Shortband herring
Jenkinsia stolifera
Shortband herring (Jenkinsia stolifera) features a slender, elongated body with prominent lateral lines and a silver iridescent sheen.
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About the Shortband herring
Jenkinsia stolifera is a tiny, super-flashy little round herring from Florida and the Caribbean that spends its life in tight, nervous schools near the surface. In the wild it is basically living fish confetti - tons of silver, constant motion, always picking at zooplankton - and that "always on the move" vibe is what makes it so cool. It is not really an aquarium species though; most setups cannot provide the huge swimming room, flow, and constant live plankton-style feeding it does best with.
Also known as
Quick Facts
Size
7.5 cm
Temperament
Peaceful
Difficulty
Expert
Min Tank Size
125 gallons
Lifespan
2-4 years
Origin
Western Atlantic (SE Florida, Bahamas, Caribbean; also Gulf of Mexico)
Diet
Planktivore - zooplankton; in captivity would require frequent small live/frozen plankton foods (copepods, rotifers, baby brine, cyclops)
Water Parameters
22-28°C
8-8.4
8-12 dGH
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This species needs 22-28°C in a 125 gallon tank. Use our heater calculator to find the right wattage.
Calculate heater sizeCare Notes
- Keep them in a big group (at least 8-12) in a long tank with lots of open swim space - they get weird and crash fast when kept solo or in tiny schools.
- Think temperate marine, not tropical reef: aim around 68-74F, salinity 1.023-1.026, pH 8.1-8.4, and keep ammonia/nitrite at 0 with nitrate as low as you can.
- They are plankton pickers, so feed small foods several times a day: enriched baby brine, copepods, cyclops, and tiny mysis; most will ignore flakes/pellets until well settled (if ever).
- High oxygen and flow help a ton - strong surface agitation, oversized skimmer, and a lid because they jump when spooked.
- Skip aggressive tankmates and anything big enough to look at them like snacks (lionfish, groupers, big wrasses); they do best with other peaceful temperate fish and non-stinging inverts.
- Quarantine is not optional: they are super prone to marine ich/velvet and they do not handle copper well, so plan on observation + non-copper options (like tank transfer) if you can.
- If one stops schooling, hangs in a corner, or breathes fast, assume trouble right away - these guys go downhill in hours when stressed or underfed.
Compatibility
Good Tankmates
- Other small, peaceful schooling fish (think other tiny herrings/silversides or similarly sized baitfish) - they settle in way better when they are not the only little silver fish in the water column.
- Peaceful reef-safe gobies that keep to their own lane (neon gobies, clown gobies, small watchman types) - herring ignore them and the gobies do not compete much for midwater space.
- Small, mellow blennies (tailspot style, barnacle blennies, other non-territorial picks) - blennies hang on rockwork and the herring cruise and school, so they do not bug each other.
- Calm cardinalfish (Banggai, pajama) - they are not fast enough to hassle the herring, and they usually will not try to eat them if sizes are reasonable.
- Peaceful clowns (ocellaris/percula type) - fine as long as the clowns are not total jerks and the herring have open swimming room and get fed often.
- Gentle clean-up crew and inverts (shrimp, snails, small hermits) - shortband herring are planktivores and generally ignore inverts, so no drama there.
Avoid
- Predatory fish that see 'small silver torpedo' as food (lionfish, groupers, big hawkfish, big wrasses) - if it can fit a herring in its mouth, it will eventually try.
- Fast, aggressive feeders and bullies (bigger dottybacks, damsels that rule the tank) - they stress the school and outcompete them at feeding time.
- Nippy or territorial wrasses and triggers - they will harass the group and can pick them off when they are spooked or pinned into a corner.
Where they come from
Shortband herring (Jenkinsia stolifera) are little coastal clupeids from the western Atlantic. You see them around reefs, grass beds, and nearshore water where the plankton is thick and the current keeps food moving. In the wild they live by staying in a tight group and eating constantly, and that pretty much explains why they are so touchy in aquariums.
These are not "set and forget" fish. Think of them like living, schooling zooplankton nets - they need space, flow, and frequent food.
