Alternatives to Goldfish

Size: 1.5"

Temp: 75-80F🌴

Location: Top/mid

Society: 6+

Eats: Omnivore

Home: Brazil, Peru & Colombia
Sensitive🥲
Suggested LID for tank🦘
Likes heavily planted tank🌱
Loves low flow💧

Size: 1.5"

Cool 61-76°F❄️

Location: Top

Society: 6+

Eats: Omnivore

Home: Japan, Korea, China & Vietnam
Adaptable fish💪
Beginner friendly fish🔰
Likes floating plants🌱
First domesticated in Japan 1600s
First vertebrates to reproduce in outer space!🧑‍🚀🌠

Size: 1-1.5”

Temp: 75-80F🌴

Location: Top/mid  

Society: 8+ 

Eats: Omnivore
Home: Oceania
Sensitive🥲
Suggested LID for tank🦘
Likes floating plants🌱
♂ white /♀ yellow-ish

Size: 1.5”

Temp: 68-78F❄️🌴

Location: Top edge

Society: 8-10+ 

Eats: Carnivore
Home: Guinea, Liberia & Sierra Leone
Adaptable fish💪
Beginner friendly fish🔰
Suggested LID for tank🦘
Likes heavily planted tank🌱
Loves low flow💧

Size: 2-2.5”

Temp: 75-80F🌴

Location: Top/mid  

Society: 8+ 

Eats: Omnivore
Home: Papua New Guinea
Adaptable fish💪
Beginner friendly fish🔰
Suggested LID for tank🦘
Likes floating plants🌱

Size: 1-1.5”

Temp: 73-81F🌴

Location: Top/mid 

Society: 6-10+ 

Eats: Omnivore
Home: Indonesia
Sensitive🥲
Suggested LID for tank🦘
Likes floating plants🌱

Size: 1”

Temp: 76-78F🌴

Location: Mid/top

Society: 10-15+ 

Eats: Omnivore
Home: Araguaia Basin
Adaptable fish💪
Beginner friendly fish🔰
Love tannins in water
Foods rich in carotenoids turn them red.
Do not keep less than 10> they can get aggro towards each other.

Size: 1”

Cool 72-78°F❄️🌴

Location: Mid/bottom

Society: 6-10+, 2 ♀ per 1 ♂  

Eats: Omnivore
Home: Myanmar
Likes heavily planted tank🌱
Discovered in 2006
Males flash fins at each other and spin in circle sizing each other up->highly social.
Males chase females around a lot.

Size: 1”

Cool 72-78°F❄️🌴

Location: Mid/bottom

Society: 6-10+, 2 ♀ per 1 ♂  

Eats: Omnivore
Home: Myanmar
Likes heavily planted tank🌱
Hobbyist-bred in Germany
Males flash fins at each other and spin in circle sizing each other up->highly social.
Males chase females around a lot.

Size: 1-1.5”

Temp: 73-82F🌴

Location: Midwater

Society: 6+

Eats: Omnivore 

Home: Southern New Guinea & Northern Australia

Size: 1.5”

Temp: 75-80F🌴

Location: Midwater

Society: 6+

Eats: Omnivore

Home: Brazil
Adaptable fish💪
Beginner friendly fish🔰
Likes heavily planted tank🌱
Love tannins in water
Singapore bred variant

Size: 1.5" 

Temp: 75-80F🌴

Location: Bottom/mid

Society: 8-10+

Eats: Omnivore
Home: Vietnam
LID: Loves to jump 💞
Loves low flow💧

Size: 1.5”

Temp: 74-79F🌴

Location: Midwater

Society: 8+

Eats: Omnivore

Home: Brazil
Adaptable fish💪
Beginner friendly fish🔰
Loves low flow💧
Extinct in the wild due to industrialization, pollution, invasive species and dams. Thrives in pet trade worldwide.

Size: 1.5"

Temp: 75-81F🌴

Location: Midwater

Society: 10+

Eats: Omnivore

Home: Brazil

Size: 1.5"

Temp: 75-80F🌴

Location: Midwater

Society: 6+

Eats: Omnivore

Home: Brazil

Size: 1-1.5”

Temp: 74-80F🌴

Location: Midwater

Society: 6+

Eats: Omnivore

Home: Aripuanã & Madeira Basins 

Size: 1.5-1.8”

Cool 65-75°F❄️

Location: Mid/top

Society: 10-15+ 

Eats: Omnivore
Home: India
Adaptable fish💪
Beginner friendly fish🔰
Shy->heavily planted tank🌱

