Fish from above

[OnlyGenusCaps]

So, I just recently watched the Tazawa Tanks YT vid on his DIY office pond (I think I can mention him here -  Zenzo is apparently sponsored by AqCOOP).  It was really inspiring!  And it seems like an easy build.  I can handle picking out an interesting emergent plant that won't take over easily.  But, it got me thinking about the fish selection.  Zenzo used guppies, but you can't really appreciate their tails very well from above.  In general, the fish that are selected for, and bred in, the hobby are selected for how they look from the side.  The expectation being we'll look at them in glass boxes.  But the mini indoor pond, you can really only appreciate them from above, and with the exception of koi, that's not really how we normally select fish.

So, I pose to you knowledgeable CARE community, what fish do you think would be a good choice for a similar setup where you can really only enjoy your fish from above?

There are some restrictions.  The most restrictive is probably size - this is a mini pond, so no koi , goldfish, or rift lake cichlids.  A setup like this will likely always be unheated - so perhaps a wide temperature tolerance as it goes from being warmed by the sun in the day to night temperatures in a house.  Probably, it will need to be fairly tolerant fish species in general, as careful individual health checks are not going to be practical.  Also, because it will necessarily be open from above, they shouldn't be jumpers, which can remove a bunch of the killifish as options.  Lastly, for long-term maintenance of the fish, I'm guessing some capacity to breed successfully would make things easier - though this might not be a hard rule.

I'd love to hear ideas!  What would you recommend?

[DSH OUTDOORS]

If the bottom was lighter in color some Asian Stone mini Catfish would stand out.  I just got some last week and they look very cool from all angles. They stay smaller than an inch and a half and can handle temps in the low to mid 60.  I'll add more if any more come to mind.

 

Edited April 1, 2021 by DSH OUTDOORS

[Gloryview Farm]

great topic!  I can't wait to find out more.

[Dwayne Brown]

Rice fish are really cool and were actually bred in japan to be cool looking from above they only get at most 2.5 inches.

[Streetwise]

I enjoyed watching my young white clouds at the surface:

 

[Lifeisgood]

I know that certain guppies have the “metal head” and are bred to look pretty from above.  Perhaps koi colored, or Dalmatian platties would show up nice from above too?  They seem to have a silvery glint to the white coloring on them.

[OnlyGenusCaps]

I do worry that around here the pond, even if indoors, might get to warm for white clouds.  How sensitive are they to higher temps?

What do folks think about the possibility of cherry barbs?  I think the red would look cool and perhaps even from above. Like little red goldfish.

[GardenStateGoldfish]

How mini is mini? Home depot sells a 35 gallon becket pond which would be an amazing set up for butterfly telescope goldfish, its a mini pond but more then sufficient for three or four butterflies due to its shape.

[OnlyGenusCaps]

15 minutes ago, GardenStateGoldfish said:

How mini is mini? Home depot sells a 35 gallon becket pond which would be an amazing set up for butterfly telescope goldfish, its a mini pond but more then sufficient for three or four butterflies due to its shape.

Good question!  I'm looking at things that would be right around that size.  Like a half barrel sort of thing.

[mynameisnobody]

Platys are incredible from the top, super entertaining as well. 

[OnlyGenusCaps]

1 hour ago, Manny said:

Platys are incredible from the top, super entertaining as well. 

Ooh, Xiphophorus.  That is an interesting idea!  I do like fish that can be a sustaining population in my care.  I prefer species, but that's worth looking into.

[Nana Finopolis]

I agree with platys. Another option would be rosy barbs, they kind of look like mini goldfish. There's a pretty long finned variety also.

[OnlyGenusCaps]

8 hours ago, Nana Finopolis said:

I agree with platys. Another option would be rosy barbs, they kind of look like mini goldfish. There's a pretty long finned variety also.

So rosy but not cherry?  Is that the temperature requirement difference? 

I suppose the I would be concerned about the size rosy barbs can attain.  I've not had them, so don't know, but what I read online is like 13-15cm (6ish inches).  If so, I fear that's just too big.

[Lifeisgood]

1 hour ago, OnlyGenusCaps said:

So rosy but not cherry?  Is that the temperature requirement difference? 

I suppose the I would be concerned about the size rosy barbs can attain.  I've not had them, so don't know, but what I read online is like 13-15cm (6ish inches).  If so, I fear that's just too big.

Yup.  They get that long.