medium sized fish that will fit into my set up

[housethatjack]

hi , my name is Steve and I,m new to the forum but not entirely new to fish keeping , though its been a few years since I had a tank
I have recently got myself a juwel lido , I think its 125L .. I have cycled the tank ( without fish ) and have added 6 zebra danios and 12 neon's over the last two weeks , the tank is planted and to be honest I,m very pleased with how its turned out except that the size and swim speed difference of the two types of fish . The zebras are so fast moving they attract the eye to much so I was thinking of adding something a little bit bigger that would be easier to focus on ..my problem is I have no idea what that something might be , I don't want to overstock and I don't want to add fish that like to be in a big group .. hopefully someone can point me in the right direction .. thanks in advance

 

[Algae Nibbler]

Perhaps a dwarf gourami because it is somewhat bigger.

 

[fluttermoth]

Before we can properly recommend species, we need to know the dimensions of the tank, and the pH and hardness of your water; you should be able to find those on your supplier's website, if you don't know them already

 

[housethatjack]

hi.. tank is 600mm long by 400mm wide by 530mm high ( that's to the max water mark ) .. PH is 7.2 and I,m in Liverpool where the water is soft

I had thought about gourami's but have had no luck with them in the past .

thanks for the replys

 

[Algae Nibbler]

How about a khuli loach if you can lower down your ph a bit. Mollies could also probably be an option. Neon tetras could also be okay, but I've heard they're not very hardy. Just make sure your tank's ph is stable.

 

[Essjay]

A kuhli loach is a bad idea as they are shoaling fish that need at least 6 with more being better.
Mollies are hard water fish, and housethatjack has soft water.



I know you don't particularly want gouramis but if you did they would be stressed by the fast swimming of the danios. The danios do restrict what other fish you can have I'm afraid as a lot of centrepiece fish that would fit this tank are sedate fish which don't appreciate fast swimmers. The neons are fine, they are not fast swimmers like danios.

To be honest with you, the Lido is not really big enough for danios. It may be a 120 litre tank but has a footprint of just 61 x 41 cm (24 x 16 inches) and a water height of ~55 cm (21 inches). Danios need a tank with swimming room of at least 90 cm (3 feet) though longer is better still. If you were to rehome the danios and replace them with another sedate species, that would suit the tank better.

 

[housethatjack]

Hi .. I wish I could rehome the zebras . I only really got them as I didn't trust the fishless cycle , I have used them to cycle tanks years ago and do like the look of them but had forgotten just how manic they are . I got them from pets at home I wonder if they would take them back if I didn't want a refund ? Indecently , I called in there tonight , its on my way home from work , and they had some electric blue rams that were absolutely stunning . Would my tank be ok for them if I managed to get shut of the danios ?

 

[Essjay]

I'm not sure about P@H taking any fish back but you can always ask. Another shop may take them but the most you'll get is a bit of store credit. Or you could advertise them on http://www.aquarist-classifieds.co.uk/ I have found that fish go quickly if you put the word free in the title.

Your tank has the smallest acceptable footprint for rams, though personally I would like to see them in bigger than that. Your tank may be 120 litres but it has almost the same footprint as my old 50 litre tank (that was 60 x 30 cm)
If you have soft water that should be OK but you need to check just how soft - that information should be on your water company's website. You may need to convert the unit they use to one used in fishkeeping.
The other problem is that rams need warmer water than most fish. Neons won't like it as warm as rams, I'm afraid. And rams like it far too warm for zebra danios.

 

[housethatjack]

mmm . the lido is the biggest my wife would accept after last time and happy wife = happy life so I've got what I've got .. shame about the rams , I really like them but I also like the neon's and they are defo staying
My original intention was just to have two or three types of small fish but the danios were a mistake and will have to go .. thanks for your help

 

[Essjay]

The good news is that with soft water, you have a wide choice of small fish

 

[housethatjack]

PS . from united utilities
Your water hardness: Soft
Hardness clarke: 6.475 (whatever this means )

 

[housethatjack]

The good news is that with soft water, you have a wide choice of small fish

oh yes but with the tank being tall rather than long they probably wont shoal as well as they might

 

[Essjay]

The 2 units used in fishkeeping are ppm and dH (or German degrees). Fish profiles will give the species hardness range in one or the other unit.
6.475 degrees Clarke converts to 92 ppm and 5.2 dH.

 

[fluttermoth]

oh yes but with the tank being tall rather than long they probably wont shoal as well as they might

Most freshwater fish won't school tightly in a tank. They only really do it as a defence mechanism against predators, and in the safety of your tank, most shoaling fish will only ever form a loose group.

 

[housethatjack]

Called in pets at home to see if they would take the danios back this morning . The assistant said it would be no problem but he would have to check with a manager .. the manager said no , even though I had made it clear no refund or credit note was needed . I'm actually fuming , it means if you make a mistake you are stuck with it though they do let you return small furry animals even after months if they don't work out . I know they have to worry about illnesses and such but with the number of fish they sell that should be no problem for them . I will never go in a pets at home again