Size: 1-1.5”
Temp: 61-79°F❄️🌴

Location: Midwater

Society: 8+

Eats: Omnivore

Home: Northern Myanmar
Adaptable fish💪
Beginner friendly fish🔰
Likes heavily planted tank🌱
LID may jump
fmr. Celestichthys choprae
Fast💨💨💨

Size: 1.5”
Cool 65-75°F❄️

Location: Midwater

Society: 8+

Eats: Omnivore

Home: Inle Lake, Myanmar
Likes heavily planted tank🌱

Size: 1.5”

Temp: 72-78F🌴

Location: Midwater

Society: 6-12+ 

Eats: Omnivore
Home: Amazon Basin
Love tannins in water
Likes heavily planted tank🌱
Wonderful chill guys, delightful.
Older established tank better.

Size: 1.5”

Temp: 75-80F🌴

Location: Midwater

Society: 6+

Eats: Omnivore

Home: Brazil
Adaptable fish💪
Beginner friendly fish🔰
Likes heavily planted tank🌱
Love tannins in water

Size: 1.6–1.8"

Temp: 72-80F🌴

Location: Top

Society: 8-15+

Eats: Carnivore

Home: West/Central Africa

Size: 1.5-2”

Temp: 75-80F🌴

Location: Mid/top

Society: solo, ♂♀ pair or 2 ♀ per 1 ♂ 

Eats: Omnivore
Home: India/Bangladesh
Adaptable fish💪
Beginner friendly fish🔰
Loves low flow💧
Likes wood, floating plants & heavily planted tanks🌱🪾
♂s make "bubble nests"

Size: 1.5-2”

Temp: 75-80F🌴

Location: Midwater

Society:  6-10+  

Eats: Omnivore
Home: Rio Aripuanã Basin
Discovered in 2016

Size: 1.5-2”

Temp: 75-80F🌴

Location: Midwater

Society: 8+

Eats: Omnivore

Home: Colombia

Size: 2”

Temp: 75-80F🌴

Location: Mid/top

Society: 6+

Eats: Omnivore

Home: SE Asia
Adaptable fish💪
Beginner friendly fish🔰
Likes heavily planted tank🌱

Size: 1.5-2”

Temp: 75-80F🌴

Location: Midwater

Society: 6+

Eats: Omnivore

Home: Brazil

Size: 2”
Cool 65-75°F❄️

Location: Mid/top

Society: 6+ 

Eats: Omnivore
Home: South Asia 
Adaptable fish💪💪💪
Beginner friendly fish🔰
Individually zips around fast and chaotic, plays in current, active swimmer💨💨💨
Fast eater🥪🚤💨
🔬Incredibly useful in scientific research. Able to regenerate like Wolverine: brain, eyes, heart, spinal cord, ears, fins, intestines, tail, organs, etc. 

Size: 3"

Temp: 72–82°F🌴

Location: Midwater

Society: 6–10+

Eats: Omnivore

Home: Amazon Basin & Araguaia River Basin

Prefers softwater- low pH
Size: 2”

Temp: 75-80F🌴

Location: Midwater

Society: 6-10+ 

Eats: Omnivore
Home: Amazon Basin
Sensitive🥲
Likes heavily planted tank🌱
Brighter red is generally a sign of good health and low stress

Size: 1.5-2”

Temp: 75-80F🌴

Location: Top edge

Society: 6+ 

Eats: Carnivore
Home: Amazon Basin
Adaptable fish💪
Beginner friendly fish🔰
Likes floating plants🌱
LID: Can jump 6" in the air then glide to "safety!"🕊️

Size: 2-2.5”

Temp: 75-80F🌴

Location: Top edge

Society: 6+ 

Eats: Carnivore
Home: Amazon Basin
Likes floating plants🌱
LID: Can jump 6" in the air then glide to "safety!"🕊️

Size: 2.5"

Temp: 75-80F🌴

Location: Midwater

Society: 6+

Eats: Omnivore

Home: India

Size: 2-2.5”

Temp: 75-80F🌴

Location: Mid/bottom

Society: 6+ 

Eats: Omnivore
Home: Indonesia

Size: 2.5"

Temp: 75-80F🌴

Location: Midwater

Society: 6+

Eats: Omnivore

Home: Indonesia

Size: 2-2.5”

Temp: 75-80F🌴

Location: Mid water

Society: 6+

Eats: Omnivore

Home: Colombia

Size: 2-2.5”

Temp: 75-80F🌴

Location: Mid water

Society: 6+

Eats: Omnivore

Home: Colombia

Size: 2-3”

