Sparkling Pygmy Gourami

Trichopsis pumila

A perfect candidate for a nano aquarium. It grows to 4cm in length. There is a very little difference between a male and a female. Female has a more rounded anal fin, but that can vary.

Sparkling Gourami is found in very shallow and over-grown ditches with low pH, around 6,5. They can tolerate temperatures up to 33' Celsius (normal temp. is around 27'C) and waters with very little oxygen. In the nature they form small "shoaling" groups of about 5-10. This kind of aquarium should be heavily planted with species like Java Moss, Hygro polysperma and Limnophila sessiliflora. They will eat high quality granules, that are small enough, but frozen food like Artemia highly appreciated. Do not keep this fish with other, bigger, Gouramie species since in the nature they see Pygmy Guoramis as a nice snack. Dwarf Rasboras and Dwarf shrimps are something worth considering for their companions in a community aquarium.

Photo by Dusko Bojic.

African Red-eyed Characin

Originates from West Africa, ranging from Lagos in Nigeria to the Niger delta. Arnoldichthys spilopterus grows to 10 cm and is a peaceful shoaling fish. Eats live and prepared food.
Water temp should be at 23-28'C with pH around 7.
Both sexes show the characteristic red-eye marking. They can be sexed by anal fin. Males have a more colorful anal fin, displaying red, yellow, and black bands. This tetra prefers planted tanks. Minimum tank recommendation for this characin is 300 liter, since they have to be kept as a shoal of 10 and more. A few specimens will tend to hide.
Photo by Dusko Bojic.

Siamese Fighting Fish

Red BettaViolet Betta

Betta splendens.
Bettas are one of the most recognized, most colorful, and often most controversial fish in the freshwater hobby. Debates range on about the appropriateness of keeping them in small bowls. To fully understand their needs it is important to become familiar with their native habitat. Bettas originate in the shallow waters in Thailand (formerly called Siam, hence their name), Indonesia, Malaysia, Vietnam, and parts of China. They proliferate rice paddies, shallow ponds, and even slow moving streams. Although many fish keepers are aware that Bettas come from shallow waters, a key factor that is often overlooked is the water temperature. These countries are tropical, which means the water temperature is quite warm, up to 30'C. Bettas thrive on heat, and will become increasingly listless when the water temperature falls below 24'C. Water temperature is perhaps the biggest argument against keeping a betta in a tiny bowl. Even though Bettas do well in waters low in dissolved oxygen, that does not mean they require less oxygen than other fish. Bettas have a special respiratory organ that allows them to breath air directly from the surface. In fact they inherently must do so. In experiments where the labyrinth organ was removed, the fish died from suffocation even though the water was saturated with oxygen. For this reason, Bettas must have access to the water surface to breath air directly from the atmosphere. Optimally the water for keeping healthy Bettas should be soft, warm, with a neutral to slightly acidic pH. Water movement should be kept to a minimum, which means that power filters and power-heads are not suitable. Bettas may be kept in a community tank as long as the water conditions are met, and if no aggressive or fin-nipping fish are present. However, only one male may be kept in each aquarium, unless they are separated by a barrier. In nature Bettas feed almost exclusively on insects and insect larvae. They are built with an upturned mouth that is well suited to snatching any hapless insect that might fall into the water. Internally their digestive system is geared for meat, having a much shorter alimentary track than vegetarian fish. For this reason, live foods are the ideal diet for the betta, however they will adapt to eating flake foods and frozen and freeze dried foods. Bettas grow up to 7 cm and live 2 to 3 years.
Photos by Dusko Bojic

Common Hatchetfish

Gasteropelecus sternicula.
Hatchet fish are a distinctively shaped fish with a deep body and wing-like pectoral fins. They are native to South America. Hatchetfish need a tank with swimming room and like a strong current. The tank must be covered as they are excellent jumpers. Most will tolerate pH around neutral and moderate hardness, but the water must be well-oxygenated. To promote breeding behaviors, more specific conditions are usually needed. They will not do well on a diet purely of dried foods, so giving plenty of frozen food is necessary.Hatchetfish are active but peaceful shoaling fish. They will not damage plants so are quite suited to planted aquariums. In community tanks, avoid mixing them with species that are too aggressive.The tank temperature should be 26°C, with pH 6,5. They grow up to 6 cm.

