Too many fish choices and variables causing confusion…

[NannaLou]

I’m still planning for my new tank (not yet bought but I want to know what’s going to go in it so I know I’ve got everything covered).

I’ve had the Pygmy Cory conversation (thank you for the advice on that one) and will be looking at having 6 Bronze Cories and keep my fingers crossed they don’t go mad with breeding…

The tank will be a 125 ltr (but this will need adjusting for substrate and plants etc.) with dimensions of 80 x 35 x 45 cm. I have Ph of 7-7.4+ and 16 dH.

Do I need to make sure the other fish are spaced between the middle and the top of the water column..?

Visually, I like groups of the same fish, the lfs has a tank with just Cardinal Tetras in it and they are stunningly coloured and the whole tank is really lovely. But then I saw their tank with two peachy coloured discus and Boesemani Rainbow fish (half peach and half blue) that looked stunning too…but not right for my water type .

I like the look of Dwarf Rainbow Fish, they look a pale blue/silver in the lfs but the staff said they’d colour up in a planted tank (the Cardinal Tetras were far more colourful in the planted tank than in the ‘sales’ tank).

And then there is a thread on here (I’ll find the name of the OP later) who has Cardinals and Pearl Gourami…

The lfs say all of their fish (with the exception of the discus) are kept in the local, hard water and they are used to it so not to worry too much about water hardness…I’m not sure how I feel about that, but then get frustrated when I research something and it’s preferences are 1dH less than my water…

So far I have a very happy Betta in a 27ltr tank, all alone apart from the odd snail that I use a 50/50 mix of tap water and RO water for, and a 54 ltr tank that also has some snails and male guppies - it’s in my bedroom and I’ve worked from home for the last 19-20 months and when we do get permission to go back to the office it will probably only be 1 day a week…I spend more hours a day than I should admit to watching them swim around - I adore them

So, I’m far from an expert fish keeper, I’m a bit OCD with water quality checking, and I want a lovely-to-look-at tank in the living room…I’m just getting bamboozled with options (a bit like being in a cake shop).

Ideally, I’d like a list that says, one of those, three of those and six of those…perfect mix for your tank…but I don’t think that exists. I know someone when I first joined suggested ’Sample Menus’ but I don’t think it ever happened, again the variables I think made it an impossible task.

So, back to you wonderfully knowledgeable and experienced fish keepers, please can you help me to narrow down my thinking..? One type of fish or a mix of two or three..? Top, middle, bottom fish - consider this, or not..? Groups of fish that you know will mix well..? Anything specific for me to rule out..?

Lots of questions, sorry…

 

[Wills]

I personally wouldnt listen to your LFS on the hardness, I understand the point of view but I would honestly stick to fish suited to your water and plan the tank from the start. Looking at your ph and hardness you actually have a great tank for rainbow fish so go for the Dwarf Neons.

Stunning fish that go blue with red fins (females have orange fins), other options would be Kamaka or Parva would be other options but they are a bit rarer. You could go for the Cories as said but an other option would be a small Synodontis species like Nigriventis, Lucipinis or Petricola. A trio of Platies would look good too, like a really bright orange one?

You could also consider a small Central American cichlid, just a single specimen like a Nanoluteus or a Cutteri - maybe a Rainbow or a Honduran Red Point?

Wills

 

[NannaLou]

I personally wouldnt listen to your LFS on the hardness, I understand the point of view but I would honestly stick to fish suited to your water and plan the tank from the start. Looking at your ph and hardness you actually have a great tank for rainbow fish so go for the Dwarf Neons.

Stunning fish that go blue with red fins (females have orange fins), other options would be Kamaka or Parva would be other options but they are a bit rarer. You could go for the Cories as said but an other option would be a small Synodontis species like Nigriventis, Lucipinis or Petricola. A trio of Platies would look good too, like a really bright orange one?

You could also consider a small Central American cichlid, just a single specimen like a Nanoluteus or a Cutteri - maybe a Rainbow or a Honduran Red Point?

Wills

Thank you for your reply, but now you’ve added another ton of fish I’ve never heard of into the mix .

Those dwarf neons look lovely don’t they..? They certainly aren’t that colour in the ‘sales tank’.

Off to Google (pictures) and Seriously Fish (trusted info) to find out what those other options are

 

[Colin_T]

The GH might be a bit high for Corydoras.
Your pH (7.4) and GH (285ppm) are fine for rainbowfish, however the tank length is insufficient for Melanotaenia boesemani. It is big enough for Melanotaenia praecox, which will turn blue when they mature. However, the colour can vary depending on the quality of the fish. With good quality fish, they will be a nice blue, with poor quality fish they will be a pale blue. Unfortunately there is not much way of telling how good a quality they are unless you know the person who bred them and can see the adults.

The following link has information on rainbowfish and shows you what adult M. praecox look like. Males have red fins, females have yellow/ orange fins.

Melanotaeniidae and Pseudomugilidae

A website dedicated to Rainbowfishes of Australia and New Guinea

rainbowfish.angfaqld.org.au

 

[NannaLou]

@Colin_T - thank you for your info, I think I had already ruled out the Boesemani as they were the colour match for the discuss which was a very definite no!
@Wills - I have looked at each of those suggestions you have made as the alternatives to the Cories, but they don’t meet my good looking criteria.

What I have managed to find is a video on YouTube of the dwarf neons and platy together - a really lovely mix.

