Fish Care: White Cloud Mountain Minnows
94Often overlooked as a choice in the aquarium, the white cloud mountain minnows are very lively, enjoyable pets to keep. Their small size means they don't need a large aquarium, but enough room for their activeness and tendency to play around. White clouds are schooling fish and therefore much happier and healthier when they are kept in a group. In the wild, they live in fast-flowing streams and unfortunately, are practically extinct.
These lovely minnows can be kept in a species-only tank, or a tropical community, but the temperature should remain at about 72 degrees Fahrenheit. This is ideal because it's in the temperature range for both white clouds and tropical fish.
Diet: Omnivorous
Lifespan: 5-8 years
Adult size: 1.5"-2"
Tank size: 10+ gallons as they are active schooling fish
Temperature: 65-72 degrees Fahrenheit
Scientific name: Tanichthys albonubes
Family: Cyprinidae
Distribution: East Asia
Temperament: Peaceful; community fish
Natural Habitat
These fish originate from China, where they lived in the gorges of the White Cloud mountains. These streams are fast-flowing and have a cool temperature. The minnows used to be found amongst the aquatic vegetation, but are now almost extinct in the wild.
White Cloud Minnow Biotope
Housing
Tank size-White cloud minnows are very small- the size of neon tetras- and are not very demanding when it comes to tank size. However, they are active, schooling fish so I recommend a 10+ gallon aquarium for room for their tankmates and swimming.
Decor- Having hiding places in a tank is very good for fish. With it, they retreat in there if they are scared, and won’t be nearly as stressed out as fish without anywhere to hide.
Substrate- White cloud mountain minnows thrive in a variety of substrates- sand, gravel or bare-bottom will do just fine. However, if the gravel is small enough, the fish can swallow it and choke, so rocks larger than your minnow’s mouth is better.
Lighting- Using aquarium lights is optional for your fish, but you should provide them with some way of knowing when it’s night and day.
Equipment- White Clouds need little equipment- a filter that can run a current that can mimic their natural habitat, a heater if the temperature in your house drops below 65 degrees Fahrenheit, and some supplies to make sure the tank is in good shape. Supplies include: a thermometer to watch the temperature, a gravel vacuum and bucket for weekly water changes, and test kits to keep an eye on the water quality.
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Feeding
White cloud mountain minnows are omnivores, and need a diet rich in both plant and animal matter. Being omnivorous, there is a very wide diversity of what you can feed them, but here's a list with some examples:
-Algae wafers
-Bloodworms (frozen, freeze-dried, or live)
-Brine shrimp (frozen, freeze-dried, or live)
-Krill (frozen, freeze-dried, or live)
-Mosquito larvae (if you harvest them from your backyard make sure you don't feed your minnows toxic chemicals like fertilizer along with it!)
-Fish fry
-Boiled greens like romaine lettuce and peas
-Small insects, including wingless fruit flies
When it comes to feeding fish, it is better to underfeed than overfeed. In the wild, fish don't have a constant schedule of meals, and eat as much food as they can eat if they find some. In the home aquarium, they can quickly eat themselves into obesity and poor water quality. This can result in disease and/or death. Make sure to feed them only a small pinch of food a day. It is even healthy to skip feeding every once in a while.
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Tankmates
White cloud mountain minnows can live with tropical fish if the tank is kept at 72 degrees Fahrenheit- a higher temperature is too warm for them, and a lower temperature is too cold for warm-water fish. Here is a list of possible tankmates:
- Danios
- Livebearers, such as guppies, platies, mollies, swordtails, etc.
- Some bottom dwellers like corydoras catfish
- Many schooling tetras, including neon tetras
- Aquatic snails, like the mystery snail
- Shrimp (ghost shrimp, bamboo shrimp, etc.)
If you decide to keep your minnows with larger fish, make sure there isn't a possibility of them eating the minnows. Keeping them with fish like Oscars can spell disaster.
Good Luck!
After reading this article, if you decide you are willing to care for white cloud mountain minnows, have fun! They are an active, beautiful, and interesting choice for an aquarium. They are relatively easy to keep, as long as care is given to provide for all their needs. I hope this hub has provided you with some of what you need to know about care of white cloud mountain minnows. Happy fishkeeping!
Photos by: Lawrence Farmers' Market, judhi, and sannse
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That is good advice. However, even if you have snails you will still need to perform regular water changes as the snails produce waste that can build up in the tank, as well as the fish. Also, guppies are normally peaceful fish- maybe you had some uncommonly aggressive ones? Thank you, Laura!
