# Shallow water paludarium fish



## OverStocked (May 26, 2007)

What are the dimensions of tank and the water area?

You should have somewhere around 6-9 gallons? Need dimensions to know. 

That being said, lots of fish can work in this setup. What are some fish that interest you


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## nabraniel (Jan 16, 2010)

Sorry, it's 30x12x14. And I was thinking either danios or a small group of livebearers, such as mollies or guppies, seeing as I might use a few large limestone rocks for decoration (readily available around here) which I read will make the water hard, in addition to either a dwarf gourami or paradise fish, if that water would be deep enough for them to be comfortable in. A few corydoras would also be nice, but that may be pushing it?


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## OverStocked (May 26, 2007)

6 inches of water gives you 9.33 gallons, subtract rocks and substrate, you likely under 8. You are going to be pretty limited in stocking. Some zebra danios would work. Maybe a few pygmy cories.


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## KShoes (Sep 29, 2009)

I've always liked Bettas. Although they will probably rule out your guppies.


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## hydrophyte (Mar 1, 2009)

You might need to experiment somehow. Some fish really will not tolerate shallow water. With only 8 gallons of water you will need to select just nano fish. That is not enough space for mollies.


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## F22 (Sep 21, 2008)

how about tetras?
or a pair of rams or apistos? they can handle shallow water quite well. I have also found that dwarf rainbow species will do quite well in shallow water or in very little water volume.


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## mistergreen (Dec 9, 2006)

fast swimming fish will not like shallow water. If you've done water changes in a tank of fast river fish, you know what I mean.

try guppies, killies, bettas, or any small ditch fish.


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## Eileen (May 31, 2009)

Try a small school of all male endlers. They are smaller in size then guppies or neon tetras. Pygmy cories.


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## nabraniel (Jan 16, 2010)

Thanks a lot for the variety of responses!



F22 said:


> how about tetras?
> or a pair of rams or apistos? they can handle shallow water quite well. I have also found that dwarf rainbow species will do quite well in shallow water or in very little water volume.


Do you think two rams or small apistos could live comfortably in this environment? And if so, would you or anyone else have any species recommendations that might be readily available at my LFS or rather cheap online? Because that would be great if I could get away with that, I haven't done cichlids in forever.

I've got it running now, still cycling so no aquatic plants, but the terrestrial plants haven't died yet, so that seems pretty solid. Thinking about adding a couple Petsmart frogs or something, too. We'll see.


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## Diana (Jan 14, 2010)

You are the best to know what is available locally. Go shopping with a notebook, and leave the money at home. Post a list of what you like, and lets see what will work. 

Rams or Apistos could work, if the water chemistry is right. Is a soft water set up OK with you? 
If the water really is harder then look into the smallest fish for hard water:
The Blue-Eyes, Pseudomugil group related to Rainbows, Threadfin Rainbows, small livebearers (Endlers are a great idea), or go all the way to the Rift Lakes, and look into shell dwellers. (_Neolamprologus multifasciatus_ and related fish)

Lots of research still to do. If you end up with hard water what will the above water part look like? Edges of the water, such as the edge of a water fall will turn white with minerals in such a set up. Does not look too great. But if the upper area is a white or off-white rock this won't be a problem.


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## F22 (Sep 21, 2008)

if you maintain the correct water apisto will do great, as previous posts suggest, make sure the water is soft, these guys will suffer in hard water and you will surely be flushing them in a few weeks if they are not properly cared for...

Apistogramma agassizi
Apistogramma baenschi
Apistogramma cacatuoides (Double Red)
Apistogramma viejta Rio Meta

all these apistos are available to me at the shop that I manage, however I am not sure about what is available in your state...

also, if you want to look into a cool fish that is much less common in the hobby, check out, Dicrossus maculatus

hope this helps.

F


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