Deliberation of new fish!!

[CosmicStar]

Hello friends! I've had a 16 gallon bowfront aquarium lightly planted with a nice piece of driftwood for 4 months now..and I am completely in love! It took me a bit to figure out my fish situation but once I finally came to it was the best decision. I had a total of 8 diamond tetras and one past away yesterday :/. Instead of buying a new diamond tetra I am leaning towards a center non-schooling fish. Maybe a fancy male guppy? What do you guys think?

[-Alex-]

You don't normally hear of guppies being kept alone... They do feel safer in groups and do group together in tanks so i wouldnt exactly class them as 'non-schooling fish'. Iv kept guppies lots of times and having a single one as a centerpeice fish just doesnt seem right to me.... Im not sure on this one !

Maybe a single honey gourami would be a nice centerpeice fish.... I have honey's in my 20gal and i consider my endler guppies my schooling fish =D.

A male apistogramma?

[dizzydezzy]

Guppies like to be with their own kind, and while I'm not sure about diamond tetras (they are a larger kind, right?), they generally tend to be nippy, especially when kept in smaller groups, and vsn be pretty bad company for any fish with long flowing fins (like a male guppy). For the same reason, I would not recomend a betta (though a betta would have probably done ok with a larger group of smaller tetras, like neons..).

If you are really dead-set on a center fish, a single male dwarf gourami could be a pretty striking centerpiece for a smaller tank, and they tend to be less agressive than their larger relations. They are pretty personable little fish :)

[CosmicStar]

So a gourami would be suitable for a 16 gallon? Cool..because I was debating for one of those more so than the guppy! How big do the dwarf ones get..they are striking!

[escamosa]

They get to around 2 - 2.5 inches. There's so many nice colours in those. http://www.google.com.au/search?q=Co...w=1280&bih=747

[MandyK]

Oh def go for the Dwarf Gourami! I have one of the Flame DG's and he is a trip! He uses my entire tank (55g), loves to scavenge off of everything in there, and is doing really well with my little neons I got today. He'll even come up to the glass to greet me when I come near.

[Lady Hobbs]

I would keep it as it is myself. I can't see what tossing one of some other species in the tank will do for the overall appearance.

[Llama]

If you're wanting to add a different fish, I'd agree that a dwarf gourami us a good choice! I have a honey dwarf gourami in my tank with a group if danios, and I think the difference in behaviors makes an interesting contrast. The DG does his own thing while the danios play their unending game of tag/hide and seek/whatever they're up to.

Can't go wrong with a replacement tetra, either... Depends on what you want to see in the tank.

[vinodjbhatia]

I think 8 diamond tetras in a 16 gallon is good enough stocking.

[Deonne]

Would a dwarf neon rainbow work?