# Nano Fish with personality



## CuriousAmerican (Nov 30, 2012)

For color it is hard to beat cardinal tetras, but they lack personality. Most schooling fish are like this.

You can't beat dwarf puffers for personality, but they are messy and ferocious

Scarlet Badis have color and personality, but are extraordinarily difficult to feed. I don't want to have to buy live food for them all the time.

Corys have personality, but no color.

So what are good nano fish (10 gallon or less) with color and personality for a nano.


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## MiniFishRoom (Mar 23, 2012)

Scarlet Badis. Lol.

Apistos are cool.


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## rozdaboff (Nov 27, 2006)

I have a 10 g setup with a few species - Microdevario nana, Celestial Pearl Danios and Rosy loaches (Yunnanilus sp.).

The loaches are a lot of fun to watch. They are very small (1.5") - and inhabit the bottom primarily but jet all around and interact with each other. I wouldn't do them in much less than a 10g - as they like to be in a small group - but for 8-10g I think they are a great candidate. I also really like the CPDs - but in the context of the whole tank. If it were just them, I probably wouldn't enjoy them as much as they are often in the background amongst the plants. The M. nana are great schoolers with subtle iridescence.


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## Knotyoureality (Aug 3, 2012)

Have you looked into endlers as an option yet? Hard to beat the males for color, they'll do well as an all male school if you don't want to deal with constant fry, and they're active little buggers. Endlessly curious, constantly displaying.


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## Smitty06 (Mar 25, 2012)

Scarlet badis are not that hard to feed, you can use frozen no problem as long a s they see other fish eating it. My scarlet badis seem to love frozen bbs and mysis shrimp.


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## Noahma (Oct 18, 2009)

Sparkling gourami have tons of personality

Sent from my RM-820_nam_att_100 using Board Express


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## Silmarwen (Sep 21, 2012)

Bettas are surprisingly interactive when they're happy, if you're interested in that route. Other than that, I've heard plenty about sparkling gouramis as well.


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## Couesfanatic (Sep 28, 2009)

Smitty06 said:


> Scarlet badis are not that hard to feed, you can use frozen no problem as long a s they see other fish eating it. My scarlet badis seem to love frozen bbs and mysis shrimp.


Some scarlet badis will eat frozen, most will not.

They are a totally awesome fish though, the feeding is worth the effort.


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## okapizebra (Jun 14, 2012)

No matter how common they are, I still love Bettas. Beautiful and packed with personality.


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## CPDzeke (Jan 4, 2013)

By nano fish, what do you mean...?
I could recommend reticulated hillstream loaches, they get about two inches.
Ember tetras,chili rasboras.


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## R.sok (Sep 24, 2012)

bettas. If you take a frozen bloodworm & put it on a toothpick, holding it above the water, the betta will jump for it.

dwarf pea puffers, they aren't really messy


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## Margo (Jan 21, 2013)

Pea puffers are great- the way they come up to the glass and look you in the eye  
Badis are fine
Bettas have lotsa personality 
I like the bumble bee gobies too- but they need worms (frozen or live)


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## Newman (Jul 3, 2010)

short fin bettas. females and plakat females and plakat males are the best. active, fast, and always moving around. not like the classic longfins that stay put. There are tons of great color breeds. my favorites are dragons. copper dragons, black dragons, and many other amazing patterns.


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## Smitty06 (Mar 25, 2012)

Full grown reticulated hillstream loach, if you see them in person get to 3"- 3.5" long and since they have high O2 requirements, it makes them lousy nano tank fish.


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## golfer_d (Oct 3, 2012)

my tequilla sunrise guppies are always having fun in my tank....and they always come to the glass to look at me when I am around the tank

I have a couple of them in my 8 gallon and they always seem to be interacting with each other


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## Catie79 (Aug 7, 2012)

I'll second the Endler males. I've got a trio of males and they are great to watch, very busy and colorful. I also love the bettas, and not just the long finned ones. I've got some betta imbellis and they are great to watch, lots of personality and the males are beautiful. You might not like the females, they're more drab.

How nano are you going? I hear German Blue Rams come up a lot if you're not getting really tiny. I recently got some Bolivian rams and love them, but they're in the 40g community.


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## amajoh (Jan 10, 2013)

I have a very active halfmoon beta. He really is the most awesome fish, very interactive and always excited to see people. He also will jump to get food off your finger if you hold it just above the water's surface.


