A tetra Tank

[acech]

Hi all,

I am after your advice once again on a Tetra species tank!

Having recently moved house I had to buy a temp 150litre tank to house my fish for the 12 hours whilst moving my main 400 litre tank - that was a stressful day I can tell you! (Although when only moving >1 mile it was quite feasilbe to move 50% of the tank water!!)

However the smaller tank is now sat on a unit in my bedroom empty and my girlfriend has given me the the order that it is pointlessly taking up space and wants it to be stored somewhere. Being the lazy person that I am I have instead filled the tank with water and given it a point for being there!!

Not being the biggest tank in the world I would like to put some really small schooling fish in there - I like them to mave plenty of space to swim. I have only ever maintained a big community tank in the past with a range of different species and so I am after advice as to whether it will work just putting a few groups of tetra in the tank?

Also which tetra would people recommend and how many?

(It is not a huge problem if a few eventually grow a little bigger as there is plenty of space in my bigger tank for them to retire into. I also have the filter from the small tank running in the big tank at the moment, and when the first fish arrive I will move the filter back to the small tank along with a quantity of tank water from the big tank. Hopefully this will excellerate the cycling of the small tank?)

Many thanks for your thoughts,

Chris

 

[Omega_squid]

you could add neon tetras, serpae tetras, lemon tetras, rummy nose tetras, black phantom tetras, cardinal tetras, and many other species of tetra that dont grow over 2 inches. as for the quantity of the fish, try to buy them in groups of 6-10 or more, if you wish.

 

[modernhamlet]

Sounds like a great idea! You can get a nice BIG school of smaller tetras into a 150l tank, which would look stunning.

Are you planning to plant the tank?

I also have the filter from the small tank running in the big tank at the moment, and when the first fish arrive I will move the filter back to the small tank along with a quantity of tank water from the big tank. Hopefully this will excellerate the cycling of the small tank?)

Perfect. Your filter should be well seeded within a week or so. You're not really looking at a heavy biolode anyway fortunately.

I wouldn't worry about the water.

 

[boxman]

I would go for a nice shoal of neons and maybe a smaller shoal of rummynose tetra to add a bit of variety.

Alternatively or in addition you could put a variety of Cories to give a bit of lower tank action!

 

[acech]

Thanks guys!

Just a question - when you say a big school how many exactly are we talking? I was considering having about 3 or 4 different type of tetra. But do you think I would be better with bigger schools of 2 types?

How many little neons do you think would be happy in a tank this size?

Oh and the tank is gravel with mainly bogwood orniments. It is currently lightly planted with cuttings that have been taken from my main tank, but will grow!

Many Thanks,

Chris

 

[annka5]

I think one or maybe 2 schools would look better and be nicer for the fish and more smaller schools. 15 or 20 fish.
I know this could be just me, but I've a small tank in my bedroom, and the prob I have is that I can't see the tetra's when I take my glasses off / lenses out to go to bed. I'm not THAT short sighted, either.... maybe something to bear in mind..?

 

[modernhamlet]

Thanks guys!

Just a question - when you say a big school how many exactly are we talking? I was considering having about 3 or 4 different type of tetra. But do you think I would be better with bigger schools of 2 types?

How many little neons do you think would be happy in a tank this size?

Oh and the tank is gravel with mainly bogwood orniments. It is currently lightly planted with cuttings that have been taken from my main tank, but will grow!

Many Thanks,

Chris

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Sounds great! I'd personally stick to one or two species, as I think the visual effect of a single, large school would be more substantial than numerous smaller schools. Elegant vs. cluttered. But that's my aesthetic.

In that tank, you could seriously keep like 40 neons. I think that'd be a bit of overkill though.

How about:
16 cardinal tetras
8 black phantom tetras

and if you start getting any algae problems:
1 bristlenose or 5 otos

 

[Ava_Banana]

Personally, I always have a soft spot for neons.........especially in planted tanks...........look excellent with decent lighting.

And rummy noses.......excellent..........really bright red......nice colouring.


Oh.......and Serpea Tetras...........change of size and shape from the others........and I have always found them to be the hardiest of my fish!


.......but not too many types...........and maybe 10-20 (but not 20 of all three) of each depending on how they settle in and how the stocking goes....(whether you have Bristlenoses or Ottos in as well........