The Chinese phonetic sound for the character “Yu” (餘) – “to have enough food to have left-overs”, has the same sound as fish.

Also in the Yijing (Book of Changes), there is a saying: “For moistening 10,000 things there is nothing more enriching than water”. (潤萬物者莫潤乎水)

Because of its nourishing quality, water has always been associated with wealth. Having fish swimming in water would correlated to abundant wealth being stirred or hastened. That is why it is considered very auspicious to have an aquarium in the home and the place of business. 

However, because this works like an omen, it has to be done in a ritually correct way. Otherwise, it can bring more harm than good.

Consequently, we need to pay attention to the following 5 factors when you’re considering to have an aquarium with fish in your home:

1. Location of aquarium
2. Shape of aquarium
3. Number of fish in an aquarium
4. Species of fish
5. Colors of the fish

I will walk you through each of these considerations using Feng Shui principles so you can apply them to your aquarium.

Location of Aquarium

In terms of the Feng Shui form, an aquarium should be located at the “Ju Qi” or the “Gathered Qi” corner (sometimes it is called the “Wealth corner” because Qi is being gathered there). It is usually located diagonally across from the entrance to a room, like a door to the living room or the front door. Placement of the aquarium should also be against a solid wall for support.

In terms of time, during the time cycle of Period 8 (2004 – 2023), the Indirect Spirit is located to the Southwest. That is the best place to have water.

In terms of the Five Elements, North is correlated to Water, whereas West and Northwest are correlated to Metal. These three directions are also good to have the aquarium because Metal generates Water, and being the same Element is also supportive.

So apart from the “Gathered Qi” corner of a room, the Southwest, Northwest, West, and North are also good places to place your aquarium.

Shape of Aquarium

A circular shape is associated with the Water Element. Since Water harmonizes each other, it is considered an auspicious shape for an aquarium. However, its size can be restrictive.

A rectangular shape is associated with Wood. Wood can weaken Water, but since they are mutually interactive with each other, and Wood is associated with growth, rectangular-shaped aquarium is also an auspicious shape to have. Its size can be bigger and can better fit into the furniture of the house.

A square shape is associated with Earth, and Earth can imprison Water. Thus, it is not desirable unless it is located in the West or Northwest direction, where the Element of the direction can neutralize its harmfulness.

A triangular shape is associated with Fire, and Fire fights with Water. It is not an auspicious shape to use as an aquarium. Besides, it is hard to clean a triangular tank, and the corners are not usable.

A multi-sided configuration, like a 5-sided, 6-sided, or a Bagua shape (8-sided), has different connotations. It is best to avoid them unless you have a good reason to use them.

So out of these different shapes, the rectangular and circular shapes, which can be elliptical or wavy, are the best for an aquarium.

Please also keep in mind the size of an aquarium can affect the number of fish you can have. So please make sure that you can get some expert’s advice as to what is the maximum number of fish you can have in a particular size tank before your fish die mysteriously.

Number of Fish in an Aquarium

What is an auspicious number of fish to have in an aquarium can be calculated in 5 different ways:

1. In Accordance with the Yin and Yang of the Numbers

Odd numbers are considered Yang numbers and even numbers are considered Yin numbers. Generally speaking, odd numbers like 1, 3, 5, 7 and 9 are considered auspicious, while the even numbers like 2, 4, 6, 8 and 10 are considered less auspicious. That’s because in terms of phonetics, the sound for “a pair” and for “injury” have the same sound (‘shang’).

Some justify the rule by saying the Chinese prefer Yang over Yin, but that is not quite the case. Rather it is better to have Yin and Yang together instead of two Yin or Two Yang together.

2. In Accordance with the Phonetic Sounds

If you have a good-sized aquarium, then 9 is an auspicious number of fish to have. That’s because 9 is not only the most Yang of the Yang numbers, but it sounds the same as “having more than enough”.

3 is also an auspicious number because it sounds the same as being alive and growing.

6 is auspicious as well because it sounds the same as “having a good income”.

3. In Accordance with the Luo Shu 9 Stars

In Feng Shui, 1, 6, 8 and 9 are the auspicious Purple-White Stars, so they are good numbers of fish to have.

However, 1 being a singular number on its own, is not the best. You might like to reconsider having just 1 fish unless it is the only number of fish you can have in a small-sized bowl.

4. In Accordance with the Hetu Numbers

In Feng Shui, the combination of the numbers 1, 6 and 4, 9 are considered to be Early Heaven Water and Metal. They are both associated with wealth, so having 1, 6, 4 and 9 number of fish are also considered auspicious.

You can also have these two combinations with two lots of different color of fish, especially 4 and 9, since the number 4 on its own is not favored by the Chinese. That’s because 4 has the same sound as “death”.

5. In Accordance with Your Chinese Zodiac Sign

Your Animal sign also can be correlated to an Element, matching the Hetu pairing of numbers mentioned above, which can be considered auspicious.

