16 Gallon W/rainbowfish

[fishbguy]

Hi, I'm new here so I am not sure if this is the right spot to post this or not. Any way, I have an empty 16 gallon tank that is empty. I do not like empty tanks . I was wondering how many rainbowfish I could put in the tank with out over crowding them. I am also looking for something to eat the algea. But my goal is to have them all from the same geografical location. I will also only need one because I want as many rainbows as I can get. i was thinking Boeseman's Rainbowfish. How many of these in the tank? Thanks.
~~Andrew~~

 

[pica_nuttalli]

in my opinion, a 16g is really too small for Boeseman's or any of the other flat-bodied rainbows. remember, these are river fish: they like a strong current and need a longer tank than most.

you might could try some threadfin rainbows, as i believe these stay smaller. do be warned, however, that threadfins are fairly delicate and have tiny mouths. bloodworms might even be too big for them.

as for algae growth, you really shouldn't have a problem with it if you're keeping the water clean. and with threadfins, water dirty enough to start an algae problem is probably going to make your fish sick too.

 

[fishbguy]

the only time that i have ever seen threadfin rainbows was at petsmart last year and they were being sold for 10 dollars each. for me, this is way to expensive. a local mom and pop store near my house has what they call "dwaf neon rainbowfish" they said they only get about 1 1/2 - 2 inches in length. they are also within my budget at only 1.99 each. Have you ever heard of these and if so do you think that i could put a school of them in the tank? would they be too big?
Andrew

 

[dwarfgourami]

According to my books, the dwarf neon can get a bit bigger than that, more like 2.4 inches. But should be possible with a smallish school. Another option you might like to think of is the blue-eyes (pseudomugil) rainbowfish.

 

[fishbguy]

i've never seen blue eyed rainbows before but i will look around next time i go the the petstore. and how small is "smallish"? 4-6 maybe? eight would be better if space allows because there are no other fish in the tank.
Andrew

 

[pica_nuttalli]

"smallish" would mean 4-6. what sort of filter are you going to run?

 

[Yetti]

I definitely advise against dwarf rainbows, I was at one of the good pet stores near me and they had a few. The adult ones that they had were the size of about 3 to 4 inches, and they were kept with Iranian and Australian rainbows.

 

[fishbguy]

i would be running a filter that is big enough for a twenty gallon tank with a bio wheel. I also might add another filter that only filters five gallons at the other end of the tank just for current and extra clean water. Is it possible to over filter your water? prolly not but the current might get too strong. When i was at a pet store today they had celebes rainbows for the first time ever. how bout these?

 

[cheesy feet]

Don't keep any rainbows in that tank except praecox rainbow fish.Otherwise known as dwarf neons,so go and buy them! btw £2.00 is really cheap for them.Imo you could have a shoal of about 6 and thats it.For an algae crew i've heard ottos are good(but must be kept in groups aswell).You could also have amano shrimp.Any other rainbow fish would need a much longer tank.
Praecox rainbow fish--http/www.aquarticles.com/articles/breeding/shaw_rainbowfish.html
Otto--http/www.timstropicals.com/Inventory/Catfish/OttoInfo.asp
amano shrimp--http/www.aquahobby.com/gallery/e_shrimp.php
For a standard filter i would have to reccomend a fluval 2.Very easy to clean and simple design.But then you have your bio wheel which would probly be better
Hope this helps.

 

[fishbguy]

they raised their prices on the rainbow fish. the last time i saw them they were $2.00. yesterday they were $6.00. but they also had celebes rainbowfish that were $5.00. how many of thee could I put in instead of the neons?

 

[pica_nuttalli]

hrm, hopefully someone with more knowledge than I will respond, but this is my guess about the Celebes:

i'd get at least 3 of them but no more than 6. i've read that they're sensitive to water quality, so 3 might be the better choice.

i've also heard that they like a slightly brackish environment or are at least salt-tolerant. so this one of the few occassions where i will recommend adding about 1/4 tsp of aquarium salt per 4g. if nothing else, that should help with nitrate-sensitivity.

try asking in the Brackish forum and see if anyone in there has an opinion, one way or another.

 

[brittlestar]

As above, please don't keep rainbows in there apart from maybe some Praecox. You could maybe have 3 - 1 male and 2 female or perhaps 4 - 1 male and 3 females. Generally the more females you have the less they will get chased by the male. The males are more brightly coloured with red fins, the females paler. Other rainbows grow to between 4-6 inches so are not suitable, plus they grow pretty fast!