Hardiest tropical fish ??

[desley]

thanks for all the feedback.

I have still not purchased any fish until I research hard on the best option.

The lfs said she will test my water for everything and I plan to get that done as soon as I can get back there.

Maybe if I put the results up on the board I can then make a better decision on what would be best for me.

I know guppies prefered alakiline water so I always have one of those little blocks in there that disolve the acid water. This is what the lfs sold me and said I should do. It leaves a lot of powder in the gravel and when I gravel clean you can see how much clears out.

I am tending to go towards the barb family although I like livebearers for their ease of breeding (hoping to never buy any fish again .. so less chance of bringing disease in)... but really I think barbs are coming up as a hardier fish. (apart from larger fish my tank won't handle).

I was thinking ...

4 more danios (with my zebra danio now)
5 or so rosy barbs (if I can find them here .. haven't checked yet)
5 or so Tiger Barbs
possibly a few cherry barbs.

My last cherry barb bloated up swam funny and died .. maybe swim bladder disease ?? Does that go through the water and effect all the fish. If so, I would need to sort any issues out there before adding more fish.

I have to wait until my guppies have either passed on or I can give them to someone as I think the barbs would terrorise them.

 

[Hey You]

White cloud minnows are very tough in my opinion. A school of these buggers are quite attractive. IMO

 

[xWendyx]

Hi, I'm from Brisbane too

Try Petwise at Mt Gravatt, or Paul's aquarium at Oxley. Both are pretty damn good.

If you change your mind about guppies and live around Sherwood, PM me. I have guppy fry that I need to find a new home for. I'm keeping them at local ph (8.4).

 

[desley]

Hi xWendyx,

I actually bought my tank at Pet City Mt Gravatt and noticed their fish were really healthy looking but didn't buy any at that time because I had to cycle the tank.

I am on the northside at Aspley but if I have to drive over and buy some fish maybe that is what I will do.

Do you think Petwise is better. I just looked them up on whitepages.com.au ... and I would go there for sure. Do they have a good range to choose from ?

Thanks for your offer of the guppy fry. I am not sure how to PM you but maybe you can PM me ...

My only problem with taking any of your fry is if I lose them. I would feel terrible that you raised them and I didn't look after them properly. They would definitely fit in with what I have now .. (no barbs yet and I wouldn't mix barbs & guppies). My platties are really friendly as are my guppies except one horny male who is chasing the other males around.

 

[desley]

White cloud minnows.

I have looked them up. They are really cute but my book says .. 22 degrees top although for short periods higher could be tolerated. Our temp in the house & tank tops 28 - 32 most of summertime so I think maybe that might wear them out .. not sure. Any opinions from other members with White cloud minnows.

 

[xWendyx]

Petwise is good. Last time I was in there they had a comet they'd rescued from one of their tanks after it had been attacked. It had lost an eye, but they'd Melafixed it and the eye grew over and it was up for sale. Better than euthanising, and surprising action from a big store.

Heh, the guppies are yours if you want them. Either click on the PM thing at the bottom of my message, or email [email protected] I have 11 of them and they're around 3 weeks old. They were pulled out of the parents tank and put in a 25 litre tank to try and 'save them'. One was retrieved from the filter

I haven't lost any of the fry to date (touch wood) and they're in an unfiltered tank, tank temps are hitting 30+ on altogether too many occasions and I'm doing massive water changes every few days. I'd say they're pretty hard to kill Why feel bad if they die? I've spent 3 weeks trying to find a home for them that doesn't involve ending up in another, bigger, fish's stomach

Oh, and they're free. I *think* their Dad is Angus, who's short, skinny and bright orange with a white, horizontal stripe and a huge orange tail. Mum (I *think*) is Betty who's plain grey with a sort of shimmery, holographic tail. (yes, we're that sad, we name our guppies).

 

[livelife]

Gold barbs are reportedly hardy, but I have no personal experience with them. Can anyone comment on them?

 

[Inchworm]

Hi desley

For bottom dwellers, I would like to suggest C. aeneus, either bronze or albino, or C. paleatus (peppered cory). They are more tolerant of cooler temperature than many other fish. They are great citizens of almost any community tank.

You don't have to worry very much about your pH unless you are getting certain unusual fish. Ask your lfs how a fish does in local water and if any of his customers have reported having trouble with them, if you are in doubt. Many fish are tank raised and therefore tolerant of local conditions. Others have been acclimatized by the time you buy them.

Now, I don't know what kind of injury you have, but unless you are badly incapacitated, you can work around it. Perhaps you might try doing several small water changes and cleanings each week, instead of one big one. The result is the same, but it might be less difficult for you.

If you keep your tank lightly stocked, the environment will be more stable than a heavily stocked one, so this will save you work and worry.

Good luck

 

[discusmary]

I would agree with the above I have a Brown Discus and she was my first .
The one thing you have to watch with the discus is that you do not stress her or him out too much they are very sensitive when I first got mine she hid for most of the time but now she rules the roost. The main thing is that she is the best fish I ever bought if you are careful with them they even eat out of your hand

 

[lucky62]

I could tell a story about a four line catfish I kept over 20 years ago , but I won't , and just say that Imo , a four line catfish is the hardiest fish I've ever kept . though they grow to a medium to large size .

second would be zebra danios .