What Is The Best Type Of Tiny Fish To Put Inside Your Rafts?

[Roger Pilon]

I heard that mosquitoes fish are excellent. Some talked about guppies. I read somewhere that you can use tetras.

 

I am lost in all of these options. Any suggestions or fisrt hand experience you could share?

 

I just want to make the best move before introducing these little fish in the rafts. 

 

Thanks

 

Roger Pilon

Costa Rica Aquaponics

[Chi Ma]

Some ideas: Whitecloud Mountain Minnows, Ghost Shrimp, Macrobrachium Rosenbergii, Local Minnows.

[Roger Pilon]

Can you add and mix some bottom eaters or it would not be recommended!

 

Roger

[Chi Ma]

Ghost Shrimp and Macrobrachium rosenbergii are bottom feeders.

[Christian James]

Mosquitofish (Gambusia affinis or Gambusia holbrooki) are great if you can find them - most everyone that says their using them are really just using wild guppies.

Also what is the temperature in your rafts?  That will narrow the selection down a lot.

The primary role of raft fish is to eat mosquitoes so go for a more carnivorous fish that will not eat the roots of your plants. 

If you have Gammarus in your rafts you probably don't want a fish that gets too big or it will eat them too.

Beware of bringing in wild-caught fish too!  My Tilapia have a bad case of streptococcus most likely because everything I used was wild-caught (I won't do that again.)

 

 

[Roger Pilon]

Thanks Chris for your advice. Wild guppies! Hum! Maybe I could use guppies and begin to select the most beautiful ones ans sell them!

 

My temp is 20 C exactly. Very stable!

 

Roger

Christian James said:

Mosquitofish (Gambusia affinis or Gambusia holbrooki) are great if you can find them - most everyone that says their using them are really just using wild guppies.

Also what is the temperature in your rafts?  That will narrow the selection down a lot.

The primary role of raft fish is to eat mosquitoes so go for a more carnivorous fish that will not eat the roots of your plants. 

If you have Gammarus in your rafts you probably don't want a fish that gets too big or it will eat them too.

Beware of bringing in wild-caught fish too!  My Tilapia have a bad case of streptococcus most likely because everything I used was wild-caught (I won't do that again.)

 

 

[David Waite]

If you put fish in the raft system dont you defeat the concept of clean water to the roots. My rafts roots are bright and clean but in my tank the roots are dark and the plants are struggling.

[Christian James]

not really, the populations are not huge and otherwise mosquitoes get out of control.  My roots are bight white and I've seen many others who have fish in their rafts also doing just fine.

[David Waite]

good to know.

Christian James said:

not really, the populations are not huge and otherwise mosquitoes get out of control.  My roots are bight white and I've seen many others who have fish in their rafts also doing just fine.

[Nigel Clement]

Hi, I have had my system up and running about 4 weeks now. I am currently using barbs and I also have some Malaysian prawns in there as well. So far so good.