# How many nano fish can I have in a 8.6 gallon?



## ryry2012 (Mar 31, 2015)

I have this newly cycled 8.6 gallon tank I would like to have nano fish in. It is planted and has a Finnex PX-360 compact canister filter.


I'm interested in Celestial Pearl Danios and Chili Rasboras. CPDs are supposed to be shy but really pretty. The tank got a black back screen and have Brazilian Pennywort floating, so they might get less shy. I'm thinking about getting six of them.


Here is my question; Is it too many fish if I add six Chili Rasboras when CPDs are settled and the tank get matured a bit more? They are supposed to be less shy and are top dwellers, so I can see "fish" in my tank even if CPDs are hiding often. 


Any advice would be appreciated.


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## RussellTheShihTzu (Mar 19, 2013)

You could have a dozen of each. I have found that CPD love Subwassertang and Java Moss that I let sink to the bottom instead of anchoring. If you grab a bottle of Seachem Stability and dose per instructions you shouldn't have a problem with the cycle crashing.

As you probably know, all of my Nano are bought online so I sometimes add 30 at a time. Using Stabiity I haven't had any issues with the sudden increase in Ammonia.

Post pictures!

Edit: My CPD are far from shy. They are all over the tanks. I have a dozen of them and a dozen Chili Rasbora plus a Betta in my eight gallon.


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## ryry2012 (Mar 31, 2015)

Thank you for the reply, Russell!


Can I have that many????? Yessssss!!! It will hurt my wallet though :grin2:

I do have Stability! I also ordered an Ammonia Alert. If you don't know by now, I do check your posts and take memos in my mind:laugh:


This is a picture of my tank.










I need to plant the currently- anchored plants, so it will look more "full". A cover is coming. I need to get a polycarbonate sheet and make one.


Ohhh, I need to get Subwassertang and Java Moss! At least one of them.




I have a couple of more questions.
Did you adjust water parameters (ex. GH, KH) when you got them? 
Also, is there any other kind of nano fish that can get along with CPDs and Chihi Rasboras? I found Green Neons pretty but they are pretty sensitive...?


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## RussellTheShihTzu (Mar 19, 2013)

I don't mess with my parameters. I think KH and GH were more important when fish were wild-caught. With so many being tank bred and raised it doesn't seem to be that much of a problem. I have good luck with Neons and Green Neons even though I have semi-hard water.

I've found Green Neons to be less aggressive and nippy than regular Neons.

I also have two good sources for Subwassertang and Java Moss on AquaBid if you can't find it locally.


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## ryry2012 (Mar 31, 2015)

RussellTheShihTzu said:


> I don't mess with my parameters. I think KH and GH were more important when fish were wild-caught. With so many being tank bred and raised it doesn't seem to be that much of a problem. I have good luck with Neons and Green Neons even though I have semi-hard water.
> 
> I've found Green Neons to be less aggressive and nippy than regular Neons.
> 
> I also have two good sources for Subwassertang and Java Moss on AquaBid if you can't find it locally.


I just tested GH and KH. GH is 6 drops (107.4 ppm) and KH is 5 drops (89.5), so they should be OK. I think your CPDs are not shy at all because they are tank-raised. I bet you got them from Rachel :grin2:


I've been doing research online. There are several kinds of attractive nano fish! Green Neon is in my "maybe" list. I need to do more research which is quite fun.


Sure, if I can't find Subwassertang and Java Moss, I'll as you for the seller contact information. I might try without them for now. I need to plant the guys in my tank first...


One more question.
What do you feed CPDs and Chili Rasboras?


Thank you!


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## ryry2012 (Mar 31, 2015)

Fanatic said:


> Beautiful tank!
> 
> I love the plants in the tank, I love ground growing plants, such as moss, or hair grass.


Thank you! 


Tell you the truth, I'm a cheater. I bought a Monte Carlo mat, so I all I had to do is just to place in the bottom... Doesn't hair grass attract algae? I've heard some people had to give up hair grass because of algae issues. Otherwise it's attractive. 

This is my second time to try this tank. It was placed on the kitchen counter that gets indirect but enough sunlight. With the Finnex Planted+, it became a great algae show case. Hair, thread, spot, dust, diatom, cyanobacteria, oh, I even got green water at one point. I can say it was quite interesting. No way I could say this at that time though  
Now it's placed in a living room where it doesn't get much natural light. New soil and bio-rings. There are also 6" riser. Hope it will work well this time...(finger crossed).


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## RussellTheShihTzu (Mar 19, 2013)

ryry2012 said:


> I just tested GH and KH. GH is 6 drops (107.4 ppm) and KH is 5 drops (89.5), so they should be OK. I think your CPDs are not shy at all because they are tank-raised. I bet you got them from Rachel :grin2:
> 
> 
> I've been doing research online. There are several kinds of attractive nano fish! Green Neon is in my "maybe" list. I need to do more research which is quite fun.
> ...


I feed live and frozen food. Micro, Walter and Banana Worms are so easy to culture. I get mine from Fishguy_1955 on AquaBid. But if you send a PM I can give you Paul's email address. Grindal Worms are also easy. 

Before I used NLS Small Fish:
New Life Spectrum Thera A - Small Fish in Pet Supplies | eBay

And, yes, all of my fish (except Betta) come from Rachel. 

