recommend me some colorful fishes please

[reybie]

I will be filling my tank in the next few days and while waiting for the cycle, I'd like to make a shopping list of colorful fishes that can co-exist in a community setting. They will be housed in this 55gal tank ([Only Registered Users Can See Links.]).

Edit 02/23/07: I'm going to update this first post of my shopping list (pending water quality verification).

Tiger Barb
Green Tiger Barb
Pink Kissing Gourami
Blue Gourami (possibly a powder blue, and some other kinds I can't remember the name)
Tetras (might be a problem with the gourami)

[cartmanis]

What's your water like. PH, Hardness. Might help folks suggest some fish.

[Drumachine09]

One hell of a tetra tank.
Barbs
Cichlids
Rams
Etc.

There are a ton of options. It all just depends on personal preferance.

[Chrona]

Dwarf gouramis
Cardinal Tetras

[*Sarah*]

Well, since we don't know what your water is like, some fish that are adaptable to pretty much any water, and are very colourful are Guppies. They are very easy to keep and come in pretty much any colour under the rainbow. Another colourful fish is the Endler's Livebearer. However, the two species shouldn't be kept together because they may interbreed...at least, the experts say they shouldn't be kept together..I however would be rather interested in what they would produce so I just may try it ;) Just be warned that Guppies breed like rabbits, so you may end up with more than you can keep, so you may have to find a way to dispose of them.

Umm, other colourful fish are Gourami's. There are different varieties, and many of them are beautiful. There are also many really pretty Tetras, including Cardinal, Neons, Redfin, etc. Rainbow fish are also very pretty...I guess what I'm saying is, it all depends on what your water type is as to what you can keep comfortably, and there's a type of fish for pretty much any type.

[reybie]

I will have to check water quality then. That's the first thing I will do when I get my master test kit. I just got confirmation that it's already shipped.

[Glasstapper]

With a 55 gallon, I'd go with some larger fish. The smaller fish look cool in big tanks, but only if they're in big swarms since they are harder to spot in such a big area.

here's a couple of suggestions:

1-If you really like the small fishies, go with large amounts of them. I'd say a school of 10 guppies (you can mix all the colors because they don't care and get all males unless you want babies everywhere), a school of 12 either neons or cardinal tetras (look almost the same, but both have their advantages and disadvantages), 6 platys or swordtails (again, all males unless you want tons of babies) and a school of 6 cory cats (they prefer either a sand or smooth gravel substrate because their "whiskers" are sensitive and coarse gravel could blunt them down). If your substrate is dark, go with albino corys, if it's light, go with the false julii corys also called trilineatus or reticulated cory. All of these fish are peaceful, hardy, and not too picky about setup. A few hiding places and some bushy plants (real or fake) will be just fine. This is a fairly good stock without overdoing it at maximum capacity.

2-If you want some larger fish mixed in with some smaller ones, then I would suggest one medium sized "peaceful" cichlid like a green or gold severum OR 3 keyhole cichlids. Granted, they are not as brightly colored as a platy, but they are very smart and are considered as "wet pets" since they recognize their owner and offer interaction. Keep in mind the attitude of a cichlid and how their personality is different individualy. It's a bit of a gamble, but totally worth it, in my opinion. Add a school of 8 tiger barbs, and a school of 6 cory cats. Generally, these will all get along, but may prove to be a bit more of a challenge on water maintenance and personalities. For setup, same as above applies, but a few large rocks would be appreciated by the cichlids.

It's up to you on how much you plan on being involved with your fish. If you want a setup to sit back and enjoy, go with small peaceful like #1. If you plan on spending lots of time interacting with your fish like you would a pet, then cichlids are more personable.

[reybie]

Thanks for the input guys, really appreciated. I'm taking notes about what you have suggested so far and I've been window shopping at the fish store.

[freshwaterfishlover]

Gold Fish
Chicilds
Tetras
Angels

[Chrona]

Gold Fish
Chicilds
Tetras
Angels

Careful with goldfish though. They mostly need to be kept by themselves, so you won't be able to get a community tank.

[freshwaterfishlover]

my mistake. I missed the part about community setting.

[reybie]

I already have a goldfish, looking to get more variety. I'm leaning towards the semi-agressive ones, gourami, tiger barbs, tetras.

I can't really do anything at the moment until I get my water test kit. I have one of those all in one strips that I used for the goldfish tank.

[Glasstapper]

I didn't realize you already had a goldfish in the tank. Goldfish are coldwater species, and shouldn't be mixed with tropicals since they like warmer water. You should go with either all goldfish (I'd say about 4 goldfish in your 125 liter), or all tropicals. I wouldn't put them together.

[reybie]

Oh no, sorry, I was going to keep the goldfishes where they are now or give them to someone. I'm moving on to community tank where I can have more options of what I can have in the tank.

[xoolooxunny]

Just some food for thought: A shoaling setup. These setups can be very attractive if set up the right way. I've seen a couple and I am considering making one for myself. If you buy 2 of this and 2 of that, the fish can become kind of boring. However, If you buy a large quantity of one fish, like cardinal tetras (Neon tetras may develop a disease for which there is no cure) they will stay in tight groups and move around together, like they would in nature. Maybe use a sloped substrate (black looks nice with the red color) sloping up to the back, a chunk of driftwood in the middle, and some java ferns on the floor. You can probably imagine what it would look like, and its something a little different from most community tanks.

