# looking for small fish



## sschreiner5 (Oct 11, 2011)

Hello I am looking for some small fish to add to my tank but I dont know whats out there. I would like some fish that only get about a half inch long and can live in a peacefully community. I have various tetras in the tank and some live plants. The ph is 8 and the temp is 78. I have plenty of filtration and places for fish hide out. Tank currents are low. Colorfull fish are plus and I would prefer they spend most of their time near the bottom or middle of the tank. I am not really looking for bottom feeders but they would be ok, Id prefer to feed them tropical fakes and bloom worms. It would be really nice if they didnt eat my plants, jungle val, wisteria and chainsword. I would like to add 4 or 5 of them but it doesnt matter to me if they school or not. What are some species of small fish I could look at? Please help. Thanks!


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## congar15 (Dec 6, 2011)

How big is the tank? You could get Harlequin rasboras. Look them up, they're small and nice looking.


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## jbrown5217 (Nov 9, 2011)

I was thinking some endler's livebearers possibly. Knowing your tank size would be good. Tropical Fish for Freshwater Aquariums: Endler's Livebearer


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## Summer (Oct 3, 2011)

Platys and endlers are both small and colorful, there are many color variations of guppies also but you have to deal with population issues if you get both males and females.


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## sschreiner5 (Oct 11, 2011)

Its a 29 gallon tank. I have had Harlequin rasboras and I want something smaller. Samller than neon tetras. The endlers look good but it says their size is 1 inch.


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## congar15 (Dec 6, 2011)

I'd go with a bunch of female guppies. Just wondering, why do u want a fish that small?


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## aquaninja (Sep 6, 2011)

The scarlet badis is a fish smaller than 1 inch. The males are 0.8 inch and the females are 0.5 inch. Why do you want fish that small in a 29 gallon tank?


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## sschreiner5 (Oct 11, 2011)

The reason I want small fish is because I would to add an "element of surprise" to my tank. I want small fish that wont be seen until you really look close.


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## sschreiner5 (Oct 11, 2011)

aquaninja said:


> The scarlet badis is a fish smaller than 1 inch. The males are 0.8 inch and the females are 0.5 inch. Why do you want fish that small in a 29 gallon tank?


Yeah thats what I am looking for! Thanks. Any others like this anybody knows about?


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## jbrown5217 (Nov 9, 2011)

There are very few fish that get smaller than about 1". Like said the scarlet badis is a smaller fish than 1", but they are also hard to take care of. Even the small neon tetras are about .8 - 1" in size. I wouldn't recommend scarlet badis because of their challenging care and from people having not so good experiences on here (I believe bev had a difficult time with them). And why so specific in size? If it is just because you want more fish and want to get many of them because of space concerns, I would just get a slightly bigger fish with a lot of color.


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## sschreiner5 (Oct 11, 2011)

I dont have space concerns I just want my tank to be more than meets the eye. I want there to be some slightly hidden detail that you have to look for, not something thats just in the tank


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## whitetiger61 (Aug 2, 2011)

celestrial pearl danios get to be about 1/2 inch..but are very pricey and can be hard to keep..if you get captive bred ones they are a litle easier to keep..but once the get acculimated to your tank they are pretty hardy.the trick is getting them acculimated..google them i think they are what you are looking for. I just googled them for you.

Celestial Pearl Danio

check em out

Rick


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## Kehy (Apr 19, 2011)

How about small shrimp, like cherry reds or crystal reds/blacks? If you want an element of surprise, there's tiger shrimp, which stay as small as the others, look nice, and are hard to see at first glance


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## sschreiner5 (Oct 11, 2011)

whitetiger61 said:


> celestrial pearl danios get to be about 1/2 inch..but are very pricey and can be hard to keep..if you get captive bred ones they are a litle easier to keep..but once the get acculimated to your tank they are pretty hardy.the trick is getting them acculimated..google them i think they are what you are looking for. I just googled them for you.
> 
> Celestial Pearl Danio
> 
> ...


Yes that is what I am looking for, thanks! Now I'll have to check my LFS to see if they can get them and how much they are. Hopefully if I drip accliamate them they will make it.


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## sschreiner5 (Oct 11, 2011)

Kehy said:


> How about small shrimp, like cherry reds or crystal reds/blacks? If you want an element of surprise, there's tiger shrimp, which stay as small as the others, look nice, and are hard to see at first glance


I thought about shrimp once but I've never had them and dont know much about them. What do shrimp eat? Do they do well in a community tank and is there anything special I should know about them?


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## Kehy (Apr 19, 2011)

sschreiner5 said:


> I thought about shrimp once but I've never had them and dont know much about them. What do shrimp eat? Do they do well in a community tank and is there anything special I should know about them?