Almost forgot: I was researching something else and discovered that high Nitrates can cause algae. Didn't know that before. Watch carpeting plants as they can trap detritus. That's why I use a piece of airline tubing to vacuum.


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## ryry2012 (Mar 31, 2015)

RussellTheShihTzu said:


> I feed live and frozen food. Micro, Walter and Banana Worms are so easy to culture. I get mine from Fishguy_1955 on AquaBid. But if you send a PM I can give you Paul's email address. Grindal Worms are also easy.
> 
> Before I used NLS Small Fish:
> New Life Spectrum Thera A - Small Fish in Pet Supplies | eBay
> ...


Thanks again!


I'll PM you for the e-mail address. I wonder how you got to know so many people/sellers.:laugh: 


Yes, high Nitrates can cause algae. That's why I almost regretted that I had gotten plants so early. High Ammonia + Nitrate + high light can cause disasters. As a matter of fact, I got hair and thread algae at one point. Water changes took care of it.
The Nitrate in my tank was around 10+ ppm yesterday, so it should be OK. I agree, an airline tubing is the best tool to vacuum around!


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## ryry2012 (Mar 31, 2015)

Update for someone who is interested.


I went to a LFS that is specialized in nano fish and shrimp. There were a lot of CPDs but only a few Chili Rasboras left. I got 12 CPDs and told the owner I would be back when they get a new shipment of Chili Rasboras. He asked how many gallons my tank is and what kind of filter I have. it's a 8.6 gallon with a Finnex compact canister filter. He assured that it's more than good enough for 12 each of them. I asked a question. "It doesn't mean I'm going to get more. But how many more fish can I have in the tank?" He thought a bit and said "Well, I don't think you should have any more." "How about one Dario Dario?" "That works, but it only eats live food. You can also have shrimp as many as you want." 


Russell was correct  


CPDs at there are tank bred. Chili Rasboras are wild caught. Wilds are much more delicate and sensitive to water parameters. Currently I'm working on lowering the pH. Wish my tank were 12 gallon so that I could have one more kind of nano fish... I'm interested in Kubotai. They look pretty in pictures and videos.


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## RussellTheShihTzu (Mar 19, 2013)

How high is your pH? It's better for the fish to have it high or low and stable than to have it fluctuate.

I love my CPD.


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## ryry2012 (Mar 31, 2015)

The pH is 7.2 now...could be 7.4. I found it difficult to decide which level the color it really indicates. The owner told me to keep it under 7.0. I have Peat balls that can lower pH and release tannins. A small amount of the Peat balls are added in the filter yesterday. 


CPD are so tiny and swim funny. 8 or 9 of them are in the open area, others like to hide and do peek a boo sometimes. To be honest, I wouldn't be able to tell if I really got 12 fish and/or if one or two of them die in the planted tank. Oh, I'm just saying. I do trust the owner! :-D 
My CPD go crazy over the MicroWorms! MW float all over the tank and disappear. I assume some of them are sucked into the filter before the fish can finish.


Russell, do you have Kubotai? I'm not planning to get them but I'm curious to know if they actually are as pretty as they appear in pictures and videos online.


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## LittleBettaFish (Oct 2, 2010)

I have owned Microdevario kubotai, and can say that they are as striking in the flesh as they appear in photos.


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## RussellTheShihTzu (Mar 19, 2013)

IMO, the owner is wrong. I have 7.8-8.0 and successfully keep all number of fish. Unless pH is terribly high or terribly low I believe it is best for the health of fish to leave it alone.

Yes, I've kept Kubotai and they are beautiful. They're like the Sundadanio axelrodi 'Blue' in that photos don't do them justice. You need to get a 20 long. ;-)


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## ryry2012 (Mar 31, 2015)

LittleBettaFish said:


> I have owned Microdevario kubotai, and can say that they are as striking in the flesh as they appear in photos.


I love the colors! Were they difficult to keep?


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## ryry2012 (Mar 31, 2015)

RussellTheShihTzu said:


> IMO, the owner is wrong. I have 7.8-8.0 and successfully keep all number of fish. Unless pH is terribly high or terribly low I believe it is best for the health of fish to leave it alone.
> 
> Yes, I've kept Kubotai and they are beautiful. They're like the Sundadanio axelrodi 'Blue' in that photos don't do them justice. You need to get a 20 long. ;-)


He said the Chili Rasbora he gets are wild caught. Thus they are more sensitive with pH. Tank bred are not as sensitive as the wilds. That what he said.


There is no way I can have a 20G in this apartment :-( I'll just have to enjoy looking at Youtube videos. 


It seems a lot of wild caught fish are exported from their native habitants. I wonder how come the rivers and ponds still have enough fish to keep exporting them.


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## LittleBettaFish (Oct 2, 2010)

I found them very easy to keep as they were voracious eaters and had no issues with shyness. However, as RussellTheShihtzu has said, you would need a larger tank to comfortably house them. I had my group in a 24 gallon tank and they were constantly on the move.


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## ryry2012 (Mar 31, 2015)

LittleBettaFish said:


> I found them very easy to keep as they were voracious eaters and had no issues with shyness. However, as RussellTheShihtzu has said, you would need a larger tank to comfortably house them. I had my group in a 24 gallon tank and they were constantly on the move.


Then I will just keep dreaming about them. Maybe someday I'll have Kubotai when I can have a bigger tank! My tank will be very nice and pretty with CPD and Chili Rasbora


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