New To Rainbow Fish

[swrzzzz]

Hi

I have a 200L, moderately planted tank with currently

3 thick lip Gouramis
5 gold danios
5 cories
2 small gobies.

My water is hard and alkaline (about ph7.5).

I would like to 'finish off' the tank with some larger rainbow fish. The questions are

Would these cause any problems with the fish I have and...

How many do I need and do they need to be the same breed? I am guessing I should have a school of about 6, but can I mix red and Bosmani for example - will they keep together or will I lose the effect?

Also - should I introduce them together or gradually?


Thanks as usual

Steve

 

[loachman]

Hi

I have a 200L, moderately planted tank with currently

3 thick lip Gouramis
5 gold danios
5 cories
2 small gobies.

My water is hard and alkaline (about ph7.5).

I would like to 'finish off' the tank with some larger rainbow fish. The questions are

Would these cause any problems with the fish I have and...

How many do I need and do they need to be the same breed? I am guessing I should have a school of about 6, but can I mix red and Bosmani for example - will they keep together or will I lose the effect?

Also - should I introduce them together or gradually?


Thanks as usual

Steve

Depending on the size of the gobies there may be a problem, but I have no personal experience with gobies and rainbows. You can mix rainbows freely, and they all get along with one another well.

The only issue is that many species will interbreed which is frowned on. Most people want/demand pure species. However, with your current stocking in the tank you are not likely to see any eggs or fry lasting long.

 

[Colin_T]

big rainbows might eat the small gobies. It depends on the fish, (rainbow and goby). Some rainbows hunt more than others but in general they are very peaceful. If the gobies are really small they might attract the rainbows attention and then it could be over pretty quick.
If the gobies get to a couple of inches then they should be fine when that size.
You can mix any rainbowfish as long as they are similar sizes. Male rainbows can get bossy and big males can bully smaller ones. If they are similar size then it doesn't affect them as much.

Melanotaenia boesemani and Glossolepis incisus will be fine together but the incisus will get bigger than the boesemani. They both love hard alkaline water and can be added at the same time or several weeks apart. Rainbows are a schooling fish so it is best to make up the initial group with at least 4 individuals.

Rainbows need vegeatble matter in their diet and vegetables, vege pellets & vege flakes should be offered regularly. Also live plants can be included in their diet.

 

[swrzzzz]

Thanks

The gobies are about 2 1/2 inches long I would guess and are significantly bigger than the smallest cories.

I think I will brood on it a bit before I make a purchase - I don't want any harm to come to my current fish

Thanks

Steve

 

[Colin_T]

if the gobies are 2 1/2 inches long they should be fine. Even the biggest rainbows wouldn't bother with fish that big.

 

[loachman]

if the gobies are 2 1/2 inches long they should be fine. Even the biggest rainbows wouldn't bother with fish that big.

I'd agree. Never seen any of my rainbowfish go after fish near that size. It'd be a problem if you had really small gobies (<1 in.) and mature rainbows.

 

[rchambers]

My Bosemani's are ok with Molly Fry (0.5-1 inch length), the fry do have to keep a low profile at feeding time though as the rainbows move soo quick when you put food in the tank! I have 6 Bosemani's (3 male, 3 female) and the colours are fantastic. Make sure you get a mix of males and females otherwise the males have nothing to show off their colours too.

 

[macnaz]

I have a 500litre tank with about 12 mixed rainbows and a mix of other fish such as Clown loaches, platy's etc, but we also have neon tetra's in the tank and they have survived without and probs. We also have a few baby platy's survived and grown to nearly an inch without attracting much attention from the rainbows. The biggest rainbows are about 2 inches long.