Reel McKoi wrote:

Gill, I may try only 2 each of a few of the tetras (I know they need to
be in small schools) since I love them, and see what happens. If they do
well I can always add more over time. I would be heartsick if I bought
6 or 12 of something just to watch them fade away as they did in the
past. That was very discouraging. Very disappointing since when I
lived in NYC with it's soft slightly acid water these little guys lived
several years. And by using dolomite in our tanks, the hard alkaline
water fish also thrived. When I moved here to TN it was a whole other
ballgame.

Neons are dead cheap but are prone to disease.....you could get a good
group or find yourself replacing them at a few bucks each time as they
get depleted......I've always managed to keep around 5 out of a school
of 20 but this is very disappointing.....my best success has been with
Cardinals (totally unsuited to my water) where I have had no losses at
all......but don't just think of tetras.......one of my fav tanks houses
a couple of ember tetras and 6 cherry barbs......very pretty fish and
hardy with it and not as nippy as their relatives - I have 3M/3F and the
colour display is awesome....




- you might

get away with some angels though - again these fish, because so
popular, are acclimatized to a variety of conditions and although your
water may not be optimum for breeding you could probably keep some for
display....


I'm going to skip angels for this tank because they get large, and once
they pair off you have WWIII on your hands.

Well, that's cichlids for you.....my pair are in the 6 foot tank and
haven't created to many problems yet - although I do have them as number
one suspects in the decline of the smaller fish





I haven't seen that happen in my tanks, maybe because of all the water
changes. I don't know. Or maybe because there's only a small amount of
driftwood. I've decided to stick with the plants that thrive in my
conditions. I've been experimenting with Miracle Grow and it works.
:-))) My old Anubias bloomed this summer and the Vals are thriving......
the hornwart and pondweed had to be removed they went so crazy. There
was no ill effect on the ottos or plecos, who now all love cucumber.

Dunno about the water changes....it is always a constant point of
interest for me how much the pH varies in my freshwater tanks bearing in
mind that they all get the same water and quantity of changes......I'm
about to try the API plant tabs - I've been using the nutrafin ones for
a while so want to see if I get any difference (the API cost an awful
lot more).......

When you mention Miracle Grow are you talking the liquid plant food?
It's done wonders for my houseplants but I've never thought of putting
it in the tanks....



Hummmmmmm..... glad you brought that up as it's something to consider.
I like to watch corys schooling around a tank. My reg pleco will eat
fishfood but for the life of me I have no idea what the clown plecos are
living on. I never see them eat anything yet both are plump little guys
(or gals).

The only one of my plecs I've ever seen feed is the Leopard Plec and he
is such a big b*gger I guess he needs more than to scavange.......the
other two are nicely plump and I've had them 4 years plus without having
to add any additional food....




With CLs, Plecs and Cories you need to provide hiding spaces - whether
caves built with stones/rocks or driftwood with hollows - my guys get
the driftwood option - nothing funnier than seeing 3 over large CLs
jamming themselves into a driftwood hollow with just their noses
poking out.....


Building them caves will be no problem. I have loads of assorted rocks
and driftwood, even a small plastic barrel. Right now the little clown
plecos live in the dense leaves and rock rubble of the larger anubia.
It's like a little jungle. The reg' plec is tame as can be and hangs on
the front glass. I had to return one reg' plec as it started to rasp on
the goldfish that were in the tank at the time. I had one of each type
in each of the 55s. When I emptied the other 55, I put the second clown
plec in with the first.

There are also many other options open to you - Rainbows thrive in
hard water - Boesmanis, Reds - not threadfins though......Gouramis do
well, live bearers like Mollies and Platys and if you can find them
female bettas (not the drab ones - keep an eye out for those that are
just as attractive as males - it you see them buy them - you don't get
to see them very often).


Definitely male platties. I love the bright colors. Female bettas are
often available. Very pretty ones.

Yes, I like my platies.....I don't worry too much about the sex these
days....if they breed the best of the batch survive or the rest become
fish food - I haven't bought any platys for years.....but the population
still maintains itself without being a problem....

If you can get nice female bettas and the tank is large enough go for
it.....but have a back up plan.....I rather suspect that the nicer
female bettas might be boys in disguise....





Rasboras also do great - so if you are looking for

small, schooling fish and don't want to risk tetras these are an
option - if you can find the flame rasboras they are a very vivid
orange - look like they are basking in the glow of a real fire hence
the name......


Wow..... I can't wait to get out to the pet stores and start looking at
what they have these days.

Enjoy.....part of the fun I find is looking at what is available and
then plotting - wallet stays firmly in the bag until I know what I
want.....fishy window shopping :-)





Let us know which fish you decide on


Oh I sure will...... we have a lot of chain petstores around here now.
I know I'll find just the right fish. :-)


Good luck - I'm sure that eventually you will end up with what you
want......research of course is the key but I will admit to falling fowl
of the odd impulse buy.,...

Gill