Buddies for Black Neon Tetras

[Pibbles]

Hey everyone. I’m looking for some suggestions for tank mates for my 26 black neon tetras. My aquarium is a 60 gallon tank.

My ph stays pretty close to 7.4 but I have very soft water (I do not have the numbers on me right now). I keep the temp around 77 degrees.

It is a planted tank which is absolutely over run with Amazon frog bit and guppy grass. These floating plants are actually choking out all my rooted plants and my moss.

I know I want either a school of corydoras or a couple bristlenose plecos (maybe just one?) but I think I also want something else. Originally I was going to get peacock gudgeons but I’m having a hard time finding them locally and I really don’t want to order online right now. I have petsmart and petco available to me.

I like gourami, particularly the colors of sunset gourami, but I’ve heard that they are very prone to illness. My tetras seem fairly peaceful, but they are the only species in the tank so I have not had a chance to see if they are nippy with other species. I was also considering an angelfish, but again, I’m not sure if BNT are too nippy for them.

Thanks in advance!

 

[Byron]

The Black Neon Tetra is not normally a fin nipper, and when kept in a good sized shoal as here this should certainly not be an issue going forward.

The cories are obviously one choice; a group of 12-20, one species or a mix, up to you, but as you have space the more there are the better health they will have.

I've not personally kept peacock gudgeons, but from my research they should pose no problems. A small group.

All of the above are lower level fish, so finding some upper water fish would be advisable. Angelfish would not bee my recommendation; a shoaling fish by nature a small group is best for the fish but this need much more space, and they should not be kept fewer than five except for a mated bonded pair. A lone angelfish can work, but as this is contrary to the fish's expectations I cannot advise it. We should aim to provide the most natural environment for the fish we keep if we want them healthier and "happier."

Upper fish...hatchetfish? Some of the pencilfish, here thinking Nannostomus beckfordi which remains in the upper few inches of the tank among floating plants (you have the ideal habitat for this species) but they will nip at other upper fish like hatchetfish so the beckford pencilfish should be the only upper fish. But otherwise, peaceful, and the continual displays of two (sometimes three) males in parallel can be interesting to observe.

 

[Pibbles]

The Black Neon Tetra is not normally a fin nipper, and when kept in a good sized shoal as here this should certainly not be an issue going forward.

The cories are obviously one choice; a group of 12-20, one species or a mix, up to you, but as you have space the more there are the better health they will have.

I've not personally kept peacock gudgeons, but from my research they should pose no problems. A small group.

All of the above are lower level fish, so finding some upper water fish would be advisable. Angelfish would not bee my recommendation; a shoaling fish by nature a small group is best for the fish but this need much more space, and they should not be kept fewer than five except for a mated bonded pair. A lone angelfish can work, but as this is contrary to the fish's expectations I cannot advise it. We should aim to provide the most natural environment for the fish we keep if we want them healthier and "happier."

Upper fish...hatchetfish? Some of the pencilfish, here thinking Nannostomus beckfordi which remains in the upper few inches of the tank among floating plants (you have the ideal habitat for this species) but they will nip at other upper fish like hatchetfish so the beckford pencilfish should be the only upper fish. But otherwise, peaceful, and the continual displays of two (sometimes three) males in parallel can be interesting to observe.

Thanks for the info, Byron. Very informative as always.

I will forget the angelfish. I want to do right by any species I get. I am not very familiar with pencilfish. I’ll give them a look over. Im assuming they are a schooling species?

Am I correct that the gourami have health issues, or did I make that up somehow? Haha.

I know I am very drawn to singular kind of larger fish. I guess, a colorful “showpiece” fish may be kind of what I’m looking for too.

ETA: I think what I called a sunset gourami is actually a gold color variation of a dwarf gourami.

 

[Byron]

The Dwarf Gourami species has health problems, yes, so best avoided unless you can get them direct from a reliable breeder. Most store fish will be from SE Asia and more likely to carry the iridovirus so best avoided.

The Honey Gourami is safe from this issue, so far as we know. In tanks as spacious as this one I usually suggest a look at the Pearl Gourami; a real beauty, fairly peaceful for a gourami, and with the floating plants right at home. Gourami need floating plants.

However, if you go with any sedate fish like gourami that will naturally remain in the upper third/half of the tank, forget the beckfordi pencilfish, they will fin nip them. Male pencilfish are territorial and while the degree this can manifest itself varies depending upon the species, this one does enforce its territorial nature aggressively. I have had a group of this species (yes, all pencilfish are shoaling so need a group) for many years, but I had to move them three times before I found a tank where they were "alone" in the upper third and posed no problems. Even otos that ventured up near the surface on plant leaves were driven down every time.

Most "centrepiece" fish tend to be sedate swimmers, or have longish fins, which is a real "red flag" to small fish like many tetras. So choosing these has to be done carefully.

There are also some of the medium rasboras suited to this tank, they are mid-level swimmers but not very active so good matches generally. The Harlequin (Trigonostigma heteromorpha) is the largest of three very similar species, and I personally like the other two, Trigonostigma hengeli especially or T. espei.

 

[Pibbles]

Pearl gourami are beautiful. I’ll keep them in mind. I’m assuming that a single pearl gourami would be ideal here. I know gourami groups can be tricky.

The rasbora species you mention have always been on my list, too, and I just haven’t ever got any. Maybe this is a good time to look into them.

 

[Byron]

Pearl gourami are beautiful. I’ll keep them in mind. I’m assuming that a single pearl gourami would be ideal here. I know gourami groups can be tricky.

The rasbora species you mention have always been on my list, too, and I just haven’t ever got any. Maybe this is a good time to look into them.

With this space, I would get 1 male and 2 female Pearl Gourami if you decide on this species. The males are normally not too rough unlike some gourami species, and their interactions will be an enjoyable part of keeping them.

 

[Fishmanic]

In my 10 gallon tank I have 7 neon tetra and , at the moment, 3 harlequin rasboras. They get along great. With you larger tank, you could get a good sized school of harleys...maybe 10 or more.

Consider entering your tank into the Tank of the Month contest. Next contest starts in about 2 weeks around the first of May.

 

[Pibbles]

With this space, I would get 1 male and 2 female Pearl Gourami if you decide on this species. The males are normally not too rough unlike some gourami species, and their interactions will be an enjoyable part of keeping them.

I think I am going to go with a trio of pearl gourami! Thank you so much!

 

[Pibbles]

In my 10 gallon tank I have 7 neon tetra and , at the moment, 3 harlequin rasboras. They get along great. With you larger tank, you could get a good sized school of harleys...maybe 10 or more.

Consider entering your tank into the Tank of the Month contest. Next contest starts in about 2 weeks around the first of May.

It looks awful right now. The fish are happy, but it’s pretty rough right now! Maybe when the plants are looking a little better.