White Clouds seem like a great fish to enjoy in an aquarium. I really like active fish. I have a pair of Zebra Danios that are constantly on the move. Thanks for the tips about White Clouds!
You're very welcome! :)
how do i know if my white cloud is having babies?
You may notice a darker gravid spot in your fish, and she will obviously start to become larger as are eggs grow.
You mentioned they get along with neon tetras. When I was a kid I tried to keep neons, and they never lived. Got any advice?
Neon tetras are pretty small fish and are touchy about their water quality being in tip-top shape. Make sure you cycle the tank before you buy any fish, so the beneficical bacteria can convert the toxic ammonia into the less-poisonous nitrate. Also, weekly water changes of about 25% are recommended to keep your aquarium healthy.
thx! this is GREAT advice!
Thank you, betta lover!
These fishes are truly amazing! Thanks for a great article!
Thank you, Resor Karibien!
How do you know if they are a boy or girl?
Thanks! I might be getting some minnows, so I'll hold on to this! Great article!
AddictedToBettas: It can be tricky to tell them apart, but when they are ready to spawn, male white clouds will have more intense coloration while females with generally be very plump with eggs.
Savannah Helming: Thank you! Glad I could help :)
I am not a big fan of the rectangular aquariums so i have a 5-6 gal LONG glass vase. Its 1.5 ft deep and its about a foot wide..do you think I should get the minnows?Or are there bowl shaped aquariums these days. I just cant get over the rectangular aquariums...not sure why..
Hi Sal, the problem with the vase you are describing is that it's more deep than wide, and for most fish this can be difficult to swim in, and also the bowl-shaped doesn't allow great gas exchange between the water and the outer atmosphere, so not a lot of oxygen can get in the water and into the water. However, that problem would be solved if you had a filter that can attach to your vase. The other problem is that vases generally have an opening that fish can jump out of, to their demise. Covering it with netting or mesh or similar material could keep them in their tank. Now, I wouldn't recommend these minnows for the vase you are describing, because they are very active fish and probably should have at least a 10 gallon tank to swim around in. Hope I helped!
If I wanted around 14 of the wcmm's, how many gallons should I get? I keep getting differen5 answers which is expected but you seem like an expert.
Thank you for such a complete article.
Now, after seeing the video of the biotope, i can't help but wonder, how do these fish do without plants? I've been reading that they love a thoroughly planted tank and the tank from the video has none. Do they really need plants or are they happy without them? Because I wanted to use no real plants or maybe a few fake ones, and rocks. And i can't find a single article mentioning fake plants or no plants. thanks!
Fish enjoy having places to hide, and I'm sure it doesn't matter much to the minnows if they are rocks or plants. Besides, in their natural habitat it is very pure water, with few plants and more rocks and rushing water. As long as they have objects in their tank they can hide from things with, then they'll be good! :)
WCMM's being so tiny, you could get away with that many in a 15G tank. Hope this helped!
can i ceep white clouds in a bowl if i use an air pump and do frequent water changes (50% weekly)
hi I have just got 6 minnows who are in a new 28l tank. Active critters arent they !!
I have a couple of questions.
1. How often should I change water.
2. How often should I do a full tank clean & what should I do with the fish when cleaning the tank.
3. How long can they go without food? I am going away soon for days, should I have someone pop in and feed them on day 3?
I have got a timer for the light so they have daytime & nightime.
4. Would I have room for a small bottom feeder?
Ta
I wonder when they eat?
Hello, I was told that white clouds were compatible with goldfish. I currently have a 10 gallon tank with 3 thin bodied goldfish (a comet, shubunkin, and sarassa). The temperature in the tank stays at around 68-70 degrees. Would it be plausible to keep them together with white clouds? The main issue I would see happening is the inability to make sure both the clouds and goldfish are fed their own food. The goldfish would probably eat anything I put in the tank. Should I just avoid the combination altogether? If so, are there any fish which would be compatible in the same tank as thin-bodied goldfish?
Thanks,
Seth
Dear Seth, I tried getting them in with goldfish however they bite them alot and kill them so I wouldn't recommend but you can try it and see what happens if the goldfish dies then change it to tropical like me they live better with that type of fish.
My white cloud fish died today; he was at least 14 years old! His tank mate predeceased him and he lived for 10 years.
