# Another schooling thread. I need a 1" fish that schools tightly!



## WaterLogged (Feb 2, 2011)

I have searched my brains out on this forum and several others and while I do find lots of threads about schooling fish there never seems to be a definite answer.

I realize that fish act differently in each situation but can someone please share their experiences?

I'm stocking my 29 gallon with p. gertrudae and since they stay at the top of the water column I want a schooling fish for the mid level of the tank. I feel like the tank is going to look totally empty with only gertrudes.

I'm looking at the microrasboras and boraras species, also danios. Honestly I dont really care what they are as long as they are 1" hopefully less and form a tight school. I want to keep a larger school of smaller fish as opposed to a small school of larger fish.

Some of the fish that are available to me are-

Microrasbora nana

Micro Rasbora, Boraras micros "Red"- these are most likely not boraras micros but boraras sp. "south thailand". True micros are nowhere near red.So do boraras sp. "south thailand" form a tight school?

Rasbora dorsiocellata

Danio erythromicron

Boraras urophthalmoides

Sundadanio axelrodi "Blue Form"- These look awesome and I like that they arent red. Do these school well?

Boraras maculata

Boraras briggitae

So do any of these school tightly or are they ALL shoalers??? Can somebody suggest any other really small fish that school well???

Thanks for any help!


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## wpgtank (Mar 12, 2010)

Green neon tetras.


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## g01ngog (Dec 30, 2010)

I have 6 Boraras briggitae (the number is increasing really soon) and they school but occasionally one of them will split from the pack to do its own thing. I just say he's doing some recon for the group


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## Noahma (Oct 18, 2009)

Danio erythromicron do not school at all, they schoal more. In the same area of the tank but doing their own thing

Brigatte (chili rasbora) school only while traveling from point a to b, but then go about their own thing


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## TLE041 (Jan 16, 2010)

Noahma said:


> Brigatte (chili rasbora) school only while traveling from point a to b, but then go about their own thing


I don't have much experience with chili rasboras, but my 15 _Boraras merah_ (phoenix rasboras) are constantly in a very tight school. I like them so much that I'll be picking up 12 more. They grow to about 0.8" and very hardy (I haven't lost a single one).

Maybe the reason yours don't is because you have too few of them?


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## Noahma (Oct 18, 2009)

TLE041 said:


> I don't have much experience with chili rasboras, but my 15 _Boraras merah_ (phoenix rasboras) are constantly in a very tight school. I like them so much that I'll be picking up 12 more. They grow to about 0.8" and very hardy (I haven't lost a single one).
> 
> Maybe the reason yours don't is because you have too few of them?


I think it might have more to do with them bein in a smaller tank, I have 15 in my 10 gal very heavily planted tank. Wonderful fish though


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## TLE041 (Jan 16, 2010)

Noahma said:


> I think it might have more to do with them bein in a smaller tank, I have 15 in my 10 gal very heavily planted tank. Wonderful fish though


Strange. I keep mine in my 6 gallon Fluval Edge (soon to be moved to my Mini-L).

Maybe your fishes are just too comfortable in the tank that they don't feel the need to school? I guess I should keep a closer eye on my cherries to make sure they're not terrorizing my fishes when I'm not looking :icon_lol:.


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## trap (Apr 10, 2010)

My rummy nose school pretty good.



> Maybe your fishes are just too comfortable in the tank that they don't feel the need to school? I guess I should keep a closer eye on my cherries to make sure they're not terrorizing my fishes when I'm not looking .


This is true. schooling fish will stay in a tighter pack when they sense a threat of some kind. Angels and Discus are good because of there relative size but don't usually harm smaller fish ("usually")


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## cah925 (May 18, 2007)

I had a school of 80 Boraras maculata at one point. They always stayed in a tight group but never swam more than 2" off the substrate. They loved my forest of Blyxa japonica.


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## reignOfFred (Jun 7, 2010)

i am keeping 12 spotted rasbora in my 29 and they pretty much end up all over the tank as soon as they are comfortable and only school tightly when the tank is bothered. to me this isna good sign of stress free fish and so more important to me then tigh schooling.


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## astrosag (Sep 3, 2010)

Echoing what some members stated here...schooling, though it looks great and is aesthetically favorable, is usually a defensive behavior. 

So if you want schooling fish, I would focus more on the environment they are in. For nearly every decent schooling fish (especially the rasboras and tetras) there will be a group of people who say its the best schooling fish...making your decision a crapshot at best.

If the fish are very comfortable, there's no need to school...nearly any fish will just wander around in that scenario.

Schooling doesn't mean that they are overstressed though. Angels and such type are great tank mates to promote schooling as best as you can without introducing a real threat to the fish.

I'm interested in size. I bought four harlequin rasboras and they are great....however 10-15 of them would be a bit too much for my tank (I was advised that it wouldn't be). ....

I think chili rasboras are amongst the smallest. Anyone know of any others?


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## TankZen (Jan 31, 2011)

Rummy nose school great! My rasboras not so much.....


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## bpb (Mar 8, 2011)

Agreed with above comments about schooling. My tiger barbs and zebra danios never school anymore, they just scatter about the tank grazing for food. Schooling really is defensive. My buenos aires tetras school super tight and it looks awesome, unfortunately they only do it when someone approaches the tank and it scares the daylights of them (very skittish fish, only had them a couple weeks though). When they are not hiding in the corner in a tight school, they all go about their own business when nobody is nearby. Your results may vary, but generally fish only school at first, once they're comfortable they stop.