1. Rat and Pig (Water): 1 or 6
2. Snake and Horse (Fire): 2 or 7
3. Monkey and Rooster (Metal): 4 or 9
4. Tiger and Rabbit (Wood): 3 or 8
5. Ox, Dragon, Sheep, and Dog (Earth): 5 or 10

Species of Fish

There are many species of fish you can raise in an aquarium. Generally, they can be divided into 3 main categories:

1. Salt water fish: Saltwater fish like Angelfish and Clownfish are very colorful and quite enjoyable to look at. However, they are prompt to dying unless you can keep a close eye on the salinity and continual maintenance of the water.
2. Tropical fish: Tropical fish like Guppies and Danios are also very colorful to look at but they are more difficult to breed and maintain than saltwater species. Otherwise, they die, and that is not an auspicious sign. If they do perish, they must be replaced straight away to avoid bad luck.
3. Goldfish: By comparison, goldfish are relatively easy to look after since they are a smaller member of the hardy carp fish family. The term goldfish is misleading because apart from the gold color, there are many varieties of color and shapes to choose from. Goldfish is the preferred choice to have from a Feng Shui perspective.

Colors of the Fish

Most fish on the market are generally bright and colorful to promote sale, for colours can stimulate a happy and positive feeling in the perceivers.

From a Feng Shui perspective, the different colors are correlated to the Five Elements, with blue and black belonging to Water, gold, white and silver belonging to Metal, yellow and brown belonging to Earth, red and purple belonging to Fire, and green and jade belonging to Wood.

The best colors in an aquarium should be ones that belong to Metal, and this should be the predominant color of the majority of your fish. That’s because Metal can generate Water, and Water is associated with wealth.

Colors belonging to Water are second best because they are of the same kind to the water.

You can also use some Fire because Fire and Water can be mutually generative, like cooking rice in water to make a meal. However, the Fire cannot be too strong.

Both Earth and Wood will tend to either fight or weaken the Water, so it is better not to have them as the main color in an aquarium.

Combination of Nine Fish Is Auspicious Feng Shui

The best combination of nine fish in your house in an aquarium is eight goldfish or Arrowana fish (a Chinese good luck fish often referred to as a dragon fish and is best used in a koi pond due to grown size of over four feet) and one black-colored goldfish (black moor). With the combination of eight red and one black fish, the fish symbolize prosperity, energy, and good fortune. The number eight is the major prosperity number for feng shui practices.

How One Black Fish Enhances Feng Shui

The one black goldfish is most important since its purpose is to absorb any negative energy that enters your home. The black goldfish, therefore, becomes a symbol of protection. If the blackfish dies without any known cause, such as under-oxygenated water, overfeeding, or lack of food, it is believed the fish died from absorbing bad luck that was meant for you. In fact, many people believe that if any fish in the tank dies without a justifiable cause, then its sacrifice was to spare you the bad luck that was headed your way.

Remove and Replace Dead Fish Immediately

You want to always remove a dead fish from the tank immediately and replace it as soon as possible. There are many practitioners of feng shui who give their dead fish a nice burial and say prayers or mantras for them. It’s common knowledge black fish die more often than the goldfish; there are some biological explanations, such as the moor has poorer vision and cannot compete fairly for the food.

Number of Fish Based on Symbolism

According to feng shui principles, numbers play an important role in feng shui application. These roles include:

1. The symbolic meaning of the numbers based on how they sound when spoken in Chinese
2. The meaning of the number, using the interpretation of Flying Star School of Feng Shui

While these are two very significant aspects of number use in feng shui, it’s not a common practice for selecting the number of fish to use in an aquarium. Based on the symbolism associated with numbers, you can have any of the following number of fish in an aquarium to attract the energies ascribed to each number:

1. One: New beginnings
2. Three: Growth and development
3. Six: Mentor luck
4. Eight: Money and abundance
5. Nine: Long life, considered the luckiest number
6. Any multiples of three (333, 888, etc.): Triples luck of number

Create an Auspicious Aquarium

According to feng shui principles, adding an aquarium to your home or office is an excellent way to attract auspicious chi into your space, especially for good luck, abundance, and prosperity.

It is extremely important that a feng shui aquarium:

1. Is always clean
2. Has circulating oxygenated water
3. Is properly maintained
4. Has an interesting environment for the fish
5. Has a balance of the five elements of feng shui: Water, wood, fire, earth and metal.; elements can be symbolic
6. Is filled with happy fish living in a clean tank that are fed correctly, are healthy, and circulate positive energy

The most important rule for an aquarium is to keep the water clean. If the water becomes stagnant or dirty, the fish will not be healthy or happy. This type of unkempt aquarium attracts negative energy (sha chi) that can impact all areas of your life especially your wealth sector.

Use Proper Feng Shui Aquarium Placement Rules

In addition to choosing the number of fish to care for in your feng shui aquarium, follow feng shui rules for proper aquarium placement for the most auspicious chi.

Deciding on the Right Number of Fish for Good Feng Shui

The feng shui lucky number of fish in a tank or aquarium varies depending on your personal flying star chart and of course, the size of the fish tank. The simplest rule is to have eight goldfish and one black goldfish.