Nanofish List (v1.0)

[alphacat]

Howdy!

In the course of researching this amazing hobby, newbies (like me) often ask the same questions over and over; among them, the question of "so what kind of fish can I put in my planted nano?" seems to come up quite a bit.

To that end I'd like to start an easily-referenced thread with lists of ideal species for nanos. Wherever possible, please provide both the common name[s] and the scientific name.

EDIT (8/31/10):

Click Here for Fishydaze's cleaned up, expanded, and most updated version of the list.

[alphacat]

(EDIT: see the latest list via the link in the first post above...)

[jhoetzl]

Originally Posted by alphacat

- Endler's Livebearer (Poecilia Wingei)

Hmmm, if you are talking males only...OK...but females get a bit larger, and with that additional size comes babies...lots and lots of babies. Then, you will need more than a nano to house them...just something to keep in mind, especially with putting livebearers in nano's. Sure other types can breed in a nano, but not with the same ease.

I had a 2.5 nano, a 6g nano, and now I have a 40g fry tank of endlers...

Corydoras hastatus and pygmaeus are cool.
I personally like habrosus for a nano (>=5g thought), followed by pygmaeus.

[tuvok]

Originally Posted by jhoetzl

Corydoras hastatus and pygmaeus are cool.
I personally like habrosus for a nano (>=5g thought), followed by pygmaeus.

So far C. habrosus is one of my favourite fish. These guys have a lot of spunk and are not in the least bit shy (at least in my experience).

[Digsy]

It's funny that you posted this today because I've been searching the internet for the last few hours trying to find a good list of nano fish so...Thanks! :-)

[turbomkt]

Here's a list I put together a while back. I've had three of them so far *...

Microrasbora kubotai
" erythromicron
Nana
* Boraras maculatus (Dwarf rasbora or Pygmy spotted rasbora)
Boraras brigittae (Mosquito rasbora)
Danio choprae
* Boraras urophthalmoides (Exclamation point rasbora)
* Sundadanio axelrodi (Neon rasbora)

[alphacat]

Thanks Turbomkt - I was just about to add a Microrasbora to the list, but shoot, 7 or 8 more fish for the list is great!

Digsy: if you find any others in the course of your own research, please feel free to post it here and I'll add it to the list.

Now we're rolling...

[Daniel*Swords]

These might go in too!

Phoenix Rasbora (Boraras merah)
Boraras micros

Jae barb (Barbus jae)
Barbus sylvaticus

Neolebias ansorgii
Green Neon Tetra (Paracheirodon simulans)
Ember Tetra (Hyphessobrycon amandae)

What do you guys feel about these teeny corys? Would they go in a nano?
Salt and Pepper Catfish [?, cf. mongabay](Corydoras habrosus)
Dwarf Cory (Corydoras hastatus)
Pygmy Cory (Corydoras pygmaeus)



P.S. Btw. the species name is not capitalised - only family name is.

[agdavis]

Originally Posted by Daniel*Swords

P.S. Btw. the species name is not capitalised - only family name is.

Actually, not to rant but just to clarify, the 'species name' refers to both the genus and the specific epithet, most commonly incorrectly refered to as the 'species name'. A species name is comprised of two parts -the genus (the first part) and the specific epithet (the second part). I do not mean to rant but people throw around scientific verbage constantly and i just wanted to let people know of this distinction - even people who are well trained in the biological sciences misuse these terms.

[Daniel*Swords]

Originally Posted by agdavis

the 'species name' refers to both the genus and the specific epithet, most commonly incorrectly refered to as the 'species name'.

Thanks agdavis for clearing that up! All very logical now that you mention it! After this, it'll be that much more easier for me to try to pass as a biologist.

Some more fishes (found in the thread):
Gertrude's Rainbow/ Gertrude Blue-eyes (Pseudomugil gertrudae)
Dwarf Red Bettas (Betta coccina, tussyae, rutilans, persephone, etc.)

Then in the link posted by Sarahpea above we can find:
Burmese Pink Neon Rasbora (Microrasbora rubescens)

[deleted_user_4]

Pristella Tetras
Black Tetras

[AnneRiceBowl]

pics of these fish would be great.

[Lil boy blue]

Betta splendens are always a choice...

[alphacat]

Fantastic! This is just great, keep 'em coming.

Daniel*Swords - thanks for letting me know about the taxonomic syntax!

Addicted2sp33d - I left off the Black Tetras because they get to be 2½-3 inches... however, if you know something I don't about how well-suited these guys are for nanos, I can add them. Let me know. Thanks!

AnneRiceBowl - pics would be great, but also space-consuming. Just use Google Image Search and probably start by looking for the scientific name first, then the common name (and make sure you put it in quotes so they search for the exact phrase, not just either/or of the names). Fishbase.org is good for this too.

Jhoetzl - Excellent point about the Endlers; like I said in another post somewhere, they breed like rabbits on Viagra, to use a colorful euphemism... anybody interested in more about these guys should check out endlersr.us, the Endlers Livebearers Association of America. But yeah... if you keep this fish, be prepared to deal with scads of fry!

Lil boy blue - an obvious choice that I overlooked. Thanks!
----------------------------------

It seems that sooner or later we're going to have to further refine/organize this list - species that are best kept in groups (i.e. the earlier question about Corys, for instance), species that are best kept alone or with specially selected neighbors (Bettas), perhaps categories for water conditions (some of these guys like it cold, some warm, some like hard water, others die unless they're in soft water, etc.) - stuff like that.

For now though I'm really happy about the feedback, and hope this proves to be a useful resource in the future.

Next...?

[Snailpoo]

Otocinclus

Though with a nano, you might need supplemental feeding.