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## chiefroastbeef (Feb 14, 2011)

My cardinal tetras and chili rasboras school quite a bit. I love the chili rasboas because they tend to stay close together, they are small, and have a beautiful red color. They also are top dwellers, which is great.


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## msjinkzd (May 12, 2007)

> Microrasbora nana
> *Do you mean the nanus? as in microdevario nanus? These do school pretty tightly*
> Micro Rasbora, Boraras micros "Red"- these are most likely not boraras micros but boraras sp. "south thailand". True micros are nowhere near red.So do boraras sp. "south thailand" form a tight school?
> 
> ...


All of the boraras form very tightly knit groups, however they seem more top 1/3 of the tank in my experience and while they are amazing, they may not be what you are looking for as a compliment to your pseudomugils. I think the body shape of rasbora kubotai, espei rasbora, sundadanio axelrodi, or the microdevario nanus would be a better fit and these fish often are more mid 1/3.


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## reignOfFred (Jun 7, 2010)

Just a thought, but it seems fish seem to school less in smaller tanks because in a loose school they really would take up the whole tank. I'm thinking if I put my12 rasboras in a 100 gallon tank, they would appear to school, given how much more space there is for them to form a looser group.


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## Old Salt (Aug 11, 2009)

See if you can find some Celestial Pearl Danios also called Galaxy Rasboras. Neat little fish, they max out at an inch in length.


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## TLE041 (Jan 16, 2010)

Old Salt said:


> See if you can find some Celestial Pearl Danios also called Galaxy Rasboras. Neat little fish, they max out at an inch in length.


This is a common misconception. CPDs shoal, not school. They stay in loose groups.


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## Noahma (Oct 18, 2009)

TLE041 said:


> This is a common misconception. CPDs shoal, not school. They stay in loose groups.


I was going to say the same thing. I have these as well in my 36 gal. They stick close together, but never school. 

They are cousins if you will to Danio erythromicron (and can cross breed as well)


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## Rhaethe (Jan 20, 2010)

My experience with danio erythromicron is that they maintain loose groups as opposed to schools, with the males sometimes giving each other the stinkeye.

What I have noticed with the rummynose I have (bleheri flavor) is that there is a constant "split and reform" thing going on with their tight schooling. They'll amble about the tank, and then one will find "something interesting or flavorful" and then POOF, all the others will instantly "form up". Someone in the school will decide that "something interesting" is no longer interesting, or the tidbit got eaten, and then they amble off again. Until someone else happens to find what could be a "tasty tidbit".

I think schooling is not only a defense mechanism, but a feeding one as well.


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## Noahma (Oct 18, 2009)

Rhaethe said:


> My experience with danio erythromicron is that they maintain loose groups as opposed to schools, with the males sometimes giving each other the stinkeye.
> 
> What I have noticed with the rummynose I have (bleheri flavor) is that there is a constant "split and reform" thing going on with their tight schooling. They'll amble about the tank, and then one will find "something interesting or flavorful" and then POOF, all the others will instantly "form up". Someone in the school will decide that "something interesting" is no longer interesting, or the tidbit got eaten, and then they amble off again. Until someone else happens to find what could be a "tasty tidbit".
> 
> I think schooling is not only a defense mechanism, but a feeding one as well.


the way you describe it makes it sound like a bunch of kids on a school trip lol.


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## houseofcards (Mar 21, 2009)

I would say rummies are the best with Harlequin Rasboras a close second.


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## Montbars (May 28, 2010)

Just get Bloodfin tetras and don't mess around. They school as tight as rummynoses (I'm talking touching each other) and they are extremely hardy. Get 8 of them and they will move like a river, especially when scared. Don't go for shoaling fish unless thats what you want, Bloodfins and rummynoses school TIGHT


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## chicken (Aug 22, 2007)

I have five emerald eye rasboras in my 29, and they school very consistently. I've had them for a year and a half. I used to have a larger group, which looked very impressive when they schooled together. They are probably a little bigger than you're looking for, though. 

I have 15 Boraras brigittae ("chili rasboras") in the same tank. They do not form a consistent tight school, but I find their behavior very pleasing. They'll sometimes all be in a tight group, except for several that are off doing their own thing, then they might split into two groups and hang out at different ends of the tank. Other times, I don't know where the heck any of them are, and then I see the whole group emerge from behind the plants. I've only had these guys for a couple weeks, so we'll see if this is typical behavior or not.


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## valk (Feb 4, 2011)

Rummy Nose Tetra..best schooling fish..!!!
they are very peaceful, beautiful and hardy fish..


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## g01ngog (Dec 30, 2010)

Maybe I have too many chilis(40ish)  but these guys are safe in their 30 gallon so they just chill out with the shrimp and don't really school. Still love them though.


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## WaterLogged (Feb 2, 2011)

Thanks for all the input everyone!

I think I am leaning toward sundanio axelrodi, or maybe phoenix rasboras. I cant seem to decide!


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## xmas_one (Feb 5, 2010)

http://www.google.com/m/search?q=(O...ges&ei=IuB_TajRJpukrQOI2eC2Ag&ved=0CCMQ7AkwBA


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## msjinkzd (May 12, 2007)

those rice fish are neat as well.


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