Stocking Advice Inspiration

[Lajos_Detari]

Congo Tetras can grow quite large and are aggressive and nippy. You can't keep them with Celestial Pearl Danio(CPD) and Ember Tetras which are very small. They can be a threat to all smaller fish (even your Neon Tetras).
CPD are very small and in my opinion are not so easy to keep though you can try.

Dwarf Gourami can also be a threat to CPD and Ember Tetras as they are also quite aggressive.

If you plan to keep CPD and Ember Tetras, you have to keep only very peaceful fish.

In your big tank [ 4 ft(lenght), 1-1.5ft (width) ], you may find it hard to watch/view small fish like CPD.(my personal opinion).

Have you look through all the Tetras, Rasboras species?
There are many schooling fish under this two species for you to consider.
Most people may like the tight schooling fish like Harlequin Rasboras, Rummy Nose Tetras.
For myself, I like the Five Banded Barbs which are not so aggressive.

You can search here for Rasboras species under the category of Cyprinids. Most Rasboras are peaceful fish.

Cyprinids

www.qianhufish.com

For Tetras, please check under category of Characin.
Peaceful Tetras are like Cardinal, Green Neon, Glowlight, Rummy nose, Gold, Pristella Tetras. Other Tetras are more aggressive.

Characins

www.qianhufish.com

 

[Alkers]

What about a group of rainbow sharks they are larger but when healthy are beautiful and I have kept them with neons

Reading online and they seem to not like to be kept in groups and they don't seem to suitable for a community setup. Nice looking fish though

 

[Alkers]

Many thanks for all the input, exactly what I was looking for:

New thinking following suggestions:

• 12 no. Neon Tetra (have already)
• 3 no. Oto (have already)
• 12. no congo tetra,
• 2 no. dwarf gourami,
• 6 no. dwarf rainbowfish,
• 12 no. cherry barb,
• 2 no. assasin snail (have already)

 

[Alkers]

Have you look through all the Tetras, Rasboras species?
There are many schooling fish under this two species for you to consider.
Most people may like the tight schooling fish like Harlequin Rasboras, Rummy Nose Tetras.
For myself, I like the Five Banded Barbs which are not so aggressive.

I am familiar with some and not others, I am trying to get as much colour as possible and I appreciate it is difficult to judge a lot of fish from one photo but none of them are particularly jumping out at me as being attractive. Hence looking for specific recommendations which I can check out in person and decide if I like them or not.

 

[Alkers]

Maybe increase you otocinclus numbers.

The three that I have so far all appear to prefer to hang out by themselves. What sort of numbers would you recommend?

 

[Byron]

I personally would not increase the otos. If you have three, they are probably quite settled, and adding more in a new tank can be problematic because of a lack of "established" algae/biofilm. I had three in my 90g for several years (even spawned, as one day there were five).

I would also forget the dwarf gourami. Aside from the disease risk, this being a gourami is sedate and you are getting some more active fish which do not work well together.

 

[Lajos_Detari]

I am familiar with some and not others, I am trying to get as much colour as possible and I appreciate it is difficult to judge a lot of fish from one photo but none of them are particularly jumping out at me as being attractive. Hence looking for specific recommendations which I can check out in person and decide if I like them or not.

Usually the actual fish look better than the photos.
If you are looking for striking colours, Lemon Tetras have very striking yellow/green when you provide them with a good environment (real/fake plants, hiding places, etc) . But I am not sure whether they can mix with Congo Tetras. Perhaps, you can ask Byron as he may have experience in keeping both together. Congo Tetras have longer fins, so there is slight risks that Lemon Tetra may nip them. I guess Byron is the better person to answer this.

If you want something pinkish in colour, look for Rosy Tetras, Harlequin Rasboras, Five Banded Barbs(but not so commonly sold) . All these can be mixed with your current suggestions. In terms of colour and body shape, I prefer Five Banded Barbs than Cherry Barbs.(personal preference).

Note: Rosy Tetras look very similar to Bleeding Heart Tetras that have one red dot on their bodies. But Rosy Tetras are smaller and nicer(my opinion). Look for Rosy with more white tips which look nicer.

Five Banded Barbs are slightly similar to Tiger Barbs but have slimmer bodies than Tiger Barbs with wider/bigger bodies. So, don't mistaken the two because Tiger Barbs are more aggressive and not really suitable for community tank.

 

[Byron]

It just so happens that when I had my group of Congo Tetra (10) they were in the 90g with a group of Lemon Tetra (around 12). I kept a close eye on them but never saw any interaction between the species, nor any evidence of such. They were together for a couple of years. The Congos were getting old, and died off but they were in good shape with incredible flowing dorsal and caudal fins (the males). I also had a group of 11 Black Ruby Barbs in this tank, and they gave no trouble.

One has to keep in mind that numbers and tank size have a significant impact on fish behaviours. Shoaling fish need a group, and many aquarists start having issues because they do not understand this. Five or six is not at all the same to the fish as nine or ten. And the tank size factors in. Studies have determined that insufficient numbers and inadequate tank space both cause an increase in aggression in most species. Naturally aggressive species (like Tiger Barbs) become much more so when they are kept in groups less than 10 or so, while normally peaceful fish (like neon tetras) can actually resort to aggressive behaviours in groups of less than say six or seven. Aggression is about the only thing a fish can do when it becomes stressed and frustrated by its environment. And actual physical aggression is not the only side of this; there is also the chemical communications (pheromones and allomones) that fish use and these can cause stress in other fish just as much.

 

[Lajos_Detari]

Hi,
Here are some videos for fish species:

Tetras

Barbs

When you have a big group of schooling fish:

NEW FISH! Adding 200 Harlequin Rasboras!

Acclimatized slowly for an hour and then a KMnO4 dip before being addedMusic: https://www.bensound.com

youtu.be

 

[MichaelDaniels]

Long-time member, and not much of a poster but returning to the site after the recent sudden death of my Oscar (this was almost in tandem with a snail infestation - related?).

My Oscar was in the tank alone so I am looking to re-stock my Vision 260. Since the fish died, I had my LFS test my water as my test kits were out of date (showed clear) and all came back clear. I use Seachem ammonia alerts and these didn't flag anything either. While I was at the store I picked up three small Ottos and 12 neon tetra just to keep the tank going and I also got two assassin snails to tackle the snail infestation. I'm also manually removing snails as I can.

Having had a single big fish stuff for the last few years I'm looking for inspiration for a community setup. I don't mind having small fish but would like as much colour as possible. I was thinking maybe some rainbowfish but I don't know anything about them.

I have the stock Juwel filtration plus an additional stick-on fluval filter for back-up. Tank is kept at 26C and does get some sunlight. I have a few small plants in it (which the Oscar kept in check) but have otherwise cleared out my ornaments while tackling the snails

Thoughts / advice / opinions appreciated!

Thanks

I had this same exact situation, thanks for all of the advice everyone!

 

[PheonixKingZ]

No problem.

 

[Retired Viking]

I have a shoal of neon tetra in my tetra tank and they get along with my glow light and ember tetras. The glow light and neon sometime will school together and are about the same size.

 

[Back in the fold]

A lot of people really like Rainbow Fish. I know nothing about them except that they are pretty. Might be worth a closer look.