Choosing my fish

[BIGMAC]

I have just set up my new tank,its my first time keeping tropical fish .I already have a cold water tank.I have just been round the lfs looking at fish ,i know i cant put any in yet but wanted to see what was available.My problem is i dont know what fish can go in the tank together.It is a 17uk gall tank and each shop has told me different.I would like an Angel fish but dont know what would be suitable to go with it.I was wondering if anyone could give me a clue of a nice selection of fish suitable for my tank.I do like the small Tetras but have been told i cant put any bigger fish with them.Please can someone help me with stocking my tank?
Thanks Sue

 

[wetwetwet]

Hi sue,

What are your water parameters like?

imho its much easier to get fish that prefer your local water - and this will go a long way to narrowing down the field....

 

[Morrgan]

Hi Sue,
I won't suggest fish until I know what your water parameters are, but I just wanted to point out that a 17g is too small for angelfish. Angels need a tank at least 18in tall (preferably 20in).

 

[BIGMAC]

Hi, my water perameters are fine i think...wide range ph is 7.0-7.5, nitrite is 0,ammonia is 0.25 and nitrate is 0.

 

[Cheese Specialist]

Hi, my water perameters are fine i think...wide range ph is 7.0-7.5, nitrite is 0,ammonia is 0.25 and nitrate is 0.

Hey BIGMAC!!

How's the ich in the coldwater tank going?

Anyway, I think your tank is too small for an angel and they should be kept in pair or groups anyway IME.

Also, you should be reading 0 amonia when your cycle is finished. Tetra are nice and IMO you can have bigger fish with them. I have cardingal, penguin and x-ray tetra in my biggest tank without any problems. You just have to be careful with any small fish as there are some big fish that will snack on them.

Why not get some corys or kuhlis for the bottom? I am always bangin on about ti but it's true - it's important to have a good mixture of top/middle/bottom dwellers to maximise what you can do with the space in your tank.

HTH and that your coldwater fish are feeling better.

 

[BIGMAC]

Hi, my water perameters are fine i think...wide range ph is 7.0-7.5, nitrite is 0,ammonia is 0.25 and nitrate is 0.

Hey BIGMAC!!

How's the ich in the coldwater tank going?

Anyway, I think your tank is too small for an angel and they should be kept in pair or groups anyway IME.

Also, you should be reading 0 amonia when your cycle is finished. Tetra are nice and IMO you can have bigger fish with them. I have cardingal, penguin and x-ray tetra in my biggest tank without any problems. You just have to be careful with any small fish as there are some big fish that will snack on them.

Why not get some corys or kuhlis for the bottom? I am always bangin on about ti but it's true - it's important to have a good mixture of top/middle/bottom dwellers to maximise what you can do with the space in your tank.

HTH and that your coldwater fish are feeling better.

Hi again,the coldies seem to be fine now they are all swimming away happily with no spots now thanx.
I thaught the tank was too small for angels but the woman in the shop said it was fine so i thaught i best get on here and check.I will make a note of the fish you mentioned at least it has given me some idea,they seem to just try sell you anything when they realise you dont have much idea about the fish.
Thanx onceagain for your advise

 

[BIGMAC]

I got another question,if i got a Siamese fighting fish(male), what other fish would i be able to put with it?I know you can only have one male per tank,but am not sure what other fishes would be suitable to go in with it.Can anyone give me some ideas.I quite like theDwarf gourami and the zebra Danio and the tetras,also corys,but cant get my head round which fish are compatable,please help.
Thanx Sue

 

[Cheese Specialist]

I got another question,if i got a Siamese fighting fish(male), what other fish would i be able to put with it?I know you can only have one male per tank,but am not sure what other fishes would be suitable to go in with it.Can anyone give me some ideas.I quite like theDwarf gourami and the zebra Danio and the tetras,also corys,but cant get my head round which fish are compatable,please help.
Thanx Sue

The ones you said seem ok to me. Some people say that males shouldn't go in big, highly filtrated tanks. I understand the highly moving part as they have very long fins but not so much about the big tank. I have never kept a betta but I am sure someone else will help on that. I know they should not be kept with other fish with long colourful fins like male guppies as the betta may atack it thinking it is another male betta.

Hope this help for now, someone else will be able to help more

 

[BIGMAC]

I got another question,if i got a Siamese fighting fish(male), what other fish would i be able to put with it?I know you can only have one male per tank,but am not sure what other fishes would be suitable to go in with it.Can anyone give me some ideas.I quite like theDwarf gourami and the zebra Danio and the tetras,also corys,but cant get my head round which fish are compatable,please help.
Thanx Sue

The ones you said seem ok to me. Some people say that males shouldn't go in big, highly filtrated tanks. I understand the highly moving part as they have very long fins but not so much about the big tank. I have never kept a betta but I am sure someone else will help on that. I know they should not be kept with other fish with long colourful fins like male guppies as the betta may atack it thinking it is another male betta.

Hope this help for now, someone else will be able to help more

Thanx onceagain , sorry for posting so many dumb questions.By the way been looking at the pics of your tanks,they are so cool,hope one day mine will look as good.
Sue

 

[tuffers]

I have a betta in with male guppies in my tank and they seem fine, although my fighter is possibly the most relaxed fish in the world! Also, I was told not to keep zebra danio's with a fighter as they are so active and fairly aggressive, the fighter may get a bit wary of the quick aggressive fish and their fins may get nipped. However, some danio's aren't like that at all and will get on well with the betta. Fish have so many different personalities and one betta may get on with danio's and the next might not! It's tricky to get a tank where everything is fine with everything else but it is possible if you work on it and pick the right fish.

