How Many Fish to Keep in a Fish Tank? Species Selection and Feng Shui Taboos for Placement

Goldfish have traditionally been called “feng shui fish”; they can not only make up for certain flaws in home feng shui, but also fill the home with vitality and bring boundless life energy. In the eyes of modern people, placing a fish tank at home and keeping goldfish is a rather fashionable hobby; keeping goldfish at home not only adds life to the home, but watching their leisurely swimming after a meal also helps relax the nerves. This in fact shares a similar principle with what feng shui calls “filling the home with vitality and bringing forth life energy.”

Feng Shui and Taboos for Fish Tank Placement

No home can be perfect when it comes to fish tank placement; there are always some flaws, and using fish tank placement to fill these flaws is a clever method. Traditionally, it is believed that for homes facing east, south, north, or southeast, the fish tank should not be placed in the east, southeast, north, or south of the living room. For homes facing southwest, northwest, northeast, or west, the fish tank should not be placed in the west, southwest, northwest, or northeast of the living room. When placing a fish tank, pay attention to overall harmony with the home's style, and also coordinate the relationship between the energy field and the home's architecture, increasing natural spirit and adding extra vitality to the home. Also note the following points:

1. The fish tank should not directly oppose a deity statue in a straight line.

2. The fish tank should not face the kitchen stove directly.

3. The fish tank should not be placed too high (not higher than a person's head), and the water should not be higher than the chest, otherwise it governs disaster and illness.

4. Try not to let the background of the fish tank be empty! Especially when placed against a wall.

5. The fish tank should not be too large; a fish tank that is too large will store too much water. From a feng shui perspective, although water is important, too much and too deep is not suitable, and a fish tank higher than the eye level of an adult standing up is too high. Therefore, a fish tank in the living room should not be too large or too high, and this is especially unsuitable for small living rooms. The fish tank should not be placed in an auspicious direction; no home can be perfect, and there are always external sha influences and the like, and using a fish tank to resolve external sha is one clever method. In feng shui there is the saying “direct water into the zero hall”; the so-called “zero hall” refers to a declining position that has lost its fortune, meaning that directing water into a position that has lost its fortune can turn misfortune into good fortune and turn bad luck into good. Therefore, the fish tank should be placed in an inauspicious direction, not an auspicious one.

6. Never place the fish tank behind the sofa: from a feng shui perspective, using water as backing support is inappropriate, because water is fickle, and relying on it as backing makes it hard to seek stability. Therefore, if the fish tank is placed behind the sofa, when the whole family sits there daily, there will be no mountain to rely on, affecting the stability of the home's fortune. If the fish tank is placed beside the sofa, however, it does not hinder the home's feng shui.

7. Never let the fish tank clash with the stove: the fish tank has much water, while the kitchen stove belongs to fire, and because “water” and “fire” clash, if the living room fish tank forms a straight line with the kitchen stove, this violates the taboo of water and fire clashing. A fish tank directly opposing the stove will harm the family's health; the reason is that water and fire clash, water can overcome fire, and what suffers is the fire-belonging stove, and the family members who cook with this stove will also suffer as a result. In addition, fish tank placement should try to avoid forming a straight-line clash with the deity altar.

8. Never place the fish tank below the God of Wealth: as the saying goes, “wealth returns to the wealth position,” so wealth deities such as the Three Stars of Fortune, Prosperity, and Longevity should be placed in the flourishing wealth position, which can make things even better. If the God of Wealth is placed above the fish tank, that is a big mistake. Because the fish tank should originally be placed in an inauspicious direction of the home, if the God of Wealth is placed near the fish tank, this contradicts the principle of “wealth returns to the wealth position,” and placing the God of Wealth above the fish tank violates the feng shui taboo of “the upright deity entering water.”

Species Selection for Fish Kept in a Fish Tank

1. Keep fewer saltwater fish —— saltwater fish are kept in water close to seawater salinity; although their vivid colors bring visual pleasure and a calming, nurturing effect, they are not recommended because they are difficult to care for.

2. Do not keep tropical fish —— tropical fish are relatively difficult to keep. If living creatures in the home often die, from a feng shui perspective this is not a good omen; it creates an unpleasant feeling psychologically, which often affects the harmonious operation of the body's energy field and brings some negative mental effects.

3. Keep more goldfish —— generally goldfish have fairly strong vitality and are relatively hardy, especially seven-color immortal, koi, and goldfish, which have bright colors, gentle temperaments, and are easy to care for. They also make the keeper feel more cheerful, and the “brocade” koi or “gold” fish have homophones “profit” and “gold,” both related to people's wealth, so they are relatively favored by Chinese people.

How Many Fish to Keep in a Fish Tank

In traditional feng shui, the “He Tu and Luo Shu” verse on the generation numbers of heaven and earth says: “Heaven generates water, earth completes it with six; earth generates fire, heaven completes it with seven; heaven generates wood, earth completes it with eight; earth generates metal, heaven completes it with nine; heaven generates earth, earth completes it with ten.”

Based on the above, some people infer and determine how many fish should be kept. For example: generally the number of fish kept should preferably be one, four, six, or nine. Because these numbers all help strengthen the power of water in the five elements. This saying has no scientific basis; let it be said carelessly and heard carelessly.

In addition, as for the color of the fish, it is suitable to keep gold and white; black, blue, and gray, relative to photosynthesis in the air, will reflect harmful light out, keeping the energy field in a clean space, which is relatively beneficial to the fish's health. If red, green, or purple fish are kept, because they have a strong ability to absorb rays, this is not beneficial to keeping them, so generally speaking, keeping goldfish of these colors is not much advocated.

For many people who believe in feng shui, the placement of the fish tank and the number of fish kept in it are very particular; if placed improperly, it can instead damage its feng shui, and especially some office bosses and people doing business care quite a lot about this feng shui issue.