Opinions And Advice On White Cloud Mountain Minnows?

[starlitsunrise]

Hello there! 

I am hoping to get a 10-20 Gallon tank within the next few months and I wanted to get 5-6 WCMM. I was wondering if anyone had any experience with this species and if so, if you could share some advice on tank mates, if they need a heater, general advice, stuff like that. 

Thank!

 

[Paradise3]

Having kept these fish I would say get a 20 gallon and get more like ten of them as they can be nervous in smaller shoals. I had nine(planned to add one more before re-homing them) and they were constantly breeding. I kept them with a heater at 24c with a male betta and a Rubber Lip Pleco(these can be hard to keep and feed though, mine lasted approx 6-9 months before finally giving up) and they all got along perfectly fine. No nipped fins.
 
They are very active little fish and males are so bright and colourful when they are displaying to each other.
 
They only have small mouths and I've found they like to eat Tetra Prima, small Frozen Bloodworm and small Frozen Brineshrimp
Live food would be an option too if it's small enough for them
 
Anything else you need to know, just ask away.

 

[Ch4rlie]

White Cloud Mountain Minnows are basically temperate fish, meaning they prefer cooler waters than normal tropical fish temperatures.

Generally 16C to 22C / 61F to 72F is the range they'll do best at.

I'd also suggest 15 or 20 gal tank would be more suitable for WCMM as they are quite active little fish.

A little more information for you :

http/www.seriouslyfish.com/species/tanichthys-albonubes/

 

[LongS]

Lovely little fish and have some lovely colours when kept right. Don't keep with anything too big as they are quite small and may become a snack. Keep as many as possible to see their best qualities, they'll be nice and active if you do. A lot of people keep them in a hillstream set up with customised tanks that replicate a fast flowing stream. They are generally kept with hillstream loaches in this environment. I hope to set up one myself at some point in the future.

 

[Ninjouzata]

Keep in mind that having fish in higher temperatures than they should be kept in can lower their lifespan

 

[starlitsunrise]

Having kept these fish I would say get a 20 gallon and get more like ten of them as they can be nervous in smaller shoals. I had nine(planned to add one more before re-homing them) and they were constantly breeding. I kept them with a heater at 24c with a male betta and a Rubber Lip Pleco(these can be hard to keep and feed though, mine lasted approx 6-9 months before finally giving up) and they all got along perfectly fine. No nipped fins.
 
They are very active little fish and males are so bright and colourful when they are displaying to each other.
 
They only have small mouths and I've found they like to eat Tetra Prima, small Frozen Bloodworm and small Frozen Brineshrimp

Live food would be an option too if it's small enough for them

 
Anything else you need to know, just ask away.

Thanks for the advice! Is there anyway to avoid them breeding? Do you think the pet store would know which ones were male and which were female?
 

White Cloud Mountain Minnows are basically temperate fish, meaning they prefer cooler waters than normal tropical fish temperatures.

Generally 16C to 22C / 61F to 72F is the range they'll do best at.

I'd also suggest 15 or 20 gal tank would be more suitable for WCMM as they are quite active little fish.

A little more information for you :

http/www.seriouslyfish.com/species/tanichthys-albonubes/

 
Thanks for your response and the link!

 

Lovely little fish and have some lovely colours when kept right. Don't keep with anything too big as they are quite small and may become a snack. Keep as many as possible to see their best qualities, they'll be nice and active if you do. A lot of people keep them in a hillstream set up with customised tanks that replicate a fast flowing stream. They are generally kept with hillstream loaches in this environment. I hope to set up one myself at some point in the future.

 
What exactly is the hill stream setup? Do the loaches have similar needs and requirements? Thanks for your response

 

Keep in mind that having fish in higher temperatures than they should be kept in can lower their lifespan

Thanks for the advice!

Also, does anyone have any experience keeping them in a planted tank? What type of plants did you use?

 

[Tongue_Flicker]

True, heaters are not necessary unless your indoor temperature can drop below 50F..

Warm temperatures can cause them to have fungal growths on the head.

