Aquascape will certainly not be complete if there are no fish in it. Depending on the size of the aquascape, you might find it difficult to find the right fish for the aquascape, especially if you make a small nano aquascape. When I first made an aquascape, I was looking for information but focused more on the style of aquascape that I would create.
After that I decided to make my first nano aquascape. If I’m not mistaken the size is about height = 33cm, width = 27 cm, length = 27 cm. Are you confused? The size is not wrong, because my aquarium is rising not widening.
So my aquascape is quite small and I can’t put all the fish into the aquascape. In this article, I will share the types of small fish that are suitable for your nano aquascape at home. So you don’t hesitate to buy fish for fear that the fish will become too big.
Siamese fighting fish
I will start with my favorite fish which is betta fish. I think nano aquascape is very suitable when combined with betta fish. I have placed betta fish on the nano aquascape that I have several times and the results have been very satisfying for me. Because the nano aquascape may start with an aquarium of about 30 cm in length, keeping 1 betta fish in it is perfect.
Because betta fish are territorial fish, which means they are very aggressive if other fish enter their territory, you shouldn’t even add other fish or shrimp. The safest option is to add snails to help clean up the algae if any. I once added cherry shrimp to an aquascape containing betta fish. The result is that the betta always chases the shrimp, and of course if you let it, the shrimp will surely die.
If you want to keep betta fish in your aquascape, you should not use a filter with a strong current.
Betta fish usually live in rather calm waters with not too strong currents, so betta fish may be stressed if the current is too strong. Because betta fish are known to be strong fish to live, it doesn’t mean you can let the water conditions in your aquascape be bad.
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We recommend that you keep changing the water regularly, at least once a week so that ammonia levels are not high and bad for betta fish. Oh yes, you can also add ketapang leaves to make the aquascape water a bit yellow according to the betta fish habitat. The content of ketapang leaves can prevent betta fish from various things such as stress and bacteria.
Zebra Danio
Next up is the zebra fish danio. Zebra danio fish are suitable to be kept in a nano aquascape because these fish do not grow to large. Zebra danio can grow to a maximum length of 5 cm, even my zebra danio is only about 3-4 cm long.
In addition to their small size, zebra danio is also easy to care for making it suitable for beginners. Unlike betta fish that must be kept alone in a nano aquascape, zebra danio fish should not be kept alone. Zebra danio are fish that live in large groups. Although in groups, zebra danio do not swim or move in the same direction ( schooling ), they are in groups but move in all directions ( shoaling ).
Thus, it’s a good idea to keep several zebra danio fish at once. Because the nano aquascape is definitely small, I suggest not too many and start from 5 tails only. The zebra danio fish is part of the danio fish which consists of various types of fish. I often find zebra danio fish near my area.
As the name implies, the zebra danio has a characteristic stripe on its body like a zebra. In addition to the usual zebra danio, I have also kept a pink zebra danio. Since zebra danio fish are not aggressive and territorial, you can mix them with other fish or even shrimp to help clean the aquascape.
My advice when you are going to buy a zebra danio fish is to try to get fish of the same size. From my experience keeping zebra danio fish in nano aquascape, when the size difference is too big, the smaller fish tend to be bullied by the bigger fish.
Small fish will often be chased, then because of the small size of the aquarium, the fish don’t have much place to hide or get away. This is clearly seen when you feed the fish. The more dominant fish will prevent the smaller fish from getting food. If this continues, the smaller fish can become stressed, deprived of food, and may eventually die. So, make sure you choose fish of relatively the same size to avoid this.
Neon tetra
Maybe when you are looking for information about fish for aquascapes, you have found a lot of information about neon tetra fish. This is not wrong, because in my opinion neon tetra fish are indeed suitable to be added to the nano aquascape. Just like other fish on the list of this article, the reason why neon tetra fish are suitable for nano aquascapes is because they are still small. Neon tetra fish can grow to a maximum size of about 4 cm.
Apart from being small in size, neon tetras also have a good color combination of blue and red. The blue and red colors will contrast very well with the green color which is the majority color of aquascape plants. You can also make a biotope using a neon tetra as the main fish. Biotope can be said to be an imitation that is very similar to the habitat of certain fish.
For example, neon tetra fish originating from the Amazon river area. The amazon river area where neon tetras live usually has yellowish water. This is due to the amount of wood or leaves that are submerged in water so that the tannins contained in the wood or leaves change the color of the water.
So, if you want to make a biotope for a neon tetra, you have to make the water yellowish. This can be achieved with the help of ketapang leaves for example. You need to remember that neon tetra fish are fish that live in groups. So you should keep more than 1 neon tetra.
