# Help pick out a nice schoolign fish for my 120 Gal dutch something or another



## Jeffww (Aug 6, 2010)

You don't mind live bearers do you? Xiphophorus helleri 'rio otapa' is the king of swordtails to me...But I think some of the more forgotten barbs of the hobby might look good in your tank such as the clown rasbora. In all honesty most larger schooler are going to snack on shrimp. Even medium sized ones in good number are going to put a dent in your numbers...If you can find it lepidarchus adonis is a relatively unique schooling species. I've only seen it once and they weren't cheap.


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## inka4041 (Jul 27, 2008)

The cannot eat shrimp bit is kind of killer. All I can think of is really small nano fish, which only helps to limit the size of the shrimp they'd be able to eat. 

Barbus jae 










Congopanchax brichardi









Psuedomugil 'red neon'


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## Capsaicin_MFK (Nov 15, 2009)

Rummy!


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## plantbrain (Dec 15, 2003)

I've had rummies in client tanks for a long time, but they are winning the choice thus far. Some of the barbs look good in pictures, but I see them at the vendor, well....... I've seen a couple of them that are good. But they are rare.


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## 5BodyBlade (Feb 8, 2011)

Outside the box, maybe pygmy cory cats. Actually good little midwater schoolers.
http://www.seriouslyfish.com/profile.php?genus=Corydoras&species=pygmaeus&id=333


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## Retrogamer82 (Oct 13, 2009)

+1 for rummies.

I know they aren't rare, but seeing the king of schoolers in this tank.. that would be a rare treat indeed.


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## jjp2 (May 24, 2008)

Rummies are a nice fish, but they end up in a lot of tanks. I would try to do something a little different. Because of the need to be compatible with shrimp, I would do one of the following....

Emperor Tetra's







http://www.seriouslyfish.com/profile.php?genus=Nematobrycon&species=palmeri&id=487


Dwarf Neon Rainbows







http://rainbowfish.angfaqld.org.au/Praecox.htm

This one is a potential shrimp feaster, but if so, it would only be the small ones. Kept well fed, it should be ok. I haven't had a problem with any rainbowfish jumping other than at feeding time where they do break the water from time to time.

Pseudomugil gertrudae 







http://rainbowfish.angfaqld.org.au/Gertrud.htm

The gertridae is like a killie, where it lives a couple of years but spawns relentlessly. It will require small food.


Threadfin Rainbow







http://rainbowfish.angfaqld.org.au/Werneri.htm

This one also requires small food and I have found it to be finicky eaters, thus giving it the reputation of being hard to keep. I think this picture has been enhanced, I've seen colorful ones but not to this extent.


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## tetranewbie (Oct 6, 2010)

Coral Red Pencils? 
http://www.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://www.tropicalfishkeeping.com/fish-pictures/coral-red-pencilfish-1267994265-800.jpg&imgrefurl=http://www.tropicalfishkeeping.com/profiles/coral-red-pencilfish/&h=600&w=800&sz=61&tbnid=N_zD8jscj-lB-M:&tbnh=92&tbnw=122&zoom=1&docid=tKihIeXmXwuuZM&sa=X&ei=f-lQT-urBqfXiAKa-v20Bg&ved=0CEIQ9QEwAg&dur=47

Neon rasboras? 
http://www.google.com/imgres?hl=en&rls=com.microsoft:en-us:IE-SearchBox&rlz=1I7TSNJ&biw=1366&bih=587&tbm=isch&tbnid=m1ovzfWWpCHkIM:&imgrefurl=http://millia.aqua-web.org/tekstit/kalat/karppikalat/safiirirasbora.htm&docid=qkpiecyiYLtlKM&imgurl=http://millia.aqua-web.org/kuvia/kalat/karppikalat/sundadanio%252520axelrodi.jpg&w=400&h=266&ei=yuhQT-bBKofJiQLBsfC0Bg&zoom=1&iact=rc&dur=281&sig=102980322734703727511&page=1&tbnh=119&tbnw=177&start=0&ndsp=21&ved=1t:429,r:7,s:0&tx=110&ty=63


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## LB79 (Nov 18, 2011)

Cardinal tetras, glowlight tetras, rummynose tetras, white tip tetras, bleeding heart tetras, gold tetras, harlequin rasboras, on and on and on.


