2ft/19gal, 6 Neon Tetras, What Now?

[aimeec]

I have a bunch of questions, mostly about what fish to get and their behaviour.

I have a 2ft/19gal tank which currently has 6 neon tetras in it. It is 3 months old. And I want to get some more fish and some sort of wood or fake wood ornament.

After reading several of the stickies and heaps of posts about the types of fish I am interested in, heres goes:

I like small, non aggressive fish.
I dont really want to get one af a type of fish because I dont want it to be lonely.
They have to never harrass my other fish.
They have to be not too sensitive to newbies(ie. Me).
Not boring, because I spend alot of time watching my fish.

From the fish I have seen in my LFS and the ones I like, I was thinking:
Harlequin Rasboras(colourful and proud)
Spotted Rasboras(spotted and proud)
Pygmy corys(they have dangly bits on their mouths)
Kuhli loches(they look cool)
black kuhli loaches(they look cool in a black)
honey gouramis(they are elegant)
dwarf gouramis

Anything else?

I was thinking(this might be too many):
6 pygmy cories
3 kuhli loaches
(plus the 6 neons I already have)

Q: Which would you recommend and why? and How many(very important)?

Q: Can any of the above fish be mistaken in an LFS for another similar fish which will grow really big? I dont want to accidentally buy something that will need its own swimming pool in a couple of months, or be big enough to eat the tetras.

Q: If I get another shoal of shoaling fish, will the 2 potentially different species shoal together? or do they stick with their own kind?
I read somewhere that the harlequin rasboras tend to stick to their own kind.

Q: Should I get real or fake wood? or based on your fish recommendations some other ornament/hiding space?
My LFS has some dried real wood in shrinkwrap, are these OK?
The fake one I was looking at is hollow and about half as tall as the tank

Thanks

 

[connorsbala]

All the fish sound compatible and would be fine in a 2ft...obviously you wouldnt be able to have them all.
The pygmy cories are very very small....like an inch or so in size....did you see them at this size? If they were larger, they may be a different type of cory, whihc are all peaceful.
If you were going for Khuli's, provide some pipe work or tunnles in the tank for them
With your list of your neons, the khulis and the cories, that sounds very reasonable. At a later date im sure you coudl squeeze in a pair of dwarf gouramies....as the cories and neons dont have too much of a bio-load and assuming you have good enough filtration.
Youve picked a good number ofr your cories
I would doubt it that the rasboras and the tetras schoal, but sometimes they do. Neons and cardinals swim together as theyre so similar...ive had neons and emperors together. My various botias swam together too So dont get your hopes up
If you go for real wood, make sure yousoak it in a bucket for a few days. During this period, you shall see the water turn browny. This is where tannins are being released from the wood. ITs totally fine for the fish, but most people dont like the apperance. Fish in low pH like discus sometimes like this as it provides a blackwater enviroment. So empty the bucket everyday or so, then fill back up again. When the water stops turning brown, its safe toa dd in the tank. Im getting some bogwood today so ill be able to help if you have any other q's

Tell us how you get on

 

[aimeec]

I bought 3 black Kuhli loaches. They are really cool.

But I cant find the pygmy cories at any of the aquarium stores in my local phone book - even the ones I have banned for being stupid.
I might need to look further away.

Q: Does anyone know what time if year they normally breed? Maybe I will have more luck then.Im in australia.
Or are there other cories that are thesame size?

 

[connorsbala]

Nah not really...pygmy's dont get any bigger than 1" maximum... Im in the UK so not sure where you could get any lol
Other cories gwet a bit larger but are just as peaceful

 

[aimeec]

I was back in the LFS this morning, to have a look at the cories they did have.

They had bronze/albino cories which get to 3 inches(a bit big for my tank I think)

and they had Julii cories which are supposed to get to about 2 inches.

I want to get a group because everyone says they do better in groups.

Is my tank big enough to get 4 (or 6) Julii cories, considering I already have 3 Black Kuhlis and 6 neon tetras?

or should I wait and get the pygmy cories when and if they become available?

 

[Mikaila31]

I would go for Pygmies if you can, they are all cute, but pygmies are cuter. I also recommend a small type of rainbow. They are native Australian fish. The best IMO would be a threadfin or featherfin rainbow they are really fun to watch.