Fish that live in the upper

[>]

HI & TIA

I have a 120g freshwater aquarium (not the game fish one at work) with
various freshwater tropical's. Looking for a variety community fish that
will live in the upper portion of the water column and will not spend all
their time hiding behind the plants & in the caves.

I currently have (2) silver dollars (1) striped raphael cat 6" long (2)
loaches? silver/gray with orange tail & fins (5) orange barbs? (2) pleco?
1-7" 1-3"

All but the silver dollars hide and are only seen at feeding time. Silver
dollars stay near the bottom of the tank. Had several neon tetra's (they
hid too) but they were eaten by an oscar that lives in a different tank now.
Had stick fish, elephant??? they hid or stayed at the bottom too. I have
18" of water column that is rarely inhabited.

Thanks
JOhn :-)

[Jim Brown]

><(((\"> John Lange ><(((\"> > wrote in message
et...
> HI & TIA
>
> I have a 120g freshwater aquarium (not the game fish one at work) with
> various freshwater tropical's. Looking for a variety community fish that
> will live in the upper portion of the water column and will not spend all
> their time hiding behind the plants & in the caves.
>
> I currently have (2) silver dollars (1) striped raphael cat 6" long (2)
> loaches? silver/gray with orange tail & fins (5) orange barbs? (2) pleco?
> 1-7" 1-3"
>
> All but the silver dollars hide and are only seen at feeding time. Silver
> dollars stay near the bottom of the tank. Had several neon tetra's (they
> hid too) but they were eaten by an oscar that lives in a different tank
now.
> Had stick fish, elephant??? they hid or stayed at the bottom too. I have
> 18" of water column that is rarely inhabited.
>
> Thanks
> JOhn :-)
>

Most of the shy hiding fish you mention are just exhibiting natural
behaviour.
Check out most of the platies or swordtails, most tetras, many barbs,
danios, and rasboras, to get the widest selection of active peaceful
inhabitants.
There are too many suitable fish but all we would dictate would be personal
preferences. It is your aquarium, so make up a wish list and go from there.

Jim

[Ben]

> I have a 120g freshwater aquarium (not the game fish one at work) with
> various freshwater tropical's. Looking for a variety community fish that
> will live in the upper portion of the water column and will not spend all
> their time hiding behind the plants & in the caves.

I believe that Killifish (at least the ones I had) were very into being
out in the open, as are the gouramis I have. Both can be mean nippers
(see my following killi post). As someone else mentioned, swordtails,
tetras, etc are very good at being seen. The other thing you might want
to think about it taller but thinner plants. That way the fish you have
have more of a reason to be higher. They may feel safer because of all
the plants and caves below. With higher plants, they may feel safer
higher. I don't know if this is true, just a thought.

Ben

[Earl D Fitzgerald]

If you already like neon tetras have you considered cardinal tetras? You
could have a school of 30-40 in a tank that large. You may loose a few to
the barbs but a large school will offer protection from other fish. It will
also encourage other fish to come out of hiding.

Beside a large school of cardinals is amazing to watch...

Fishboy


"><(((\"> John Lange ><(((\">" > wrote in
message et...
> HI & TIA
>
> I have a 120g freshwater aquarium (not the game fish one at work) with
> various freshwater tropical's. Looking for a variety community fish that
> will live in the upper portion of the water column and will not spend all
> their time hiding behind the plants & in the caves.
>
> I currently have (2) silver dollars (1) striped raphael cat 6" long (2)
> loaches? silver/gray with orange tail & fins (5) orange barbs? (2) pleco?
> 1-7" 1-3"
>
> All but the silver dollars hide and are only seen at feeding time. Silver
> dollars stay near the bottom of the tank. Had several neon tetra's (they
> hid too) but they were eaten by an oscar that lives in a different tank
now.
> Had stick fish, elephant??? they hid or stayed at the bottom too. I have
> 18" of water column that is rarely inhabited.
>
> Thanks
> JOhn :-)
>
>
>

[Flyline]

I have a freshwater African Butterfly Fish that sticks to the top of the
tank. Great fish. Has airplane wings for fins, eats almost anything, and
makes a satisfying plop as it snags food from the water's surface. Gets
along with my tank of zebra and leopard danios, dwarf gouramis, neon tetras,
and corys!!

"Earl D Fitzgerald" > wrote in message
...
>
>
> If you already like neon tetras have you considered cardinal tetras? You
> could have a school of 30-40 in a tank that large. You may loose a few
to
> the barbs but a large school will offer protection from other fish. It
will
> also encourage other fish to come out of hiding.
>
> Beside a large school of cardinals is amazing to watch...
>
> Fishboy
>
>
> "><(((\"> John Lange ><(((\">" > wrote in
> message et...
> > HI & TIA
> >
> > I have a 120g freshwater aquarium (not the game fish one at work) with
> > various freshwater tropical's. Looking for a variety community fish
that
> > will live in the upper portion of the water column and will not spend
all
> > their time hiding behind the plants & in the caves.
> >
> > I currently have (2) silver dollars (1) striped raphael cat 6" long (2)
> > loaches? silver/gray with orange tail & fins (5) orange barbs? (2)
pleco?
> > 1-7" 1-3"
> >
> > All but the silver dollars hide and are only seen at feeding time.
Silver
> > dollars stay near the bottom of the tank. Had several neon tetra's
(they
> > hid too) but they were eaten by an oscar that lives in a different tank
> now.
> > Had stick fish, elephant??? they hid or stayed at the bottom too. I
have
> > 18" of water column that is rarely inhabited.
> >
> > Thanks
> > JOhn :-)
> >
> >
> >
>
>

[Wellman]

How about a school of some kind of hatchet fish? I had some as a kid and
they were always at the top. A problem might be that they're always right
at the top and don't wander down much. You'll have to do some research
though to see if they're compatible with what you already have.

Martin

"><(((\"> John Lange ><(((\">" > wrote in
message et...
> HI & TIA
>
> I have a 120g freshwater aquarium (not the game fish one at work) with
> various freshwater tropical's. Looking for a variety community fish that
> will live in the upper portion of the water column and will not spend all
> their time hiding behind the plants & in the caves.
>
> I currently have (2) silver dollars (1) striped raphael cat 6" long (2)
> loaches? silver/gray with orange tail & fins (5) orange barbs? (2) pleco?
> 1-7" 1-3"
>
> All but the silver dollars hide and are only seen at feeding time. Silver
> dollars stay near the bottom of the tank. Had several neon tetra's (they
> hid too) but they were eaten by an oscar that lives in a different tank
now.
> Had stick fish, elephant??? they hid or stayed at the bottom too. I have
> 18" of water column that is rarely inhabited.
>
> Thanks
> JOhn :-)
>
>
>