The catalog has 1249 fish species and 277 plants in three languages. With this much data, mistakes are unavoidable, and you will be stocking live fish based on these numbers. So we cross-check the catalog against several independent references and say plainly what has been checked and what has not.

What we cross-check

For 887 cards there is an independent reference description of the species, and a copy of it is saved. Size, aquarium volume, temperature, pH, water hardness, group size, temperament and food type have been checked against it.

For the other 362 species there is no such description. For them, temperature, pH, hardness and size have been checked against a scientific species database, when the species is listed there.

A fact on a card is changed only when two independent references agree. If a number differs from the text, that does not yet mean the number is the wrong one.

The texts of all 1249 fish cards have been read in full. Some errors, such as a wrong native range, can only be found by reading.

The countries where a species lives in the wild have been checked for 1223 of the 1249 species. No "wrong continent" errors are left.

Before every site update, the data is checked for internal contradictions: a number in a card's text is compared with its field, cards of the same species are compared with each other, and the three languages are compared with each other. At the moment there are no mismatches.

What the first check found

We checked the 50 most popular species. Errors turned up in about a third of them. Some had the size understated by half. Others had the aquarium volume understated, and the advice could do harm: the Royal Panaque was listed at 200 L, when it needs 400. We fixed what we found, and then ran the cross-check over the whole catalog, as described above.

The principle is this: an aquarium volume may be overstated, but never understated. And it is better to write nothing than to write something that may be wrong.

What we do not know

  • For the 362 species without a reference description, group size, temperament and food type have not been independently confirmed.
  • Swimming level (top, middle, bottom) has been confirmed by two references for only 28 species. For the rest where it is given, there is one.
  • Aquarium volume is a recommendation for a group of fish, not a measured value.
  • The English and Spanish versions are translations from Russian. They may read a little roughly in places.
  • Plant images are illustrations drawn from the description of the species and checked against it. They are not photographs.
  • Compatibility ratings for 510 popular species were put together by hand, based on the described behavior of the fish. For the rest, the calculator compares water, size and temperament. The rating is general, and compatibility in practice depends on the individual fish.

What to do as a reader

Treat a card as a good starting point, not the last word. Fish of the same species differ in character, and no table replaces watching your own aquarium. The easiest way to choose fish is in the catalog.

Found a mistake? Write to us: info@aquario.me. We will check it and fix it.