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## moonshinetheslacker (Sep 13, 2010)

A couple questions, plantbrain. First of all, I could have sworn that in a previous post, maybe 6 months to a year ago, you said that you hated fire reds. They were a pest that you absolutely couldn't get rid of in one of your tanks, even though you had german blue rams in it.

Second question is for the rest of y'all. He was requesting your honest opinions on why you think such-and-such schooler would be best for his 120.

The only schooler I've had is a bloodfin tetra. The reason we picked 10 of them for our 75g is because they will interact with you (I.E. School quickly and tightly if you wave your hand quickly infront of the tank) Often times they separate into two different schools, and sometimes spread everywhere, now that we got rid of two particularly aggressive bait fish.

Now, I know I might get crucified for saying this, but... if you really want something to "pop" against your plants, that also schools... have you considered glofish? I'm sure you've heard of them, and seen them plenty of times. Dwarf zebra danios that are crazy bright, due to being genetically modified. If you live in CA, it's a nix though. CA made it illegal to have genetically modified pets. Something which I personally totally agree with by the way. That way if my neighbor gets a three headed piranha dog, I have a state to run away to.


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## salmon (Apr 14, 2011)

the shrimp thing will makes it interesting....assuming that some babies will get picked off.

I would consider:

-Rummies, very common but would likely contrast well with that tank and shoal nicely and probably the best choice

-Lemon tetras, maybe too deep bodied, dont know if the yellow would jive with all the red or not

-Green neons

-CPD's ,wont shoal very well and likely hide lots but an army of them in there would be interesting....probably not what your after though

what about chili or mosquito rasboras? maybe too much red? very interested to see what you go with!


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## mistergreen (Dec 9, 2006)

Try rasbora kubotai. They small enough to not pick off adult shrimps.


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## HD Blazingwolf (May 12, 2011)

+1 FOR Neon Rainbowfish

i will be purchasing 5 of these guys for my 29 gallon. i expect brilliant coloring after some good feeding. they already look great at the LFS

ill let u know how they do with shrimp ill dump a few small ones in from my 10 as sacrifice to the lava gods and fish bellies


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## Naekuh (Oct 19, 2011)

if u didnt have the fire red's id say roseline sharks.
But chances are once the roselines get big... they would probably gobble your fires.

Your amano's tho will be too big for them to gobble.


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## Algae Beater (Jun 3, 2011)

+1 on the threadfin rainbows. I have kept these in large groups in tanks varying from 50-120 gallons. They do not jump and are very peaceful. They have minute mouths and throats, which is the deciding factor in their finicky eating habits. I have found that mine are fond of microworms, BBS (live and frozen), decapsulated brine shrimp eggs and fry foods that are commercially available (first bites etc) 

they are very shrimp safe, they have trouble getting cyclopeez down, so a shrimplet stands little chance of being consumed. i have kept them with various shrimp species and never had an issue with production.


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## Booger (May 17, 2004)

In a tank with that much color, I'd opt for something understated. No bright blues or reds. Too much contrast that clashes with the existing colors in the display, especially when you're talking about a school of 100+.

Emerald eye rasboras would be my choice as their iridescence is visually appealing, but not overpowering.


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## Redneck Badger (Jan 13, 2012)

I was wantin to do the same thing with small tetras , i.e neons, glowlight, embers, black neons etc but apparently they dont hang about together. The guy I buy my fish from says your better buyin just one species of fish. Hes gonna build a large tank with about 400-500 Embers an they will stay in one huge school.


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## ua hua (Oct 30, 2009)

How about Sawbwa resplendens(Asian Rummynose). Very cool fish that is not seen that often.


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## joder (Dec 7, 2011)

Unless you have any blue plants in there I vote: Paracheirodon simulans - Green Neon Tetra.


