within 48 hours, but they stay close to the nest for two more days while absorbing their yolk sacs.
After this time, large peaceful tropical fish will be free-swimming fish!
2) Iridescent Shark Catfish.
The iridescent shark is a stunning freshwater fish from Thailand and other parts of southeast Asia.
It belongs to the family Pangasiidae (a type of catfish) and order Siluriformes.
The Siluriformes order includes all tetra species shaped like large peaceful tropical fish but lacks true scales.
Some of these large peaceful tropical fish can reach up to just under 2 ft (60 cm) in length!
Their unique appearance comes from their iridescent colours – they change colour depending on the direction of the light sources they are surrounded by.
This helps them blend into wooded environments or even dark corners of caves when they need to escape predators such as large jungle cats or birds of prey.
These large peaceful tropical fish are carnivores.
They eat small insects, crayfish, and sometimes even smaller iridescent shark catfish!
3) Tinfoil Barb.
Tinfoil Barbs are a prevalent type of large fish for aquariums.
They have been bred in captivity for over 100 years and come in a variety of different colours.
They belong to the family Cyprinidae (carp) and order Cypriniformes (freshwater fish).
Their native range is in South Asia, but they have also been introduced into Australia and New Zealand.
Typically these large peaceful tropical fish are no more than 16 inches long, with a maximum size of up to 20 inches.
Young tinfoil barbs are some of the most beautiful pets when kept on their own because they can be housed in small tanks!
If you’re interested in keeping goldfish or swordtails as well, get a tank of at least 10 gallons.
Tinfoil barbs are omnivores, so that they will eat both plants and meat.
They prefer a diet that has been prepared for them, but they can also be trained to accept food from their owner’s hand – feed them live or frozen worms, brine shrimp, bloodworms and other large peaceful tropical fish treats!
These large peaceful tropical fish like to hide in the dark areas of the tank during the day.
Make sure you have some wood in your tank as well as rocks to provide many hiding places for these shy pets.
They will often dart out from behind their hiding spots when feeding time comes around!
4) Bala Shark.
The Bala shark is one of the most unique-looking large peaceful tropical fish around.
They have a long, whip-like tail, and their bodies are completely covered in tiny prickles!
Bala sharks are tough to care for outside of their native range, covering South Asia and West Africa.
In the wild, they live entirely in freshwater rivers and streams at low altitudes.
However, many aquarium keepers have kept them successfully at home with careful attention to their diet and water quality.
Tiny plankton makes up their natural diet in the wild, but some people who manage these large peaceful tropical fish in an aquarium provide brine shrimp as extra treats.
Bala sharks aren’t picky eaters for food, so they should be given what they’re used to in the wild.
If you can’t provide a diet of tiny aquatic creatures, these large peaceful tropical fish will adapt to eating whatever is put into their tank!
5) Clown Loach.
Clown loaches are some of the most beautiful and colourful large peaceful tropical fish out there.
They have a wide variety of patterns and sizes, so any aquarist can find a clown loach that will look great in their home!
These large peaceful tropical fish are native to Asia but have been introduced to many different parts through the aquarium trade.
You can now find them throughout Europe as well as North America.
Sometimes they’re found living outside of areas intended for them – they’ve even been discovered in the waters around South Florida!
Clown Loaches belong to the family Cobitidae, which includes almost 200 species all over the world.
The Cobitidae family is also known as “loaches” because of how many species are included.
Clown loaches like to live in pairs or small groups, but they don’t need a huge tank to themselves.
They aren’t very picky eaters and can be fed frozen or live large peaceful tropical fish treats.
The only thing they really have to watch out for is that these large peaceful tropical fish diggers!
Be careful when you’re adding plants, decorations, and other things to your clown loach’s home because they will try to dig through them!
6) Silver Dollar.
The silver dollar is a beautiful and peaceful large peaceful tropical fish with striking colouring.
They’re only about 3 inches long, which makes them some of the smallest large peaceful tropical fish on this list.
Silver dollars can be purchased as either male or female.
If you buy them as females, they’ll have rounded tails (as pictured above). Occasionally these fish will breed in the aquarium!
Although it’s quite difficult to get silver dollar breeders to mate, it can happen—but don’t expect your offspring to look anything like their parents!
These colourful gouramis are native to Southeast Asia and parts of China, but they’ve been introduced into many different areas around the globe through the aquarium trade.
They’ve become popular with aquatic hobbyists because of their beautiful appearance, peaceful personality, and the fact that they’re quite easy to care for.
Silver dollars are schooling fish – meaning that they need companions to remain happy in an aquarium.
These large peaceful tropical fish are usually found swimming around with hundreds of other silver dollar schoolers!
If you can provide a group of several silver dollars with plenty of space for them to swim around in, they will live pleased, healthy lives at home with you!
You can feed these colourful gouramis all kinds of different foods, including freeze-dried worm tablets and algae flakes.
They prefer treats made from meaty seafood, so make sure these large peaceful tropical fish get some tasty shrimp or krill every once in a while!
7) Common Plecostomus.
What kind of large peaceful tropical fish list would be complete without the common plecostomus?
These popular aquarium species are easily identified because they have “whiskers” above their mouths!
Plecostomus means “sucker-mouth” and refers to these fish’s tendency to suck on the glass.
Although this can sometimes be a problem for owners, it doesn’t hurt the fish in any way.
The only thing you need to worry about when your tank starts getting sucked down by these large peaceful tropical fish is that your plants might get damaged or toppled over!
