Is There Any Kind Of 'adult' Fish That Can Be Kept With Fry?

[Spishkey]

have set up an aquarium in the childrens room for all the fry we have, but they want something else in there apart from babies!

is there any small adult fish that wont eat fry? any kind of loaches? or are we better off just getting them some shrimp?


also how big or old should platy fry be before they can go back in with adults?

 

[Genesis]

Shrimp such as Amanos are more likely to eat fry than some fish.
Neon tetras don't tend to go for fry, neither do Dwarf Neon Rainbowfish

 

[Spishkey]

would bottom dwellers such as corys go for fry?

shrimp go for fry? well you learn something new every day! what about plecos?

 

[karneval]

I've kept corys with fry and had no problems. How big is the tank you set up?

 

[Spishkey]

erm its 60x30x30 so 54/56L?? not looking for any 'big' fish(!) just some small things to keep the kidlets happy.
once the fry are big enough they will be sold or put in the main tank, so the kids want something that can 'stay' in their room if you get what i mean! fry will always be coming and going i guess!

 

[Genesis]

shrimp go for fry? well you learn something new every day! what about plecos?

Amanos eat almost everything they can get their little legs on (except big fish of course).
I've kept corys with fry too and had no problems!

 

[Spishkey]

think its gonna be corys then (yay for me!!!!)

 

[karneval]

As long as you keep the tank clean, you could keep a nice shoal of about 6 corys of pretty much any species except pygmys, which you could probably go with 8. (I'm assuming the tank is cycled.)

I'll do a quick search and see if there are any other small fish that don't seem to eat fry. Can't promise results, though.

 

[Spishkey]

aw thank you so much!

 

[karneval]

You could keep White Cloud Mountain Minnows with the fry. From what I've read, they don't usually mess with fry. They might chase them every once in a while, but I don't think their mouths are really big enough to eat them. You'd have to keep your tank no higher than 75 or 76, though, as the WCMM like cooler temps, which will make your fry grow slower.

So you might want to go with corys.

 

[Genesis]

Ooh! Another thought; 6 or so Otocinclus would be wondeful, they stay small, eat algea and don't eat fry!
Here is a pic if you don't know what they look like:

 

[karneval]

Personally, I wouldn't keep more than 3 or 4 otos in a tank this size. I have 3 in my 14 gallon, and when they don't have any algae to eat, they pretty much just sit around clinging to the side of the tank. While it's really adorable to watch them shoal as they look for food, they aren't as active as corys or minnows, which I think the kids would like more.

I do love my otos, though. They're quite characters, just maybe a little too shy for a tank in a child's room.

 

[Spishkey]

well my kids have their hearts set on the otos but i cannot find any locally, can anyone recommend a site online that sells them and posts to mainland europe? im looking to just get 2.


also do you think it would be possible to keep 2 corys (i know its a bit of a small number) in with a few otos and the fry or is the tank too small? i was hoping to move two of my males (sterbai) from the main tank as i have far too many males in the main tank and they pester the female in there. (5 males on one female, they dont half throw her around!!!) or would it be best to leave them where they are? do corys need a lot of males? (sure i read that somewhere)

 

[karneval]

I think you could get away with two otos and four corys. I don't know any sites that sell otos, though, sorry.