Michigan Cichlid Association
General Category => General Discussion => Topic started by: djlamonica on July 22, 2013, 09:08:04 PM
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So I have this tank in the living room it was mine and my wife's first tank that basically started this mess I'm in now. We started it with tiger barbs and really enjoyed it but I thought they needed a larger tank so I moved them. Over the past year Ive tried a ton of different stuff but nothing seems to work out. Did a small community tank just boring, did grow outs for fry did some smaller SA did angels but nothing has really got that WOW factor.
I was thinking of maybe just throwing in a ton of cardinal tetras but mine always seem to die. But that's kind of what Im looking for something some one who doesn't no fish is going to say wow that's awesome.
So I'd like to here your ideas.
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I have red cherries and beckford's pencilfish in my 16 bow with live plants and black sand substrate...that usually gets people's attention at work.
What are the dimensions on your tank? Gouramis might do OK as they go up and down vs back and forth...maybe a pair of paradise fish? Mine bred in 1/3 of a divided 20 long...pretty fun to watch that. Lots of duckweed o the top and other live plants throughout.
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Already tried gourmais not my thing pencil fish maybe have not tried inverts yet but I doubt my wife would approve.
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Already tried gourmais not my thing pencil fish maybe have not tried inverts yet but I doubt my wife would approve.
FWIW paradise fish are smaller and nicer vs regular gouramis.
What other small fish do you like?
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harlequin rasbora and some sort of ram. blue ram or whatever tickles your fancy.
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IMO after watching mine tear around the 20 long for the last little while, a decent sized harlequin rasbora needs 24" at least for swimming...they are pretty active. But, might work.
Blue ram or pair might work. They can be pretty stunning fish when in good condition. But I think a lot comes down to the actual tank dimensions. I wouldn't keep a breeding pair in smaller than a 24x12 footprint for a long time. Not quite as nippy as apisto pairs to each other, but still need some space. If you go single ram get a male...but he may not get the best coloration without a female to impress.
What about trying brackish and go with some less common fish like bumblebee gobies? You could probably do a decent group of them in a tank that size because they max around an inch. I have 3 in a 10g and there would be plenty more room if I didn't also have a puffer. My guess is your wife might think the gobies are cute and/or interesting. My wife does with the ones I picked up the other day. :)
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Actually poking around a bit I may try a small school of cardinals with some shrimp on the bottom I think that would be very unique and at least keep my attention for a while. What kind of shrimp would work best would like a few different colors.
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Actually poking around a bit I may try a small school of cardinals with some shrimp on the bottom I think that would be very unique and at least keep my attention for a while. What kind of shrimp would work best would like a few different colors.
Red cherries or fire reds would be hardiest plus give good contrast to the blue of the neons. I've not had good success with yellows and most others are rather pricey. Also remember red cherry, blue pearl etc will cross if in the same tank and you get brown offspring..