Common Plecostomus are mostly found throughout South America, but some can also be found in Asia.
These freshwater fish can grow up to 12 inches long, making them one of the largest large peaceful tropical fish on this list!
Because they’re so big, you might think that common plecostomus need a ton of space to swim around in – but that’s not actually the case.
In fact, most prefer smaller tanks with low lighting and plenty of plants for them to hide behind.
Of course, these aren’t actual “reef safe” fish because there are plenty of other saltwater species out there like these (and some even bigger!)
This entry was inspired by my friend Peter, who has housed his own extensive peaceful tropical fish collection in containers including 5-gallon buckets and 55-gallon drums!
Many people have a lot of misconceptions about these large peaceful tropical fish because they’re labelled as “reef safe” on many aquarium forums and blogs.
Although common plecostomus do indeed prefer brackish water, they do NOT reef safe!
These large peaceful tropical fish will eat anything that fits into their mouth – including coral, which doesn’t fit into their mouths!
It’s important to remember this if you plan on housing your common plecostomus in an aquarium with any live rock or live sand.
You don’t want them eating the beneficial things living inside your reef tank!
Although it might be tempting to give these creatures some tasty marine meat as a treat, you should always feed typical plecostomus food made for freshwater fish.
They love small frozen shrimp and bloodworms—you can even try feeding them fresh vegetables like lettuce or spinach!
8) Oscar.
Last but certainly not least on this list of large peaceful tropical fish is the infamous Oscar!
These colourful fresh-water fish are named after their wild counterparts, capable of living in saltwater.
Oscars can measure up to 14 inches long and have a lifespan of up to 20 years – but they’ll usually stay around 10-12 inches in tanks a couple of feet deep.
You might think that such a big fish would require an equally large home – but actually, you don’t need nearly as much tank space for Oscars as you might expect.
Most Oscar enthusiasts keep these highly active creatures in dishpans or bathtubs, making them one of the largest large peaceful tropical fish species!
Oscars are one of the best large peaceful tropical fish for beginners because they’re quite easy to care for.
Just keep them in a tank with a heater (or heat lamp), and you’ll be good to go.
The most important thing is that your water stays between 78 and 82 degrees Fahrenheit at all times – which might seem tough considering those temperature ranges usually only occur indoors during the winter or while it’s raining!
Luckily, there are plenty of ways to make sure your oscar’s tank stays warm enough without having to use an indoor space.
You can also easily stick a thermometer probe into your tank using these handy dandy aquarium thermostat strips.
These colourful active creatures need lots of room to swim around and explore, so you’ll want to avoid putting them in a tank with other fish that are the same size or larger.
They should be the only large peaceful tropical fish in your tank because they can become aggressive towards others of their species – especially when it comes to food.
Oscars love live foods, but you should also feed them sinking pellets and flakes every day.
They might not need as much variety in their diet as some other large peaceful tropical fish on this list, but they will appreciate having something different to munch on now and then!
9) African Leaf Fish.
These unique creatures might look like something out of a sci-fi movie at first glance, but they’re quite easy to care for – as long as you know how to take care of the conditions where your leaf fish lives.
Note that these omnivorous creatures require immaculate water; if they start showing signs of fin rot or other infections, it’s usually due to dirty tank conditions.
These guys do great in tanks with live plants, driftwood and rocks—so make sure they have enough space to swim around and explore!
Like all true pacifists, African leaf fish are very social animals who enjoy interacting with their tank mates.
Keeping these large peaceful tropical fish in groups of three or more will make them much happier and healthier!
As long as you can provide a suitable environment, African leaf fish are great for beginners.
They’re straightforward to feed since they’ll eat pretty much anything that’s put in front of them – fresh vegetables, pellets, frozen foods and even live brine shrimp if you want to take the extra step!
Like many other large peaceful tropical fish on this list, it’s important to do frequent water changes if you plan on keeping a group of leaf fish together.
You might also want to invest in an algae magnet like this one so you can keep your tank nice and clean while giving your leaf fish some tasty treats too.
10) Angelfish.
The last (but certainly not least) member of this list of large peaceful tropical fish is the African Leaf Fish!
Angelfish are relatively easy to take care of because they’re not as picky as other large peaceful tropical fish on this list.
They can be kept in tanks with various setups and don’t require much special equipment since you’ll probably already have everything you need to maintain your tank!
Angelfish aren’t very active swimmers (so they do best in tanks that have plenty of plants), but they’re inquisitive explorers who enjoy exploring their surroundings.
It would be best if you didn’t keep these fish with other bottom-dwellers due to the risk of them getting injured by the larger angelfish’s long fins—but otherwise, they get along famously with most other large peaceful tropical fish species.
If you want to add an angelfish to your home, make sure you have a larger tank than most guides recommend!
For example, I typically keep them in tanks that are at least 200 gallons.
This is mainly because they’re very messy eaters and tend to poop everywhere while searching for food—so the bigger, the better when it comes to angelfish tanks!
Conclusion
If you’ve been searching for the perfect fish to add to your freshwater aquarium, take a look at our list of 10 peaceful tropical fish.
Some of the most popular and beautiful varieties that we carry in stock here at Aquarium Solutions! Which one has caught your eye?
Let us know which types of water conditions work best for these particular species so that we can help find you exactly what you’re looking for.
We have everything from goldfish to African leaf fish – and even an Oscar!
You’ll be sure to find something on this list that will fit right into your home or office decor while providing hours and hours of entertainment with their beauty and personality.
