Small schooling fish

Hi gotcheaprice, I think that the cardinals are going to be a bit much for that tank. Given that they reach up to about 2" each, I would only stock 4-5 of them and leave it at that as far as fish go. Even then, a 10 really doesn't give much room to play around with. I've never kept those rasboras, but there are quite a few nano species (lambchop rasbora/CPD/etc, theres a list somewhere) that would probably give you the effect you are looking for. Just try not to overstock, as it can easily lead to water quality issues.

*edit* i looked up the phoenix rasboras, they look awesome, and are small, I wouldn't hesitate to put 6-7 or so in a 10, with some inverts.

I think you should go with the rasboras. Cardinals can get pretty big and take all the food at feeding time, which would be problematic for the rasboras.

Oh wow, those cardinals get big, thought I read they only got up to 1.25". But ok, I guess I'll look for something like 6-7 phoenix rosaboras if I get my hands on them. I was looking at those CPDs too, but they're quite expensive but pretty. Do you know if they school too?
I saw the nano list, but the nano list was quite large so I don't think I could search each one and find a nice schooling one.

Would throwing in 2 Otos/SAEs be too much? I think I read that they are schooling fish but I often see them in nanos.

Oh, I guess I'll put the specs on my tank just in case.
11.4 gallon Mr. Aqua (Oh yeah, it's 11.4 gallons, don't think it'll make that much of a difference)
Eheim 2213
Pressurized CO2
36 W archaea light.
Iwagumi styled (with only HC and rotala wallichii at the moment)
Dosing EI 3 times a week.

CPD's will shoal, but they don't school tightly. I would go with otos over SAE's, my SAE's are just under 3inches long. Both otos and SAE really should be kept 3 or more.

Chili Rasboras

jetajockey said:

CPD's will shoal, but they don't school tightly. I would go with otos over SAE's, my SAE's are just under 3inches long. Both otos and SAE really should be kept 3 or more.

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Ah, ok. Would 3 otos still be too big though? I'm currently thinking this will be my stock list:
5-7 amanos
3 Otos (maybe 2-3 CPDs or none at all if it appears over crowded, won't really need the otos if I have amano and nerites)
5-8 Phoenix/Chili Rasbora
2 nerite snails

Water changes will happen once a week.

Dave-H said:

Chili Rasboras

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Ah, was looking at those too, but don't they get bigger than the phoenix? They seem more common than the phoenix though.


I will post pics of my tank soon!

i would get a group of at least 4-5 CPD's, they aren't tight schoolers but are very timid and need more of their kind for company. They also really appreciate a well planted tank. I think that's when you'll see the best out of them.

You could probably manage 4-5 of each species and 3 otos, it would be slightly overstocked on the inch/gal guideline, but these fish really aren't messy at all, and have a very small streamlined body mass. You may have to step up on your filtration a bit, or have more frequent water changes, but I think it'll be fine, and a lovely choice.

Celestial Pearl Danio or White clouds are small. 15-20 of them would look great schooling.

Most of the fish suggested so far only really shoal at best, do you want fish that stick together? If so: Corydoras pygmaeus, Microdevario kubotai & ember tetras are all small fish that are fairly good at sticking together (in order of "socialness").

Another comment, if bird-like is a criteria, fish from the Pseudomugil genus have little pectoral fins typically with a splash of color that they flap constantly, gives a bit of a bird impression. Shoalers at best though, aren't tight schooling.

unissuh said:

Most of the fish suggested so far only really shoal at best, do you want fish that stick together?

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What do you mean? is there a difference between shoaling and schooling?

In my experience otos can get quite large, maxing out at 1.75 inches long.

Dave-H said:

What do you mean? is there a difference between shoaling and schooling?

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Shoaling is more like loosely grouping for security, though doesn't appear organized at all. You'll typically find that when these fish are comfortable in their surroundings they don't really tend to group up at all and scatter all over the tank until you scare them.

Schooling fish as an absolute definition tend to swim in the same direction & move together, I can't think of any absolute schoolers in this regard but some are pretty close.

Another thought for closely grouping fish - harlequin rasboras or similar (e.g. Hengeli's etc), though these are a little bigger.

unissuh said:

Most of the fish suggested so far only really shoal at best, do you want fish that stick together? If so: Corydoras pygmaeus, Microdevario kubotai & ember tetras are all small fish that are fairly good at sticking together (in order of "socialness").

Another comment, if bird-like is a criteria, fish from the Pseudomugil genus have little pectoral fins typically with a splash of color that they flap constantly, gives a bit of a bird impression. Shoalers at best though, aren't tight schooling.

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I think I might go with the neon yellow rasbora and ember tetras if I can find them (school colors!). Prob 6 each. I don't necessarily need them to look like birds, but rather give the impression when it's back lit at night. More of an idea, not really a requirement either, but I do want tighter schoolers. Though my friend said the yellow rasboras are a bit plain, haha.

So
6 neon yellow rasbora
6 ember tetra
6-8 amano
2 nerite

unissuh said:

Shoaling is more like loosely grouping for security, though doesn't appear organized at all. You'll typically find that when these fish are comfortable in their surroundings they don't really tend to group up at all and scatter all over the tank until you scare them.

Schooling fish as an absolute definition tend to swim in the same direction & move together, I can't think of any absolute schoolers in this regard but some are pretty close.

Another thought for closely grouping fish - harlequin rasboras or similar (e.g. Hengeli's etc), though these are a little bigger.

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I looked on the internet for a while when I had this question in the past, but never got a clear answer. Lot's of contradictory answers, though. Does anyone have a definitive answer (with a source, maybe) about whether these are different things?

gotcheaprice said:

I think I might go with the neon yellow rasbora and ember tetras if I can find them (school colors!). Prob 6 each. I don't necessarily need them to look like birds, but rather give the impression when it's back lit at night. More of an idea, not really a requirement either, but I do want tighter schoolers. Though my friend said the yellow rasboras are a bit plain, haha.

So
6 neon yellow rasbora
6 ember tetra
6-8 amano
2 nerite

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personally i think going with one type of fish and more of them is going to look a lot better. the bigger the group the more natural they act.

mgamer20o0 said:

personally i think going with one type of fish and more of them is going to look a lot better. the bigger the group the more natural they act.

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Actually I was thinking that, so probably ~8 ember tetras. Maybe I can add one or two slightly larger fish, I guess something flashier too.

Looking up ember tetra and they're supposed to be hard to find and pretty expensive too. Damn, I guess as long as I have my amanos I'll be patient enough.

they are not too expensive. they do show up at the lfs from time to time. if you cant find any let me know i might be able to help. i dont know i think when you see them you see how much they pop and might only want to go with 12-15 of them. lol

mgamer20o0 said:

they are not too expensive. they do show up at the lfs from time to time. if you cant find any let me know i might be able to help. i dont know i think when you see them you see how much they pop and might only want to go with 12-15 of them. lol

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Hah, you may be right. I was looking on scape and saw that A+ has them (not sure for how much), but I have to wait for a friend to bring his car from home to take me there some time (stranded college student). I guess that'll give my tank a lot of time to establish before I get them.
I think I probably will go with 10-12ish and I really wanted either ottos or pygmy corries(don't know why, but bottom dwellers seemed to catch my attention while searching).

I just stocked a tank with 8 harlequin's. I think they will do what it is you are looking for. They stick together and are very active. I am a firm believer in Harleaquins now.