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Hi all,

I recently came accross some tiny fishes in a petshop, (smaller than a neon tetra), and suddently got the urge to replace my current fishes for a collection of smaller ones. I currently have 2 guppies, Male Fighter, 3 zebra danios, and 3 mauntain minnows. I plan on returning these back to the petshop as I'm not sure if they will get along with these 'tiny' fishes which I plan on getting.

However, on searching for information on these fishes, I have come across NO information whatsoever. Does anyone know of any TINY fishes which can be kept in an aquarium, or any websites that have any info about them.

Regards, T

There are a LOT tiny fish out there. Endlers, Pea Puffers, many Rasboras, some Pencilfish, and Pygmy Corys are just some that come strait to mind, and I'm SURE there are MANY MANY MANY others out there. Some will be able to get along with your fish, some wont.

You must also remember that 99% of fish that you see in stores are NOT full grown. There is VERY little market for them, so most stores don't have them.

ALSO, super-easy-to-breed species have babies all the time in stores, and you may want to make sure that the fish you saw were not just fry from a larger fish.

Sorry that I don't have a definate answer, but get back to us if you can get the exact name of the fish you are looking at.

~Jorge

I wrote an article on aquarium dwarfs about 18 months ago. I could repost it if you like


Panda Catfish fan and keeper/breeder since Christmas 2002

I would love it if you could repost it Calilasseia. The fishes that I'm talking about are literally tiny. Around 1cm long. Much smaller than guppies, or even a neon.

To be honest, I'm not 100% sure that they will remain that size, but I asked that person at the store, and he said that they won't be doing much growing. If I could get the names of some fishes, I may be able to type it into a search engine and get some info about them.

What do these tiny fish look like?









[hr width='20%']
"They package brine shrimp and sell them to kids? That's not right, man!"

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I'm not your neighbor, you Bakersfield trash.

chocolate gouramies you almost always get them in very small

Here you go T, as requested. Note that this article does not list all possible species of dwarf aquarium fishes, but alights upon a brace of species that certainly deserve to be better known.

Aquarium Dwarfs

I recently [as of 3rd July, 2003] alighted upon an old copy of Tetra's Aquarium Digest International , Issue No. 18, which contained a delightful article on the tiniest of aquarium fish. The article was written by Professor Werner Ladiges, one of the major names in the aquarium world, and contained information on some well-known gems, alongside some far rarer species that might be included in my post on Aquarium Wallflowers. A quick look at some of these species might inspire some of the board members to track them down and give them a home: all of the species mentioned are smaller than 1½ inches in length when fully grown, and consequently have modest space demands that would make them ideal for the aquarist who is constrained by space.

Ladiges begins by informing us that the smallest vertebrates on Earth are fishes: the freshwater fishes Mistichthys luzonensis and Pandaka pygmaea, both from the Philippines, and the marine members of the genus Eviota. All of these fishes are Gobies, and their sizes are in the range 8 to 11 millimetres. To this list can be added some of the species I have found in my copy of Burgess' Mini-Atlas Of Marine Aquarium Fishes, such as Lythrypnus nesiotes (15mm), and members of the genus Bryaninops (which can reach 30mm). However, it is the freshwater species upon which Ladiges concentrates, and I shall now cover these.

First, livebearers - the familiar Mosquito Fish, Heterandria formosa, which is well-known to aquarists, and although hardy, requires a species aquarium because of its tiny size (female 35mm, male 19mm). Alongside the Mosquito Fish, there are two livebearers that Ladiges describes as 'problematic' - Branner's Livebearer Poecilia branneri and the Two-Spot Livebearer Poecilia parae, both of which reach 30mm. These species are reported as being very difficult to breed, and present maintenance probelms too: they live in coastal estuarine waters, and apparently require fluctuating salinity levels, which are not easy to implement in the aquarium. Living algae in the diet is also apparently a necessity, as is a temperature of 24°C.

The Cyprinidae includes some dwarfs, the well-known Spotted Rasbora Rasbora maculata being possibly the smallest of them all (30mm maximum). Not especially difficult to maintain, although again best kept in a species aquarium upon account of its tiny size, it presents a challenge to the aquarist in terms of breeding: soft, acid water is necessary, along with efficient filtration and plenty of swimming space combined with plant thickets. Alongside the Spotted Rasbora (also known as the Pygmy Rasbora), there are two dwarf Barbs - the Butterfly Barb, Barbus hulstaerti, which reaches 35mm, and the Sickle Barb, Barbus wohlerti, which reaches 30mm. The Sickle Barb apparently presents no maintenance or breeding problems, but is not especially colourful, but the Butterfly Barb, which has striking black and yellow fins and a distinctive 'rounded triangular' spot on the body of the male, has seldom been spawned. One problem with this fish is that the first collected specimens came from extremely acidic waters - pH 4.8 - and presented difficulties associated with this, leading to some prospective keepers nicknaming it the Vinegar Barb! However, I have since discovered, through a little diligent research, that there exist other, less extreme waters in which the species lives, and that even specimens from very acid waters can be acclimatised to a more moderate pH, if this is done with care - it is, apparently, a fish that reacts VERY badly to sudden pH changes.