AqAdvisor suggests that I could have 17 dwarf neons and 3 Platy fish and be 103% stocked. In reality I will need to reduce the dwarf neons as there hasn’t been any water capacity reduced for the substrate/plants etc.

I’m feeling that this will be a good mix….any other comments or thoughts..?

 

[Byron]

The lfs say all of their fish (with the exception of the discus) are kept in the local, hard water and they are used to it so not to worry too much about water hardness…I’m not sure how I feel about that, but then get frustrated when I research something and it’s preferences are 1dH less than my water…

This is misleading and false, though it is a commonly-held myth in the hobby. Let me be perfectly clear, I am not saying some soft water fish species cannot manage in water that is higher in GH than their preference. What I am saying is that the fish in the store tanks have not "adjusted" in a matter of a few weeks to the parameters of the water used by the store if it is different from the water the fish came from (habitat or hatchery, whichever). Fish take a long period of time to adjust to substantially different parameters, depending upon the species and the parameters; this is why most authorities do not recommend bothering with drip acclimation, it just has no benefit. Fish cannot adjust that rapidly--again, depending upon species and the parameter difference.

The store hopes to sell the fish ASAP because the longer they have them the more it costs and the less profit. If a given fish is in the store say four, five or six weeks, it may manage in less-than-ideal parameters, again depending upon species and parameters. But this survival should not be assumed to last indefinitely. Some species may, others may not.

 

[Bruce Leyland-Jones]

@Colin_T - thank you for your info, I think I had already ruled out the Boesemani as they were the colour match for the discuss which was a very definite no!
@Wills - I have looked at each of those suggestions you have made as the alternatives to the Cories, but they don’t meet my good looking criteria.

What I have managed to find is a video on YouTube of the dwarf neons and platy together - a really lovely mix.

AqAdvisor suggests that I could have 17 dwarf neons and 3 Platy fish and be 103% stocked. In reality I will need to reduce the dwarf neons as there hasn’t been any water capacity reduced for the substrate/plants etc.

I’m feeling that this will be a good mix….any other comments or thoughts..?

I'm sure you'll appreciate that this is exactly why MTS can become such a serious proble,

 

[Wills]

@Colin_T - thank you for your info, I think I had already ruled out the Boesemani as they were the colour match for the discuss which was a very definite no!
@Wills - I have looked at each of those suggestions you have made as the alternatives to the Cories, but they don’t meet my good looking criteria.

What I have managed to find is a video on YouTube of the dwarf neons and platy together - a really lovely mix.

AqAdvisor suggests that I could have 17 dwarf neons and 3 Platy fish and be 103% stocked. In reality I will need to reduce the dwarf neons as there hasn’t been any water capacity reduced for the substrate/plants etc.

I’m feeling that this will be a good mix….any other comments or thoughts..?

Not even the Petricola? White fish with black spots? I think they are really cool.

In terms of your stocking so far I would go for 12 of the Dwarf Neons and start with 3 Platys - they will breed so theres a chance you'll grow that population. I'd also go for slightly less Dwarf Neons incase you decide you want to add something else?

Wills

 

[CaptainBarnicles]

Dwarf neons are lovely, I have a few with my boesemani and parva....but I have 240l to play with...I'm also considering the petricola, I think they're beautiful!

 

[itiwhetu]

It wouldn't be advised to keep Cory's or Cardinals in that water. So Rainbows are your best bet. Unless you are going to soften the water using organic matter, so other fish are possible.

 

[NannaLou]

Dwarf neons are lovely, I have a few with my boesemani and parva....but I have 240l to play with...I'm also considering the petricola, I think they're beautiful!

If only I could find the space to shoehorn something bigger into the lounge…

 

[NannaLou]

It wouldn't be advised to keep Cory's or Cardinals in that water. So Rainbows are your best bet. Unless you are going to soften the water using organic matter, so other fish are possible.

Mmm…this is where the conflicting advice confuses me so much…some sources saying they need x, y and z and others saying but they’ll be ok if that’s not perfect.
I don‘t really want the worry of keeping my natural water parameters to an artificial level. One piece of advice that seems to remain consistent is that stable water parameters are better than fluctuating ones.

I think I’ve got my mind set on the dwarf neon rainbow fish and three Platy

 

[NannaLou]

Not even the Petricola? White fish with black spots? I think they are really cool.

Wills

Not really, and certainly not enough to reduce the other fish for…now if I could magic up another 200 ltrs….then maybe I might change my mind.

I still think the Cories are prettier

 

[Colin_T]

AqAdvisor suggests that I could have 17 dwarf neons and 3 Platy fish and be 103% stocked. In reality I will need to reduce the dwarf neons as there hasn’t been any water capacity reduced for the substrate/plants etc.

No more than 10-12 rainbowfish (M. praecox) in that size tank.
My tanks were 3 ft long x 14 inches wide x 18 inches high and they had around 12 adult rainbowfish in.
My 4ft long x 14 inch wide x 18inch high tanks had 16-20 adult rainbows in.

They need clean water otherwise they develop nasty external protozoan infections if they are overcrowded or kept in dirty tanks. Rainbowfish also need lots of plant matter in their diet. At least 50% of their diet should be plant based. You can use vege flakes, goldfish food and have live plants and algae in the tank for them to eat.

 

[Colin_T]

If only I could find the space to shoehorn something bigger into the lounge…

Double and triple tier stands