Centrepiece Fish For A 60L Tank?

[MBOU]

I think, whilst there is a lot of importance in 'where the fish come from naturally and their wild type parameters'... but...

People seem to keep forgetting that most of the fish arent even wild caught, most neons are tank bred in much harder water with a much higher pH. Neons will happily live in a pH of 8-8.5 with no problems, as will cardinals, gouramis and so on....

They are all prone to pH shock so its well worth asking your LFS what their water parameters are and if the fish are tank bred... if they dont know... dont buy from them!

Im not a fan of Dwarf Gouramis, to me i dont think they have much personality, they are common and prone to health problems... but there are more types of gouramis out their to look at, i do like the Honeys as they are hilarious to watch... they box with their ventral fins lol.

But Croaking Gouramis, Thick Lipped Gouramis and Sparkling Gouramis are fun and not too difficult to find. There are 3 variations of dwarf gourami if you do go down that route, powder/cobalt blue, red/flame and wild/striped red and blue.

If you go for siamese fighters, take your time, pick out an amazing one.

Think this website is for a member on here, not uk but amazing photos!! http/www.siamsbestbettas.com/show_class_half_moon_bettas.html

My favouite colour at the moment is the Blue Orchid siamese fighters but i cant decide whether i like the halfmoons, the crowntail or the plakats, the same colour looks great on all three!

Blue Orchid Halfmoon
http/www.google.co.uk/imgres?q=orchid+half+moon+betta&hl=en&gbv=2&tbm=isch&tbnid=GlgBMY66R3zTrM:&imgrefurl=http/betta-splendens.tumblr.com/post/6995834151&docid=nQWBxivTD8o52M&w=500&h=454&ei=HyhvToj9MMSj8QOn8aXeCQ&zoom=1&iact=rc&dur=108&page=2&tbnh=169&tbnw=225&start=15&ndsp=6&ved=1t:429,r:2,s:15&tx=160&ty=68&biw=927&bih=512
Blue Orchid Crowntail
http/www.google.co.uk/imgres?q=orchid+half+moon+betta&hl=en&gbv=2&tbm=isch&tbnid=20525omLD9Iq8M:&imgrefurl=http/bernard-bettas.blogspot.com/2010_05_01_archive.html&docid=_Tf8PYy0jHgAxM&w=461&h=346&ei=HyhvToj9MMSj8QOn8aXeCQ&zoom=1&iact=rc&dur=36&page=8&tbnh=168&tbnw=258&start=52&ndsp=6&ved=1t:429,r:2,s:52&tx=139&ty=68&biw=927&bih=512
Blue/black Orchid (halfmoon)Plakat
http/www.google.co.uk/imgres?q=black+orchid+plakat+betta&hl=en&gbv=2&tbm=isch&tbnid=4yBcGDfF-4xycM:&imgrefurl=http/www.pescitropicali.com/bettasiamimbellis/index.php%3FcPath%3D23&docid=r-Ymmzpo-7pJrM&w=512&h=384&ei=WSlvToSNCcWb8QOg4JnzCQ&zoom=1&iact=hc&vpx=622&vpy=103&dur=520&hovh=194&hovw=259&tx=172&ty=108&page=9&tbnh=162&tbnw=226&start=54&ndsp=6&ved=1t:429,r:5,s:54&biw=927&bih=512

(unsure on colour mrph but stunning!)
http/www.google.co.uk/imgres?q=blue+orchid+betta&hl=en&gbv=2&tbm=isch&tbnid=6iBhorIxiB6wrM:&imgrefurl=http/natureaquatic.com/category/betta/&docid=zBQbwM5wz_PXVM&w=300&h=264&ei=6ihvTpuaEIK78gPO7emRCg&zoom=1&iact=hc&vpx=392&vpy=185&dur=2683&hovh=211&hovw=239&tx=102&ty=165&page=8&tbnh=158&tbnw=202&start=51&ndsp=6&ved=1t:429,r:1,s:51&biw=927&bih=512

So many to choose from that arent the limp tailed blue/red/pale washed out coloured specimens with tatty tails you see in most LFSs.

There are also more and more unusual species of Bettas cropping up...

I've seen both of these available recently:

Betta Imbellis
http/www.google.co.uk/imgres?q=Betta+species&hl=en&gbv=2&tbm=isch&tbnid=-u4XWNb8G3shMM:&imgrefurl=http/aquaria2.ru/node/2756&docid=tRGz5Bueebtl0M&w=965&h=589&ei=8ylvTrHzB43C8QPUo5iFCg&zoom=1&iact=hc&vpx=119&vpy=89&dur=1724&hovh=175&hovw=287&tx=160&ty=59&page=1&tbnh=114&tbnw=160&start=0&ndsp=13&ved=1t:429,r:0,s:0&biw=927&bih=512

