White Cloud Mountain Minnow

1 Species Overview

The White Cloud Mountain Minnow was first discovered on Baiyun Mountain, in the northern suburbs of Guangzhou, Guangdong Province, China, and is named after it. It is a small fish, generally 3-4 cm long. Gentle-tempered and omnivorous, it is relatively easy to keep.

Chinese name: White Cloud Mountain Minnow

Binomial: Tanichthys albonubes

Also called: Tanichthys / Red-tailed fish / White Cloud golden thread fish / Golden thread fish

English name: White Cloud Mountain Minnow

Distribution: Streams near Baiyun Mountain, Guangzhou, China

Max length: 5 cm

Temperature type: Tropical fish

Water layer: Middle swimmer

2 Appearance & Physical Traits

A small tropical fish. Gentle-tempered and unfussy about food, so it is an easy species – but we recommend keeping it in a school.

Highly adaptable, it tolerates low temperatures and survives 10-30 C, with an optimal temperature of 18-25 C. Unfussy eater, loves live foods and animal-based feeds, and accepts dry food in winter. Peaceful and active, good for community tanks; usually schools in the middle-upper water layer. The body is spindle-shaped, 3-4 cm long, with large eyes. The back is brownish-blue, the belly silvery-white, and a shimmering golden line runs along the lateral line – one end is the black eye, the other a black spot matching the eye. The long-finned variety (Long-fin Golden Thread) is even more beautiful.

3 Habitat & Living Environment

Although undemanding about environment and food, water temperature and quality must not be neglected or losses will occur. Keep nitrite levels low.

1. Activated-carbon filtered water: pack activated carbon in a plastic or enamel cylinder; let tap water flow in from the bottom and out the top. Filtered water stored in the tank or another container serves as daily water and breeding water for most tropical fish.

2. Ion-exchange resin filtered water: use ion-exchange resin as filter media; its adsorption removes calcium, magnesium, and nitrite ions from the water.

3. Deionized water (distilled): produced by electrodialysis/electrolysis; extremely pure, very soft, very low oxygen – unsuitable as keeping water. Blend with clean water to obtain different hardness/pH for breeding.

4. Rainwater: soft, few metal ions; collect in clean suburban areas, filter, and use.

4 Feeding Guidelines

With a stable environment, White Cloud Minnows stay healthy. Although tiny, they eat plenty. What is best to feed?

I. Feed selection: The White Cloud Golden Thread has a strong appetite and grows fast, unaffected by outside temperature changes. Its foods include daphnia, tubifex, rotifers, mealworms, small live fish, and granulated feed. For fish 3-12 cm, feed mainly daphnia with tubifex, bloodworms, mealworms as supplement; for fish over 12 cm, choose larger prey such as bloodworms, tubifex, mealworms, small live fish. Mostly animal-based; small varieties can be trained onto granulated feed; few are plant-based.

II. Feeding frequency: Amount depends on fish size and quantity. At home, feed once or twice daily, amount eaten in 5-10 minutes. In large batches, 2-3 times daily; breeding stock 3-4 times daily. Because the fish are small with limited appetites, feed to 70-80% fullness; more frequent small feedings promote fast growth. Most varieties feed mainly on daphnia; when daphnia is the main food, amount eaten in 10-30 minutes; when tubifex is main, 5-10 minutes, 2-3 times daily, rinse tubifex clean; when small fish/shrimp, feed little and often.