Field-tested layouts, hardscape breakdowns, and nano fish care notes — written from a decade of breeding and scaping in Sri Lanka.
Adult size, minimum group, and temperament — the three things a stocking list always needs and rarely gets straight.
Light, CO2, and placement — the three things a planting plan always needs and rarely gets straight.
What it does to your water chemistry matters more than how it looks on the shelf.
No equipment gets listed without running in one of my own setups first. Ratings reflect real maintenance, not spec sheets.
Reliable liquid test kit covering pH, ammonia, nitrite, nitrate, and hardness — the go-to baseline for any planted nano tank despite a few format frustrations.
Sri Lanka has shipped ornamental fish since the 1930s, and the export trade around Negombo still supplies tanks worldwide — but it's not just fish. Driftwood, stone, and a number of aquarium plants in wide circulation either originate here or are commonly sourced from here too.
Every entry below is something profiled on this site that's genuinely endemic to, or commonly sourced from, Sri Lanka — species, plants, and hardscape mixed together as they actually show up in a real tank.
Field-tested breakdowns for tanks under 30 litres, updated as mistakes get made and fixed.
Browse GuidesAdult size, minimum group, and temperament for every nano fish profiled on the site.
View SpeciesWhat the island actually contributes to the hobby — species, plants and hardscape sourced or endemic here.
Read the StoryShort, specific notes from the tanks I'm running right now — new layouts, species I'm testing, equipment that earned a place.