[genitor]

rosy barbs are really colourful. The males are red and yellow and the females are yellow.

[reybie]

Just some food for thought: A shoaling setup. These setups can be very attractive if set up the right way. I've seen a couple and I am considering making one for myself. If you buy 2 of this and 2 of that, the fish can become kind of boring. However, If you buy a large quantity of one fish, like cardinal tetras (Neon tetras may develop a disease for which there is no cure) they will stay in tight groups and move around together, like they would in nature. Maybe use a sloped substrate (black looks nice with the red color) sloping up to the back, a chunk of driftwood in the middle, and some java ferns on the floor. You can probably imagine what it would look like, and its something a little different from most community tanks.

That does sound like a pretty setup. I'll have to look around some.

Edit: Oooh now look what you started. I googled for info on shoaling and there are tons of stuff out there. Options, options, more options... my head is swimming with info.

[Glasstapper]

Just some food for thought: A shoaling setup. These setups can be very attractive if set up the right way. I've seen a couple and I am considering making one for myself. If you buy 2 of this and 2 of that, the fish can become kind of boring. However, If you buy a large quantity of one fish, like cardinal tetras (Neon tetras may develop a disease for which there is no cure) they will stay in tight groups and move around together, like they would in nature. Maybe use a sloped substrate (black looks nice with the red color) sloping up to the back, a chunk of driftwood in the middle, and some java ferns on the floor. You can probably imagine what it would look like, and its something a little different from most community tanks.

I also love the huge schools of fish. I once saw a video a guy took of his tank that had over 50 tiger barbs in it. It was awesome! I've always thought the neons always looked best in a huge school of at least 20 with lots of green plants all around them. It just looks so relaxing, you know? :)

[reybie]

xoolooxunny's post yesterday reminded me of when I was at petsmart watching the schools of tiger barbs. Hopefully this weekend I can start filling with water and by monday I'll get my test kit.

[reybie]

Got the test kit and the tank water's pH is 7.6, I tested the tap water and it's 7.4.

Is Aquasafe safe to add while doing the fishless cycle?

[Chrona]

Got the test kit and the tank water's pH is 7.6, I tested the tap water and it's 7.4.

Is Aquasafe safe to add while doing the fishless cycle?

Yes, you should actually add it before cycling, because any chlorine in the water will kill the bacteria you want.

[reybie]

Thanks! I have not added the ammonia yet, just starting tonight. Finally got the canister filter going with a new impeller. Heater's in and working, now the ammonia addition.

[Chrona]

Thanks! I have not added the ammonia yet, just starting tonight. Finally got the canister filter going with a new impeller. Heater's in and working, now the ammonia addition.

Good luck and thank you for flying with Fishless Airlines :thumb:

[Glasstapper]

You're on the right track! In about 14 days or so, you should be ready to add your stock to your tank. Have you decided on the fish you'd like to keep?

[reybie]

I'm leaning towards gouramis and tiger barbs, are they compatible? Or is it a hit and miss? If they are compatible, what else would you recommend. I'm a sucker for color :)

I forgot to mention that aside from using "used" gravel, I'm floating my media from my 10 gal tank to contaminate the new tank with the good bacteria.

[Chrona]

I would recommend cardinal tetras and dwarf gouramis for color. Tiger barbs aren't as colorful, usually, but they are more active and fun to watch. They may also pester the gourami.

[bigsepe]

Agree with Chrona, they aren't as colorful as say platies but they're super active and great fish. They should be compatible with the dwarf gouramis as they are always in the same tank as each other at my LFS. I'd say if you dont want too great of a variety of color go for it!

[Cichlid_Man]

Aquasafe will not hurt anything while cycling

[sushant]

i'll suggest rainbows and tetras(mainly cardinal and neon) beside being colourful they are more active .

[*Sarah*]

I haven't had luck with Gourami's, but you very well could. If you have soft water, go for the tetras. If your water is a bit harder, Platys and Mollies are great.

[reybie]

I've read that some people are having trouble with gouramis, I will try it and see if I have gourami thumb ;D

[Severus]

I have had great success with large gouramis (blue), but have no luck with dwarf gouramis.

[*Sarah*]

Are gourami's really sensitive or something? I still dont understand why I had trouble with them.

[Chrona]

Are gourami's really sensitive or something? I still dont understand why I had trouble with them.

Yeah, dwarf gouramis are very sensitive to water conditions. Not sure about the regular ones though.

[*Sarah*]

Yeah, dwarf gouramis are very sensitive to water conditions. Not sure about the regular ones though.
Well, I think I'm going to stick with less sensitive types of fish. I can't stand spending good money just to have the suckers die within a few days. Are Cichlids difficult to keep? Eventually I think I'm going to keep them since our water here is pretty hard. Even my LFS guy said Cichlids thrive in our town water.

[reybie]

I'd like to try cichlids but I don't think you can't put many different kinds in one tank. That and it'd kind of rule out smaller fishes, they'd be dinner for the cichlids.

[Chrona]

Well, I think I'm going to stick with less sensitive types of fish. I can't stand spending good money just to have the suckers die within a few days. Are Cichlids difficult to keep? Eventually I think I'm going to keep them since our water here is pretty hard. Even my LFS guy said Cichlids thrive in our town water.

Yes, cichlids will do great with well water (ie high pH, very hard). My next tank will be a cichlid tank, unless I decide to shell out the money for a saltwater tank.