Good luck

Ian

 

[BIGMAC]

I have a betta in with male guppies in my tank and they seem fine, although my fighter is possibly the most relaxed fish in the world! Also, I was told not to keep zebra danio's with a fighter as they are so active and fairly aggressive, the fighter may get a bit wary of the quick aggressive fish and their fins may get nipped. However, some danio's aren't like that at all and will get on well with the betta. Fish have so many different personalities and one betta may get on with danio's and the next might not! It's tricky to get a tank where everything is fine with everything else but it is possible if you work on it and pick the right fish.

Good luck

Ian

Hiya Ian,
thanx for the advice so you think i would be better with a different kind of Danio,which would you suggest?
I an trying to aim for quite a colourfull tank as its in my daughters bedroom and shes been sick for nearly 4 years now ,and she just loves fish ,she lays for hours just watching them so im trying to get things just right for her.Any other ideas on other fish are much appreciated,im a real beginner at this.
thanx sue

 

[Cheese Specialist]

I an trying to aim for quite a colourfull tank as its in my daughters bedroom and shes been sick for nearly 4 years now ,and she just loves fish ,she lays for hours just watching them so im trying to get things just right for her.Any other ideas on other fish are much appreciated,im a real beginner at this.
thanx sue

Colourful, eh?! I am sure the fish world has many things to offer! If you were not getting a betta male guppies are very colourful, as are some tera like neons, glowlight and cardinal.

I can never really see past the fish that I have got/want!! How about corys, they are active and will get on with other members of the tank no problem.

Thanks for the comment about my tanks )

Hope your daughter is ok and I am sure we can think of fish for her between us. Have you let he have a look at picture of different fish? Maybe she could pick something out once we know what is compatible.

 

[BIGMAC]

I an trying to aim for quite a colourfull tank as its in my daughters bedroom and shes been sick for nearly 4 years now ,and she just loves fish ,she lays for hours just watching them so im trying to get things just right for her.Any other ideas on other fish are much appreciated,im a real beginner at this.
thanx sue

Colourful, eh?! I am sure the fish world has many things to offer! If you were not getting a betta male guppies are very colourful, as are some tera like neons, glowlight and cardinal.

I can never really see past the fish that I have got/want!! How about corys, they are active and will get on with other members of the tank no problem.

Thanks for the comment about my tanks )

Hope your daughter is ok and I am sure we can think of fish for her between us. Have you let he have a look at picture of different fish? Maybe she could pick something out once we know what is compatible.

In reply to your question,we have a book on tropicals which shes been looking through ,its a great book but dont say anything about compatability.Anyhow she has chosen a quite a few fish,so if you could help me out here it would be great.
Angel fish ----i know we cant have them though.So theres Red tiger barb,Red striped Rasbora,Neon Tetras,Silver hatchet fish,Glass blood fin,Peaceful Betta,Siamese fighting fish (male) Dwarf Gourami,Danio,Corys,Gouramis,Steel blue Aphyosemin,and guppys.
I know its quite a long list but any help you can give me would be great.As my daughter is bed bound it will give her so much pleasure once she has her fish,she spends literally hours watching the cold water fish she has,and cant wait to have her new tank filled with tropical fish.
Cheers Sue

 

[Cheese Specialist]

In reply to your question,we have a book on tropicals which shes been looking through ,its a great book but dont say anything about compatability.Anyhow she has chosen a quite a few fish,so if you could help me out here it would be great.
Angel fish ----i know we cant have them though.So theres Red tiger barb,Red striped Rasbora,Neon Tetras,Silver hatchet fish,Glass blood fin,Peaceful Betta,Siamese fighting fish (male) Dwarf Gourami,Danio,Corys,Gouramis,Steel blue Aphyosemin,and guppys.
I know its quite a long list but any help you can give me would be great.As my daughter is bed bound it will give her so much pleasure once she has her fish,she spends literally hours watching the cold water fish she has,and cant wait to have her new tank filled with tropical fish.
Cheers Sue

Red tiger barb - should be ok if you have 6+ so not sure you'd want to although they create a lot of movement in the tank
Red striped Rasbora - ok but need to be in a small shoal, or so I have read
Neon Tetras - great!
Silver hatchet fish - Also fine IME
Glass blood fin - not sure but as there are tetra I would imagine they need to be in a group
Peaceful Betta - ?? does that mean female?
Siamese fighting fish (male) - depends on your filtration and tankmates, no barbs!!
Dwarf Gourami - Not sure as I have no knowledge of them Link
Danio - Need to be in groups I think
Corys - fantastic! Good to have something on the bottom as well, like to be 6+. Maybe go for Pygmys is you can as they are smaller Pygmy Link
Gouramis - Think it depends what kind, most get too big for your tank I think
Steel blue Aphyosemin - ??
guppys - Good, and would breed if you had males and females. Should be kept 2 females per male and not with a male betta

Well, I hope this helps a little. Thse fish seem ok from what I can tell but you have a lot of shoaling fish so you may want to choose one or 2 of those. I think cories and hatchets are a great idea as well to help with top/middle/bottom ratios.

 

[BIGMAC]

Thanx for the help and the links you added,at least i have some better ideas now.
sue