Nano fish: Daisey's ricefish vs. blue rasboras

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Short version:
Has anyone on here kept Daisy's ricefish (Orzias woworae)? What's your experience with them? Do they like shallow or deep water; what level do they tend to hang out in; do they like dense planting or open water; how do they behave toward each other and other species?

Long version:
I am thinking about setting up a small (maybe 16"l by 10"w by 6"d) rice paddy environment. I'd like to either leave the top open and plant it with semi-aquatic, emergent grass, sedge, and weed species, or cover it and plant with grass-like aquatics (crypt balansae, dwarf sag, and similar). Little hardscape except some tonkin canes to complete the look, and some bamboo tunnels and/or flowerpots for breeding habitat. For critters, a breeding pair of small gouramis (licorice preferred, if I can find tank-raised ones) or wild bettas, amano shrimp, and a tiny, peaceful, bright-colored schooling species. I have an eye toward breeding licorice gouramis if I can find a non-endangered source.

I've kept blue rasboras (Rasbora axelrodi or Sundadanio goblinus) and they are wonderful little fish. From across the room they look like little blue sparks swirling around the tank, but they reward up-close examination, too, with their bright blue backs and maroon bellies and fins. They are a bit tricky about water quality, and extremely vulnerable to ich, but other than that they're pretty easy to get along with. I would love to try breeding them, and I could design this tank around doing so.

I am also considering Daisy's ricefish for schoolers. Based on my reading, they are small enough that I could conceivably keep a breeding school in a tank this size; they look nice and have interesting behaviors; they are unfussy as to water parameters. But I've never kept them, and as details matter much more in a nano tank, I'd like to know more before I commit. Any help?

T
 
I bought 15 Daisy's rice fish 4 years ago, though when I got home there were 18 in the bag. And I had 4 fry make it to adulthood as well - in a tank with a betta, believe it or not o_O (I moved a plant which had eggs on which is how they came to be in the betta's tank)
Mine are in a 42 x 18 x 18 inch tank and they use all of it - I wouldn't like to keep them in a 16 inch long tank. I know Seriously Fish says 18 inches long is the minimum but seeing the way mine behave in 42 inches, I would not keep in a tank the size SF recommends.


They have been dying one by one over the last year, with the males going sooner than females. I now have just 5 females left. These may be short lived fish or they may just not like my water. I have found a reference saying they live 3 to 4 years so that might be the reason for the deaths.
 
OK, thanks for that, @essjay. Sounds kind of like zebra danios, which are so active they need more space than their size would indicate. The blue rasboras really do seem to be a small tank fish. I kept mine in a 55g, and they could almost always be found in a single, one-square-foot area of the tank. They had no desire to explore or go anywhere else. So maybe I'll stick with them.
 
Thinking about it, it's not so much that they zip around the tank like zebra danios, but they were in every part of the tank because I had 18. With fewer of them it's probably do-able, especially if they were the only shoaling fish in the tank.
 
Short version:
Has anyone on here kept Daisy's ricefish (Orzias woworae)? What's your experience with them? Do they like shallow or deep water; what level do they tend to hang out in; do they like dense planting or open water; how do they behave toward each other and other species?

Long version:
I am thinking about setting up a small (maybe 16"l by 10"w by 6"d) rice paddy environment. I'd like to either leave the top open and plant it with semi-aquatic, emergent grass, sedge, and weed species, or cover it and plant with grass-like aquatics (crypt balansae, dwarf sag, and similar). Little hardscape except some tonkin canes to complete the look, and some bamboo tunnels and/or flowerpots for breeding habitat. For critters, a breeding pair of small gouramis (licorice preferred, if I can find tank-raised ones) or wild bettas, amano shrimp, and a tiny, peaceful, bright-colored schooling species. I have an eye toward breeding licorice gouramis if I can find a non-endangered source.

I've kept blue rasboras (Rasbora axelrodi or Sundadanio goblinus) and they are wonderful little fish. From across the room they look like little blue sparks swirling around the tank, but they reward up-close examination, too, with their bright blue backs and maroon bellies and fins. They are a bit tricky about water quality, and extremely vulnerable to ich, but other than that they're pretty easy to get along with. I would love to try breeding them, and I could design this tank around doing so.

I am also considering Daisy's ricefish for schoolers. Based on my reading, they are small enough that I could conceivably keep a breeding school in a tank this size; they look nice and have interesting behaviors; they are unfussy as to water parameters. But I've never kept them, and as details matter much more in a nano tank, I'd like to know more before I commit. Any help?

T
I've seriously eyed the blue rasboras I've seen online, but have never come across them for sale.
It's nice to have your description of them!
 

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