Just getting back to thinking about the talk I'm giving next month to our local aquatic plant club on native fishes for planted tanks. It occurred to me that a lot of the members keep desk top nano tanks, so I'm planning to include a listing of really small natives. Here's what I've come up with:
Least killies
bluefin killies
rainwater killies
mudminnows
Elassoma sunfish
I'm debating whether or not to include Enneacanthus, as these may be a little too big for a really small tank. And I'm leaving out mosquito fish, because they're kind of nasty and don't have much else to recommend them.
Can anyone think of anything that I've overlooked?
Thanks, all.
Natives for nanos
Started by
Guest_Bob_*
, Apr 25 2013 09:54 AM
14 replies to this topic
#2
Michael Wolfe
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Posted 25 April 2013 - 10:52 AM
Pygmy killies
And I think most Enneacanthus are calm enough, if you keep a single in a 5 gallon tank it would be OK.
What about Flag Fish?
Oh, and my wife kept a trio of swamp darters in a 6 gallon eclipse tank for years
And I once had a 5 gallon on my dsk that was just one male Fundulus cingulatus... he was a great conversation piece.
And I think most Enneacanthus are calm enough, if you keep a single in a 5 gallon tank it would be OK.
What about Flag Fish?
Oh, and my wife kept a trio of swamp darters in a 6 gallon eclipse tank for years
And I once had a 5 gallon on my dsk that was just one male Fundulus cingulatus... he was a great conversation piece.
Either write something worth reading or do something worth writing. - Benjamin Franklin
#3
Guest_rjmtx_*
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Posted 25 April 2013 - 10:53 AM
A wealth of inverts. Some prey on fish, so they might not be the best mix (except as feeders), but inverts can be very entertaining and intriguing in a tank. Diving beetles, water boatmen, belostomatids, water scorpions, and various larvae come to mind...
#4
Guest_njJohn_*
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Posted 25 April 2013 - 05:30 PM
Wouldnt the mudminnows eat the smaller fish?
#5
Guest_EricaWieser_*
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Posted 25 April 2013 - 05:43 PM
Well they do; they're the only livebearer on your list, and some people really like livebearers. But I think Heterandria formosa would be a better representative for a native livebearer. They're smaller and therefore more suited to a nano tank.And I'm leaving out mosquito fish, because they're kind of nasty and don't have much else to recommend them.
#6
Guest_keepnatives_*
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Posted 25 April 2013 - 06:31 PM
That's the least killies, a common name for Hets.Well they do; they're the only livebearer on your list, and some people really like livebearers. But I think Heterandria formosa would be a better representative for a native livebearer. They're smaller and therefore more suited to a nano tank.
#7
Guest_Auban_*
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Posted 25 April 2013 - 07:51 PM
leptolucania ommata would work too.
#8
Guest_Kanus_*
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Posted 25 April 2013 - 07:54 PM
If you were doing a tank on the order of 5 gallons or so, you could probably do alright with a group of 3-4 ironcolor or dusky shiners too. I there there are a few other similar species but these stay fairly small.
#9
Guest_EricaWieser_*
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Posted 25 April 2013 - 08:20 PM
Oh yeah. I always forget about that; to me they are clearly livebearers and not killifish. No offense to livebearers, but they're in general not as colorful as the killis. If I had to misclassify something as a killi, it would be the elassoma gilberti I used to keep. They're colorful annual egg layers. To me it makes no sense at all to call heterandria formosa (not a very pretty fish, in my opinion, not when compared to nothobranchius) a least 'killi'. I think of heterandria formosa as looking way more like micropoecilia picta or a goodeid. So I forget they're called killis sometimes. Let's all collectively refer to them as the 'least livebearer' from now on (hah, that's not going to happen).That's the least killies, a common name for Hets.
Edited by EricaWieser, 25 April 2013 - 08:21 PM.
#10
Guest_ashtonmj_*
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Posted 25 April 2013 - 08:57 PM
So avoid using common names that don't always have to do with their taxonomic relations...
Mudminnows? I've seen my share of 4" mudminnows the last few years. What about Sheepshead minnow (also not a minnow!).
Mudminnows? I've seen my share of 4" mudminnows the last few years. What about Sheepshead minnow (also not a minnow!).
#11
Guest_rjmtx_*
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Posted 25 April 2013 - 09:15 PM
"Killi" is just a take on a Dutch word meaning creek. It's a general term that we've just stuck on fundululids.
#12
Guest_Bob_*
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Posted 26 April 2013 - 11:48 AM
Thanks, all. I forgot about L. ommata. Matt, I didn't know mudminnows could get that big. Not so sure about putting a Cyprinodon in a nano. They seem to need each others company, but also tend to beat up on each other. Maybe more damage could occur in such small confines.
And yes, mudminnows probably would eat smaller fish, so you'd need to be careful of what you kept with them, if anything.
Speaking of invertebrates, those little grass/glass shrimp would do for awhile, too, although I don't know anyone who has ever kept them long term.
And yes, mudminnows probably would eat smaller fish, so you'd need to be careful of what you kept with them, if anything.
Speaking of invertebrates, those little grass/glass shrimp would do for awhile, too, although I don't know anyone who has ever kept them long term.
#13
Guest_EricaWieser_*
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Posted 26 April 2013 - 05:05 PM
I kept them long term. They do not like small unplanted tanks. Mine hopped out and suffocated when I put them in a 10 gallon with only an aponogeton. When I had them in a well planted 55 gallon tank where ceratophyllum demersum (hornwort/coontail) covered the surface, they did not hop out.Speaking of invertebrates, those little grass/glass shrimp would do for awhile, too, although I don't know anyone who has ever kept them long term.
Edited by EricaWieser, 26 April 2013 - 05:05 PM.
#14
Guest_Skipjack_*
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Posted 27 April 2013 - 04:12 PM
. Matt, I didn't know mudminnows could get that big.
And that is just the Easterns, the centrals can get near 6 inches.
#15
Guest_Auban_*
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Posted 27 April 2013 - 06:16 PM
if your willing to keep something like grass shrimp, you might be interested in some of our native stomatopods. neogonodactylus wennerae is colorful, interesting in both appearance and behavior, and maxes out at about 80mm, so it fits the bill for a nano tank. its also one of the easier ones to keep, pretty hardy and they actually come out during the day. it would be salt water, and you would likely have to order one(unless you can rescue it from a reef tank), but it certainly would be unique!
just dont try to pick them up...
just dont try to pick them up...
Edited by Auban, 27 April 2013 - 06:18 PM.
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