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## joey24dirt (Jan 2, 2013)

Has anybody kept dwarf puffers? I'm just cycling/planting up a fluval spec and I'm just trying to decide what fish to get. I've always wanted dwarf puffers but wasn't sure how much work they would be


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## idleivey (Feb 12, 2009)

I kept a trio of dwarf puffers in a 15 gallon. I wouldn't say they were more trouble than any other fish. Just keep up on your water changes. Personality wise they can be a problem though. They are species only, you might get shrimp or otos in there but mine would attack both so YMMV. I eventually had to split them up and give them away because my one male decided he didn't want to share the tank any longer.

edit: That fluval spec is pretty small, you might get one in there but any more and they will likely kill each other. They are mean little fish.


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## joey24dirt (Jan 2, 2013)

Yeah I'd read about them being species only but also read that there shouldn't really be any issues with otos. I'll maybe have a good think about it and see about sexing them so I only get one male. Thanks for the advice


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## OVT (Nov 29, 2011)

Betta sorority: color + personality + never a dull moment.
They come on sale at PetSmart occasionally for $0.99/ea and PetCo will match the price.


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## Virto (Dec 6, 2012)

OVT said:


> Betta sorority: color + personality + never a dull moment.
> They come on sale at PetSmart occasionally for $0.99/ea and PetCo will match the price.


Betta sororities are amazing and rewarding - but they require dedication and a close eye, especially early on while the females sort out pecking order. And there's always the chance that you'll run into a female that just can't be housed with others.

I love 'em, though. I've actually just dirted and filled an old tank to start a new sorority. Just needs to be planted and cycled.


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## MABJ (Mar 30, 2012)

Everybody knows what I'm going to post right? 

LEAST KILLIFISH. 

I always chime in and recommend this species. It is the 7th smallest fish in the world, the smallest live bearer in the world and is the smallest fish endemic to the US. 

They are striped like a tiger, sleek silver and they remind me very much of dwarf puffers. They are very personable for a person wanting more than one dwarf fish. 

I see mine all over the tank, and my babies also roam the top(floaters) or bottom(moss).


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## MABJ (Mar 30, 2012)

I forgot to add -- if you have never seen a picture of them, they're scattered through my 18" nano journal.


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## thedudeabides (Feb 29, 2012)

Killifish in general work great in nano setups, can't beat them in color or personality IMO. Really can't understand why they are not more popular then they are.


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## thedudeabides (Feb 29, 2012)

Also CPO's are fun in nano's if you go the invert route


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## JerSaint (Oct 22, 2012)

+1 to the Sparkling Gourami. I have a trio on my tank and love them. They are subtle but beautiful. I have found it takes about a month of good home conditions to color up. :thumbsup:


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## shift (Jan 7, 2013)

CPD's are cool little fish but a bit timid.. they hide if you appear to quickly.. you kinda have to sneak up on them.. or wait a minute for your empty tank to appear full again.

I also have neons that are surprisingly active.. Most danios can be fairly zippy


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## Silmarwen (Sep 21, 2012)

Danios need a lot of swim space horizontally. I got a few in my 10gallon, and I felt so guilty about their space when I saw how active they wanted to be. I'm getting them into a 20Long as soon as my roommate lets me put a tank in the livingroom.

Though, if you're in the market for a long tank, with lots of swim room, by all means, go for the zebra danios  They're beautiful, almost iridescent with deep blue and light gold, and they're so active!


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## bluestems (Feb 7, 2012)

If you're looking for a group of schooling fish with more personality, I really like my spotted pygmy Rasboras (Boraras maculatus). They are very playful and interact as a group. Not very interactive with me, although they will come over to the corner of the tank to see me when I'm ask the desk when it's feeding time. Good with other community fish. Had them for a while with pygmy cories and they'd school together and play in the water current.


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## AquaPeanut (Apr 28, 2012)

+1 for Endlers and +1 for sparkling gourami! both are like curious little puppies. they always come to the glass to see me when I walk near their tanks. my Pygmy cories are super cute too but very shy.


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## Greedy (May 26, 2010)

Florida flag fish, The males have awesome color and the females arnt bad either, they can be semi aggressive sometimes but they are a fun fish to watch. They have a boss personality and remind me of a big fish in a small fishes body.


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## Dave-H (Jul 29, 2010)

Chili's are amazing if you want something tiny with personalities.

And there is no fish with more personality than the pea puffer, in my view. I love those little guys!! I am looking at them on my desk right now!!


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