# Colorful Freshwater Fish Suggestions



## jonah (Nov 29, 2002)

I like glow light tetras. They looked dyed, but that's their natural color. A healthy glow light looks like it's got a neon orange horizontal stripe on it's side. Super peaceful too, I keep them with my Apistogramma steindachneri fry (1/4"-3/4").

You'll want to stay with smaller fish if you're keeping them in a 25g tall tank.


----------



## newplantguy (Nov 6, 2002)

Thanks for the suggestion! Ya, I plan to stay with smaller fish. I just setup the tank about a week and a half ago.. sure is a step up from my old ten gallon 

Ryan


----------



## sean (Mar 26, 2003)

What about Rainbows, or are they too big?


----------



## newplantguy (Nov 6, 2002)

I would love to get some rainbows but, unfortunately, my tank isn't setup for fish that big. Gotta stay with the little ones for now.


----------



## GDominy (Jul 30, 2002)

Blue Rams stay small, and have "gorgeous" colouring, and as a plus, they do very well with tetra's. There are also a number of Apistogramma's that should fit the bill as well.


----------



## newplantguy (Nov 6, 2002)

Cool! 

Maybe a Blue Ram would be a really nice addition.. a great centerpiece fish. Do they need to be paired up or can one get along by itself? For some reason I was under the assumption that all Cichlids were aggressive. Are there only certain Cichlids, like the Blue Ram, that are not aggressive towards peaceful fish like tetras and minnows?

Thanks again! If you want to see a picture of my aquarium to get a better idea of the habitat, a link to an image is below (164k).

http://home.attbi.com/~ryan.rathbone/fishies_big.jpg

Ryan


----------



## GDominy (Jul 30, 2002)

There are many Dwarf Cichlids that are perfectly suited to a South American tank (tetra's and other characins). German Blue Rams, Apistogamma's, and various others make lovely additions.

I keep a single blue ram in one tank that is doing well. However I will probably pick up another 1-3 if I can find them.


----------



## Guttboy (Jul 19, 2003)

Hi everyone....

Just reading the message board...still a newbie...going to start up my new 100 gallon planted tank in a week or so. What I would like to know and this was a very close match to my question so ill ask here....

I would like to keep several schools of small fish. I dont want huge fish. I like the movement of many small fish. 

My wife and I went to the pet stores this afternoon...here are some thoughts....if you can all let me know if they are compatible.

Neon tetras....very cool.
Rummynose...very cool...were swimming with the other neons in a tank.
Plecosthemos...spelling....good at algae control????

Can you keep African dwarf frogs with those?
Shrimp??

THanks...I want this to be a community tank with small fish.

[email protected]!


----------



## jonah (Nov 29, 2002)

Guttboy said:


> Neon tetras....very cool.
> Rummynose...very cool...were swimming with the other neons in a tank.
> Plecosthemos...spelling....good at algae control????
> 
> ...


If the pleco is the common type it'll get huge eventually. I had one that was about 18" a few years back. The tetras are good community fish. Make sure the tank is cycled, in my experience neons will die if you look at them hard.  

Shrimp will be fine with most tetras, I've got Buenos Aires tetras that will tear shrimp apart, but that's not normal for the smaller tetras. If you get a frog, make sure it's not the clawed type. If you see webbing between the front toes then they're okay with small fish. That's info I got from an article in AFM, I've never kept frogs before.


----------



## Rex Grigg (Dec 10, 2002)

Search around. There are a ton more small schooling fish. Stay away from the larger outlets like PetCo or PetSmart. Clark's seems to come up in discussion. Did you check there?

Also stay away from the common Pleco. They get quite large and can damage plants.


----------



## Schala (Mar 15, 2003)

You can keep African Dwarf Frogs with tetras and pretty much any other fish that isn't too agressive. 

I have three frogs in a 2.5 gallon tank. I'd keep them in with my fish except that they are so small I worry about them getting buried when I vacuum the gravel. Also, mine only eat frozen bloodworms and I'm not sure they'd find the food before my betta did.

Just be careful if you have too tall of a tank because it might be hard for them to swim up to get air. 

Make sure you get African DWARF frogs, not African CLAWED frogs, which grow huge and will eat your little fish. If you look on the front legs of the frog, they should be webbed. If not, you may have a clawed frog on your hands.


----------



## jart (Jan 17, 2003)

Rex Grigg said:


> Also stay away from the common Pleco. They get quite large and can damage plants.


i'd agree. in my experience even if they don't do direct damage to the plants they can uproot new ones on a daily basis, before they have a chance to establish good roots.

as far as schooling fish goes i've always had a thing for harlequins myself...


----------



## Guttboy (Jul 19, 2003)

THanks guys.....

Rex...are you from the Albuquerque area....I have been going to Clarks...they are pretty helpful and have a good selection. Just a question....why stay away from PETCO and PETSMART/WALMART for small fishies? Just a question.


----------



## Slaigar (Jun 8, 2003)

I cant believe no one has mentioned it yet(unless I just didnt read it)! Killifish can be absolutely beautiful with their bright colors and patterns. But I do believe they are short lived(2-3 years maybe) and I do not know about their social behaviors. Now I just wish someone would sell these fish in my area!


----------



## Rex Grigg (Dec 10, 2002)

I'm not from the Albuquerque area. And I don't think I have ever even been there. But I do know how to find things on the internet. I stay away from PetCo and PetSmart because their fish are usually in very poor shape and the selection IMHO sucks. Same pretty much goes for WalMart.

Some other suggestions for smaller schooling fish are Emerald Eye Rasbora and Brilliant Rasbora.


----------



## Guttboy (Jul 19, 2003)

Thanks alot Rex....I like Clarks...they are really close to the house within 5 min so thats a PLUS! They do have nice looking fish...not a gigantic selection of plants but they are pretty helpful! Thanks again for all the help....I am starting a site for my tank in the photos area called Mike's 100 Gallon. Will be putting some stuff up there tomorrow.


----------



## Moebius (Mar 19, 2003)

What I like to do is ask for a sample of water from the LFS's. I have found out that the Wal-Mart's, PetCo's, PetSmart's, other chains etc., have the same pH as the tapwater (which around here is very hard and pH approaching 9). My favorite smaller, yet more expensive LFS has a nice neutral pH. I often get high losses if bought from a chain, as you would expect with dropping 2 pH points.

I bought a school of twenty Neons a few months ago from this lil' LFS, and I still have twenty. Previously, I had purchased a school of 10 from PetSmart and had lost 7 of them within a week.

Sometimes you get what you pay for.


----------



## Ken (Jul 27, 2003)

Hi, I'm new to the forum and planted tanks in general. So forgive me if my questions are newbie-esque.

Why doesn't anyone else suggest Tiger Barbs? I have a 10 gal planted with a bunch of Java Ferns (that's all for now) with my 5 Green Tiger Barbs, 1 Spotted Rafael, 1 Emerald Cory, and 1 Oto (he gets a buddy tomrrow).

I love the Green Tigers for their bold color and active schooling behavior. I know they are considered Semi-aggressive, but if kept in numbers they are very peaceful to the other fish. They don't even mind the Cory schooling with them. 

Also, any suggestions to go with my Java Ferns? Preferably low-medium light. Thanks


----------



## evan (Jul 4, 2003)

crypts, anubias, vals? :wink: im a noob too. :shock:


----------



## evan (Jul 4, 2003)

hm... the petsmarts near my house are pretty good. the petcos aren't that good, but i go there if the petsmarts don't sell a certain fish. maybe its because i live in a fairly affluent area. 8)


----------

