
Cylindricus Cichlid (Neolamprologus cylindricus)
Neolamprologus cylindricus is a tube-bodied Tanganyika rock cichlid that holds caves in the littoral: 8–10 cm of territorial pair in alkaline wat…
Read more →Guides
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.

Neolamprologus cylindricus is a tube-bodied Tanganyika rock cichlid that holds caves in the littoral: 8–10 cm of territorial pair in alkaline wat…
Read more →
Altolamprologus compressiceps is a laterally flattened Tanganyika hunter that slides into vertical rock seams to eat snails and fry — keep it as…
Read more →
Julidochromis marlieri is the heavier, checkerboard Julie: 8–10 cm of rock-slit cichlid that wants a bigger boulder pile than J. ornatus, the sam…
Read more →
Julidochromis ornatus is a slender Tanganyika rock cichlid that lives in slits, not shells: pair it on a pile of stacked rock in hard alkaline wate…
Read more →
Lamprologus ocellatus is a 4–6 cm Tanganyika shell-dweller: empty snail shells on deep sand, hard alkaline water, and a colony — never a plante…
Read more →
Laetacara curviceps is a gentle 6–8 cm Amazon pair cichlid for a planted, soft-water tank: it spawns on leaves and stones like a ram, not in apis…
Read more →
Rasbora caudimaculata is a 10–15 cm river jumper with a spotted, forked tail: give it a long, covered tank and a school, not a peat cube, not a p…
Read more →
Rasbora dusonensis is a 10–12 cm river rasbora whose pink-red fins only show in a long, oxygenated school — treat it as a swimming cyprinid, no…
Read more →
Sundadanio axelrodi is not a true Rasbora: it is a 2 cm Borneo peat fish whose males flash metallic blue-green over tea-stained water — keep it l…
Read more →
Rasbora einthovenii is an 8–12 cm striped river rasbora: it wants length, a real school, and oxygenated stream water — not a peat-nano cube and…
Read more →
Trigonostigma hengeli is the smaller, shyer harlequin cousin: an orange-gold wedge on a 3–4 cm body that wants a planted, soft forest stream —…
Read more →
Boraras naevus from southern Thailand peat is a 2 cm rasbora defined by a round flank patch and a need for stained, still, acidic water — keep a…
Read more →
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…
Read more →
Borneo peat-swamp dwarfs in tea-coloured water. Tiny mouths, leaf litter, a huge school, and chemistry that would bleach an Inle fish.
Read more →
Inle Lake rubies. Cooler, harder, alkaline water — the opposite of Boraras peat. Captive-bred fish for a threatened plateau lake.
Read more →
Neon-green Ataran micros that need a crowd, powder food, and gentle planted water — not peat-swamp pH 4 and not a danio river.
Read more →
A 2009 Rakhine stream danio, still uncommon. Length, current, a closed breeding group, and no invented tetra rituals.
Read more →
Moustached foothill danios that reach 10 cm-plus. Barbels, cool monsoon flow, and a four-foot tank — not a zebra with whiskers.
Read more →
Mae Taeng Devario in a 90 cm river, not a nano peat cube. Red bars are a current-and-condition colour.
Read more →
Sri Lankan Nilwala endemic with vertical bars. Buy captive-bred, keep a flowing school, and do not hybridise the pattern away.
Read more →
Western Ghats giants to 15 cm. A 120 cm cool, fast tank or a different species — shop juveniles outgrow “danio” assumptions.
Read more →
Hill-stream pink and two blue lines. Turn the heater down, stretch the tank, seal the lid, and feed in the current.
Read more →
Tiny spotted gold-ring danios from the upper Irrawaddy. Cooler water, a long box, and enough males that sparring stays theatre.
Read more →
Myanmar stream danios with orange paddles. Length, current, a lid, and no zebra hybrids — not a still tetra community fish.
Read more →