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## OVT (Nov 29, 2011)

Diamond Tetras


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## rainbuilder (Sep 21, 2011)

I vote for rummynose or psuedomogil gertrudae, I wish that I had both of them.


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## bpb (Mar 8, 2011)

Those emperor tetras sure do look great.


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## oscarsx (Mar 15, 2011)

+1 for the rainbow fish, I had a few of those in my old tank and they were amazing... the colors, the way they swim is a total package... and they're cheap too!


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## Redneck Badger (Jan 13, 2012)

joder said:


> Unless you have any blue plants in there I vote: Paracheirodon simulans - Green Neon Tetra.


Ive never seen them before, theyre pretty cool!


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## jjp2 (May 24, 2008)

You could do the celebes rainbow. It's a pretty fish and not really a rainbowfish. They have a yellow, blue and silver coloration which shows very well. I've had a few of these and thought a tank full would be cool. I've found them very active and very easy to care for. It is small enough where it shouldn't bother shrimp.









http://www.seriouslyfish.com/profile.php?genus=Marosatherina&species=ladigesi&id=859


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## plantbrain (Dec 15, 2003)

moonshinetheslacker said:


> A couple questions, plantbrain. First of all, I could have sworn that in a previous post, maybe 6 months to a year ago, you said that you hated fire reds. They were a pest that you absolutely couldn't get rid of in one of your tanks, even though you had german blue rams in it.


Different tank and I had low grade cherries. Not the Fires.
German Blues all came in with some sort of internal parasite. 
Killed all of them eventually.





> If you live in CA, it's a nix though. CA made it illegal to have genetically modified pets. Something which I personally totally agree with by the way. That way if my neighbor gets a three headed piranha dog, I have a state to run away to.


I live here and agree with the law.
Curiously, they do have folks with weird hybrid cats.
They might be banned now and they grandfathered the prior owners in.

Sort of tacky though.
I see that type of stuff up there with painted glass fish, Parrot fish/flowerhorns etc. Some folks love that stuff, I am not one of them.


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## plantbrain (Dec 15, 2003)

oscarsx said:


> +1 for the rainbow fish, I had a few of those in my old tank and they were amazing... the colors, the way they swim is a total package... and they're cheap too!


Already had NG red fins, no one sees them in the pics .......


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## moonshinetheslacker (Sep 13, 2010)

Well Plantbrain, sorry to hear about your German Blue Rams. I personally love mine. And no internal parasite issues with them either. As far as agreeing with CA's laws with genetically modified pets... I'm not ready to get into a political discussion just yet, nor is this the forum for it. As for liking/disliking the glofish, I figured you would be more of a purist, but I thought the idea should at least be brought up, just in case. Nonetheless... I'm assuming you are some sort of biologist, from reading a few of your posts/threads. I wonder if you have asked yourself the same question that you are asking us... 

I would assume that you have a very good knowledge of north american fish. This includes schooling fish. So what sort of north american schoolers do you know of, that might look great in your tank? I would guess that there is some sort of cheap baitfish/north american fish, that you might absolutely love in your new tank, but you have simply overlooked? Or if not cheap, possibly endangered/rare fish that you could get ahold of simply due to the fact that you are some sort of fancy-pants scientist type. The reason I bring this up is simply due to the fact that most folks don't keep North American fish species. Therefore, a great deal of us don't have any experience with them.

I know most North American fish are pretty camouflaged, and won't show up in your pics too well (I'm assuming that's why you want fish that will stand out) Maybe have a photographer friend stop by to teach you a few tricks would help you open up to some fish that you otherwise would turn down?

I don't have much experience in this sort of thing, but I am trying to help out the best that I can. You've helped me out a time or two in my various aquarium-related debacles.

--Moonshine.


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## shane3fan (Nov 2, 2009)

the green neons, cardinals, rummies or bloodfins would be my choices.


