It's Fish Day!!!!

[anewbie]

Yeah I'm going for parasite free.
My second choice is Von Rios, Hyphessobrycon flammeus, they are beautiful as well.

Three nice tetra i have worth looking into are:
morse code tetra (nice clear/orange - similar behavior for ember but look nicer in a tannis environment)
Trochilocharax ornatus - these are a clear tetra with colour accent and buzz around like humming birds shoaling. The ones i have are really small
and
Hyphessobrycon eilyos - these are very unique and extremely greedy eaters - they seem to range from pure black to silvery/grey (not sure if mood/sexual dimorphism or whatever). They are a very busy tetra much like emerald eye rasbora and love to swim (the morse code is similar to ember in that it sits still and look pretty).

One day when i get tired of playing with my rams i might try to breed the eilyos as they are kind of pricey and if i want a larger school it would be cheaper to make my own. In the right kind of aquarium they are truly stunning and unique. The ornatus are very different - they stay near the top and as a group make a very busy body buzzing around but are really quite small - maybe too small for your lats esp if yours hang near the top like mine (i have the ornatus with the elizabeth who are very polite and gentle to their tank mates having a ladies name).

And if you want pencil fish there are marilyn and margituas or the pricey epesi all three are very much worth having esp in a densely planted aquarium as i have a problem keeping plants from growing in blackwater environment so i end up with a lot of dense plants.

If you have them in a larger aquarium like 55 or 500 there is the interesting Hemigrammus rubrostriatus - i picked up a large group of these in hope that my geo would leave them alone (one of my rummy got scared and swam into an open geo mouth). They are rather pretty but otherwise quite boring.

 

[Rusty_Shackleford]

Three nice tetra i have worth looking into are:
morse code tetra (nice clear/orange - similar behavior for ember but look nicer in a tannis environment)
Trochilocharax ornatus - these are a clear tetra with colour accent and buzz around like humming birds shoaling. The ones i have are really small
and
Hyphessobrycon eilyos - these are very unique and extremely greedy eaters - they seem to range from pure black to silvery/grey (not sure if mood/sexual dimorphism or whatever). They are a very busy tetra much like emerald eye rasbora and love to swim (the morse code is similar to ember in that it sits still and look pretty).

One day when i get tired of playing with my rams i might try to breed the eilyos as they are kind of pricey and if i want a larger school it would be cheaper to make my own. In the right kind of aquarium they are truly stunning and unique. The ornatus are very different - they stay near the top and as a group make a very busy body buzzing around but are really quite small - maybe too small for your lats esp if yours hang near the top like mine (i have the ornatus with the elizabeth who are very polite and gentle to their tank mates having a ladies name).

And if you want pencil fish there are marilyn and margituas or the pricey epesi all three are very much worth having esp in a densely planted aquarium as i have a problem keeping plants from growing in blackwater environment so i end up with a lot of dense plants.

If you have them in a larger aquarium like 55 or 500 there is the interesting Hemigrammus rubrostriatus - i picked up a large group of these in hope that my geo would leave them alone (one of my rummy got scared and swam into an open geo mouth). They are rather pretty but otherwise quite boring.

Thanks for the suggestions. I've never heard if the morse code tetras, I'll have to look those up. Pencilfish are kinda boring to me, though I think in a really big tank a big shoal would look nice.
Currently the Lats are in a 36 gallon bowfront. My thinking was it's a tall tank, 24q inches tall, so the Lats wouldn't bother hatchetfish at the surface and the lemons or other similar sized tetras would be schooling swimming back and forth in midwater. I'm hoping to order more fish in October/November before it gets too cold to ship. I need to order some more plants and especially some floating plants for cover.

 

[Innesfan]

Pencilfish are kinda boring to me,

Them's fightin' words!

 

[anewbie]

I think the problem @Rusty_Shackleford might have is that there is only one genus of pencil fishes and many genus of tetra; though having said that like fishes it comes down to the actual species for specific behavior. In truth one should never call a species boring because one member is a let down. I will say in terms of behavior (not looks) for example there is a huge difference between (for example) margiginatus and epesi like there is a huge difference between cardinals and eilyos. As to boring it depends if you are referring to behavior or eye candy.

 

[Innesfan]

I think the problem @Rusty_Shackleford might have is that there is only one genus of pencil fishes and many genus of tetra;

I fear the days are numbered for Pencils being defined by one genus. I hear through the grapevine that the splitters are chomping at the bit to do what they do best now that Stan Weitzman has left us. I sadly predict we will soon be looking at as many as 3 or 4 genera to replace the single one, Nannostomus, that has stood since Weitzman and Cobb's revision of 1975.

 

[Rusty_Shackleford]

I would give pencilfish a go in a nice biotope tank. Interesting behavior can make up for flashy colors for sure. Maybe I'm just a weirdo, I'm not fond of barbs either.

 

[anewbie]

I would give pencilfish a go in a nice biotope tank. Interesting behavior can make up for flashy colors for sure. Maybe I'm just a weirdo, I'm not fond of barbs either.

Well if you try pencilfish three species i like are epesi (expensive); marginatus (gold variation seems to have a bit more colour including a blue stripe on the top behind the dorsal fin) and marilynae - two species i personally dislike are morthenthaleri and unifasciatus.

 

[gwand]

I think these are beauties.
Nannostomus sp. "Rio Cenepa"

Cenepa Red Pencilfish​

Or these guys. Rio Amaya

 

[Innesfan]

two species i personally dislike are morthenthaleri and unifasciatus.

Well, as the French say, a chacun son gout (to each their taste.) N. unifasciatus is not only my favorite Nannostomus, it is my favorite of all species.

 

[anewbie]

Well, as the French say, a chacun son gout (to each their taste.) N. unifasciatus is not only my favorite Nannostomus, it is my favorite of all species.

View attachment 371965

I find them large and assertive - btw i only comment on species i actually own hence i can't comment on the other red variations beyond the morthenthaleri. My comments are based on both looks and behavior and at least in my aquarium unifasciatus behavior doesn't appeal. I like how hte marilyn group up and school (i know we had this conversation before but at least in my aquarium they continue to remain in tight formation a year+ later). Likewise the epesi are not as tight as the marilyn but per the image i posted above they are amusing and fun to watch - they are also very very aggressive eaters - not quite as aggressive as h. eilyos but close.

I've tried a few other species of n's but i really prefer the smaller ones. The marginatus are more about eye candy i guess as behavior wise they haven't really excited. I have a large school with the marilyn and unifasciatus in a 65 with brooding a. sp ipiranga. Hum.... Oh well there are a lot of species out there - i'm not sure why anyone needs to leave the amazon

 

[Rusty_Shackleford]

I think these are beauties.
Nannostomus sp. "Rio Cenepa"

Cenepa Red Pencilfish​

View attachment 371961
Or these guys. Rio Amaya
View attachment 371963

I saw those at Dan's. They are lovely. Unfortunately way out of my price range. I should have bought some powerball tickets.

 

[anewbie]

I saw those at Dan's. They are lovely. Unfortunately way out of my price range. I should have bought some powerball tickets.

if you really want them imperical has 7 for $29 a fish. $29 is the normal price range. They might be interesting but i'm not willing to spend the $$$ to find out and i know the $3 or $10 i can get something i'm guaranteed to like.

 

[Rusty_Shackleford]

Maybe Dan's will send me one in the $10 mystery fish bag lol.

 

[gwand]

You would be lucky to get a red guppy.

 

[gwand]

A great place to mail order uncommon wc and tr fish is Aquaticlarity. He has red n. beckfordi tr by the Czech group for reasonable price. It is fun just looking over his inventory. Check it out.