Neon tetras are good with....

[Woody781]

So now can you tell me please what this means and what type of fish I could have?

At the moment I have a 34L tank with 9 Neons and 2 Borneos (I still have them at the mo). I possibly might be transferring these fish over into a 40L tank and adding more fish to that as well. Neons I find sit low-mid range. I would like some fish that sit more at the top and possibly the bottom as long as the fish I choose will all play together nicely.

Someone told me that Cherry Barbs are the only barbs that are ok with Neons and they also look cool!

I think I want to change the 34L tank into one with a Fighter and, maybe if they go together, Kuhli loaches.

Advice please!!!!

 

[Essjay]

Do you mean SEQ Water Supply(Brisbane and Ipswich)?

If it is that one your hardness is 96 mg/l but it doesn't say mg/l of what. I finally found something that says it is mg/l CaCO3. (I googled ADWG aesthetic guideline value, the heading of the third column; that took me to Australian Drinking Water Guidelines; I clicked on the 'download' at the bottom of that page and found a 1163 page document. On page 686 it said "hardness(as calcium carbonate") and that it should not exceed 200 mg/l, the same value as in the third column as StevenF's link ). They don't make things easy


So, your hardness is 96 ppm, and 5.4 German degrees (dH) which is softish. It's the same as mine. Not quite soft, but soft enough for most soft water fish.




At last!

 

[Essjay]

In terms of your water hardness, both neon tetras and cherry barbs are fine.

But how long and wide is your tank? Cherry barbs and neon tetras need a tank that is at least 60 cm long x 30 cm wide.

So do kuhli loaches.

 

[Byron]

Thanks StevenF for finding that for me!!! Much appreciated!!

I live in South East Brisbane -2nd to last column, p.38

They give total hardness (this is GH as essjay said) as 96 mg/l. The unit mg/l is the same as ppm (parts per million) we use, so that is 96 ppm. This equates to around 5 dGH. This is soft water, perfect for all soft water fish species. Neon tetra (and most tetras) are soft water, so that is fine.

I don't see Alkalinity or KH, but don't worry about that. The pH they give as 7.8 which is on the basic side (pH 7.0 is neutral, lower numbers are acidic, higher are basic), this may lower over time due to natural biological process, depending upon the actual KH. Nothing to worry about, a lower more acidic pH will be appreciated by the tetras but again nothing to worry about.

Edit. H'm, I must have posted this response before I saw the intervening ones, as essjay had already covered this...oh, well, we are on the same page.

 

[Woody781]

In terms of your water hardness, both neon tetras and cherry barbs are fine.

But how long and wide is your tank? Cherry barbs and neon tetras need a tank that is at least 60 cm long x 30 cm wide.

So do kuhli loaches.

I haven't picked up the 40L yet but the new ones dimensions are: 50cm x 29cm x 30cm. I'll measure my 34L one but its taller rather than longer. Dimension:38W x 25D x 46cm H

Those fish were just ideas. Any more fishes that you would suggest??

 

[hobby5]

Sorry if sounding rude, but I would highly suggest to get a proper tank. 40l is still too small for anything.

 

[Byron]

I am inclined to agree with hobby5 on the space. Initially, because you already had the neons, I recommended the Hillstream loaches be removed as these two need different environments. There is certainly no space in a 40 liter (10 gallon) tank for what is now being suggested. I know the fish are small, as stores sell them in the juvenile stage usually, but they will grow and this means space and water volume.
You could have pygmy cories in with the neons though; I have a 10g that has been home to this cory species for several years and they are regularly spawning. Corydoras pygmaeus is the species, and it is available periodically.

Byron.

 

[Woody781]

I am inclined to agree with hobby5 on the space. Initially, because you already had the neons, I recommended the Hillstream loaches be removed as these two need different environments. There is certainly no space in a 40 liter (10 gallon) tank for what is now being suggested. I know the fish are small, as stores sell them in the juvenile stage usually, but they will grow and this means space and water volume.
You could have pygmy cories in with the neons though; I have a 10g that has been home to this cory species for several years and they are regularly spawning. Corydoras pygmaeus is the species, and it is available periodically.

