# Pros and Cons of various microfish



## AdamC13 (Mar 28, 2013)

So is the major difference between these fish with similar care requirements purely aesthetic? I need help making a decision! lol


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## Rnasty (Jun 30, 2017)

I've owned Ember tetra and boraras briggitae.

I overstocked in too small of a tank so my ember tetras all got stressed out and aggressive. However in the honeymoon period when they had jsut been introdced to the tank, they were very peaceful and active.

Boraras Briggitae - very peaceful even in the overstocked tank. Very small fish. Quick and active but they hide if other fish are too aggressive or threatening. I've had them school with ember tetras.


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## AdamC13 (Mar 28, 2013)

Rnasty said:


> I've owned Ember tetra and boraras briggitae.
> 
> I overstocked in too small of a tank so my ember tetras all got stressed out and aggressive. However in the honeymoon period when they had jsut been introdced to the tank, they were very peaceful and active.
> 
> Boraras Briggitae - very peaceful even in the overstocked tank. Very small fish. Quick and active but they hide if other fish are too aggressive or threatening. I've had them school with ember tetras.


Are you considering 10-13 in a 9 gallon overstocked? From the calculator on aqadvisor and just my general personal experience I figured that would be a good number since the only other inhabitants will be a nerite a betta and maybe an amano shrimp. I don't want to go with a smaller number such as 6 because I feel like they wont exhibit their proper schooling/shoaling activity in such a small number. I MIGHT just go for the 15 gallon but I gotta measure and see if it will fit where I want to put it.


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## GrampsGrunge (Jun 18, 2012)

Seriously Fish has all of those fish in it's database.

Seriously Fish


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## AdamC13 (Mar 28, 2013)

I'm familiar with their care and requirements. I am looking for personal experiences as to which are more interesting. Pros and cons of the different species and opinion of which would be best. Having a hard time deciding and I've read the care sheets for just about every species of microfish available in the hobby.

I just want to know which have the most personality, or school the tightest, or just look best in a planted aquarium with dark substrate and predominantly green plants. If you were setting up a tank similar to mine which species would YOU choose, and why?


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## GrampsGrunge (Jun 18, 2012)

There's not a whole lot of micro fish I find appealing, most of the ones I like are 1.25" to 2." SL.

Given that: an Asian themed tank with 5~7 Trigonostigma Heteromorpha, or Harlequin Rasboras and a pair of Sparkling Gouramis, in a 10 gallon would be the smallest set up I'd do, and it would still be over stocked, IMO.

A 20H gallon would be better and you could add a few Hara Jerdoni Anchor Catfish.


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## AdamC13 (Mar 28, 2013)

Hara Jerdoni were VERY high on my list of things I'd love to keep, but their water requirements are a bit too cold for a betta tank. I've been leading towards the ember tetras but rnasty's comment about them getting aggressive kinda turned me off. I feel like the microdevario kubotai might get lost since they are so small and green and all the plants I want are green as well. I do like the harlequin rasboras as they are naturally found alongside bettas in the wild but I think their size would mean I would have to have a small school.

Definitely don't want to go with a traditional tank though, I'm pretty set on the fluval flex as I really enjoy the all in 1 aspect as it has the back filter compartment and fully controllable LED lighting. Here is the tank Fluval Flex Aquarium Kit - 9-Gallon Aquarium | Aquarium Kits | DrsFosterSmith.com it comes in 9 and 15 gallon, I am leaning more towards the 15 now but was originally wanting the 9.

