I Want A New Fish!

[Ryefish]

I want a new fish!
I walk past my fish tank, and my rasbora's hide, my cherry barb spends his whole life hiding in the leaves and only comes out for food (may have found him a new home ), the tetra's are just not very visible and im not a huge fan of them and my Betta can see his reflection in the back of the tank and spends his day flaring at himself, lying around on leaves or building bubble nests, the cory cats do as they wish. The tank doesn't really look like it has anything in it until feeding time when they all flock to the front.

I was thinking of getting some Rams, but think they may just hide all day aswell (my LFS has a few varieties that are pretty)

So your challenge for today:
Im looking for a fish(s) that will;
- stand out and be slightly colourful if possible
- spend most of the time at the front or top half of the tank
- not eat my rasbora or shrimp
- not shred my betta's fins (hes not so much of a siamese 'fighter' and wouldnt put up a fight)
- fit happily in a 31gallon tank (PH is about 6.6 from Co2, tank length is 80cm - 31")
- be peaceful for my peaceful community tank

im open for all suggestion so i can do some research

thanks in advance all

 

[PDSimon]

I think your problem is that you have dither fish, but not enough of them, if you increase the numbers it should bring out the other fish. Bolivian rams can be shy fish and having dither fish (e.g. tetras - I know you don't like them ) will help bring them out. Little friendly apistogramma or bolivian rams would be nice, if you could increase the shoal sizes tho, imo

 

[Gvilleguy]

Bolivian Rams would probably cover what you describe - I have four of them. I don't know about the eating shrimp part, though. Nor do I know if they would nip at your Betta's fins. They ARE, however, peaceful community members. I have them with Neon Tetras and Danios, and they get along very well. After hiding in fear for 10 days, the Rams finally got comfortable. They now spend most of their time in the front bottom of the tank. Even if they are in the back, when they see someone approach the tank they shoot to the front, hoping for food.

 

[Wills]

As said I would up your schooling numbers greatly that way your fish will behave a lot more naturally in the tank. While 5 and 6 tetras are okay in a 10g or so in larger tanks its often better to up your numbers so you just see them more basically. I mean think of the difference between 5 blue dots and 10 blue dots? See what I mean?

Also just a thought but is getting the male Betta his own tank an option like a 5-10 gallon tank? If so it will make stocking this tank a lot easier as juggling a community around a betta is not the easiest of things just due to all the aspects that could go wrong and avoiding them it gives you a very narrow spectrum of fish to choose from.

If these were my fish and my tank this is what I would do -

4x Cupid Cichlids
10x Neon Tetra
15x Galaxy Rasbora
8x Corydoras - all the same species?
2x Apple Snail
Lots of Shrimp

Wills

 

[Ryefish]

Thanks for the replies
I know the Betta creates problems, but i have another tank that i moved him into for a while on his own and he started to shred his own fins from stress.
The tetra's.. hmm, i was hoping i could just let them die out and get a different shoaler instead of them i did start off with 8 and now im down to 6. I can consider getting some more though
Im breeding the Rasbora's atm to increase their numbers, i really have 7, not 5, and working on getting some more going.

Would 4 ram's or the 'cupid cichlids' not be too many for the tank? or is it normal to get 4?

 

[Carlovel1]

What about adding some chocolate gouramis?

 

[Wills]

If your not happy with the schoolers you have just rehome them. Tetras can live upto 3 years or more so you might be waiting a while.

4 Bolivian rams would be fine as they are peaceful and would do well in a 3 foot tank even if you got 2 pairs. Cupid Cichlids (Biotodoma Cupido) do better in groups than pairs or single specimens. Lots of interchangeable dwarf cichlids that would work well with the other fish you have apart from how to balance out how they would work with the male Betta.

Wills

 

[Ryefish]

The tetra's are over two years old, they came with the tank (it was a condition of me getting the tank)

I did consider adding some gourami's a while ago but i don't think having two species of anabantoids would be a good idea (after some research). They are really nice though

 

[Biulu]

Do you have a background for your tank? Otherwise I would start off with that to make sure your betta doesn't flare the whole day.

Then why don't you get another shoaler and leave the tetras as they are? I personally love the cherry barbs. They do very nicely in my tank and are very visible. You could easily get around 10.

 

[england]

An active stunning looking mid sized dither fish, the ticto barb,i had six of these,now my sister has them, they are stunning to look at and are mega active,all over the shop all day long,like they have ants in there pants, i would get them again,if there avalible where iam going,

 

[moochy13]

i really like the red eye tetras in my tank, and also penguin tetras. i intend on getting a small shoal of red eyes when my new tank is redy, i think they'll look great. how about some of those ? the penguins tend to stay at the top of the tank.

 

[hihi100202]

betta needs own tank.

up the cherry barbs to ~4?

 

[Twinklecaz]

I'm going to say something really basic but I think these fish get overlooked s just being "common" far too much...

A Platy would fit exactly what you just said. I have 3 males in mine and they are always swimming about, always at the front and very full of colour. They're peaceful too!

 

[Ryefish]

Do you have a background for your tank? Otherwise I would start off with that to make sure your betta doesn't flare the whole day.

yes there is a background, the only problem is that my mother put a book on top of it whilst it was still rolled and i cant get the creases out and he can see his reflection where they are. I need to buy a new piece

An active stunning looking mid sized dither fish, the ticto barb,i had six of these,now my sister has them, they are stunning to look at and are mega active,all over the shop all day long,like they have ants in there pants, i would get them again,if there avalible where iam going,

I was looking at Tiger Barbs the other day but they seem to be a bit nippy. Ill have to check the avaiability of the Ticto Barb in the area to see if its available

i really like the red eye tetras in my tank

Are these the same as 'Yellow Banded Tetra', where they look like they have red eyelids? They are on my list of possibilites, i was reading about them last night

betta needs own tank.

up the cherry barbs to ~4?

The Betta doesn't need his own tank. He isn't agressive and the other fish don't bother him, so why remove him if there is no problem? I have no issue trying to stock around him, which is why ive asked for help. As for the cherry barb, i have been trying to rehome him, but if its not possible then i will get some more (the LFS only has females in, nobody wants them )

I'm going to say something really basic but I think these fish get overlooked s just being "common" far too much...

A Platy would fit exactly what you just said. I have 3 males in mine and they are always swimming about, always at the front and very full of colour. They're peaceful too!

I don't mind the common fish Is it easy to tell the difference between sexes when your buying them? I have a phobia of livebearing females haha

 

[Timmy_Bee]

An active stunning looking mid sized dither fish, the ticto barb

AKA Odessa barb? yeah these guys are great with fantastic colours, but they're quite big.
I would go with more barbs though - either up the number of Cherry, or a similar sized fish such as the drape fin Barbs?

And yes, i would avoid Tigers. They won't get along with your Betta, or tetra, or most other small or fancy finned fish