The Top 5 Fish For Your Grove Aquarium

Many people get into Aquaponic growing with the dream of eating their fish, but in the indoors-sized Grove Ecosystem we prefer to look at them. A living Ecosystem can be one of the most beautiful and visually interesting points of your home.

With a relatively small tank and beauty in mind, let’s discuss our top 5 picks for fish species in the Grove Ecosystem.

1) The Neon Tetra

This little guy is a favorite of aquarium hobbyists, and for good reason — it’s a beautiful fish. The neon tetra has a bright blue ‘neon’ stripe that runs the span of its body, with a dash of red underneath. This striking mix of colors contribute to quite a spectacle when you keep these fish in a school (we recommend a school of 10–15).

Kids love it.

One explanation for the existence of the blue stripe is predator evasion — it reflects on the surface of the water above the fish and provides a false target. This would have been particularly useful in the Amazon river region (piranha territory) where the fish evolved, because with a maximum size of only 1.2 inches, this peaceful fish is not going to fight back.

The neon tetra likes pH and water hardness levels that are within the normal operating range of the Grove Ecosystem, though GH levels may become uncomfortable if you are topping up your system with well water or heavily dosing your plant growth with external nutrients. It prefers a temperature between 70 and 80°F, which is exactly what the heater in the Ecosystem is designed to support.

You can find neon tetras inexpensively all over the country, and there are many brands of high protein fish feeds optimized for tetra nutrition that also provide plenty of nitrogen for the Ecosystem plants. With peaceful tank mates and somewhere to hide, neon tetras are a beautiful low-maintenance inhabitant for your tank.

*We at Grove would appreciate it if you asked your fish store if they stock neon tetras from a sustainable fishery.

2) A Sorority of Female Bettas

Male bettas get most of the attention as the premier tiny volume aquarium fish, but their smaller-finned female counterparts are pretty cool too.

The main issue with male bettas is that, despite their beauty, they are EXTREMELY territorial. In Malaysia and Indonesia where they evolved they sometimes live in small dried up ponds when it hasn’t been raining, and the defence of a small ecosystem is a priority. As a result, bettas can survive in tanks as small as three gallons and under a wide range of water conditions — which makes them a great candidate for a small scale aquaponics system.

Luckily, the girls are much calmer than the boys. In a group of three or more they will usually get along so well that they form a ‘sorority’ (yes, that is the official term).

A cool thing about female bettas is that their personalities are so variable. They bring some really interesting diversity to a tank — both visually and behaviorally. You may see them scouting around odd parts of the tank by themselves, or maybe you won’t see them at all. They will shock you with their ‘hidey hole’ ingenuity, but will become less shy with time. They will be happiest if you provide a few hiding spots for them when they move in.

Female bettas will do well in similar conditions to the neon tetra, will eat the same food and won’t get bigger than a couple of inches. There are specialty betta feeds that you can use to supplement their diet. Your pet store probably won’t have more than 2 or 3 females in stock, so if you want to build a larger sorority be prepared for a couple of trips.

* Remember — get the females, not males.

3) The Cory Catfish

We couldn’t name our top fish without thinking about one very important ecosystem role in the Grove aquarium — cleaning algae. Cory catfish are great at it.

They will not, however, eat fish poop. So don’t think that you are going to get away with never cleaning your aquarium gravel. But they will eat that algae so fast that you should throw them a slice of cucumber or zucchini every once in awhile as a reward. We also recommend a shrimp supplement feed that they will appreciate.

Kids will be fascinated by the whiskers and the strange behaviour of this fish. With built in camouflage and a stealthy ninja-like attitude, the ‘spot the catfish’ game will quickly become a challenging household favorite.

Many catfish varieties will grow to a size that is too large for the Grove tank, so be sure to look for the ‘Cory’ variety which won’t get longer than an inch and a half. You may also find it under the name ‘Salt and Pepper Cory’ or ‘Pygmy Cory’. Cory cats will be happy in normal aquaponic water conditions, but will become stressed if pH falls below 6.5. They do best in groups of four or five and, like the female betta, will like to have several hiding places upon arrival in the tank.

4) White Cloud Mountain Minnow

Originating from China and Vietnam, this minnow is one of my favourite fish. But I couldn’t give it top spot for one reason… it’s illegal in some states. The thing that makes it illegal is its tolerance of low water temperatures — the theory being that if it got into the waterways it would be able to survive and perhaps proliferate. This is also true of the very legal goldfish which is much more tolerant of Massachusetts water conditions, so I’m not sure what the extended logic is here (if you know, please leave a comment below).

The white cloud mountain minnow is a low maintenance, peaceful, schooling fish that won’t complain if you turn off the heater in your Grove Ecosystem. It has a striking red fins with a silvery body and it gets along very well with Neon Tetras — the color variation between the two makes for an impressive school. It grows to about one and a half inches and is very resilient, even of variable GH levels. It also has impressive levels of disease tolerance. It is perhaps the most forgiving beginner fish that is commonly used by aquarists.

Unfortunately, this fish is now almost extinct in its native habitat around White Cloud Mountain in Guangdong, where it was first discovered by the Chinese Boy Scouts! Even though it is being well conserved by the aquarium hobby, I feel good chipping in too.

5) Feeder Minnow (Rosy Red)

This fish makes the list for one reason — it is cheap. I recently bought twenty of these guys for $0.17 each. This means I stocked the whole tank for less than the price of two neon tetras. Ridiculous.

But, there is a catch.

Firstly, some consider these fish to look bland (I like them though). Secondly, as with any feeder fish, you are rolling the dice with fish disease. These fish are bred for the purpose of being a live feed for other fish. They live their lives in very high numbers, very close together, and are fed high protein but otherwise nutritionally deficient diets to quickly get them to a size that makes a good meal. This means that they don’t get the chance to develop great immune systems, and will sometimes already be sick at the point of purchase — bringing disease with them into your tank. If you already have other more expensive fish, this is a risk you might not want to take.

That said, the twenty rosy red minnows I bought early this year had no diseases at all, and they can’t believe their luck! Instead of being fed to carnivores they are living lives of luxury, eating high quality feed in my Ecosystem at home.

They have been paying me back for my care by supplying my tatsoi and lettuce crops with the nitrogen nutrient they need to grow. I feed myself with those greens…so I guess they still are feeder fish, in a way ;)

Originally published at blog.grovelabs.io.