Temp: 75-80F🌴

Location: Mid/top

Society: 6+

Eats: Omnivore

Home: Indonesia
Adaptable fish💪
Beginner friendly fish🔰

Size: 2.5-3”

Temp: 75-80F🌴

Location: Midwater

Society: 6+ 

Eats: Omnivore
Home: SE Asia
Adaptable fish💪
Beginner friendly fish🔰
🚫🦐

Size: 2-3”

Temp: 75-80F🌴

Location: Midwater

Society: 6+ 

Eats: Omnivore
Home: SE Asia
Adaptable fish💪
Beginner friendly fish🔰
🚫🦐

Size: 4-5”

Temp: 77-84F🌴

Location: Midwater

Society: Pair+

Eats: Omnivore

Home: Amazon & Paraná Basins, South America

Size: 4-5”

Temp: 75-80F🌴

Location: Midwater

Society: Solo, ♂♀ pair or 2 ♀ per 1 ♂

Eats: Omnivore

Home: SE Asia
Slow movement🐌
🚫🦐

Size: 4-5”

Temp: 75-80F🌴

Location: Mid/top

Society: 6+, large tank 

Eats: Omnivore
Home: Papua New Guinea
🚫🦐 

Size: 1.5-2"
Temp: 70-77F❄️🌴

Location: Bottom

Society: 6+

Eats: Omnivore

Home: Peru
Needs sand to dig around in
Will "run" up to surface to get a big gulp of air sometimes

Size: 2.5”
Temp: 72-79F🌴

Location: Bottom

Society: 6+

Eats: Omnivore

Home: South America
Adaptable fish💪💪💪
Beginner friendly fish🔰🔰🔰

Charming behavior
Needs sand to dig around in
Will "run" up to surface to get a big gulp of air sometimes.
Bronze & Venezuelan considered same fish but different areas=different colors

Size: 2-2.5"
Temp: 72-79F🌴

Location: Bottom

Society: 6+

Eats: Omnivore

Home: Venezuela, South America
Adaptable fish💪
Beginner friendly fish🔰
Charming behavior
Needs sand to dig around in
Will "run" up to surface to get a big gulp of air sometimes.
fmr. Corydoras venezuelanus & Corydoras aeneus
Bronze & Venezuelan considered same fish but different areas=different colors

Size: 2.25-2.5"
Temp: 74-77F🌴

Location: Bottom

Society: 6+

Eats: Omnivore

Home: Pucallpa, Peru
Loves heavily planted tank🌱
Beginner friendly fish🔰
Charming behavior
Needs sand to dig around in
Will "run" up to surface to get a big gulp of air sometimes

Size: 2.5–3"
Temp: 72-79F🌴

Location: Bottom

Society: 6+ more the merrier

Eats: Omnivore

Home: Peru
Loves heavily planted tank🌱
Beginner friendly fish🔰
Charming behavior
Needs sand to dig around in
Will "run" up to surface to get a big gulp of air sometimes.

Size: 1.5-3”
Temp: 72-79F🌴

Location: Bottom

Society: ♀♂ pair or 2+♀ per 1 ♂

Eats: Carnivore
Home: Papua New Guinea
Loves Caves
Loves heavily planted tank🌱
Mildly territorial while breeding

Size: 2.5-3.5" 

Temp 68-77F❄️🌴

Location: Bottom

Society: Solo or 3+ 

Eats: Omnivore/aufwuchs grazer, biofilm, diatom, hair & green algae, zucchini, cucumber, spinach
Home: Myanmar
Adaptable fish💪
Beginner friendly fish🔰
Charming behavior
Loves flat stones & high flow🌊
Grow algae before introduction
May land on your hand. Related to "doctor fish."

Size: 3-4” 

Temp: 75-80F🌴

Location: Bottom

Society: 6+ more the merrier

Eats: Omnivore, scavenger
Home: SE Asia
Adaptable fish💪
Beginner friendly fish🔰
Suggested lid for tank

Charming behavior
Loves leaf litter, tubes & heavily planted tank🌱
Needs sand to dig around in
Nocturnal🌜

Size: 4-5"

Temp: 75-80F🌴

Location: Bottom

Society: Solo

Eats: Omnivore, algae grazer

Home: Río Iténez, Bolivia

Gold Star Algae Eater
Size: 4–6”

Temp: 75-80F🌴

Location: Bottom

Society: Solo

Eats: Herbivore/omnivore, must have wood🪾, biofilm, diatom & green algae, zucchini, cucumber

Home: South America
Adaptable fish💪💪💪
Beginner friendly fish🔰
Large bio load💩

Territorial if crowded -needs a cave
Many different color morph$💸