Small Colourful Fish

[xamy_valox]

Hi there,
I have just managed to cycle my tank and so Im now looking round to see what other fish I might want to include in a month or so once the tank is fully stabalised.
I currently have a blue/pink male betta and 4 quite colourful guppies. I only have a small fluval edge tank so I can't afford to have anything big, and dont really want anything bigger than my betta.
I was looking at tetras but there are so many I dont know where to start and none of them seem to be that colourful other than the neons that Im not too fond of.
Any ideas as to other species of small colourful fish that are good in community tanks and wont fin nip?
Thanks, Amy xx

 

[MermaidMel]

Hi Amy, I really recommend galaxy danios, they are stunning, fun to watch, hardy, small!
There are also glowlight tetra, which have bright orange stripes down them, rummy nose tetra which have red faces and black/white tails, harlequin rasboras are great, they are pinky gold with black triangles on their backs, see if you like any of those x

 

[xamy_valox]

Hi Amy, I really recommend galaxy danios, they are stunning, fun to watch, hardy, small!
There are also glowlight tetra, which have bright orange stripes down them, rummy nose tetra which have red faces and black/white tails, harlequin rasboras are great, they are pinky gold with black triangles on their backs, see if you like any of those x

Hi MermaidMel,
I just did a google image search on the suggestions you made, and I really like the look of the Glaxay Danios, they look amazing! Are they easy to get hold of as I havent saw them in any of my LFS's? I had looked at glowlight and also silver tip tetra aswell so they might be a possibility.
If I was to get the danio, how many would I need? Do they need to be in a fairly big group or would I get away with 2 or 3?
Thanks, Amy xx

 

[angel-al]

ember tetras nad axelrodi rasboras are nice and only get to 2 cm but your fighter may eat them if theyre too small. you can really only add about another 10 cm of fish so if you want to add larger tetras you wouldnt be able to get a big enough shoal without it affecting your water quality. how abot putting another couple of guppies in?

 

[xamy_valox]

ember tetras nad axelrodi rasboras are nice and only get to 2 cm but your fighter may eat them if theyre too small. you can really only add about another 10 cm of fish so if you want to add larger tetras you wouldnt be able to get a big enough shoal without it affecting your water quality. how abot putting another couple of guppies in?

I was thinking that, but I already have 4 and wanted to break it up a bit to have a few different fish about. Thats why I was thinking about 2 or 3 other smaller fish.
Amy xx

 

[MermaidMel]

Hi Amy, I really recommend galaxy danios, they are stunning, fun to watch, hardy, small!
There are also glowlight tetra, which have bright orange stripes down them, rummy nose tetra which have red faces and black/white tails, harlequin rasboras are great, they are pinky gold with black triangles on their backs, see if you like any of those x

Hi MermaidMel,
I just did a google image search on the suggestions you made, and I really like the look of the Glaxay Danios, they look amazing! Are they easy to get hold of as I havent saw them in any of my LFS's? I had looked at glowlight and also silver tip tetra aswell so they might be a possibility.
If I was to get the danio, how many would I need? Do they need to be in a fairly big group or would I get away with 2 or 3?
Thanks, Amy xx

Hiya you can find the galaxy danios by checking out www.tropicalfishfinder.co.uk or www.aquarist-classifieds.co.uk as they usually aren't in the run of the mill store and cost about £3-4 per fish, you could have 3-4 of a few different fish, they would be quite happy with a few of their own and few cousins in the tank, as you are planning to keep small fish, there shouldn't be any issues with that x

 

[Monty-2010]

You should be careful with the galaxy danio, aka the galaxy rasbora it's an endangered species in the wild, please only buy if you are set up too and can breed them

 

[Mikaila31]

Galaxy's are a iffy species. There was and still is concern about wild populations that where heavily damaged as a result of harvesting for the aquarium hobby. The entire range of these fish is still not known very well. I know some countries have banned export of wild stock, though one can always question enforcement in these countries. I am still somewhat skeptical on this issue as I can find no sources prior to 2008 on the status of wild populations. I do know there is some farm breeding going on and a decent amount of hobbiest breeding. However there is still no guarantee that the wild stocks will recover to their original levels. This fish also should be in a species only planted tank if being kept or close. Its very tiny, needs acidic waters, and is a shy fish. I feel if you are buying wild stocks then you have a duty to breed. With captive bred stocks their is more leeway for not breeding them, however ideally it should still be done. I would avoid buying them from local stores if available as you will not have the best results with these fish. Along with the fact that most can not give you a accurate source. I only know US sources for this fish if you want it captive bred. And as already stated its a expensive fish for its size. At under an inch your still looking at $5-7 each for captive bred plus the cost of shipping.

