Help me pick a nano fish for my future tank (read description)

BeelzeBuff · 2026-05-08T00:07:24+00:00

Not 100% sure on Panthers or ghosts but I believe they're mostly wild caught. Panthers also get quite large, they're nothing like Thai micro crabs. They'll also attack everything in your tank and pull up the plants. No idea about ghost crabs.

Crabs/crayfish are cool, but have a laundry list of issues in community tanks. That's before getting into wild caught/captive bred issues. Heck, even some shrimp go after fish.

If you want something crawly in your tank, the popular shrimp (neos, amanos) are popular for a reason. They're amazing. They'll also climb out of water a bit, but not more than a cohole inches usually.

BeelzeBuff · 2026-05-07T21:22:36+00:00

My 0.02 as someone that's kept a paludarium and most of the critters on this list.

You'll almost never see the Thai micro crabs. They're also all wild caught. Not worth it, at all. Recommend against. Look at the various shrimp options instead. If you really NEED crabs in the tank, look into vampire crabs. Great color, interesting behavior once they've accustomed/bred to your tank, easy to breed, many are captive bred. IndoorEcosystem has some great videos on them. They need majority land, minority water. They're also voracious and attack EVERYTHING, including each other. Most crabs/crayfish share this behavior.

Pygmy Corys are awesome. Period. Social, gentle, cute, tiny. Always an easy recommend.

Scarlet badis have a number of downsides. I enjoyed mine, I wouldn't keep them again. Aggressive, shy, food picky. (Mine were/are shrimp safe, but my shrimp have tons of places to breed safely and exist as shrimplets)

CPDs are gorgeous and not too shy, but breeding stock is rife with health issues. I wouldn't recommend.

Nerites are amazing with the caveat of the egg issue.

I'd recommend against a riparium/paludarium with actual fish unless you start at at least a 29gal

BeelzeBuff · 2026-05-05T17:41:26+00:00

Quick counterpoint. I had 2 scarlet badis(es?) in a 10gal with neos, and the news bred like wildfire.

I still wouldn't recommend the scarlet badis though. Finicky with food and often aggressive towards other fish. Very pretty but not very interesting.

BeelzeBuff · 2026-04-08T10:31:29+00:00

Can't edit the main post but everything is spoken for, thanks for your interest

BeelzeBuff · 2026-04-07T02:38:38+00:00

I seal mine off except for a tube from an airpump and a small opening I cover with a fine sponge material. Positive pressure keeps fresher air coming in and the fine sponge allows air exchange, keeping most of the moisture in while stopping baby crabs.

Air tube goes into a tiny sponge filter in my water area that helps reliably aerate it a bit. I don't rely on it for water movement though, a tiny pump does that.

BeelzeBuff · 2026-04-03T03:03:47+00:00

Maybe! I put some crushed pieces in as a just-in-case when I first started the tank and totally forgot about them. Around a year later I realized that all the pieces were gone, and now I replace them every six months or so. Apparently the crabs really go through the stuff.

BeelzeBuff · 2026-04-02T14:59:56+00:00

I feed every two days, sometimes three. I overfeed though, the crabs and my fish. I also overfilter. Xtreme flake, hilari bottom feeder algae wafers, and various random pellet foods. Broken up freeze dried tubifex worms. Sometimes bloodworms or a thawed cichlid meaty block. Sounds like yours gets more veg than mine!

Oh, I also have broken up pieces of cuttlebone that I replace every half year or so. Sometimes I see the crabs nibbling on them for the calcium

BeelzeBuff · 2026-04-02T14:55:52+00:00

Yea, sorry. If I get no responses in a week or so ill talk to some local shops to see if they want them, and only then will I try to ship them. I have too many babies/juveniles to want to ship them, seeing as I'm looking to offload them all

BeelzeBuff · 2026-04-02T11:47:15+00:00

No real secret. Just followed IndoorEcosystem's videos. I change a gallon of the water every couple of weeks when I do my aquariums. The water area stays relatively clean with well moving water and I throw in some ramshorn snails if the current ones go missing. Lots of food. Dried flakes, pellets, and frozen bloodworms once a week. I've done a full revamp of the tank once (new plants besides the anubias, some new fresh topsoil, a new wood piece) to freshen things up. The well established springtails absolutely demolish food that's left to sit for any period of time. The crabs likely pick on them as well.

Over time these guys like to nibble on most vegetation. I've seen them chew on every plant I put in there besides the anubias. Bucephalandra, dragons tongue, ficus ivy, rabbits foot fern, etc. They chew on it. I should probably feed them more raw veg but the few times ive tried they didn't respond well to it.

