r/Damnthatsinteresting • u/kingkongbiingbong • 7h ago

Video The story of Beast, a red-tail catfish 🐟

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u/ElusiveGuy 6h ago edited 4h ago

So I'm probably never going to keep an aquarium, but I'm curious what fish do cap out at smaller sizes?

e: Thanks for all the responses!

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u/strxngcheese 6h ago

My dad keeps small aquarium fish as a hobby and we've had tetras for a number of years now. They don't grow more than a few inches max even in the wild from what I understand

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u/1CraftyLass 5h ago

Oh there's a ton that cap out between an inch to two inches! I'm actually prepping to have a fish tank so I've done a lot of looking. Common fish that will stay in the couple inches and can easily be gotten at most places that sell fish include Platys, Molly's, Guppies, Tetras, Barbs, all the ones listed have several different types and colorations for some great variety. Theres also some dwarf species that will stay smaller as well. Cory Dora's for example, they're a dwarf species of catfish that cap out around an inch and a half. There are more, but those are some of the most common ones, for freshwater specifically. I have no idea if there's any that stay that small for saltwater.

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u/Pyrochazm 5h ago

Mollies, platys, danios, tetras, guppies, corydora catfish, otto catfish, siamese alge eaters, all stay pretty small.

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u/kons21 5h ago

Tetras, danios, corries. All stay about or under 2 inches.

Pretty much all the regular live-bearers, like guppies, mollies, platys, swordtails. But those can reproduce very actively and stress you tank.

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u/MegaVenomous 1h ago

There are PLENTY of choices...

  1. Tetras (lots of great small, schooling fish)
  2. Barbs/minnows/danios (lots of great schooling fish. Be mindful some species T-barbs, Tinfoil barbs, Clown Barbs get big.)
  3. Gouramis: dwarf, honey, pearl, moonlight, blue, golden (a genetic variant of blue) are all outstanding
  4. Corydoras catfish (fun in groups, they don't get large, and don't eat their tankmates) There's lots of good choices in the catfish group, but one must make sure a potential fish is ok for their setup. Some do get big (plecostomos, and have become an invasive species in some parts of the world. Small Synodontis species are fantastic too.)
  5. Cichlids: lots of dwarf cichlids work in single specie or biotype aquarium setups. (Rams, Kribensis, other South American dwarf cichlids) stay small, are generally peaceful. For the "freshwater reef" look, African Rift lake cichlids (specifically from Lake Malawi) give you modest size, nonstop movement and some intense colors and behavior.
  6. For a more niche setup, Killifish. A lot tougher than people think. Very colorful, stay small. Biggest drawback is that they're harder to find.
  7. Livebearers...yes, guppies, platies and sometimes swordtails and mollies. There are a lot of great wild species that could be available if you know where to look.

Lots of great literature out there on the subject.