Bump: but on the note of hera jerdoni I HAVE seen people keep them in betta tanks before, are they keeping their catfish too warm or their betta too cold? I had planned to have the tank between 78-80


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## GrampsGrunge (Jun 18, 2012)

AdamC13 said:


> Hara Jerdoni were VERY high on my list of things I'd love to keep, but their water requirements are a bit too cold for a betta tank. I've been leading towards the ember tetras but rnasty's comment about them getting aggressive kinda turned me off. I feel like the microdevario kubotai might get lost since they are so small and green and all the plants I want are green as well. I do like the harlequin rasboras as they are naturally found alongside bettas in the wild but I think their size would mean I would have to have a small school.
> 
> Definitely don't want to go with a traditional tank though, I'm pretty set on the fluval flex as I really enjoy the all in 1 aspect as it has the back filter compartment and fully controllable LED lighting. Here is the tank Fluval Flex Aquarium Kit - 9-Gallon Aquarium | Aquarium Kits | DrsFosterSmith.com it comes in 9 and 15 gallon, I am leaning more towards the 15 now but was originally wanting the 9.
> 
> Bump: but on the note of hera jerdoni I HAVE seen people keep them in betta tanks before, are they keeping their catfish too warm or their betta too cold? I had planned to have the tank between 78-80


I can't say I kept them cool from my past experience with them I bought 5 to keep in my 29 which ran about 77 to 82 degrees. They were fine in that tank.

Several small Danion fish from Myanmar, Celestial Pearl Danios, Emerald Dwarf Danios, Northern Glowlight Danio (C. Flagrans) would be a good mix with H. Jerdoni because they tolerate cool waters, but you have to consider that the Glowlights are a much more active species and really would like a bigger tank like a 20 long. I keep C. Chopra in my 300 gallon outdoor tubs and they're the most actively swimming fish in the whole group, that has Rosy Barbs and White Clouds, both known for being active swimmers.

Note that once you have H. Jerdoni in a tank that's heavily planted, you will very rarely ever see them again. They're cryptically colored and mostly nocturnal in activity. Not a good combination if you want see them frequently. Mine all hung out in the depths of a small piece of driftwood covered in Java Fern and Moss, and only came out after the lights went out. They also don't compete well with aggressively feeding fish. I had to 'spot feed' mine with Hikari micro pellets and frozen baby brine shrimp after the lights were out , because the Flame and Glowlight Tetras would have gorged them selves on the extra food I would have needed to add to keep the Anchor Cats fed.


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## AdamC13 (Mar 28, 2013)

GrampsGrunge said:


> I can't say I kept them cool from my past experience with them I bought 5 to keep in my 29 which ran about 77 to 82 degrees. They were fine in that tank.
> 
> Several small Danion fish from Myanmar, Celestial Pearl Danios, Emerald Dwarf Danios, Northern Glowlight Danio (C. Flagrans) would be a good mix with H. Jerdoni because they tolerate cool waters, but you have to consider that the Glowlights are a much more active species and really would like a bigger tank like a 20 long. I keep C. Chopra in my 300 gallon outdoor tubs and they're the most actively swimming fish in the whole group, that has Rosy Barbs and White Clouds, both known for being active swimmers.
> 
> Note that once you have H. Jerdoni in a tank that's heavily planted, you will very rarely ever see them again. They're cryptically colored and mostly nocturnal in activity. Not a good combination if you want see them frequently. Mine all hung out in the depths of a small piece of driftwood covered in Java Fern and Moss, and only came out after the lights went out. They also don't compete well with aggressively feeding fish. I had to 'spot feed' mine with Hikari micro pellets and frozen baby brine shrimp after the lights were out , because the Flame and Glowlight Tetras would have gorged them selves on the extra food I would have needed to add to keep the Anchor Cats fed.


