Suggestions For Some New Tank Mates :-)

[alexpb22]

Hey,

I have a fluval roma 125 (80 x 35 x 45 cm) been set up for about a year now. It's all settled but I have lost a few fish along the way, most recently some lovely yellow/black speckled Platies that seemed to get something which made them go very thin before passing. For some reason my red ones haven't as yet been affected.

At the moment I have the following fish:

Powder Blue Dwarf Gourami
5 Red Platys
8 Dwarf Neon Rainbows

I was looking to buy another couple of fish but wanted to break the colours up a bit as I have a lot of blue with some red.

I'd love to hear some suggestions of one or two larger fish that could join the group and maybe add a little varied interest. I don't think I want to get any bottom feeding fish. I did have some loaches and a pleco which didn't last very long at all but something with some colour would be good.

 

[SouthernCross]

Dwarf cichlids?

 

[Baccus]

To really help you with some viable fish selections we need to know some more statistics on your tank, things like the gH (general hardness) if you know it and pH. These two componants play a huge role in the health and longevity of your fish.For example generally Platties like a hard water with lots of minerals and salts, while gourami many loaches and a good proportion of catfish like soft acid water.Platties will do fine in pure fresh water, but it may not be to their absolute liking.
 
What temperature do you usually have your tank set on, as this too will restrict the suitable species that could be added.
 
Availability of species, depending on what country your in will determine if certain species of fish will even legally be available to you. Pointless having your heart set on say rainbow shiners if they simply are not allowed where you live.
 
Shape or colour preference on your behalf. Some people can not stand khuli loaches simply because they remind them of snakes, while others look at glass catfish and say why bother there is no colour to them. So if you have a prefered colour this will further whittle down the fish selection.
 
Another thing to consider is live plants, some fish ignore live plants, while others just eat them and yet others go out of their way to destroy all greenery in their tank.

 

[alexpb22]

Dwarf cichlids?

 
Thanks for your reply, I don't know much about Cichlids but it is something that had occured to me.  Were there any in particular that you were thinking of?
 

To really help you with some viable fish selections we need to know some more statistics on your tank, things like the gH (general hardness) if you know it and pH. These two componants play a huge role in the health and longevity of your fish.For example generally Platties like a hard water with lots of minerals and salts, while gourami many loaches and a good proportion of catfish like soft acid water.Platties will do fine in pure fresh water, but it may not be to their absolute liking.
 
What temperature do you usually have your tank set on, as this too will restrict the suitable species that could be added.
 
Availability of species, depending on what country your in will determine if certain species of fish will even legally be available to you. Pointless having your heart set on say rainbow shiners if they simply are not allowed where you live.
 
Shape or colour preference on your behalf. Some people can not stand khuli loaches simply because they remind them of snakes, while others look at glass catfish and say why bother there is no colour to them. So if you have a prefered colour this will further whittle down the fish selection.
 
Another thing to consider is live plants, some fish ignore live plants, while others just eat them and yet others go out of their way to destroy all greenery in their tank.

 
Thanks for your reply.
 
I'll do my best to answer your questions:
 
According to the waterboard the hardness here is 15dH (German Hardness) and the last time I tested the PH it came in at around 7.9.  The temperature is just over 26C and I am in the UK.
Whilst I realise that this may not be ideal for the Dwarf Gourami, the LFS keep them in similar coniditons so he has actually done really well and seems to be thriving.
 
I have a completely artificial plant aquarium which I love and so far haven't needed to get any real plants.  Water changes I do once a week.
 
I am very open minded as to any suggestions, and I will research whatever you think and then come to a decision.  Personally I think as long as the fish aren't blue then it will be a good addition.  My instinct probably suggests finding some yellow however I'm really not fussed but the more vivid the colouring the better IMO.  I really love the shimmering colour that my Dwarf Gourami has added.  Shape wise I do prefer the wider fish i.e gourami but again am open to suggestions.  I have had Dwarf Chain Loaches in the past and they didn't do well at all apart from one seemingly hardy one.  I spent £60 on several and they lasted a matter of weeks so I'm not really keen on going down the loach/bottom feeding route.
 
I have attached some pics of the tank jsut so you can see what I'm talking about and also my Powder Blue Dwarf Gourami for anyone that's interested.  By the way the wide shot of the tank was taken when I had set it up so ignore the different fish that are in there as it no longer stands.  You may see some loaches or even Honey Gourami in there.
The pic of the Dwarf Neons and Platies have the yellow/black speckled ones which sadly are no more.