Several Characins are classified as 'dwarfs' in the article, including Hemigrammus vorderwinkleri (30mm), or Hyphessobrycon georgettae (20mm), which is delightfully coloured, being a sort of claret colour with a black dorsal fin. There is also a Hyphessobrycon minimus (25mm). A species that Ladiges describes as 'magnificently coloured' is Phoxinopsis broccae (25mm), and there are two dwarf Hatchet Fishes in the Family: the Black-Winged Hatchet Fish Carnegiella marthae (35mm), and the Glass Hatchet Fish Carnegiella myersi (25mm). Again, both Hatchet Fishes are best kept in a species aquarium, upon account of their size, and like all Hatchet Fishes, must be kept WELL covered! The related Citharinidae provides the genus Neolebias - both N. unifasciatus ad N. ansorgei reach 35mm, and in the case of N. ansorgei, which I mentioned in "Aquarium Wallflowers", is utterly gorgeous, a rainbow-hued little jewel that really deserves to be known better.

Catfish families are better known for their giants (see my "Big Pims" post for some enormous examples!), but there are dwarfs here too, and in this case, they are well-known aquarium friends. All three are Corydoras species: C. cochui reaches just 25mm, while C. hastatus reaches 30mm, and C. pygmaeus 35mm, the latter obviously having been named before the previous two species were discovered! I have kept C. pygmaeus myself in the past, and can testify that it does best in a shoal, preferably at least six in number, and like C. hastatus, is a midwater swimmer. C. cochui is a more conventional bottom-dwelling Corydoras, but again, a remark I made in Bottom Feeder Frenzy applies: the smallest Corydoras appear to be the most avowedly social, and appear to have a genuine psychological need for members of their own kind. I would add Corydoras habrosus to this list, another tiny Catfish that I have kept in the past, and which several board members have discovered can be wonderfully entertaining!

Killies are wonderfully coloured fishes, and most are small: however, some genuine dwarfs that Ladiges covers include the Rocket Panchax, Epiplatys annulatus, which is a little jewel (40mm). Ladiges warns potential breeders that its eggs seem particularly susceptible to bacterial attack: as well as antifungal agents, a dose of Melafix might be appropriate to add to the breeding aquarium of this species after spawning. The genus Aplocheilichthys includes numerous tiny fishes, all of which are known as 'Lamp-Eyes' upon account of their highly reflective irises. Ladiges seems particularly fond of A. myersi, a silver fish with a pastel lilac sheen, yellow pelvic and anal fins, a black-bordered yellow tail, and a tall translucent dorsal. This fish only attains a length of 20mm, and is described by Ladiges as one of the easier Killies to keep and breed.

Labyrinth fishes are usually robust occupants of the aquarium: however, two genuine dwarfs are Trichopsis pumilus, the Green Croaking Gourami, and Parosphromenus deissneri, the Dwarf Paradise Fish. Both reach 35 to 40mm, and while the Green Croaking Gourami can be kept with other small, peaceful fishes that share its liking for warm water, the Dwarf Paradise Fish would probably be much better off in a species aquarium.

Sadly, the so-called 'Dwarf Cichlids' are, by the standard of Ladiges' article, big fishes (!), and there are no genuinely tiny members of the Family, the smallest being at least 70mm long when fully grown. However, the related Sunfishes (Family Centrarchidae) includes a miniature gem, the Pygmy Sunfish, Elassoma evergladei. Reaching just 35mm, it can survive temperatures as low as 10°C, but needs live food to keep it in good condition, a factor that has probably mitigated against it. However, it is very popular in Germany, and the male in breeding colouration is truly resplendent.

Ladiges laments the absence or rarity of many of these delightful dwarf fishes from the aquarium scene. He ended the article with:

"Can't we find pleasure in some tanks containing these delicate beauties or must our aquarium fish always be show-pieces such as Symphysodon?"

Well, perhaps my little Baedecker Tour of the aquarium dwarfs that Ladiges is so fond of, may inspire one or two here to seek them out. Certainly, some are real jewels - I have already lamented the absence of Neolebias ansorgei in my "Aquarium Wallflowers" post, because this is a rainbow-hued gem that shares all of the familiar Characin virtues, and has few if any vices into the bargain. Likewise, the Green Croaking Gourami (again one of my "Wallflowers" really deserves to be much better known, as it is a delightfully patterned fish, which has the additional selling point of being able to make a distinctly audible croaking noise! New to me, and one I would definitely like to see more of, is Hyphessobrycon georgettae, a species that would almost certainly make a wonderful foil for Head And Tail LIghts, for example. Meanwhile, some interest in the Rocket Panchax has already been expressed in the Killifish & Rainbows forum, and hopefully, the pictures I linked to in there will inspire more Killie keepers to take on this exquisitely coloured fish. Proof positive that small can be beautiful - as Cory_Di has already discovered with her Corydoras habrosus!



Panda Catfish fan and keeper/breeder since Christmas 2002