Photo by Dusko Bojic

Pearl Gourami

Trichogaster leeri
The Pearl Gourami is not only one of the most attractive, but also one of the hardiest and easiest to keep of the gouramis. Accustomed to heavy vegetation in their natural habitat, they will thrive if given similar conditions in the aquarium. Floating plants, subdued lighting, and a dark substrate are ideal. Although they prefer soft acidic water, they are adaptable to a range of water conditions. This adaptability and their peaceful nature make them well suited to community tanks. However keeping them with overly aggressive tank mates should be avoided.
Pearl Gouramis will accept many foods, and are generally quite easy to feed. Flake, freeze dried, and frozen foods are all readily taken. For optimum health fresh vegetables such as lettuce, cooked peas, and spinach, may also be offered as part of a varied diet . Live foods such as black worms, brine shrimp, and glass worms are a good treat and conditioning food for breeding.
They grow up to 10 cm and live up to 8 years. temperature should be around 26'C.

Photo by Dusko Bojic

Kissing Gourami

Helostoma temminckii.
Kissing Gouramis are best known for their habit of extending their lips and kissing. The action is not a sign of affection, but may be a display of aggression. This "kissing" is mostly used for scraping algae off of rocks.
The Kissing Gourami has a large, pink colored body, with almost colorless fins. This fish needs a large tank with lots of hiding space. Java fern and Java moss works well for this. Use coarse gravel to help prevent digging.
They are a hardy fish that will tolerate a range of water conditions. Kissers must satisfy some of their oxygen requirement by gulping air at the surface of the water. That is why it is essential to provide them with access to the water surface.
Kissers accept a variety of foods, including; flake, frozen, freeze-dried, and small live foods, such as Tubifex and Brine Shrimp. They also will accept any kind of vegetable matter, and should be provided with plenty of Spirulina-based foods, as well as fresh vegetables when possible.
This fish grows up to 30 cm so large aquarium is a must have. A large amount of driftwood is needed for attaching the moss and fern on it. The driftwood makes a good place for algal growth which this fish consumes readily. Plants that are planted in to the substrate will likely be uprooted by the Kissing Gouramis. Temperature should be around 26'C.
Photo by Dusko Bojic

Dwarf Gourami

Colisa lalia.
The Dwarf Gourami, also known as the Powder Blue Dwarf Gourami, the Red Dwarf Gourami, and the Neon Blue Dwarf Gourami, is a peaceful fish. If in a pair the two fish will swim together. The Dwarf Gourami has an iridescent sheen to its body, more prominent in the male. The male is a vivid orange-red with turquoise blue vertical stripes that continue into the fins. Females are pale, silvery blue-gray with very faint yellowish vertical stripes. Dwarf Gouramis are considered Labyrinth Fish, meaning they breathe directly from the air, and must have access to the surface.
The aquarium should be heavily planted and have at least part of the surface covered with floating plants. A darker substrate will help show-off the gourami's colors, and peat filtration is recommended. Regular water changes are a must, as this gourami can be susceptible to disease. They should not be kept with large, aggressive fish, but are compatible with other small, peaceful fish as well as fellow gouramis. Loud noises often scare them, so the tank should be in a quiet area.
An algae-based flake food, along with freeze-dried bloodworms, tubifex, and brine shrimp will provide these fish with the proper nutrition.
Colisa laila grows up to 5 cm. They prefer temp. around 26'C and pH 6-7. They live up to 4 years if proper care is given.
Photo by Dusko Bojic

Molly

Poecilia sphenops, Poecilia latipinna & Poecilia velifera classified as Mollies.
These hardy fish are easy to take care of, preferring slightly alkaline water. These fish can also tolerate slightly brackish waters. There are many colour variants available, some of the largest livebearers and will give birth to a huge number of young up to 60 or 70 fry at a time. Along with platies they are some of the easiest fish to keep as well as the easiest fish to breed.
Molly needs variety of foods, preferably live ones, because a nutritious, complete diet will enhance their colors and ensure good health. They will eat their young if they are small enough. Mollies are known to a good algae eater.
There always seems to be a few female Mollies that are overly aggressive. A group of Mollies with at least three males and at least five females, will usually minimize the aggressiveness of any one overly aggressive Molly. When Mollies are compressed into a smaller living space, it often increases their aggressiveness. Conversely, more living space in a larger aquarium will often reduce the pressure that they put on each other.
Live food makes them feel more satisfied and less aggressive.
Some Mollies can grow up to 15 cm and females are usually bigger. They like temp. around 27'C. Photo by Dusko Bojic.

Fancy Guppy

Poecilia reticulata
The Guppy is a fish-keeping mainstay and highly popular among novices. Many color forms have bean developed. Keep them in a well planted tank and in hard water with a pH over 7 with temp. around 27'C. Males are around 5cm and females are a bit bigger. Always keep two females per male. Guppies do breed readily, every 3-4 weeks they produce up to 40 young. They thrive much better in a group of 5 or more. Do not keep them with fin nippers like Barbs or Cichlids. Large fish will consume them. Some aquarists breed them as food for their large Cichlids.
This Poecilia eats virtually anything including their own young.

