Active, colorful and peaceful...

[teri]

That is my goal for my new 20G tank. So far I have the two platys
that came from the 3 gallon tank. Since this is my first foray into
fishkeeping I also want easy and hardy guys, preferably on the smaller
side. After a lot of reading I am considering some combination of the
following:

1 or 2 more platys - I like all the colors they come in, but they do
seem to be kind of lazy and spend a lot
of time just sitting around,
golden barbs
cherry barbs
cardinal tetras
or possibly...
dwarf neon rainbows
harlequin rasboras.

Any suggestions on a good combination choosing from that list?
And which would be best to add first?
Teri

[Steve]

teri wrote:
> That is my goal for my new 20G tank. So far I have the two platys
> that came from the 3 gallon tank. Since this is my first foray into
> fishkeeping I also want easy and hardy guys, preferably on the smaller
> side. After a lot of reading I am considering some combination of the
> following:
>
> 1 or 2 more platys - I like all the colors they come in, but they do
> seem to be kind of lazy and spend a lot
> of time just sitting around,
> golden barbs
> cherry barbs
> cardinal tetras
> or possibly...
> dwarf neon rainbows
> harlequin rasboras.
>
> Any suggestions on a good combination choosing from that list?
> And which would be best to add first?
> Teri
Hi,
I've really enjoyed cherry barbs, harlequins and dwarf neon rainbowfish.
Suggestion: get a school of 5, 6 of one of the smaller types of fish
(harlequins or cherry barbs) and see how things go.

Also, is the aquarium pretty well cycled? Perhaps get 2 or 3 cherry
barbs now, and 3 or 4 more in 3-4 weeks?

I think the golden barbs may be more like rosy barbs, active and on the
large side. Could be tough, though. As to cardinals, I had no success
with them the last time I tried, about 1974!

I currently do have some "dwarf" neon rainbow fish, and they're not that
small, perhaps 2.5 to 3 inches. A school of 3 or 4 would be nice in a 20
gallon. Again, build up the population slowly if possible.

I'm a bit envious that you're setting up a new aquarium. You're
considering some very nice fish; good luck!
Steve

[Jim Anderson]

In article >,
says...

> teri wrote:
> > That is my goal for my new 20G tank. So far I have the two platys
> > that came from the 3 gallon tank. Since this is my first foray into
> > fishkeeping I also want easy and hardy guys, preferably on the smaller
> > side. After a lot of reading I am considering some combination of the
> > following:
> >
> > 1 or 2 more platys - I like all the colors they come in, but they do
> > seem to be kind of lazy and spend a lot
> > of time just sitting around,
> > golden barbs
> > cherry barbs
> > cardinal tetras
> > or possibly...
> > dwarf neon rainbows
> > harlequin rasboras.
> >
> > Any suggestions on a good combination choosing from that list?
> > And which would be best to add first?
> > Teri
> Hi,
> I've really enjoyed cherry barbs, harlequins and dwarf neon rainbowfish.
> Suggestion: get a school of 5, 6 of one of the smaller types of fish
> (harlequins or cherry barbs) and see how things go.
>
> Also, is the aquarium pretty well cycled? Perhaps get 2 or 3 cherry
> barbs now, and 3 or 4 more in 3-4 weeks?
>
> I think the golden barbs may be more like rosy barbs, active and on the
> large side. Could be tough, though. As to cardinals, I had no success
> with them the last time I tried, about 1974!
>
> I currently do have some "dwarf" neon rainbow fish, and they're not that
> small, perhaps 2.5 to 3 inches. A school of 3 or 4 would be nice in a 20
> gallon. Again, build up the population slowly if possible.
>
> I'm a bit envious that you're setting up a new aquarium. You're
> considering some very nice fish; good luck!
> Steve
>

A 20Gal is way too small (IMHO) for Neon dwarf rainbows, my 6 are very
active swimmers and I saw some at the aquarium show at 4 inches (I think
they won a ribbon for bigger then they should be).

Cardinal Tetras can be kinda testy when mating and require very soft
acidic water to do their best.

A good contrast fish for the Barbs listed would be Lemon Tetras, they
grow to about 2 inches and if kept properly, mine got very bright
yellow, if they are stressed they are the washed out lemonade color you
see in the LFS.