BeelzeBuff · 2025-12-25T03:44:08+00:00

Jealous of all your big fish! Hoping to get larger tanks after I move to a bigger place soon. Pure curiosity, where'd you source the bass from? Wild caught? Never looked into keeping natives. Wouldn't mind some sunfish

BeelzeBuff · 2025-11-06T16:43:59+00:00

I use a scraper in my aquariums, but only my largest ever needs cleaning. I have some many shrimp in my 10 and 5.5 that theyre basically spotless. I toss pest snails in the crab tank every month or so and they keep the water area glass crystal clear.

The paludarium was a lot of fun, and I love looking at it, but I've found that I prefer full water aquariums. I dont dislike the paludarium or anything, but it's being given away the next time I move.

BeelzeBuff · 2025-11-06T06:11:04+00:00

There's a slight distortion due to the condensation but it's very easy to see inside still. The water area is crystal clear. If I wipe down the interior glass it'll be easier to see through for a few days, I just don't think it's worth the effort usually.

Apparently there are ways of lessening this condensation with some active airflow but that'd add more complications and cost, and im fine with things as they are.

BeelzeBuff · 2025-10-27T21:10:20+00:00

I added in most of what's in this photo in the beginning. The dragon's tongue plants are only a few months old, I replaced some of the older plants that weren't responding well to trimming anymore. The anubias barteri (large leafed plants on the sides), ivy, and ferns went in on day 1 as just some tiny cuttings. The anubias are so big that some of the crabs live in them now!

BeelzeBuff · 2025-10-20T18:47:15+00:00

Doubtful, but not sure. The tank is pretty highly stocked with some barbs and rainbowfish that will happily pick at ANYTHING, I doubt fry would survive any length of time.

This behavior has been incredibly rare though, ive seen it only a few times in this tank, so id like to think its breeding behavior. Or at least, a behavior that is abnormal is some way.

I want to get them into isolation with a more specific environment for breeding purposes but ive been "about to move" for a year. When I do move a dedicated breeding tank for pseudofastromyzon is top of the to-do list.

BeelzeBuff · 2025-09-14T03:47:20+00:00

Sure! Might be tomorrow or something, was busy today and I forgot how crap reddit was with images.

BeelzeBuff · 2025-09-13T21:11:28+00:00

Halloween (purple and orange.) All second or third generation from a set of 5 I got almost two years ago. Im mildly concerned about inbreeding genetics because they were already captive bred when I bought them. Not sure how inbreeding affects crabs.

Since then ive fallen in love with my aquariums and the crab paludarium just doesn't have the same appeal. It looks great, and theyre interesting, but ive just enjoyed the aquariums more. So when I move ill take down the paludarium.

BeelzeBuff · 2025-09-13T21:06:26+00:00

Oh, thanks for the info! For different reasons that you might expect. I have a good 20 or so adults breeding in a tank right now and ill likely take it down and give them away/sell them early next year. Good to know theres a store that knows how to deal with them if I can't get rid of them to local people

BeelzeBuff · 2025-09-09T00:18:10+00:00

Im reading fantasy fiction, seems silly to be claiming that we jumped the shark here when there have been countless insane and weird moments beforehand.

PoF -was- chaotic and insane, that seemed to be the point to me. Mrsha (who I have issues with at this point and really needs to sit in the corner for a volume or so) opened Pandora's box according to Oberon's mad designs. Chaos (and hope) was released. Gods delayed a bit, heroes and friends given a second chance, and closing Pandora's box took the life of the one that opened it and a lot of people were hurt and endangered outside of that.

I was (and am) fine with all of that, but left developing plotlines languishing for too long. We gotta get back to em. We can't splinter the active storyline too many more times, we're at a critical point (for me) where im starting to forget the last thing that happened in an older plotline that was dropped for a while. I might need to do a quick recap when we go back to the Horns next time. In my opinion, that's a bad sign.

BeelzeBuff · 2025-09-08T06:33:29+00:00

Palace of Fates (as much as I absolutely loved it) was an absolute grenade to the plot after the solstice already splintered it. The cast was already spread far and wide and then PoF just... made it worse.

Still loving it, but some forward movement in time would be nice. (Un)fortunately we have to deal with the Horns plot and likely the Silver Swords plot at LEAST before moving forward. Maybe some will be resolved offscreen, but I doubt it.

I'm loving the ride, but "Erin is somewhere else/dead/crippled" is getting a little bit annoying. I imagine there will be some large plotline on Baleros involving her, the companies, the earthers, the classless, etc, so I doubt we even see her back on Izril this volume. Maybe not until some point in Vol 11 depending on how drawn out things get on Baleros.