Photo by Dusko Bojic.

Platy

Xiphophorus maculatus.
A good fish for a novice, the Platy comes in many commercially bred colour forms. It is ideal for a community aquarium and is best kept with smaller fish. Water temperature should be at 28'C and alkaline around 7.5 pH. They are very hardy fish and can tolerate the conditions of a newly set-up aquarium, making them ideal fish to help mature a tank system once nitrites have peaked.
Although not a shoaling fish they benefit by being kept with a large number of their own kind. Do not keep a drift wood in a livebearers tank cause it softens the water. Males grow up to 5.5cm, females up to 7 cm.
Platys are omnivorous and eat small live, frozen, flake and green foods. They are also known to eat algae.
Beware of one thing though !!! This fish breeds readily and will soon overpopulate your tank.

Photo by Dusko Bojic.

Congo Tetra

Phenachogrammus interruptus.
The Congo Tetra are found in the upper Congo Basin, Africa. The Congo Tetra has opalescent scales that shine in all the colors of the rainbow, and it's tail fin develops into a most beautiful feathery appendage. The Congo Tetra is the most gorgeous of the true African tetras.
The body of this fish an elongated typical tetra shape with rather large scales. When mature, the fluorescent colors of the Congo Tetra run through the fish from front to back starting with blue on top changing to red through the middle, to yellow-gold, and back to blue just above the belly. The fins are grayish violet with white edges. An incredibly beautiful fish.
The Congo Tetra is a peaceful schooling fish and needs a large aquarium, not only to provide plenty of room to swim around, but to thrive and develop their full beauty as well.
The Congo Tetra prefers soft, peat filtered water and a darker substrate. They are most comfortable in an aquarium with lower light levels which can be provided by floating plants. The beautiful rainbow colors of this fish will also show off best in lower light levels.
Since they are omnivorous the Congo Tetra will generally eat all kinds of live, fresh, and flake foods. To keep a good balance give them a high quality flake food everyday. Feed brine shrimp (either live or frozen) or blood worms as a treat.
The males get up to 8 cm and females up to 6 cm. The male is larger with more color, also the tail fin and dorsal fin are more extended.
They are generally a good community fish but they may try to bite smaller fish. Also, watch that they don't eat your smaller plants. They sometimes like to nibble on softer plants and young shoots.
Photo by Dusko Bojic.

Glowlight Tetra

Hemigrammus erythrozonus.
Glow light tetras are happiest and show off their colors best in a tank with subdued lighting and a dark substrate. The water should have a pH of 6.5 and the temperature maintained between 25-27'C. The tank should be medium sized ( 70 liter ) and decorated with live plants and some driftwood. Stock the aquarium with equally peaceful species and keep them in as large a shoal as possible. Once established they are easily fed and cared for with flake and frozen food.
Overall a very pleasing species to look at. The anal, ventral and dorsal fins are slightly off white to translucent in coloration, in addition the front of the dorsal fin is marked by a bright red stripe. This color is repeated on the top section of the eye. The basic body color is pale translucent olive green color. There is a shimmering purple to red stripe starting at the base of the tail fin extending to the mouth area.
They grow up to 5 cm.
Photo by Dusko Bojic.

Emperor Tetra

Nematobrycon palmer
The Emperor Tetra originates from rivers in Columbia. The lower half of the body is black/blue while the top half is creamy silver. The fins can have a yellow appearance.
Emperors like a dark, well planted tank with open swimming space. They don't shoal as readily as the other tetras, but will do so if there are 6 or more. Their diet is formed out of flake, freeze dried blood-worms and brine shrimp.
The female is smaller. The male has an extension of the black body line into the tail fin. Emperor grow up to 5 cm and loves temperature around 26'C. They live up to 5 years.
All tetras need a well established, aged ( at least 7 month ) water.