Betta Macrostoma
http/www.google.co.uk/imgres?q=betta+macrostoma&hl=en&gbv=2&tbm=isch&tbnid=3JS99SICfaw_zM:&imgrefurl=http/www.manufacturer.com/business/search%3Fisnew%3Dall%26type%3DSellLeads%26arg%3Do122%26keywords%3DFrozen%2BFood%26start%3D81&docid=rU0vc1e5_88rSM&w=336&h=220&ei=LypvTuPUDsap8AP7ipXbCQ&zoom=1&iact=hc&vpx=287&vpy=87&dur=1369&hovh=176&hovw=268&tx=89&ty=133&page=1&tbnh=112&tbnw=149&start=0&ndsp=12&ved=1t:429,r:1,s:0&biw=927&bih=512

Both species were tiny, about 1-1.5 cm in the shop, completely colourless and i'd have missed them if they didnt show me ones from the same batch in a display tank which looked amazing!!

(just bear in mind the fighters cant safely be kept with guppies!

EDIT: Empire Gudgeon! Again, could be a little nippy but personally I found they were very agreable little fish, not too active, not too territorial, unusual, superb colours on the male...

http/www.google.co.uk/imgres?q=Empire+Gudgeon+pair&hl=en&gbv=2&tbm=isch&tbnid=P70u94poA8eZ5M:&imgrefurl=http/www.aquariacentral.com/forums/showthread.php%3F243223-Scored-some-Empire-Gudgeons-today!&docid=88-x5EjUyEDDvM&w=480&h=367&ei=VitvTviPEciv8gPWj-yaCg&zoom=1&iact=rc&dur=173&page=1&tbnh=114&tbnw=170&start=0&ndsp=12&ved=1t:429,r:1,s:0&tx=75&ty=64&biw=927&bih=512

 

[KittyKat]

I think, whilst there is a lot of importance in 'where the fish come from naturally and their wild type parameters'... but...

People seem to keep forgetting that most of the fish arent even wild caught, most neons are tank bred in much harder water with a much higher pH. Neons will happily live in a pH of 8-8.5 with no problems, as will cardinals, gouramis and so on...

Soft water fish in hard water is one thing, but hard water fish going into soft water is completely different because fish from hard water are usually not as good at osmoregulation as those from soft water, so the extra work involved in keeping the salt concentrations steady in their bodies in soft water can be very stressful and harmful to the fish, potential causing early death through secondary health problems.

The biggest problem I can think of with soft water fish in hard water is that they may be more susceptible to bacterial and fungal infections (bacteria and fungi are usually not as good at surviving in acidic water), but that shouldn't be a problem in a well cared for aquarium, which is why it is possible to keep cardinals and neons in hard water with good success.

But the other way around is a guessing game, even with fish which were bred in softer water than they naturally come from because it's partially a matter of genetics. Because of this, I recommend that the other person stays well away from at least livebearers. Also, from what I have observed, soft water is detrimental to the development of livebearer fry.

Anabantoids should be fine, as they often do originate from a very wide variety of water conditions and adapt well, although I would personally pass on them if my water was particularly acidic (under 6.0) or soft.

EDIT: Empire Gudgeon! Again, could be a little nippy but personally I found they were very agreable little fish, not too active, not too territorial, unusual, superb colours on the male...

Edit: how big did yours grow? I see mention of them reaching 5" long, in a few places.

 

[MBOU]

Yeah there seems to be a lot of variation in what people say min/max size is for this species, though i'd not be surprise if those quoting larger sizes actually had a slightly different species.

Most sites will give a max size of 10-11cm...

My biggest ver male never grew beyond 9-10cm and that was pushing it... most of my males settled at 8-9cm and females a bit smaller.

They do still get to a good size but their behaviour made them easier to look after, not really territorial and if they did get a little 'feisty', it was only with their own species. I kept them in pairs, trios, multiple pairs, harems and 2-3 males with 10+ females. I loved them.

They did much better with lots of hiding places, more hiding places = they felt safe = they didnt need to hide!

Had them spawning on a system not long after they first kicked off in the trade about 2-3 years ago was so proud of them LOL. Nothing came of it because the tank wasnt designed for raising fry but they were fertile eggs and a few hatched and got eaten.

Had the same in my tanks at home but my Ex kept putting stupid fish in my tanks

The only fish the Gudgeon took a disliking to was the Blue Rams but tbh i hated them too


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Soft water fish in hard water is one thing, but hard water fish going into soft water is completely different because fish from hard water are usually not as good at osmoregulation as those from soft water, so the extra work involved in keeping the salt concentrations steady in their bodies in soft water can be very stressful and harmful to the fish, potential causing early death through secondary health problems.

Makes a lot of sense I hadnt really thought about the *why* of not putting harder fish into softer water. Just knew it was never great for the fish.

It isnt something i have to think about too often living in a really hard water area, if its a soft water fish, they can go for RO or tapwater or if they are looking at the harder water fish, just stay tapwater lol.

The only fish i made the slight mistake with was Kribensis, didnt think about it really, heavily planted RO tank and they did ok, but not fantastic, both plants and kribs did far better on tapwater lol