Observations from my low-tech planted setups in the Tucson desert.
| Species | Tank | Status |
|---|---|---|
| Neocaridina davidi | Various | Thriving and even breeding in unlikely tanks |
| Elassoma evergladei | Tank 1 | Settling in, Heterandia formosa dither fish and orange Neocaridina |
| Heterandria formosa | Various | Breeding |
| Carinotetraodon travancoricus | Various | Happy in 10 gallon, settling in in 3 gallon |
| Mikrogeophagus ramirezi | Various | Bred in 20 long, single male in 25 tall |
| Pterophyllum sp. | Various | Two adults separated to 25 tall after picking on third one in the 20 long |
| Poecilia wingei | Tank 4 | Thriving! Need to move to a bigger tank |
| Paracheirodon simulans | Tank 5 | Doing fine |
| Pseudomugil luminatus | Tank 6 | Breeding! |
| Brevibora dorsiocellata | Tank 6 | New school of 12 Feb. 2026 |
| Epiplatys annulatus | Tank 6 | Doing fine |
| Ancistrus cf. cyrrhosus | Various | Doing fine and bulletproof after one jumped and I then accidentally threw it in the yard. It's 100% fine. Crazy. |
| Pristella maxillaris | Tank 8 | Fat and sassy. Adjusting to a Pterophyllum taking refuge there. It's pretty docile. |
| Hyphessobrycon herbertaxelrodi | Tank 8 | One left of a little school of six after disease took the other five |
| Paracheirodon innesi | Tank 8 | Eight left after illness took the other 10 |
| Dermogenys pusilla | Tank 9 | Lost one to some kind of swim bladder issue. Poecilia reticulata roommates might be too active for their taste. |
| Inpaichthys kerri | Tank 10 | Started with six and lost two females for unknown reasons at different times. Still have six due to a couple of accidental babies, a male and a female. |
| Boraras brigittae | Tank 11 | They seem to want to live with columnaris or have scarring. I have treated the tank several times. The males took months to completely color up but they are very pretty now except for a white saddle of columnaris scarring. |
| Boraras merah | Tank 11 | Not as red as the chili rasboras but more iridescent. Also shyer than the brigittae. They never showed the columnaris symptoms. |
| Boraras urophthalmoides | Tank 11 | A little chunkier than the others and give the brigittae a run for their money in the domination of the tank. Egg laden females but no breeding. No red coloration. |
| Elassoma gilberti | Tank 12 | Started with seven fish, two males, five females. One very dominant male seems to have driven two females to jump to their deaths and the other male and a female Heterandria dither fish to jump into the tank below via emerged plants. I should have rehomed the male but I put him back in there. Someday... |
| Tanichthys albonubes | Various | Some of my first fish. They were propagating out of control in their first ten gallon so they ended up in a plastic bin pond with guppies. I moved 15 into this tank and there are many in the pond still and I started with eight. The hardiest fish I've kept. |
| Poecilia reticulata | Various | Started with a quad of three females and a male red tuxedos and a separate unknown female and a blueish tuxedo. Now I have a pond of guppies. I added a quad to tank 13 expecting breeding but nothing so far. I would expect the white clouds and the BNPs to leave the fry alone and there are hiding places. |
| Sternotherus odoratus | Tank 14 | Purchased for guppy control in the pond. Came in so tiny that he has been in a half filled ten gallon for now. Doing well and eating the hell out of snails and the few Neocaridina that were left in the tank. |
| Hemigrammus pulchripinnis | Tank 16 | Originally in with the Pristellas but they were kind of overshadowed and the tank looked busy. Holding their own with the two paired Pterophyllum. |
Elassoma evergladei, Heterandria formosa, and Neocaridina davidi with hornwort, parrot feather, val, and moss.
width="200">
Carinotetraodon travancoricus and Neocaridina Davidi with hornwort, parrot feather, Hygrophila sp., and emergent pothos.
width="200">
Mikrogeophagus ramirezi, Ancistrus cf. cirrhosus, Neocaridina davidi, Caridina multidentata
width="200">
Poecilia wingei, Neocaridina davidi
Paracheirodon simulans, Neocaridina davidi
Pseudomugil luminatus, Epiplatys annulatus, Brevibora dorsiocellata
Heterandria formosa and Neocaridina davidi
Pterophyllum sp., Neocaridina davidi, Pristella maxillaris, Hyphessobrycon herbertaxelrodi, Paracheirodon innesi
Dermogenys pusilla, Poecilia reticulata, Ancistrus cf. cirrhosus
Inpaichthys kerri
Boraras brigittae, Boraras merah, Boraras urophthalmoides, Heterandria formosa, Neocaridia davidi, Caridina multidentata
Elassoma gilberti, Neocaridina davidi, Heterandria formosa.
Ancistrus cf. cyrrhosus, Neocaridina davidi, Poecilia reticulata, Tanichthys albonubes
Sternotherus odoratus
Hetrandria formosa, Neocaridina davidi
Pterophyllum sp., Mikrogeophagus ramirezi, Hemigrammus pulchripinnis, Ancistrus cf. cyrrhosus
The black ram pair appears to be in breeding mode so I moved a standard looking angel fish in with the pristellas. They are wary of their new roommate but this angel is much less agressive than the marbled pair in with the lemon tetras. I imagine they'll calm down. Surprisingly to me the neons are just fine with it. They are pretty chunky so I don't expect them to be eaten.
It’s official: Ancistrus cf. cirrhosus might be the hardiest fish in the collection. After leaping out of the tank during the netting of some classmates and a brief stay in the Tucson dirt (my bad, forgot I put him in the bucket after his leap), this fish is back to normal duties in a new tank as if nothing happened.
Added a school of 12 Emerald Eye Rasboras to Tank 6. They are providing some great activity for the Pseudomugil luminatus. The tank feels much more balanced now with a dedicated mid-water school.
Tank 11 update: The Chili Rasboras are finally colored up beautifully, but the white saddle scarring remains. It seems to be stable rather than active. It's a reminder that even with consistent treatment, some stressors in nano-fish leave a permanent mark.