
Clown Rasbora (Boraras maculatus)
Boraras maculatus is a peat-swamp speck from Peninsular Malaysia and Sumatra: tiny mouth, tea-stained water, and a school that only settles when th…
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This Freshwater hub on Fishy Friends gathers practical freshwater fish guidance for keepers who want clear answers before they change water, livestock, or gear.
Use these articles to match species to tank size, plan filtration and feeding, and troubleshoot water chemistry without guessing. Each guide is written for home aquariums and links to related reading when you need more depth on freshwater fish.
Start with the basics — stable parameters, quarantine habits, and a feeding schedule that matches the livestock — then browse the profiles and how-tos below. When you are ready to branch out, jump into neighbouring topics so your freshwater fish plan stays consistent across the whole tank.
Whether you are stocking a first community tank or refining an established scape, bookmark this page and return as questions come up. Healthy aquariums are built from small, repeatable routines more than one-time upgrades, and freshwater fish success follows the same pattern.
Explore next: all guides, aquarium plants, water chemistry, feeding guides.
Fishy Friends publishes species care sheets, plant and invertebrate notes, aquascaping ideas, and water-care explainers so freshwater fish advice stays easy to find. Read one guide thoroughly, apply it slowly, and use the linked hubs above when you want a second angle on the same problem.
Before you buy livestock or rethink filtration, skim two or three freshwater fish articles here and write down target numbers for temperature, hardness, and feeding. That short checklist prevents the most common resets and keeps your aquarium closer to the calm, healthy display you are aiming for.
Come back after water changes or new additions: compare what you see in the tank with the freshwater fish checklists below, then follow one recommended next step instead of changing everything at once. Steady improvements compound, and Fishy Friends is built to support that pace.

Boraras maculatus is a peat-swamp speck from Peninsular Malaysia and Sumatra: tiny mouth, tea-stained water, and a school that only settles when th…
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Borneo peat-swamp dwarfs in tea-coloured water. Tiny mouths, leaf litter, a huge school, and chemistry that would bleach an Inle fish.
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Inle Lake rubies. Cooler, harder, alkaline water — the opposite of Boraras peat. Captive-bred fish for a threatened plateau lake.
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Neon-green Ataran micros that need a crowd, powder food, and gentle planted water — not peat-swamp pH 4 and not a danio river.
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A 2009 Rakhine stream danio, still uncommon. Length, current, a closed breeding group, and no invented tetra rituals.
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Moustached foothill danios that reach 10 cm-plus. Barbels, cool monsoon flow, and a four-foot tank — not a zebra with whiskers.
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Mae Taeng Devario in a 90 cm river, not a nano peat cube. Red bars are a current-and-condition colour.
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Sri Lankan Nilwala endemic with vertical bars. Buy captive-bred, keep a flowing school, and do not hybridise the pattern away.
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Western Ghats giants to 15 cm. A 120 cm cool, fast tank or a different species — shop juveniles outgrow “danio” assumptions.
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Hill-stream pink and two blue lines. Turn the heater down, stretch the tank, seal the lid, and feed in the current.
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Tiny spotted gold-ring danios from the upper Irrawaddy. Cooler water, a long box, and enough males that sparring stays theatre.
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Myanmar stream danios with orange paddles. Length, current, a lid, and no zebra hybrids — not a still tetra community fish.
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A 2002 Tapajós species whose males grow filamentous fins. Soft, slow, species-focused tanks — or shredded gold splinters.
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Deep-bodied Amazon tetras with white-tipped fins. Warm, planted schools; males flare, and nippers destroy the reason you bought them.
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A 3 cm lebiasinid with three stripes, a pinhead mouth, and a need for still, stained water — not a tetra and not a danio.
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An African alestid from the Congo, not a South American tetra. Gold-yellow tails need length, tannins, and a large shy school.
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Peru’s steel-blue schooler. Colour is a crowd effect; small groups go grey and start nipping long fins.
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Chrome river hatchets that need a sealed top and a long surface runway. Larger and hardier than marbles, still dedicated jumpers.
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A 4 cm Amazon glider that lives in the surface film. Tight lid, floating food, soft blackwater, and a school — or an empty tank.
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Eggs glued above the waterline, a male who splashes them for hours, and a lid that must leave humid air — not a normal tetra spawn.
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Three-lined Paraguay basin tetras that get sold as pencilfish. Cooler than Amazon characins, calmer than Buenos Aires tetras.
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Named for Lago Hyanuary, not a person. Green-gold iridescence and a caudal mark — not a Paracheirodon and not a dyed “green neon.”
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Western Amazon tetras whose black rear wedge only reads as a pattern when the school is large and the water is stained.
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Guiana Shield gold with a shoulder blotch, not a bleached black phantom. Quiet midwater schools in soft, dim, planted water.
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