Thanks for the input. As it will be a betta tank I don't really want to keep him below 78 so I guess I'll be leaning towards the micro bororas species. @Rnasty kinda scared me away from the ember tetras and I really think the microdevario kubotai will just be practically invisible with all of the green plants. One day when I can set up a second tank it'll be bigger and have a fleet of hara jerdoni (and a moonlight so I can watch them in the dark)


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## Deedledee (Sep 13, 2016)

AdamC13 said:


> Thanks for the input. As it will be a betta tank I don't really want to keep him below 78 so I guess I'll be leaning towards the micro bororas species. @Rnasty kinda scared me away from the ember tetras and I really think the microdevario kubotai will just be practically invisible with all of the green plants. One day when I can set up a second tank it'll be bigger and have a fleet of hara jerdoni (and a moonlight so I can watch them in the dark)


Good call ! I had 3 dozen Kubotai rasboras in my tank. It is very heavily planted and they were almost invisible. I ended up taking them back to my LFS and got Ember Tetras instead. They are a really nice contrast against the green . Also very peaceful. The Kubotai were a little nippy !


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## doylecolmdoyle (Sep 22, 2015)

Finding micro fish that are not super shy would be my tip, a betta fish may be to much for these tiny fish, tho ive never kept a betta i keep a fair few micro fish, I find if they are spooked easily you may not see them that much in a heavily planted tank

I keep, both Boraras maculatus (Dwarf Rasboras) and Boraras urophthalmoides (Least Rasboras) in a 12g bookshelf tank along with many shrimp, there is probably 40 fish all up, perhaps overstocked but I have a very large canister filter on this tank and do 50% water changes weekly. The Dwaft Rasbora's are much more active and less shy than the Least Rasboara's, tho I have only just added the Dwarf Rasbora's, I would choose these guys over the Least Rasbora's.

Dwarf Rasbora
IMG_9700 by Colm Doyle, on Flickr

Least Rasbora
IMG_8931 by Colm Doyle, on Flickr

I keep about 20 Ember Tetras in a 60p with shrimp, otos and one SAE, the Embers are the most active and inquisitive of all my fish, not shy or afraid of anything, always out in the open looking for food and probably "school" the tightest. Otos are another good option if you want something to clean your tank and also be fun to watch, can be hard to keep alive at first tho.

Ember Tetra
IMG_9536 by Colm Doyle, on Flickr

Otocinclus Catfish
IMG_9366 by Colm Doyle, on Flickr

I keep about 10 Galaxy Rasbora's in a 30 cm cube along with 5 Pigmy Corys and shrimp, the Galaxy Rasboras are very shy and pretty much hide in the java fern all day until the food comes out, they are very pretty fish tho, the Pigmy Corys are super active and always buzzing around the tank, I would keep more of these guys but they are expensive compared to other micro fish.

Galaxy Rasbora
IMG_8469 by Colm Doyle, on Flickr

Pigmy Cory
IMG_8741 by Colm Doyle, on Flickr

Hope this helps a bit!


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## Fishbeard (Aug 20, 2016)

Do you already have the betta, and are looking for tankmates, or are you just planning on getting a betta?

Two very different questions...


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## AdamC13 (Mar 28, 2013)

The tank is being planned around a male betta, with the intention of having a school of smaller fish as well BUT I do have a 5.5 gallon tank that is empty for the chance of the betta being a jerk. I have successfully kept a male betta with endlers and harlequin rasboras (which they are naturally found together with anyways) and want something different. I like the harlequin rasboras but they are too big to have a decent school in a 9 or 15 gallon tank IMO. That being said the school of rasboras or tetras or whatever I decide will be introduced FIRST so as to lessen the chance of an aggressive betta. Also will be purchasing from a breeder in my state so I will be able to gauge his aggression before purchase.

Bump: and @doylecolmdoyle thank you for the input. The ember tetras have been my first choice all along until @Rnasty said his got aggressive. The betta I am leaning towards purchasing has won best of show at an IBC event and is truly stunning, I don't want his fins getting nipped up. He did say his were overstocked though I don't think 10-13 in a 9 or 15 gallon will be overstocked as the only other inhabitants I am planning for is a nerite or two and maybe an amano shrimp or two (which I'll HOPE don't end up being $5 snacks) I'd love to have some neocardinia davidi but i fear they are too small (and expensive) to risk. I know heavily planted they will be SOMEWHAT safe but each one that goes down is $5-10


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## doylecolmdoyle (Sep 22, 2015)

@AdamC13 I have read embers can be very active and annoying fish when paired with other fish, in my tank they are only groups with 2 oto's and 1 SAE so I cant say if they will be aggressive to towards a Betta, from what I have seen they dont bother the SAE or Oto but these fish a much bigger.