 

[MermaidMel]

I bought 10 off a breeder a couple of year ago and had them ages, never lost one, but they didn't breed either, I ended up selling them because I didn't want a desktop size tank at that time, wish I'd kept them now

 

[BackToTheFishes]

Green neons if you can find them are great,lively and different color depending on where they are in the tank.I'm gonna try for a HUGE shoal 60+ when I get my big tank running again

 

[MrNiceGuy]

Hi Amy, I really recommend galaxy danios, they are stunning, fun to watch, hardy, small!
There are also glowlight tetra, which have bright orange stripes down them, rummy nose tetra which have red faces and black/white tails, harlequin rasboras are great, they are pinky gold with black triangles on their backs, see if you like any of those x

Hi MermaidMel,
I just did a google image search on the suggestions you made, and I really like the look of the Glaxay Danios, they look amazing! Are they easy to get hold of as I havent saw them in any of my LFS's? I had looked at glowlight and also silver tip tetra aswell so they might be a possibility.
If I was to get the danio, how many would I need? Do they need to be in a fairly big group or would I get away with 2 or 3?
Thanks, Amy xx

silvertip tetras will most likely nip your betta, i'd stay away from them

 

[Assaye]

In all honesty, with a betta and 4 guppies you're fully stocked as far as mid-swimming fish go. The most I would recommend is a team of small shrimp.

I feel the fish recommended by MermaidMel (aside from the galaxy rasboras/celestial pearl danios which are the same fish and very small) will get too big. Harlequins and glowlights can grow to 1.5 inches and rummy noses get even bigger. It's not fair to keep active shoaling fish like these in a 23 litre tank, especially with other fish.

Any fish like these - danios, rasboras, harlequins, barbs - need to be in shoals of 6 or more. As I said, with a betta (which is a good 2 inches) and 4 guppies (another 1.5 to 2 inches as adults), you're fully stocked. I really wouldn't push it unless you want to walk into water quality problems and/or stressed fish.

Add 6-10 red cherry shrimp. Very bright, super cute and a lot of fun to watch. They are small and don't add much waste to the tank. Plus, they love on the bottom so don't compete with the other fish for space.

 

[Brujo]

id say that for the 6 gallon you have, getting a few shrimp to clean the bottom would be the only thing that i would add to it or dwarf oto

 

[emmettbaby]

Have you looked at Glowfish? They genetically altered danios that don't get too big and because the color is in their genes, you get colored fry. There are red, orange and pink ones. Only thing is is that they are patented or whatever and it's illegal to sell the fry. But from what I've read, they area a very good community fish.

 

[MermaidMel]

In all honesty, with a betta and 4 guppies you're fully stocked as far as mid-swimming fish go. The most I would recommend is a team of small shrimp.

I feel the fish recommended by MermaidMel (aside from the galaxy rasboras/celestial pearl danios which are the same fish and very small) will get too big. Harlequins and glowlights can grow to 1.5 inches and rummy noses get even bigger. It's not fair to keep active shoaling fish like these in a 23 litre tank, especially with other fish.

Any fish like these - danios, rasboras, harlequins, barbs - need to be in shoals of 6 or more. As I said, with a betta (which is a good 2 inches) and 4 guppies (another 1.5 to 2 inches as adults), you're fully stocked. I really wouldn't push it unless you want to walk into water quality problems and/or stressed fish.

Add 6-10 red cherry shrimp. Very bright, super cute and a lot of fun to watch. They are small and don't add much waste to the tank. Plus, they love on the bottom so don't compete with the other fish for space.

I didn't know it was only 23 litre yes Amy you would be fully stocked and guppies shouldn't really be kept in a 23 litre tank (btw where does it say 23 litres?)