Photo from www.webcityof.com

Rummy Nose Tetra

Hemigrammus bleheri
Rummy Nose Tetra is a very attractive shoaling fish from black waters of Amazon. It is an energetic swimmer and needs accordingly a roomy aquarium with open swimming space. It can be kept together with other small peaceful fish such as Corydoras or Apistogramma. Choosing black water species as tank mates has the advantage of common physical and chemical needs. Soft and acidic water. Its pronounced shoaling behavior is one of the features of Rummy Nose Tetra which makes it so popular among aquarists. A large group swimming around in a tight shoal, with bright red noses and checkerboard patterned tails is really a very attractive sight. Red-Nose Tetra is a gorgeous and social fish, it should be kept in groups of at least 12 individuals.
Despite of its black water origins Red-Nose Tetra may well be kept in harder water but the initial acclimatization is not always easy. Most commercial fish are wild-caught due to the species’ difficulty of breeding in captivity and the acclimatization of such fish may take quite a long time to acclimatize, if at all. Once acclimatized and recovered from its starved appearance Rummy Nose is an enduring fish which may live several years under adequate aquarium conditions. The cleanness of water is as important as the softness and acidity. Nitrite and nitrate levels must constantly be kept low and pH fluctuations must be avoided.
A bright red nose is a very good indicator of this species’ well-being. If Red-Nose does not feel itself comfortable or if it is just introduced to the aquarium and not yet adjusted to its new environment and shoal mates, the bright red will fade into a dull pink barely distinguishable from its white-gray body color. The checkerboard markings of the tail will fade too. You may have to wait several weeks to see the real potential of this beautiful, 5 cm long fish.
Will eat most commercial foods, as long as they a small in size, such as micro-pellets, or flakes.

Photo by Dusko Bojic

Bleeding Heart Tetra

Hyphessobrycon erythrostigma.
This tetra is prized for the heart shaped spot near where you'd expect the heart to be. Several sub-species exist, including a long finned variety, as well as one that is gold tinted.
All of them sport attractive fins edged in white and black, in addition to the characteristic bright red heart in the upper abdomen Although larger than many tetra species, males grow to an adult size of 8 cm.
They are a relatively peaceful fish suitable for community tanks. Males are slightly larger than females, and have elongated dorsal and anal fins.
Found in the upper Amazon River Basin and the Rio Negro, the Bleeding Heart Tetra prefers soft acidic water. They are most comfortable in a planted tank with at least 5 or more of their own kind.
Undemanding, they will eat flake, freeze dried, or frozen foods. They particularly relish live foods of all types, and will develop more vibrant colors when fed a varied diet.

Photo by Dusko Bojic.

Black Neon Tetra

Hyphessobrycon herbertaxelrodi.
Sporting an iridescent silvery-white stripe contrasted by a black stripe beneath it, the Black Neon makes an excellent contrast fish to similar shaped and sized tetras such as the Rummy Nose or Neon Tetra.
At an adult size of little more than 4 cm, it is suitable for even small aquariums. Peaceful and easy to care for, they also make a nice addition to a larger community aquarium.
Like other tetras Black Neons prefer soft acidic water, however they are quite adaptable and are more tolerant of hard neutral water than some tetra species. Peat filtering is recommended for bringing out the best coloration.
The ideal biotope for the Black Neon Tetra includes subdued lighting, live plants, open space for swimming, a dark substrate, and a healthy water current in the mid to upper region of the aquarium where they prefer to swim. They are a shoaling fish and should always be kept in groups of 5 or more.
Black Neons are undemanding and will eat almost anything offered to them, however they should be fed a varied diet for optimum health and color. Flake, frozen, and freeze-dried foods are all suitable, as well as small live worms and brine shrimp.

Photo by Dusko Bojic.

Neon Tetra

Paracheirodon innesi
This is an excellent community fish and does very well in large groups. In fact, this fish should only be kept in shoals, groups of 10 or more fish. As a shoaling fish, it seeks security from others of its kind. Neons are a very peaceful fish.
They can live up to 10 years if given proper care. The ideal tank for the Neon would include many live plants, dark substrate, a pH of 7.0 and subdued lighting with temperature around 26'C. They should not be kept with larger fish, as they will often become lunch rather than a tank companion.
Their diet is based on small insect, larvae ( freeze dried, live, etc. ) and flakes.
Neon Tetras grows up to 4 cm. The smallest inside the Characidae family.

Cardinal Tetra

Paracheirodon axelrodi
Cardinals are a small, peaceful, shoaling fish with bright colors that originates from the slow moving waters of the various tributaries in South America. The top half of the fish is a bright blue and the bottom half is bright red. The Cardinal Tetra differs from Neon Tetras in that the lower red stripe runs the length of their body as opposed to the Neon, which has a red stripe running half way along the lower portion of the body.

The Cardinal Tetra does best in soft water with an acidic pH and temperature around 26'C. Stock these fish in groups of six or more and provide tank mates that are peaceful and do not pose a threat to the Cardinal Tetra. The ideal set-up is an aquarium of at least 40 liters and should be densely planted with plenty of low light areas and dark substrate.

The Cardinal Tetra will accept many small foods such as brine shrimp or daphnia, freeze-dried bloodworms and tubifex, micro pellet food, and high quality flake food.

They grow up to 5 cm and belong to Characidae family. Cardinal video here.

Photo by Dusko Bojic