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## AdamC13 (Mar 28, 2013)

@doylecolmdoyle yeah certainly leaning towards the microrasboras at this point but there is so many different kinds its overwhelming


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## AdamC13 (Mar 28, 2013)

well unless anyone changes my mind I think at this point I'm heading towards a school of Boraras brigittae ? Mosquito Rasbora (Rasbora urophthalma brigittae) ? Seriously Fish striking color, exact same habitat as betta in the wild, and super tiny and fast so not a threat to the betta nor is the betta a threat to them

http://www.seriouslyfish.com/species/boraras-urophthalmoides/ also looks like an attractive option but they are SUPER tiny 12-16mm? I've never seen these for sale anyone have experience with them? (edit: nvm they are exclamation point rasboras I didn't read far enough) Are they even big enough to eat hikari micropellets or something similar?'


sooo I'm obviously not a pro but these are DEFINITELY not b brigittae right? https://aquaticarts.com/collections/nano-fish/products/chili-strawberry-rasboras they look a lot more like pale colored naevus or merah but don't have the proper markings for brigittae at all @AquaticArts any input you guys are on the forums right?


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## SueD (Nov 20, 2010)

AdamC13 said:


> well unless anyone changes my mind I think at this point I'm heading towards a school of Boraras brigittae ? Mosquito Rasbora (Rasbora urophthalma brigittae) ? Seriously Fish striking color, exact same habitat as betta in the wild, and super tiny and fast so not a threat to the betta nor is the betta a threat to them
> 
> Boraras urophthalmoides (Rasbora urophthalmoides) ? Seriously Fish also looks like an attractive option but they are SUPER tiny 12-16mm? I've never seen these for sale anyone have experience with them? (edit: nvm they are exclamation point rasboras I didn't read far enough) Are they even big enough to eat hikari micropellets or something similar?'
> 
> ...


I have both the chili rasboras (10) and the exclamation point rasboras (7) - 2 different Spec V tanks. They have both been really hardy fish for me, but the boraras-urophthalmoides are a bit more shy than the chilis. They like to feed mid-column, not from the top. The chilis will feed from the top or mid-column. Both of these get fed frozen daphnia, frozen baby brine shrimp, cyclops, or just crushed flake food. I haven't fed pellets as neither one seems to like to bottom feed. 

I haven't had a betta so I can't say how pairing up with some of these micro fish would go.


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## Doppelgaenger (Jul 20, 2015)

I've kept two Bettas with CPDs and Boraras briggitae (I'm going to call them Chilis from here on out), both times with success. The first Betta I had was already established when he got companions and he never really bothered them. The second one was a newcomer to an established tank and he pestered the chilis until he killed one of them, but then left them alone for good.

I currently have Chilis (11), CPDs (15) and corydoras hasbrosus (5) in my tank along with two amano shrimp.

Bettas and microfish are somewhat incompatible when it comes food they'll eat. My first Betta would eat the Golden Pearls I feed the microfish, but the second one wouldn't and I think he eventually died of starvation because he wouldn't eat the floating Betta food either when I'd put it in the tank.

Pros: Microfish are great because they aren't big enough to disturb a planted tank at all, they're fun to watch when they school/shoal and you can keep them in large numbers which changes their behavior to something more natural. They're extremely interesting when you introduce live prey, they transform into little sharks and the group dynamic will change. Food goes a very long way with such tiny fish. They're also peaceful and won't bother shrimp or their fry so you can keep them with reproducing shrimp if you can get them to coexist happily in the same water conditions.