--
Jim Anderson
( 8(|) To email me just pull my_finger

[Dick]

On Tue, 28 Jun 2005 01:11:42 GMT, teri > wrote:

>That is my goal for my new 20G tank. So far I have the two platys
>that came from the 3 gallon tank. Since this is my first foray into
>fishkeeping I also want easy and hardy guys, preferably on the smaller
>side. After a lot of reading I am considering some combination of the
>following:
>
>1 or 2 more platys - I like all the colors they come in, but they do
> seem to be kind of lazy and spend a lot
> of time just sitting around,
>golden barbs
>cherry barbs
>cardinal tetras
> or possibly...
>dwarf neon rainbows
>harlequin rasboras.
>
>Any suggestions on a good combination choosing from that list?
>And which would be best to add first?
>Teri

Congratulations on your new tank Teri.

I would caution you to not over stock and choose fish which will not
grow too large. In addition I would suggest you include in that mix
one or two scavengers. My 3 Juli Cory Catfish have been healthy and
are less than 2 inches in length, (closer to 1 inch). They are fun to
watch and stay mostly on the gravel.

dick

[lgb]

In article >,
says...
>
> 1 or 2 more platys - I like all the colors they come in, but they do
> seem to be kind of lazy and spend a lot
> of time just sitting around,
> golden barbs
> cherry barbs
> cardinal tetras
> or possibly...
> dwarf neon rainbows
> harlequin rasboras.
>

Seems to me that 5 or 6 dwarf rainbows, 3 or 4 cory cats, and maybe an
SAE or two would be enough for that tank.

If you must have platys, either make sure they're all the same sex or
find a friend who needs feeders for his/her carnivores :-).

Are you going to use live plants?

--
BNSF = Build Now, Seep Forever

[teri]

>I've really enjoyed cherry barbs, harlequins and dwarf neon rainbowfish.
>Suggestion: get a school of 5, 6 of one of the smaller types of fish
>(harlequins or cherry barbs) and see how things go.
>
>Also, is the aquarium pretty well cycled? Perhaps get 2 or 3 cherry
>barbs now, and 3 or 4 more in 3-4 weeks?
Thanks for the well wishes. I am filing everyone's suggestions and
thoughts.
I will see how the tank cycles for a couple of weeks. I took the blue
filter pad from my cycled penguin mini and put it in the extra space
in the penguin 100, and I am floating the biowheel from the mini in
the tank. So I guess I will know if that is successful over the next
week or so. If so I will then hit the store again.
Right now my thoughts are.... well, actually they change every 15
minutes on what I "think I will get". Leaning towards cherry barbs
and harlequins, but by the time I am done typing it may be something
else from that list. Then, once I get up to That Fish Place in
Lancaster, who knows what the heck will happen :-)
Teri

[HCS]

Corys and cardinal tetras makes perfect match. If I were you, I'll keep 3
corys with 8 cardinals.


Dick wrote:

> On Tue, 28 Jun 2005 01:11:42 GMT, teri > wrote:
>
>>That is my goal for my new 20G tank. So far I have the two platys
>>that came from the 3 gallon tank. Since this is my first foray into
>>fishkeeping I also want easy and hardy guys, preferably on the smaller
>>side. After a lot of reading I am considering some combination of the
>>following:
>>
>>1 or 2 more platys - I like all the colors they come in, but they do
>> seem to be kind of lazy and spend a lot
>> of time just sitting around,
>>golden barbs
>>cherry barbs
>>cardinal tetras
>> or possibly...
>>dwarf neon rainbows
>>harlequin rasboras.
>>
>>Any suggestions on a good combination choosing from that list?
>>And which would be best to add first?
>>Teri
>
> Congratulations on your new tank Teri.
>
> I would caution you to not over stock and choose fish which will not
> grow too large. In addition I would suggest you include in that mix
> one or two scavengers. My 3 Juli Cory Catfish have been healthy and
> are less than 2 inches in length, (closer to 1 inch). They are fun to
> watch and stay mostly on the gravel.
>
> dick

[Dick]

On Tue, 28 Jun 2005 09:10:00 -0700, lgb > wrote:

>In article >,
>says...
>>
>> 1 or 2 more platys - I like all the colors they come in, but they do
>> seem to be kind of lazy and spend a lot
>> of time just sitting around,
>> golden barbs
>> cherry barbs
>> cardinal tetras
>> or possibly...
>> dwarf neon rainbows
>> harlequin rasboras.
>>
>
>Seems to me that 5 or 6 dwarf rainbows, 3 or 4 cory cats, and maybe an
>SAE or two would be enough for that tank.
>
>If you must have platys, either make sure they're all the same sex or
>find a friend who needs feeders for his/her carnivores :-).
>
>Are you going to use live plants?

