Cyprinids
Danios
Danios are the most popular cyprinids(not counting goldfish).There are not that many species of danio, but new species are being found rapidly. One of the more recent danio discovories is the celestial pearl danio, a beautiful and expensive danio. These danios only get an inch long! The zebra danio is almost as popular as the neon tetra. Some smaller danios include the zebra, leapord, celestial pearl, pearl, and fireline danios. The larger danios are the giant and bengal danios. Small danio's maximum sizes are 2in. , and the big ones get 4in. long. These are very easy to keep fish, but they need to be in a school of 3 or more.
Zebra danios. The pink one is a glofish, a morph of the zebra danio.
Male celestial pearl danio. Not big. Not cheap. Not common.
White cloud mountain minnows
White clouds are a lot like danios. The WCMM is the only species in its family. It is very pretty, with a red stripe that extends to the tail. This fish is very easy to keep, but they need to be kept at a temperature below 72 degrees F. Their maximum size is 2 inches.
Rasboras
There are a few species of rasbora. They all have the same requirments, but some are different sizes. Rasboras can thrive in a ph between 6.5 and 7.5.. The temp should be between 72 and 80 degrees F. One species is the scissortail rasbora, which gets five inches long.The harlequin rasbora is very small and pretty fish, measuring at only 2 in.. The dwarf rasbora rarly gets over an inch long! The 3 inch long clown rasbora is probably the most attractive rasbora. The last common rasbora is the emerald eyed rasbora. This 4 in. fish is a plain silver color with metallic green eyes. Remember to always keep rasboras in a school of 4 or more.
Barbs
Barbs are mostly active and pretty fish. They have requirments very similar to the rasboras. All of them are schooling fish. Here are some of the more common and popular barbs. The tiger barb only gets 2.5 in. long, but it has a tendancy to nip other fish's fins. The 2in cherry barb is probably the most peaceful barb. The rosy barb gets up to almost 6in., but it is still peaceful and attractive. The 5in. arulius barb gets prettier as it grows. With its black stripes, the striped barb is pretty in a strange way. The cigar barb needs a huge tank, because this fish can get up to 20 inches. The tinfiol barb needs a decent sized tank because it gets to over 7 in. and it is extremely active. There are some more barbs, but I won't add them to my page yet.
Tiger barbs and ruby sharks.
Some full grown tinfoil barbs.
A pair of cherry barbs. The male is the red one on top and the female is the browner one on the bottom.
Another male cherry barb.
A female Checkered Barb.
Sharks
These fish are not real sharks, but they do have a shark shaped dorsal fin. They like a ph between 7.0 and 7.5 and a temp between 75 and 82 degrees F. One species of shark, the iridescent shark, is actually a catfish and will be explained in the catfish page. The 6in ruby shark is one of the smaller sharks.There is also an albino form. The red tailed black shark is also a small shark, at only 5 in. The silvery bala shark needs a big tank because it is active and gets to 14 inches. The drab black shark can get to 2 feet long, but it rarely gets over a foot in aquariums. The flying fox and the siamese algae eater are both very similar 6in. fish. The panda garra is a good 6 inch algae eater, but it needs cold water and is sometimes aggressive. The high fin marble shark gets way too large for any aquariums and it needs cold water. Those are the only sharks you will see in stores.
An Albino Rainbow Shark.
Loaches
The loaches are useful and often attractive bottom dwellers. They are great scavengers. They like warm temperatures and prefer a ph around neutral. There are many different species of loaches, but I can't explain them all. The attractive clown loach can get to 12 inches, but it rarely gets that big. The yo-yo loach is small and beautifully patterened. Skunk loaches are plain colored,large, and agressive, but if you have too many snails this loach will get rid of them for you. The kuhli loach is eel shaped and attractive, but they like to hide. Hillstream loaches are very small and they look more like a pleco than a loach. I might add some more loaches on here later.
Clown Loach.
A small kuhli loach. This is the all black form.
Just a reminder that clown loaches do get big.These are at least a foot long.
A striped or zebra loach. It is like the yoyo loach just a different color.
Goldfish
Goldfish are the most popular aquarium fish. They can get over 12 in. long if they are given a large tank and good food, but they rarely get that big. Goldfish don't care what the ph is, but they like a cooler water temperature. There are many different kinds of goldfish, and I will describe the more common ones. The comet goldfish is just the average joe in the goldfish world. The shubunkin is like a multi-colored comet goldfish. The moor is an all black goldfish. My favorite goldfish the fantail, has a tail that splits into two connecting at the top. The bubble-eye has liquid- filled bubbles under its eyes. The ryunkin has a very deep body. The ranchu has a fleshy hood that extends over its eyes. The pearlscale looks like an aquatic golfball. The koi is skinier and much longer than the most goldfish. I will update this page when I hear about a new goldfish.
The top 3 are goldfish and the bottom one is a koi.
Chinese Algae Eater
This fish is not from china, and it rarely eats algae. Chinese algae eaters like to eat the body slime of other fish. It can get to 6in. long. They like a neautral ph. Most of them are a drab brown, but there is an albino and gold form.
Rosy Reds
Rosy reds are extremely easy to keep. They are often used as feeder fish.