 

[Baccus]

As a start would you be interested in Tateurndina oceuicauda, otherwise known as Peacock Gudgeon?

 

[alexpb22]

As a start would you be interested in Tateurndina oceuicauda, otherwise known as Peacock Gudgeon?

Sorry I thought I had replied to this earlier but for some reason it didn't go through and have just noticed.

Weirdly I actually thought of these when I set the tank up but as they were so small I overlooked them. They may be worth another look as haven't seen them for real yet. How many would I be able to have?

I do like them but not as keen on their shape, look a bit different body/head wise but they could be good. Would there be anything else you can suggest?

 

[Baccus]

I would probably only look at getting one pair for your sized tank, making sure that they have a couple of hidey holes to bolt into and possibly breed in. Full grown peacock gudgeons can get up to 7cm which is not that tiny, but getting a pair might be tricky since most fish are sold as juvi's. If you can only get juvi's I would try for 4 fish and see who pairs up or at least which sexes you end up with and then possibly look at having to rehouse the odd ones out.
 
I am incredily biased for many Australian native fish, such as Threadfin Rainbows and Spotted Blue Eyes, threadfins get bigger than spotted blue eyes, but they still have tiny mouths and are generally peaceful.
 
If you didnt have the dwarf gourami you could even set up a female sorority of Siamese Figthers, there are some stunning females and this way you can have multiply colours of very personable fish. If going down this path I would look at getting a minimum of 4 females since they will form a heirachy and the dominate female will bully the lower ranking girls. This is natural, as long as the fish can all get away from each other if necessary, they generally will get along. The more the females in the sorority the more any aggression can be spread out.

 

[alexpb22]

I love the idea of a female Siamese tank, and that may be one for the future.

Your suggestions are great but I think I prefer the gudgeon/threadfin idea however I need to check sizes.

I like the blue spotted but I'm concerned they may be a little small. A while back I introduced some tetras that were meant to be compatible with the dwarf neons but I had to remove them and put them in my other tank as within seconds the neons were harassing them and I have no doubt they would have lasted a matter of hours.

How many threadfins could one have?

 

[alexpb22]

What are your thoughts on Rams or Apistos?

 

[Baccus]

Both Rams and Apistos are nice fish, and are generally for soft water tanks. I have never kept them myself, mainly because in almost all of my tanks I have either corydoras or other bottom dwelling fish that cichlids tend to pick on when the cichlids decide to breed, and in other tanks I have shrimp which would just be a tasty snack for any cichlid. I do know that some of the German Blue Rams can be a lot more deleicate in terms of water requirements, thanks mostly in part to the inbreeding/ line breeding that was done to produce and stabalise the colouration.
 
Because of a Threadfins strong schooling instinct I would aim for a minimum of 6 threadfins for your tank, and look into what live plants you could add to your tank to make the creek/ billabong effect. Threadfins and other rainbow fish really do look amazing darting through the thin stems of Val and lotus

 

[alexpb22]

Both Rams and Apistos are nice fish, and are generally for soft water tanks. I have never kept them myself, mainly because in almost all of my tanks I have either corydoras or other bottom dwelling fish that cichlids tend to pick on when the cichlids decide to breed, and in other tanks I have shrimp which would just be a tasty snack for any cichlid. I do know that some of the German Blue Rams can be a lot more deleicate in terms of water requirements, thanks mostly in part to the inbreeding/ line breeding that was done to produce and stabalise the colouration.
 
Because of a Threadfins strong schooling instinct I would aim for a minimum of 6 threadfins for your tank, and look into what live plants you could add to your tank to make the creek/ billabong effect. Threadfins and other rainbow fish really do look amazing darting through the thin stems of Val and lotus

6 threadfins would be nice assuming that I'm not overstocking. I am going to look at them more. My dwarf neon rainbows are all male which I did to avoid to much fighting. Presumably I should also aim for male threadfins.