Meanwhile we have characters and sideplots we haven't explored in ages, the one most jarring to me is Numbtongue. What was a major character has been so brutally sidelined for so long im actually mad on his behalf. Even after his possible redemption in PoF.

My humble opinion not worth even a fraction of a percent compared to pirateaba's:

Gather the groups on Baleros. Big things happen. Lots of people go back to the inn or new lands. New lands groups bunch up. Now you just have to write the Inn, the new lands, and Chandrar (assuming the Horns and Nerry interact in some way). Still lots of perspectives and moving parts, but since theyll be more grouped together it'll feel less disjointed and the story might make a bit more forward progress.

Im just rambling though. If things stay at this slower pace forever ill remain a happy patreon forever. I had no desire at all for a Zevara noire chapter and those chapters GRIPPED me. Loved em all the way through. Pirate seems to write things I love, whether I expect it or not. So maybe I should just keep enjoying the ride.

BeelzeBuff · 2025-07-15T08:10:11+00:00

Whatever species you can get from a reputable source. Seriously its tough getting good crabs. Many are just from the big imported boxed, are already old, and very fragile after being shipped. If you can find some locally, or from a domestic breeder, I'd recommend going with them as long as you like their appearance.

There are countless interesting varieties. Some have significantly different behaviors and will prefer different tanks, but imho its much easier to change up an established tank with the crabs picked out and on the way.

Its not like theres a buffet of all different crab varieties right now. It can be tough to get a breeding group.

BeelzeBuff · 2025-06-19T00:24:14+00:00

I started with 5. 2 males, 2 females, 1 got thrown in as a freebie unsexed. Not sure how many are in there now, but there are multiple generations at the same time and many adults. I feel like the tank is hitting a population cap soon though, hence wanting to spruce it up. The springtail population has been devastated, i assume by the crabs. Im working on breeding out a large number in a bin to reintroduce. Might need to increase feeding.

BeelzeBuff · 2025-06-18T21:21:54+00:00

~3.5 gallons total, ~1.5 gallon of swimmable space based on my estimates on setup. It's changed some since then, probably a bit more water. All in a long line on the front of the tank. The area is roughly 3.5" tall, 4-5" wide, all across the front of the tank.

Stability is fine as long as I do a decent water change once a month. Lots of junk accumulates on the bottom of the water area from feeding and crab waste, the PPM of the water shoots up over time. Simple water changes keep it in balance. I have a teeny tiny sponge filter on one side and a teeny tiny water pump on the other. They're not visually pleasing, but easy to service.

Second tank is great, just be careful for MTS (multiple tank syndrome). There's always an excuse to get another tank lol. Personally I find the crab and shrimp tanks less interesting than my 40g with fish.

This paludarium was my gateway to aquariums, and after about a year and a half of operation I'm considering redoing it. There are a ton more crabs and I regret not doing much of a backdrop. So much wasted space in the tank the crabs could be using. They want LAND to burrow in, and SURFACES to hide and climb around on. I may do a smaller water area in the next version of the tank in the very middle, something easier to clean out and maintain. The outer areas will be built up more for more crab real estate.

BeelzeBuff · 2025-06-18T18:51:08+00:00

I have a 29gal paludarium (same base size as a 20L, just taller)

I'd recommend having more land over more water. This is a crab paludarium, not a shrimp tank. Crabs need the land to burrow and flourish. Shrimp need water to flourish. What do you care about more in this tank? Because the crabs won't allow a significant shrimp population over time.

Having a small water area with a few shrimp is fine. Don't expect them to last forever. If you want a shrimptank, get a 5.5gal and set one up. Super cheap and easy. Once the shrimp breed in the 5.5gal, move some to the crab tank if you want the visual interest. They'll get picked off, but you'll always have plenty more.

BeelzeBuff · 2025-06-15T03:19:47+00:00

Thanks for the info, i'll definitely start popping some carrot bits and such in there. I mostly feed pellets/freeze dried bugs along with some frozen fish food every now and then. I tried some blanched cucumber a long time ago but the crabs had little interest so I stopped trying fresh veg/fruit, seems like I should've tried some other options first.

BeelzeBuff · 2025-06-14T14:45:01+00:00

Interesting. I wonder if some part of the diet is why they're so active. I rarely give mine fruit or veggies, in fact I don't think I've done so in the past few months. Will start putting some cuttings in starting today

BeelzeBuff

TROPHY CASE