"Tynk" wrote in message
oups.com...
On Sep 1, 1:28�pm, "Reel McKoi" wrote:

What type of tropicals are you thinking of adding to the 55g?

I like Tetras but my water is hard and alkaline. I'm going to do some
research and see what'll thrive in water with a PH of 7.2 to 7.8. I don't
want cichlids again unless I can find some small peaceful ones locally. We
have some good petstores here now I want to check out. I'm not going to
rush into anything.


My tap is harder than yours (8.0) and I have had many batches of Neons
reach their maximum growth size in it. They didn't seem to mind it a
bit. They went through their spawning rituals and all.

* I haven't had them survive for more than a few months for me. They just
kind of fade away. And that's with a good variety of the better foods on the
market. Head and Tail lights are another that didn't live very long. Cherry
barbs live several years so they're on the list for sure. I'm sure there are
new fish on the market since I've bought tropicals some 6 years ago. A few
colorful male platties from my 10g will be added. They're about the size I
want.

With your tap water they'd be a nice choice. Cardinals, I have no
experience with in this hard water (I've had them before but this was
yrs before moved here and we had better water before).
With the way your tank is set up a large school of neons would look
spectaular!

* They probably would if the darn things would live here more than a few
months. I'll probably weaken and get 3 small clown loaches if I see healthy
ones. :-) They've always been a favorite of mine.

A few nice rocks but no caves. I'm going to look at small active colorful
peaceful fish. I like clown loaches but they can get large. I know I want
a small school of corys.

Pandas make a lovely display against the greens of the plants and
browns of the driftwood and gravel.
They too did fine in my hard water.
German Blue rams or the yellow Bolivian Rams are peaceful, colorful
cichlids, however check if they can handle your level of hardness.

* No, they die after a few months. One of the biggest problems I've had
with Rams is feeding them. They were all poor feeders. They would refused
to go to the top to eat. The corys and others would get all the food.
Like the Neon's; the Rams would fade away.

My water is too hard, or too high in something they can't handle.
They are so beautiful though.
Ditto with Kribensis.
Festivums are calm, but not very colorful.

* They do well in my water but get pretty big.

Angelfish would also do quite nicely in your tank.
Imagine a pair of breeders raising fry on their own.
It's wonderful.

* Angels, some SA cichlids and the African Lake cichlids do great in my
water, but I've had serious problems with them wanting to breed in the past.
They get aggressive and go after the other fish. You know how that goes.
The African Cichilds spawned constantly as did the Angels...... I was
always overrun with fry. And boy do some of those African's get big and
aggressive.

That's why this time I just want fish to LOOK at and enjoy. I don't want to
see fighting or have to worry about how to dispose of unwanted fry. Any
live bearers will be males only. :-))

Now the other 55g is clean and empty. It's just sitting there. I have no
plans for that one yet.
--

RM....
My Pond & Aquarium Pages:
http://tinyurl.com/9do58
Zone 6. Middle TN USA
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