Setting up their tank
Give them a long tank, not a tall one. They are open-water cruisers and they stress fast if they cannot school and loop back and forth. A big footprint also helps keep them from slamming into glass when they spook (and they will spook).
- Tank size: I'd treat 4-6 fish as a starting point and plan on at least a 4 ft long tank. Bigger is easier.
- Layout: open swimming lane across the front or middle, with rock kept low and to the sides so the school can turn.
- Cover: tight lid or mesh top - jumpers, especially at night or when startled.
- Flow and oxygen: strong, messy flow plus great surface agitation. These fish hate stale, low-oxygen water.
- Filtration: oversized skimming and mechanical filtration, because you are going to feed heavy.
Quarantine is tricky because they do poorly in small bare boxes. If you QT, use the biggest tank you can, keep lighting low, add gentle circular flow, and get them eating on day 1.
Water numbers are the usual reef range. What matters more is stability and gas exchange. If your tank runs warm, bump aeration and surface movement - warm water plus heavy feeding is where things go sideways fast.
What to feed them
They are planktivores. In practice that means small foods, offered often, and in a way that stays suspended in the water column. If food sinks and disappears into the rocks, they will act hungry even though you "fed" the tank.
- Best staples: enriched baby brine (nauplii), copepods, calanus, cyclops, rotifers, finely chopped mysis, small marine pellets that stay in the water column
- Use enrichment: HUFA/omega products on frozen foods, and gut-load live foods when you can
- Feeding rhythm: 3-6 small feedings a day beats one big dump
- How to deliver: broadcast into high flow so it spreads like a plankton cloud
An auto-feeder with tiny pellets plus 1-2 daily frozen "plankton" feedings is the most realistic way to keep weight on them long-term.
Watch their bellies. A healthy group looks sleek but not pinched. If they start looking narrow behind the head or the school gets ragged and timid, they are usually falling behind on food or getting pushed off meals by tankmates.
How they behave and who they get along with
They are nervous, fast, and very group-oriented. Kept in too small a group, they act jumpy and hide along the glass. In a decent-sized school they settle into that classic "one organism" movement and spend the day picking at the water column.
- Best kept as: a true group (more is better if the tank supports it)
- Good tankmates: peaceful reef fish that will not chase them and will not outcompete them at every feeding
- Bad tankmates: anything predatory (groupers, lionfish, big wrasses), nippy fish, and super aggressive feeders that vacuum food instantly
- Reef safety: they will not bother corals, but your nutrient levels might if you feed like they need
Predators will treat them as live food. Even "reef safe" fish that are slightly too big-mouthed can turn this into an expensive snack pack overnight.
Breeding tips
Breeding them in a home aquarium is not something most hobbyists pull off. They are egg scatterers and the eggs and larvae are tiny and planktonic. Even if you get a spawn, your filtration and hungry tankmates will make short work of it.
If you want to take a swing at it, you are basically setting up a small-scale larval rearing project: a dedicated species tank, dim lighting, gentle circular flow, and a plan for live foods (rotifers first, then nauplii/copepods). The adults also need to be extremely well-fed to condition.
If you ever see them flashing through the water column at dusk and the group gets extra tight and twitchy, that is the sort of behavior you might see around spawning, but do not count on raising anything without a dedicated setup.
Common problems to watch for
- Starvation in plain sight: they look "fine" for a week or two, then drop weight fast because feeding frequency is too low
- Jumping and collision injuries: spooking at lights, sudden movement, or tankmate aggression
- Oxygen stress: rapid breathing, hanging at the surface, especially at night or after heavy feeding
- Wasting away from internal parasites: new wild fish sometimes need treatment, but treating a delicate schooling fish is a balancing act
- Nutrient creep: heavy feeding drives nitrate/phosphate up unless your export (skimmer, water changes, refugium) keeps pace
The most common failure mode is "they were eating" but not eating enough. If you cannot commit to frequent small foods and strong filtration, pick a hardier planktivore.
My personal rule with these: if the school is tight, cruising, and snapping at food all day, you are on the right track. If they start hanging in corners, spacing out, or acting skittish, I look at three things first - group size, feeding frequency, and dissolved oxygen.
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