 

[Baccus]

I think 8 threadfins would suit your tank just fine but with the other dwarf rainbows 6 might have to do as a starting point, and being 80cm long they will use the entire length of the tank. I would try to get male and female threadfins, mostly because then you will get to see their fascinating displays as they entice females to spawn. Also they will tend to show their best colour when they have females to show off too. I have not seen super viloent sparring between my males, usually its all flash and quick circling and then they seperate again. Not at all like some fish that will actively lock jaws and chomp chunks out of each other. And once one male has been defeated the other male leaves him and they all go back to doing whatever it was they where doing before the show.
One of the main things to remember about threadfins is they have really tiny mouths, so food needs to be made fine for them. They also adore live mosquito wrigglers, mine love that little treat which I often add to the my tanks. I only really see them go after live blackworms if toss some lives worms into the tank and the fish find the worms as they sink to the bottom. Once the worms make it to the substrate they are a habitat enrichment activity for my corydoras.
Here is a link that might give you some more insight into their habits and requirements
http/www.aquagreen.com.au/plant_data/Iriatherina_werneri.html
 
These are what my Threadfins are living with and the two groups are often all shoaling together
http/www.aquagreen.com.au/plant_data/Melanotaenia_pygmaea.html

 

[alexpb22]

So I've just been to my LFS and unfortunately they didn't have and don't generally have threadfin rainbows . I had a look around and saw some Peacock Gudgeons which I really liked. I've just put them in and my Dwarf Neon Rainbows are chasing them around the tank. I feared this may happen as it's happened with some tetras I added once. I know that gudgeons are definitely supposed to go with neons but can anyone say whether this sort of thing calms down once boundaries have been set or is this destined not to work as it's already chaos? All my neons are hanging around the bottom of the tank which they don't usually do.

 

[Baccus]

The chasing could have been down to curisoity about the new additions. I know some fish are so used to only ever having food put in their tank they think anything added to their tank is food. Everything should shettle down again, especially if the gudgeons have some hidey holes they can use as shelter.
The neon rainbows might just be hanging around the bottom because they still think the gudgeons are dinner, and not new tank mates to ignore. I know when I have added shrimp to certain tanks it can take a while for certain fish to finally forget about trying to eat them and return to doing other fishy activities aside from shrimp hunting and munching. Usually within a day or two the shrimp are settled and out doing their thing and the fish that where hunting them are ignoring the shrimp.
If you add some floating food of what your fish are generally acustomed to, do they leave the bottom and come up to feed as normal?
For goby hide holes I know it doesnt look the greatest but PVC pipe cut in half makes nice secure places for gobies, one of my desert gobies even took a liking to a holey lump of larva rock, while another one prefered the cut in half length ways log I had in its tank.

 

[alexpb22]

The chasing could have been down to curisoity about the new additions. I know some fish are so used to only ever having food put in their tank they think anything added to their tank is food. Everything should shettle down again, especially if the gudgeons have some hidey holes they can use as shelter.
The neon rainbows might just be hanging around the bottom because they still think the gudgeons are dinner, and not new tank mates to ignore. I know when I have added shrimp to certain tanks it can take a while for certain fish to finally forget about trying to eat them and return to doing other fishy activities aside from shrimp hunting and munching. Usually within a day or two the shrimp are settled and out doing their thing and the fish that where hunting them are ignoring the shrimp.
If you add some floating food of what your fish are generally acustomed to, do they leave the bottom and come up to feed as normal?
For goby hide holes I know it doesnt look the greatest but PVC pipe cut in half makes nice secure places for gobies, one of my desert gobies even took a liking to a holey lump of larva rock, while another one prefered the cut in half length ways log I had in its tank.

Thanks Baccus, you have given me some hope there. Everything you say makes sense and hopefully it will work out. They are pretty bad though and its not one or two but they behave like a pack of wolves.

Overnight I put a towel over the tank to black it out hoping that may help and I also rearranged the tank a bit so currently there are things in places they are not supposed to be. Thanks for the tip about the pipe. I actually bought a couple of fake rocks that have little hidey caves in them and aside from that there are quite a few hidey areas around my bogwood that essentially are mini caves that they can go in. Also pretty much behind the bogwood my neons don't go so they have that whole area.

If you remember my earlier post, this is exactly what they did with the tetras that I added but when I added my platys and dwarf gourami they didn't even feign interest. If this doesn't work out then I now know that I can't add any fish that are smaller than the neons but I hope it settles down.

Today I have seen one gudgeon who comes out momentarily and another behind the wood but two of them I have lost completely. No doubt they are hiding somewhere.

I fed the fish for the first time tonight and they came up to feed from the surface as normal.