It would be best if you have a fruit fly culture to feed them than relying on the usual fish foods as feeding them mouth-sized bugs can help them show their vibrant colors more as well as ease up with breeding.

Feathery leaved plants like cabomba, ambulia, hornwort compliments them well than using broad-leaved or straight-leaved plants that can overstage them in the tank

 

[starlitsunrise]

True, heaters are not necessary unless your indoor temperature can drop below 50F..

Warm temperatures can cause them to have fungal growths on the head.

It would be best if you have a fruit fly culture to feed them than relying on the usual fish foods as feeding them mouth-sized bugs can help them show their vibrant colors more as well as ease up with breeding.

Feathery leaved plants like cabomba, ambulia, hornwort compliments them well than using broad-leaved or straight-leaved plants that can overstage them in the tank

Thanks for all of the info! I saw a few planted tanks at the fish store yesterday and I definitely want to try it out for myself.

 

[LongS]

A hillstream set up would replicate a very fast flowing stream and would generally be a little cooler and house hillstream loaches (Little sucker mouth type things that need very high levels of oxygen in the water to remain healthy). Have a look on loaches online to see more about them. Pretty cool little environments. They also don't usually have a lot of plants due to the fast moving water.
Infact there is a hilstream loach in my avatar pic<

 

[Paradise3]

Mine were constantly showing vibrant colours and breeding at 24c Which I also had my Betta at and my Rubber Lip at.
 
Mine were fed a mixture of the foods I mentioned. I have some pictures somewhere but they don't show their true colours but the one in my profile pic was one of mine.

 

[starlitsunrise]

A hillstream set up would replicate a very fast flowing stream and would generally be a little cooler and house hillstream loaches (Little sucker mouth type things that need very high levels of oxygen in the water to remain healthy). Have a look on loaches online to see more about them. Pretty cool little environments. They also don't usually have a lot of plants due to the fast moving water.
Infact there is a hilstream loach in my avatar pic<

Thanks! Your loach looks pretty cool
 

Mine were constantly showing vibrant colours and breeding at 24c

Which I also had my Betta at and my Rubber Lip at.
 
Mine were fed a mixture of the foods I mentioned. I have some pictures somewhere but they don't show their true colours but the one in my profile pic was one of mine.

Cool! Do you need to do anything extra for the babies?

 

[looking-glass]

really active little fish, they prefer more temperate conditions but are quite hardy so if acclimatized properly they will thrive in most temperatures. Get as large a group as possible it will stop them being skittish and they will look better

 

[starlitsunrise]

really active little fish, they prefer more temperate conditions but are quite hardy so if acclimatized properly they will thrive in most temperatures. Get as large a group as possible it will stop them being skittish and they will look better

Thanks for your reply! I've decided that when I do get them I'll be getting about 10 of them instead of the 6.

 

[looking-glass]

 

really active little fish, they prefer more temperate conditions but are quite hardy so if acclimatized properly they will thrive in most temperatures. Get as large a group as possible it will stop them being skittish and they will look better

Thanks for your reply! I've decided that when I do get them I'll be getting about 10 of them instead of the 6.

 

the more the better they will look cool

 

[Paradise3]

 

A hillstream set up would replicate a very fast flowing stream and would generally be a little cooler and house hillstream loaches (Little sucker mouth type things that need very high levels of oxygen in the water to remain healthy). Have a look on loaches online to see more about them. Pretty cool little environments. They also don't usually have a lot of plants due to the fast moving water.
Infact there is a hilstream loach in my avatar pic<

Thanks! Your loach looks pretty cool

 

Mine were constantly showing vibrant colours and breeding at 24c

Which I also had my Betta at and my Rubber Lip at.
 
Mine were fed a mixture of the foods I mentioned. I have some pictures somewhere but they don't show their true colours but the one in my profile pic was one of mine.

Cool! Do you need to do anything extra for the babies?
 

 
I never took the time to actually breed them so don't know anything about that unfortunately. They used to scatter eggs but they were eaten by my Betta and and Pleco.