I don't know a huge amount either, but they seems like easy keepers for the most part. The biggest of those I've seen have been about 1/2" and they have a very low bioload, so you can have lots. Red cherries will eat algae apparently, but they are too small to really keep you tank clean. Feed them very small bits of bottom feeder food a couple times a week, they should be happy. They also like zucchini, as do a lot of other fish. Speaking of fish, if you've got fairly large fish, they might take a bite or two out of the shrimp if they can find them, so get a lot. They would also probably eat baby shrimp unless you have lots of cover.


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## dirtydutch4x (Jun 16, 2009)

not very colorful but I enjoy mine....
Heterandria Formosa, Least Killifish, less than an inch and a live bearer that will produce regular babies to keep the tank looking active.


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## whitetiger61 (Aug 2, 2011)

Also if you have bigger fish in the tank..the pearl danio's are not for you ..being such a smaller fish they will fall prey to your bigger fish..if you have fish like neon tetras then they would be perfect for your tank

Rick


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## sschreiner5 (Oct 11, 2011)

whitetiger61 said:


> Also if you have bigger fish in the tank..the pearl danio's are not for you ..being such a smaller fish they will fall prey to your bigger fish..if you have fish like neon tetras then they would be perfect for your tank
> 
> Rick


The biggest fish in the tank are the gold tetras and they havent bothered the neon tetras and those where very small when I got them. They are the most active fish in there but they will not eat off the bottom of the tank. When I feed them frozen blood worms a lot of them fall to the bottom of the tank right away and the other fish will go down to eat them but not the gold tetras so I dont think there will be a problem with smaller fish or shrimp being eaten.


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## f1shy (Jan 21, 2012)

cardinal tetras or neon tetras will probably be your best bet in the size requirements you are looking for


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## MikeG (Jan 22, 2012)

I have had 10 celestrial pearl danios in my tank for over a year with golden barbs,killifish,zebra danios,rumy nose tetras,cherry barbs and cherry shrimp and had no ploblems with them but mine are closer to a inch.


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## sschreiner5 (Oct 11, 2011)

Thanks for all the input everyone. I have decided to try the shrimp, I have three Red Cherry Shrimp in there now. So far I think they are doing well, I havent seen any of them for a few days but I have high hopes.


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## navigator black (Jan 3, 2012)

Small can take some looking, and you may have to order from specialty dealers.
H amandae, sometimes sold as fire tetras, are beautiful and under an inch. Pseudepiplatys annulatus, the rocket killie, is a fantastic tiny surface hugger. My local stores get them.
Any of the little Bororas species in the rasbora family would be perfect, colorful miniatures. Rasbora maculata, or Bororas maculatus is one I have seen locally, occasionally, and it is an absolute beauty. You'd need a good shop to see it, but it is a great fish. 
Neolebias ansorgi is tiny, as are jellybean tetras - both West African but uncommon. 
Sparkling gouramis top out aat an inch and are very pretty. neat behavior too.


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## ApplestoApples (Jan 28, 2012)

dirtydutch4x, is that a goby in the back of your picture?wat type?


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## whitetiger61 (Aug 2, 2011)

MikeG said:


> I have had 10 celestrial pearl danios in my tank for over a year with golden barbs,killifish,zebra danios,rumy nose tetras,cherry barbs and cherry shrimp and had no ploblems with them but mine are closer to a inch.


yeah i agree..now that ive had mine in the tank for awhile they are about an inch..still small enough though and a very cool fish.. mine was skittish for a while but now they come out and are all over the place.

Rick


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## dirtydutch4x (Jun 16, 2009)

ApplestoApples said:


> dirtydutch4x, is that a goby in the back of your picture?wat type?


Least killi, I'd like some gobies though


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## Gizmo (Dec 6, 2010)

I have several very small fish - a single male scarlet badis and two (soon to be more) emerald dwarf rasboras. I have tried keeping galaxies/celestial pearls and here's my take on all of them:

Any fish that small is VERY delicate, often wild caught, very expensive (relatively), and difficult to keep. Almost all of them fresh from the store are accustomed to live food and have to be "trained" to flake food. As a result, my attrition rate in keeping dwarf fish has been very high. Of all 10 of my galaxies, all were dead within two weeks (with drip acclimation, mind you), and of my original 6 emerald dwarves, only 2 remain 2 years later. The scarlet badis has proved to be very hardy, aggressive, and very enjoyable, but from what I have read you can only keep one male in a tank (unless it's a BIG tank), and the females are not only fairly drab but they are hard to acquire here in the US.

Just my thoughts & experiences...


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## whitetiger61 (Aug 2, 2011)

celestial pearls have come along way in the captive bred market..they are pretty hardy these days..wild caughts i would say yes delicate, but captive bred i would have to say they are pretty hardy..i had 10 and i am down to 7 but thats because of my own ignorance and didnt have a cover on the tank..hence the flying danio..since the cover ive had no problems.all are eating flake and i even have a pair ready to spawn very soon.. if they havent already...

Rick


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