Cons: They don't have much in the way of personality, they're micropredators who are constantly hunting and have little pea brains that aren't good for much else. Their mouths are so small that they can't eat anything bigger than baby daphnia so live food has to be small enough for them to eat, as does your pellet food. It's hard to find tankmates for them because they're so small, there are limited species available in this size and even Otos will seem like behemoths when full grown compared to true microfish.

My chilis are also terrified of the CPDs since the latter like to chase eachother, they don't come out often and hide in the plants. I'd recommend keeping a species-only tank if you're doing microfish. Bottom dwelling Corys are an exception, they don't bother any fish and just eat all day.

Finally, plant heavy, your fish will thank you by coming out.


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## AdamC13 (Mar 28, 2013)

@Doppelgaenger they will eat hikari micropellets right? I've never actually done live food cultures I generally try to just have a variety of high quality flake/pellet/frozen foods. The reason I am looking to the microfish is both because the tank size as well as compatibility with the betta. I could always just go with harlequin rasboras but in a 15 gallon id pretty much be limited to 10 or less.

I'm only able to set ONE tank up right now and bettas have always been my favorite fish but I don't want ONLY a betta because that can be boring in anything bigger than a 2.5. Still have a few weeks before I even get the tank so I still have lots of time to weigh my options as far as fish go. Appreciate all the input on the topic, I am really thinking the brigittae are at the top of my list right now.


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## doylecolmdoyle (Sep 22, 2015)

AdamC13 said:


> @Doppelgaenger they will eat hikari micropellets right?.


I have found my boraras will not eat the hikari micropellets, they are to big for there little mouths, I have another brand of micro pellets which they do like they are much finer and pretty much just a dust with a few larger chunks, they also love 200-500 micron golden pearls. CPDs love the Hiraki brand micro pellets. The boraras go crazy for frozen brine shrimp, ive never tried to keep live foods but I really should, im sure the fish would appreciate it. 

Here is a quick / bad video of my boraras the more active fish are the dwarf rasboras, the bigger group in the plants are the least rasboras, this video was taken 1 day after adding the dwarf rasboras, its now about 3 days later and the dwarf rasboras have helped bring the least rasboras out into the open, if you move suddenly towards the tank the least rasboras quickly hide in the plants while the dwarf rasboras are not spooked at all, if you can perhaps see how the chilis react to movement in the aquarium store before buying them. 

Also I turned the flow down a fair bit since taking this video and that has also made all the fish a bit more active, will have to try take a better video some day soon.

https://vimeo.com/225843451


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## Rnasty (Jun 30, 2017)

AdamC13 said:


> Are you considering 10-13 in a 9 gallon overstocked? From the calculator on aqadvisor and just my general personal experience I figured that would be a good number since the only other inhabitants will be a nerite a betta and maybe an amano shrimp. I don't want to go with a smaller number such as 6 because I feel like they wont exhibit their proper schooling/shoaling activity in such a small number. I MIGHT just go for the 15 gallon but I gotta measure and see if it will fit where I want to put it.


I'd say that's probably fine for the smaller rasboras, not sure about the ember tetras. I wouldn't go over that amount though and make sure you have good filtation. Most tetras I've ever gotten have become aggressive if they weren't given ample room


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## Rnasty (Jun 30, 2017)

I never had a problem with embers attacking my rosetail halfmoon, only other tetras or small fish like CPD's and micro rasbora. My betta was much too large and aggressive for them to approach, if they got close enough to nip he attacked and chased so they quickly learned not to


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## amcoffeegirl (May 26, 2009)

This is my experience with bettas.
When I keep them in a community tank they always end up over fed. I like keeping them alone for this reason. They are also bullies. 

I adore micro fish and love peaceful community aquariums. I love my embers.
I have about 13 in a 20 gallon with a gold ram. He is a jerk but he is beautiful. 

With the microfish you could add some shrimp in?? The betta will eat them. 
I think just keep him alone. Good luck


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