Those are definitely on my radar, I’m just not sure if they can handle the temp swings, but I’ll definitely look into itOnce my betta dies, I’m thinking of doing a pair of Scarlett Badis in my 5.5.
Either that or a cool pair of wild type bettas. Maybe betta mahachaiensis.
IMO I would go with the Everglades Pygmy sunfish as they seem a lot more colorful.I guess I’m turning this into a poll now but I think I’ve narrowed it down to either a trio of Everglade pigmy sunfish or a single Mudminnow. I like how the Mudminnow looks like a mini wolf, but I think the PSF are beautiful.
Thanks! I just checked out BTdarters, great site!I've always been enamored by any of the Elesoma species pigmy sunfish. (evergladei, okefenokee, zonatum)
Great fish for a small room temp tank.
There was a guy in Milwaukee that was breeding them, had a native fish business called BTDarters.
Its been about 10 years since I last ran into them there though.
Not my video below, very informative.
Elassoma Gilberti Care Guide | Gulf Coast Pygmy Sunfish Care Guide
Are pigmys really that difficult? Everything I’m reading is saying they’re pretty easy, but i trust experience more than a google searchThere are not many species of fish I'd keep in that small of a tank; one of those few is the Least Killifish (Heterandria formosa), one of my favourites. A Florida native, the smallest livebearer known, easy to keep and feed (as opposed to Pygmy Sunfish which can be demanding little Prima Donnas that sometimes require an inordinate amount of time and effort). They produce small numbers of relatively large fry, one or two per day spaced over many days, and the colony just grows without much effort on your part.
Not "challenging"...just nice. They are fish that seem to want to live and breed and thrive, which is a nice change from species whose goal appears to be not to survive or breed or even eat without eliciting a great deal of hand-wringing, a**-kissing and fretting on the part of the aquarist.
Well...what's "difficult"? My experience with them is limited...although I kept them much longer than aquarists who trumpet success with a species after a few weeks or months...and I just found them too much trouble to maintain my interest them. Shy....but aggressive amongst themselves if crowded. Very demanding of live food, or at least frozen food that is presented in enough current to give it some action...but too much current sends them scurrying under cover. There's always "that one" who is too stupid or shy or too far down the dominance totem pole to get enough food and justs wastes away; there's always food lying on the bottom being ignored and requiring removal. I found myself obsessively counting them several times per day. Okay, great, you're all still alive; are you waiting for me to thank you?Are pigmys really that difficult? Everything I’m reading is saying they’re pretty easy, but i trust experience more than a google search