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Unlike the zebra danio, which lives in groups but swims in all directions ( shoaling ), neon tetras swim in the same direction in schools ( schooling ). In addition to beautiful colors and always small in size, neon tetra fish are also relatively easy to maintain, so they are very suitable for beginners.
Tetra fish are very diverse, not only neon tetras. But there are also cardinal tetras that can be an alternative if you can’t find neon tetras. The basic difference between neon fish and cardinal tetras lies in the red color of their bodies. Neon tetra has a red color only on the lower part of the body. However, the cardinal tetra has an all-over red coloration on the underside of its body. Apart from that, there is no significant difference between the two fish. So any fish you can get can be kept in the nano aquascape.
Guppy fish
When we talk about the best fish for a nano aquascape, we can’t forget the guppies. In addition to the fish I mentioned above, guppies are a fish that I always see in ornamental fish shops. Guppies have become fish that must be kept for ornamental fish hobbyists, even though they are not placed in an aquascape. Guppies at first glance are similar to betta fish which have beautiful colors on their fins. However, guppies usually have a more diverse style than betta fish.
In addition, guppies live in groups unlike betta fish which can only live alone in a small aquarium. Because guppies prefer to live in groups, it’s best if you keep more than 1 guppies for your nano aquascape. In addition, if you can, you should keep guppies of similar size. In my experience, guppies can bully each other especially if they are too different in size. Guppies can damage each other’s fins. This has happened to me when I think I had 2 guppy fish left. One of the more dominant fish always chases the other fish until it damages the fish’s fin. Over time the fish will be stressed and will eventually die.
The style of guppy fish is very diverse, so you have a variety of choices that you can choose from. In addition to the various and beautiful patterns when combined with aquascape, guppies are also not difficult to maintain. So this fish is also very suitable for beginners or those who are experts in maintaining ornamental fish. In addition, guppies are livebearer fish, which means that these fish can immediately give birth to fish. So, if you happen to keep male and female fish, it is not impossible that you will get lots of guppies. If you really want to raise guppy chicks, you should immediately separate the mother guppy fish from her children. This needs to be done to avoid the mother guppies eating their own children.
Harlequin rasbora
The next fish is the harlequin rasbora. I also see this fish quite often in ornamental fish and aquascape equipment stores that I often visit. Harlequin rasbora can grow to a maximum size of about 5 cm, although not all rasbora fish can grow to 5 cm because they usually only reach a size of about 4.5 cm.
Like the zebra danio, the harlequin rasbora lives in groups but doesn’t swim in the same direction. Therefore, it is better to keep harlequin rasbora fish in groups or more than 1 fish. Depending on the size of your aquarium, you should keep at least 5 or 6 fish at a time.
Harlequin rasbora is very suitable as a fish choice for a nano aquascape because of its bright orange color and different from most green aquascape plants. Not only that, this fish is also quite easy to maintain, just like the other types of fish in this article.
Rummy nose tetra
Still from the same flock as the neon or cardinal fish, namely the tetra fish. Just like the name of this fish, the rummy nose tetra has a characteristic red color on the muzzle of its mouth. I also see the Rummy nose tetra quite often in ornamental fish shops or aquascape equipment that I often visit. Therefore I am pretty sure that it will not be difficult to find this fish.
However, if you have a fairly small aquscape, maybe this fish is not the best choice for you. This is due to the size of the rummy nose tetra which can be quite large, which can reach a size of about 6 cm. Maybe if the rummy nose tetra is like a betta fish that can live alone, you can keep this fish in your nano aquascape.
However, like other types of tetra fish, the rummy nose tetra lives in groups. So, if you have a slightly larger aquascape, you might consider the rummy nose tetra.
Ornamental Shrimp
Although ornamental shrimp are not fish, you can also only keep ornamental shrimp in the nano aquascape. Ornamental shrimp have quite a lot of types and colors, so you can choose various colors of ornamental shrimp. However, the type of ornamental shrimp that I usually encounter in ornamental fish and aquascape equipment shops is the cherry shrimp type. Usually, the cherry shrimp that I often see in stores are the red ones. Cherry shrimp on average can grow to a size of about 3 cm.
Besides cherry shrimp, another type of shrimp that I often encounter is amano shrimp. Amano shrimp usually have a larger size than cherry shrimp, which is about 5 cm. Besides being interesting to look at, ornamental shrimp can also clean your aquascape from algae attacks so that your aquascape is free from algae.
So, besides being able to keep small fish, you can also keep ornamental shrimp for your nano aquascape.