Centre Piece Fish?

[Ben M]

hi, i have a 216l, 4ft community tank. it houses, 20 copper harlequins, 5 harlequins, 4 rummynose tetras, 3 cardinal tetras, 3 serpae tetras, 5 SAE's, 3 otocinclus affinis and 4 kribs. i am getting rid of the kribs, and adding 10 either bronze corys or trilineatus. i am also adding 10 more otto's and a load of red cherry shrimp. but now that i'm getting rid of my kribs, i am looking for another centre piece fish. i am looking for a colourful, active fish that will stand out from the rest of them. obviously, it can't be at all aggressive towards any of the other fish, and will not hurt the shrimp. also, it would be nice if i could breed it. any thoughts of a good species?

cheers

 

[newtothis26]

i would put guppies in there very colourful and very active i have 10 in my tank and it looks very colourful with them in and very easy to breed

 

[Ben M]

thanks, but i'm not really that keen on guppies. i had some when i was a lot younger, and i'm looking for something a bit different. the guppy is everything i asked for, but, not really what i was thinking. if you get what i mean lol.

cheers

 

[walkers101]

Dwarf gourami's?

 

[Ben M]

thanks, i had thought of gouramis, but i've read that the otto's will suck off their slime coating. any one had any experience of otto's with gouramis? and any other ideas?

cheers

 

[jacko32]

thanks, i had thought of gouramis, but i've read that the otto's will suck off their slime coating. any one had any experience of otto's with gouramis? and any other ideas?

cheers

ive had otto's with gouramis for a long time now and never had any slime sucking problems never even seen the otto's anywhere near them TBH

 

[Gilli]

I would never buy a Gourami again - they nearly always fall prone to Gourami disease and its incurable. I had mine for 9 months and thought id got away with it but he suddenly went downhill - broke my heart. Also you would have to be careful keeping a few together as they are very territorial and males will fight.

Rainbow fish and red rainbow fish are large, stunning, highly active and peaceful but not sure if you would have the room as they need to be kept in groups of 5 or more.

 

[jacko32]

Rainbow fish and red rainbow fish are large, stunning, highly active and peaceful but not sure if you would have the room as they need to be kept in groups of 5 or more.

boesemani rainbows are stunning

 

[Gilli]

Rainbow fish and red rainbow fish are large, stunning, highly active and peaceful but not sure if you would have the room as they need to be kept in groups of 5 or more.

boesemani rainbows are stunning

The red rainbows are even more so - rich red and silver metallic!

 

[kizno1]

angelfish or blue acara would work.

 

[kaivalagi]

It has to be some form of cichlid really, right?

What about Bolivian Rams/Cockatoo Dwarfs? Alternative to kribs that should be far less aggressive...in theory. But if breeding then I guess you're stuffed regardless of species?

Not sure about how the shrimp would fare either

 

[Ben M]

thanks, i had thought of gouramis, but i've read that the otto's will suck off their slime coating. any one had any experience of otto's with gouramis? and any other ideas?

cheers

ive had otto's with gouramis for a long time now and never had any slime sucking problems never even seen the otto's anywhere near them TBH

thanks, i'll consider them then. maybe a pair of pearl gouramis, they look quite cool. although i'm not sure if they would eat the shrimp?

I would never buy a Gourami again - they nearly always fall prone to Gourami disease and its incurable. I had mine for 9 months and thought id got away with it but he suddenly went downhill - broke my heart. Also you would have to be careful keeping a few together as they are very territorial and males will fight.

Rainbow fish and red rainbow fish are large, stunning, highly active and peaceful but not sure if you would have the room as they need to be kept in groups of 5 or more.

hi, i was thinking of a pair of gouramis, possibly pearl gouramis, so they wouldn't fight. i like the rainbow fish, but would they eat the shrimp? and i think a group of big fish might look a bit weird in a tank full of small fish. although i do really like the threadfin rainbows. but would they really be a centre piece fish?

Rainbow fish and red rainbow fish are large, stunning, highly active and peaceful but not sure if you would have the room as they need to be kept in groups of 5 or more.

boesemani rainbows are stunning

hi, i do like rainbows, but i think they might look a bit out of place in my tank. and would they eat the shrimp?

Rainbow fish and red rainbow fish are large, stunning, highly active and peaceful but not sure if you would have the room as they need to be kept in groups of 5 or more.

boesemani rainbows are stunning

The red rainbows are even more so - rich red and silver metallic!

hi, i'm not really keen on the red rainbows. they look a bit weird to me lol.

angelfish or blue acara would work.

hi, i think that the angel fish would eat the shrimp, and i don't really like the blue acara.

It has to be some form of cichlid really, right?

What about Bolivian Rams/Cockatoo Dwarfs? Alternative to kribs that should be far less aggressive...in theory. But if breeding then I guess you're stuffed regardless of species?

Not sure about how the shrimp would fare either

yes, i had thought about other cichlids, but some people say that they wouldn't keep cichlids with corys, as they attack them, which is why i'm getting rid of the kribs. and i don't know if they would eat the shrimp as well. i had thought about apisto's and bolivian rams, but i think they might still be too aggressive.

any more ideas?

cheers

 

[crazychris]

I would never buy a Gourami again - they nearly always fall prone to Gourami disease and its incurable. I had mine for 9 months and thought id got away with it but he suddenly went downhill - broke my heart.

What exactly is gourami disease? I've been keeping fish on and off for 35 years and haven't heard of it! I've an opaline and moonlight and no sign of any disease. I have them in separate tanks as they fight like mad together.

 

[Ben M]

hi, i've never heard of gourami disease. i've heard of dwarf gouramis getting TB though.

cheers

 

[minxfishy]

With regards to the rainbowfish, they would be unlikely to eat full grown shrimp, but will happily eat baby shrimp. Boesemani or Lacustris would work well in the set up.

Rams or apistos will be fine with corydoras, never had an issue even with larger cichlids like severums with cory's, so if you like them, they would work well, avoid german blue rams as they require higher temps and lower ph than bolivan rams.