One caution about adding SAEs in a 20 gallon tank. They get big! I am
worried about mine in 29 and 75 gallon tanks. After only 2 years they
are now larger than my Clown Loaches and seem to be still growing. The
larger ones are over 5 inches and they live long lives. I bought a
total of 15 because I found them so attractive. They were only a
couple of inches in length 2 years ago. I agree with the sentiment,
they are fun fish, but they can become large.

dick

[Derek Benson]

On Wed, 29 Jun 2005 04:31:17 -0500, Dick >
wrote:

>One caution about adding SAEs in a 20 gallon tank. They get big! I am
>worried about mine in 29 and 75 gallon tanks. After only 2 years they
>are now larger than my Clown Loaches and seem to be still growing. The
>larger ones are over 5 inches and they live long lives. I bought a
>total of 15 because I found them so attractive. They were only a
>couple of inches in length 2 years ago. I agree with the sentiment,
>they are fun fish, but they can become large.
>
>dick

How many SAEs should one have at a minimum? I'm not thinking about how
much algae they can eat but if they are a fish which should be kept in
groups? Is 2 or 3 two few for them to do okay behaviourally or
socially?

-Derek

[lgb]

In article >,
says...
>
> How many SAEs should one have at a minimum? I'm not thinking about how
> much algae they can eat but if they are a fish which should be kept in
> groups? Is 2 or 3 two few for them to do okay behaviourally or
> socially?
>
I understand that they do like company, but I have one in each of two
tanks and they seem to be thriving without other SAEs. The one does
sometimes hang out with the cory cats.

--
BNSF = Build Now, Seep Forever

[Elaine T]

lgb wrote:
> In article >,
> says...
>
>>How many SAEs should one have at a minimum? I'm not thinking about how
>>much algae they can eat but if they are a fish which should be kept in
>>groups? Is 2 or 3 two few for them to do okay behaviourally or
>>socially?
>>
>
> I understand that they do like company, but I have one in each of two
> tanks and they seem to be thriving without other SAEs. The one does
> sometimes hang out with the cory cats.
>
I have a solo SAE as well. It's fine, and hangs out in midwater with
the rasboras. I would keep more if my tank were larger as SAE are
definately social. Two can sometimes lead to one picking on the other,
so I'd go with three if you have tank space.

--
Elaine T __
http://eethomp.com/fish.html <'__><
rec.aquaria.* FAQ http://faq.thekrib.com

[Dick]

On Wed, 29 Jun 2005 20:14:24 +0200, Derek Benson >
wrote:

>On Wed, 29 Jun 2005 04:31:17 -0500, Dick >
>wrote:
>
>>One caution about adding SAEs in a 20 gallon tank. They get big! I am
>>worried about mine in 29 and 75 gallon tanks. After only 2 years they
>>are now larger than my Clown Loaches and seem to be still growing. The
>>larger ones are over 5 inches and they live long lives. I bought a
>>total of 15 because I found them so attractive. They were only a
>>couple of inches in length 2 years ago. I agree with the sentiment,
>>they are fun fish, but they can become large.
>>
>>dick
>
>How many SAEs should one have at a minimum? I'm not thinking about how
>much algae they can eat but if they are a fish which should be kept in
>groups? Is 2 or 3 two few for them to do okay behaviourally or
>socially?
>
>-Derek

They are very social in my opinion. Although, I have 1 in a 10 gallon
community tank and it gets along fine. In 2 larger tanks I have 6 in
a 29 gallon and 8 in a 75 gallon tank. They tend to "rest" in a
community group often settling on large leaves of the same plant.
They school often leading a community shoaling. In my experience they
are gentle fish, but others have different experiences. Whether the
one that is in the 10 or the 8 in the 75 gallon tank, I have never
seen one bully other fish.

dick