Byron.

The Borneos I'm trying to sell. 40L would be ok without them wouldn't they??

 

[Byron]

The Borneos I'm trying to sell. 40L would be ok without them wouldn't they??

Yes. The neons will work in the 40 liter as you have plants, and if you do weekly partial water changes and don't overfeed. Seriously Fish "recommends" base dimensions of 60 X 30 cm and this is very close. Again, it's because you already have them, so you can make it work. The more space the better for any fish.

 

[Woody781]

I'm only a novice! A bigger tank scares me. I was just trying small tanks at the mo because the big tanks are super expensive and I don't earn that much!! Also what if it doesn't work out for some reason reason??

 

[StevenF]

The total hardness is 96 ppm and total dissolved solids is 270. Both are in mg/l or ppm Total hardness is typically in CaCo3 equivalent. Based on the number I see This is basically soft water. Your tetras should do fine in this water.

Unfortunately KH is not listed in the report.

 

[Byron]

I'm only a novice! A bigger tank scares me. I was just trying small tanks at the mo because the big tanks are super expensive and I don't earn that much!! Also what if it doesn't work out for some reason reason??

That's OK. Just keep in mind that every size of aquarium has limits as to what fish species and numbers will thrive within it. It is safer not to push those limits, because when anything goes wrong it can be a real disaster. The more water, the greater the "buffer" you have.

What you should look into, now that we know the water is soft, are "nano" sized fish. Ember Tetra, the dwarf rasboras like Boraras brigittae and Boraras maculatus, as some examples. You could have a group of 10-12 of either of these, plus a group of 7-9 pygmy cories. Once again, you already had the neons and I for one have been trying to help you manage, though it is not the optimum.

 

[Woody781]

That's OK. Just keep in mind that every size of aquarium has limits as to what fish species and numbers will thrive within it. It is safer not to push those limits, because when anything goes wrong it can be a real disaster. The more water, the greater the "buffer" you have.

What you should look into, now that we know the water is soft, are "nano" sized fish. Ember Tetra, the dwarf rasboras like Boraras brigittae and Boraras maculatus, as some examples. You could have a group of 10-12 of either of these, plus a group of 7-9 pygmy cories. Once again, you already had the neons and I for one have been trying to help you manage, though it is not the optimum.

I understand every tank has limits and I didn't really want to push them! That's why I'm on here, to seek advice because I'm new at this and I don't want to push the boundaries. The neons are fine. I just wanted something to go with them, that's why I'm here, in this forum. If I wanted to do my own thing I would've got a fighter by now but I have listened to you!! Well tried to listen and do what you suggested.

 

[Woody781]

What you should look into, now that we know the water is soft, are "nano" sized fish. Ember Tetra, the dwarf rasboras like Boraras brigittae and Boraras maculatus, as some examples. You could have a group of 10-12 of either of these, plus a group of 7-9 pygmy cories. Once again, you already had the neons and I for one have been trying to help you manage, though it is not the optimum.[/QUOTE]

So you are saying with the 9 neons you would get say 10 Boraras brigittae and pygmys. If I was left on my own I would've got a lot less fish. I possibly would have had 9 Neons, and maybe got about 3 little ones at the bottom like cories and maybe 6-8 similar size to Neons.

 

[Byron]

What you should look into, now that we know the water is soft, are "nano" sized fish. Ember Tetra, the dwarf rasboras like Boraras brigittae and Boraras maculatus, as some examples. You could have a group of 10-12 of either of these, plus a group of 7-9 pygmy cories. Once again, you already had the neons and I for one have been trying to help you manage, though it is not the optimum.

So you are saying with the 9 neons you would get say 10 Boraras brigittae and pygmys. If I was left on my own I would've got a lot less fish. I possibly would have had 9 Neons, and maybe got about 3 little ones at the bottom like cories and maybe 6-8 similar size to Neons. [/QUOTE]

No. I was explaioning the sort of fish that can do very well in smaller tanks (like a 10 gallon). I didn't mean to imply you could add all these with neons. The pygmy cories are still an option though, with the neons.