I wanted to add that I kept my 2 white clouds in a fish bowl, with greenery (anachris), a gravel bottom, no airstone, and I changed the water every 2 weeks, about 70% because of no filtration. I had the container in the house and the room temp was always between 68-70 degrees. I also fed lightly and sometimes every other day or so. Depending on the time of the year the bowl would get some sunlight too. You might say they both thrived with little maintenance. I didn't realize how lucky I was to have my 10 year old and most recently, 14-year old white cloud live so long past the normal life span. I believed the 10 year old died from some internal disease because he/she had a distended abdomen, like a tumorous growth. About a month or two ago the tail on my 14-year old started to curve slightly upward and but continued to swim despite that and exhibit healthy, normal behavior. Within the last few weeks he/she (don't know which gender it was), started to hover alot, not nearly as active, but continually ate t ill the very end. The last several days it hardly moved, it's gill breathing became slower and slower and didn't dart around when I opened the lid to feed it, spending most of the time in the ananchris and moss. I kept watching it steadily but decided to leave it alone in peace and when I returned after 15 minutes the fish was deceased at an angle in the middle level of the water. I guess I was quite fortunate and just good fish genes to have had a white cloud pet live past it's average life span.
Hi, I got 8 white cloud mountain minnows from Petco a few days ago. The saleswoman told me since they are cold water they could go in with my goldfish. I keep the tank very clean with regular changes.
1 minnow just died and another is missing. I think my goldfish are trying to/succeeding at eating them. This really upsets me that I would be told they would be okay. My only option is to put them in a round base or bowl. I know it's too small, but wouldn't that be better than being eaten??
Im getting 5 males for my Betta community tank
I have a school full of white clouds. I have a 10 gallon tank and have a very small crayfish too. We tested him out with 4 white clouds orginally. He did get a hold of one but there was one that sat in the back of the tank for 2 weeks and did not eat at all. They were sick. But the other 3 we left for 2 weeks afterwards and they did well and did not disappear. So test yours out first but crayfish only eat sick or dead fish. They are not swimmers and only really go fast backwards. I not have 15 little tiny white clouds and are done with my tank. They are great and you could try a crayfish small though for a 10 gallon tank
can wcmm live in a bowl without filtration
i have 3 minnows with a Siamese fighting fish (male) only had then for less than a week, it seems that one of the minnow has lost part of his tail, do you think the SFF has gone for it?
Lol. I've got like 15 White Clouds. Bought them as feeder so they were only .15 cents each. They were only a few mm long & now they're about an inch. I think they're ready to breed, what plants would be the best to add in the tank as breeding objects? I know they prefer floating plants, but I'm not sure if baby tears are good enough. ANYWAY, they're in a 29 gal set up. I have a 65gal set up but it's for my baby Serrasalmus Rhombeus(black piranha).
I have 40 approx White Clouds exclusively in a 55 gal tank
I just love them. they are so active and beautiful. I keep only this species in this tank but I plan to increase the water flow today after learning from you that they like fast moving water and will give lettuce too.
Thank You for sharing this information.
I have six minnow,got them 1 month ago. I knew 1 was female not long after i got them,due to the size of her belly . Just noticed some fry in the tank today, at least 6 on the side of the tank.Will they survive if they are left in the tank with the adults? Have a feeling there could be more and the female is still being chased. Feel quite worried. I am a novice at fish breeding and only have the 1 tank. I feed my fish flakes that I grind up. Can the fry eat flakes or should i put something different in for them?There is a snail in the tank 2. It must have been on the plant we put in when we got the fish. Should I leave it in the tank? I feed the fish every other day. Is this ok?
I got a 10g with 4 cory catfish and 1 male betta. planning to add 5 white clouds. good filtration and water heater keeping it 68-72 degrees F. not sure what type of food they actually eat.. will they eat betta food or the shrimppellet i've around have or is a more specific type of flake or pellet for white clouds.
Hi I'm getting. Three minnows and I'm going to put them in my aquarium with a comet ( very small) and a sucking loach. My tank is a cold water and a 5 gallon. Will they survive if not I will properly be able to pick up a ten gallon from my freeing for a very very cheap price
Laura 19 months ago
I have white cloud minnows and they get bullied by guppies so we had to give the guppies back to the pet shop. But they do fine in a baby bath filled with water but give the tank live plants planted in gravel/sand/dirt. Also feed them tetra fish flakes and get snails to clean the tank if you don't want to. The minnows will come in a bag with water in it so float this in the tank for ten minutes then very slowly let them out.