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## S&KGray (Nov 12, 2008)

My top three choices for your tank:

1. _Pseudomugil gertrudae_ "Aru II" (Might have a bit too high of a tendency to jump than you'd like)

2. _Brevibora dorsiocellata_ (Great shoaling and agree with Booger's reasoning)

3. _Paracheirodon simulans_


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## Bahugo (Apr 18, 2011)

A good majority of the people who keep Pseudomugil Gertrudae Aru's all complain about how much they jump and too make sure you have a top. 

*
1. Fish cannot be an active jumper, = fish chips, I do not mind if one or two jump out over say a few months........*

#1 request by Tom in the first post. 

I have Dwarf Neon Rainbows wild F1 juveniles from Gary Lange and they are horrible shrimp eaters, I had too move out the rest of my adult shrimp. I went from over 100 cherries (these were my lower grade, didn't care too much, but there were a few in there that were decent looking that i saved) too like 10 in under in a few weeks once the fish started getting bigger (I hatched them from his eggs). 





This may be a little old school/throw back and seem too be under appreciated.. But I really like my white clouds and I haven't lost any too jumping and its been over a month. They school up really nicely and I can always find them in my tank they generally hover right over the plants for me/near the top. 

(not my picture)


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## S&KGray (Nov 12, 2008)

My updated choices for your tank:

[STRIKE]1. _Pseudomugil gertrudae_ "Aru II" (Might have a bit too high of a tendency to jump than you'd like)[/STRIKE] Bahugo is right I have had at least three jumpers in four months in a partially covered tank.



_Brevibora dorsiocellata_ (Great shoaling and agree with Booger's reasoning)
_Tanichthys micagemmae_
_Tanichthys thacbaensis_
_Paracheirodon simulans_


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## plantbrain (Dec 15, 2003)

moonshinetheslacker said:


> Well Plantbrain, sorry to hear about your German Blue Rams. I personally love mine. And no internal parasite issues with them either. As far as agreeing with CA's laws with genetically modified pets... I'm not ready to get into a political discussion just yet, nor is this the forum for it. As for liking/disliking the glofish, I figured you would be more of a purist, but I thought the idea should at least be brought up, just in case. Nonetheless... I'm assuming you are some sort of biologist, from reading a few of your posts/threads. I wonder if you have asked yourself the same question that you are asking us...
> 
> I would assume that you have a very good knowledge of north american fish. This includes schooling fish. So what sort of north american schoolers do you know of, that might look great in your tank? I would guess that there is some sort of cheap baitfish/north american fish, that you might absolutely love in your new tank, but you have simply overlooked? Or if not cheap, possibly endangered/rare fish that you could get ahold of simply due to the fact that you are some sort of fancy-pants scientist type. The reason I bring this up is simply due to the fact that most folks don't keep North American fish species. Therefore, a great deal of us don't have any experience with them.
> 
> ...


I've kept a number of native US species.
Gar are the more noteable one, but the Darter's are my favorite fish.
Then perhaps the Golden Trout.

The latter 2 tend to be more cooler water fish.


Pygmy Sunfish, FW pipe fish, dozens of other species I collected in Florida when I lived there where also nice. These would mostly eat all the shrimp though, even the smaller killis gobbled them up, the darters I'm sure would make quick work of them.

Pipe fish would be fine, the golden Creek chub might do fine. A few others, but the list is very short. Madtom cats are entirely out.


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## plantbrain (Dec 15, 2003)

The Paraguay tetra seems better than the eye spot. Aphyocharax paraguayensis.

They have nice behavior and will not eat the shrimp.


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## garfieldnfish (Sep 25, 2010)

Glolight tetras.


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## old-newbie (Dec 10, 2011)

wonder why someone with your expertize would ask us.


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## thechibi (Jan 20, 2012)

Because even an expert might not know or have thought of every cool fish their is.  And really, deciding is hard... so many nifty fishes...


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## Noahma (Oct 18, 2009)

How about Glowlight Danio's (Danio choprae)

Beautiful fish, very bright, very active. 

or some of the larger species of Rainbow?


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## ua hua (Oct 30, 2009)

Diamond Tetras are another favorite of mine and with all the colors you already have in your tank they would look good with their mirror like scales.


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