Tiny Schooling Fish

[disc1]

From the time I started keeping fish some 30 years ago, I have always loved the look of a big planted tank full of neon or cardinal tetras or some other tiny sized minnow fish. You can put 8 or 10 of them in a big tank and they'll all just swim together in a little school.

But I never ever see that look going on in saltwater tanks. Are there any good tiny schooling fish in the saltwater trade? I'm talking about fish with a maximum size of 2" or less that you can keep 8 or 10 of together.

[gone fishin]

I know what you mean. I sometimes miss my planted tank with some schooling tetras and cloud minnows. I have not found any schooling fish in the saltwater world. I have read in some of Snorvich's post that there are not any schooling fish,some may shoal, for our saltwater aquariums.

[SaltwaterSensei]

the closest thing to a school is going to be something cardinal. Like a blue eye/longspine or a red spot cardinal. The red spots however can be quite delicate and often stress to death after shipping.

[Shoryureppa]

Red spot cardinal fish (apogon parvulus) max 1.5 inches and will wolf down large mysis or the philippine dartfish (Parioglossus philippinus). the only hard part about them is finding some.

The latter would be the better choice I had 12 of the red spot but dwindled to one. now the last one won't die and i feed them the exact same and frequency as all my other fish, wrasses included.

The philippine dartfish was available here but no one wants them. I think schooling fish makes the reef complete. It really gives that wow factor even though the fish may not look as stunning.

[Mr. Demeanor]

Silversides. My LFS raises them for food but has started selling them as small SW schools.

[Devil Man]

Silversides. My LFS raises them for food but has started selling them as small SW schools.

that is cool!

[rovster]

Haha, never thought about putting live bait in a tank, LOL! I wonder how sardines would fare?:wildone:

[igot2gats]

the closest thing to a school is going to be something cardinal.

This ^


Either this one: http://www.liveaquaria.com/product/prod_display.cfm?c=15+26+1431&pcatid=1431

or this one: http://www.liveaquaria.com/product/prod_display.cfm?c=15+26+3151&pcatid=3151

or this one: http://www.liveaquaria.com/product/prod_display.cfm?c=15+26+1431&pcatid=1431

[Hormigaquatica]

We got in a group of Dwarf Dartfish, Aioliops megastigma, at work a couple weeks ago. That was only the second time I've seen them in person, and they sold before I could even think about setting up a tank for them. They would be an excellent tetra analog if you can find them.

[SushiGirl]

Stuff about Aioliops megastigma.
http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?p=16807079&highlight=aioliops+megastigma#post16807079
http://www.reefsmagazine.com/forum/reefs-magazine/100584-shoaling-fishes-part-3-gobies-dartfishes.html

[D-Nak]

I don't think there are any fish that will school in a typical reef tank. Mini dart gobies are cool fish, but I think they'd need to be in a species only tank to thrive. Cardinals may school initially, or when they feel threatened, but eventually they spread out over the tank. Once they pair up, it gets worse since they start attacking each other. Unless you have a really large tank, I wouldn't expect to see anything close to what you'd see in a planted tank.

[username in use]

The red spot glass cardinals are the only real option for that schooling look that will persist.

They need to be fed often as they are so tiny. They can only store so much energy and I would imagine a lot of the issues people have with them "dwindling" has to do with them only feeding at the same times as the other fish in the tank. I would imagine 4-5 feedings a day would be something of a minimum to maintain such a small creature.

[davidadelp]

Not really as small as you want but I've got a trio of chromosome and they stay together eveywhere they go like schooling fish

[ptreef]

blue green chromis ten to stay together, assuming you can keep them alive!
mine have done pretty good for a few yrs, but pack has shrunk to a few last few mos. Just added 3 more and those thre stay together for sure most of the time. I will probably add like 8more and see how it goes.

[username in use]

blue green chromis ten to stay together, assuming you can keep them alive!
mine have done pretty good for a few yrs, but pack has shrunk to a few last few mos. Just added 3 more and those thre stay together for sure most of the time. I will probably add like 8more and see how it goes.

There are some studies to suggest that the reason they dwindle in home aquariums is that they don't eat as much or as often as they do in the wild. They have been observed in the wild eating all day as often as once or twice a minute. You might have better luck by upping their feedings in terms of frequency.

[Mr. Demeanor]

Mollies acclimated to salt water will also kind of school.

[small alien]

I would do zebra darts if I had room.

[MrTuskfish]

This gets asked often; many folks are disappointed that their new chromis don't school.

I just think home tanks are too small for just about any fish to "school". Many fish will school up when in danger and then spread out when its safe. I've seen lots of little schooling fish on the reef and the school probably occupies several hundreds of thousands cubic feet. I've always thought that fish that normally school; ARE schooling in any home tank, according to the fish's idea of schooling, anyhow. Two fish, at opposites corners of any home tank are probably in the same "school".

In FW, the tight spaces, murky water, and predators; would create the FW schools we see. Just my two-cents. BTW, There are always the marine coral catfish. (http://www.liveaquaria.com/product/prod_display.cfm?c=15+46+691&pcatid=691). They really form a tight ball; but develop into one of the ugliest fish in the sea, IMO. I know, " Beauty is in the eye of the beholder"............Franklin D. Roosevelt

[username in use]

I think there needs to be a clarification in this thread as well.

Chromis do not school, they shoal. It is a fundamental difference in the way they behave which means they won't always hang out together in a tight group going the same way.

Schooling fish hang tight by nature, and they move the same way as to create a larger "body" for defense. The glass cardinals are probably the closest you will get to that in a home size aquarium. You're not going to do a large school of silversides which actually get to be a fair size, or mono's which get pretty big.

Chromis and all the other fish like them will only shoal at best in your aquarium. A predator would help them to stay tighter together, but again you are looking at a much larger system to maintain that type of a dynamic.

[MrTuskfish]

Silversides. My LFS raises them for food but has started selling them as small SW schools.

I wouldn't put them in my tank, even as live food, without a normal QT regimen.

[reefinsomnia]

anthias? firefish? these two shoal

[Mr. Demeanor]

anthias? firefish? these two shoal

Its a good thing firefish dont school or they would all jump out at the same time.