I am not too familiar with the different types of freshwater fish that are out there. I am trying to get some colorful fish to stock my tank with. Right now I have some Neons just as a filler fish. They add some nice color and break up some of the monotony in my tank. The guy at my local fish store said maybe a scarlet swordtail. I saw a picture of that and thought that may be nice. Anything else that someone may be able to think of? I already have a tiger pleco in the tank, so I am trying to stay away from anything else that is black and white. Thanks in advance for all your help.
Looking for fish to stock my tank with.
- Thread starter hcky4206sic6
- Start date
Whats you tank size ?
what type of filter (s) do you have ?
and what type of fish do you like large , smal , schooling , Oddball , ect . . . ?
But if you have Neons i would stay away from the larger fish which will eat them .
fish to think about -
Tetras
Barbs
Danios
Corys
Gouramis
Laoches
Hatches
Minnows
Mollys
Platys
Guppys
Rasbora fish
Rainbow fish
angel fish
Discus .
There is alot more fish to think about but thats just a small list of fish too think about .
what type of filter (s) do you have ?
and what type of fish do you like large , smal , schooling , Oddball , ect . . . ?
But if you have Neons i would stay away from the larger fish which will eat them .
fish to think about -
Tetras
Barbs
Danios
Corys
Gouramis
Laoches
Hatches
Minnows
Mollys
Platys
Guppys
Rasbora fish
Rainbow fish
angel fish
Discus .
There is alot more fish to think about but thats just a small list of fish too think about .
I have an 80 gallon long. It is 6' long and 2' wide. I am using a Rena canister filter which I have been pretty happy with. I would like one or two fish in the 6" range so it fills up the tank a little bit more. I currently have a shrimp in the tank and I have seen loaches eat shrimp so I have to stay away from those unfortunately. So out of the ones you listed, do any of them get to be about 6 inches? Possibly any others you may be able to think of that get around that size? Thanks
It sounds like you have a 180 if it's 6x2 how tall is it? and is the shrimp the only thing in the tank now? how long has the tank been running. Sounds like you haent been keeping fish long I would sugest a bunch of smaller community fish that way they are cheep and care isn't a big issue. then upgrade to bigger better fish later.
No it is only an 80 gallon unfortunately. I think it is about 2 feet tall... can't remember for sure though. It has weird dimensions... they don't make this 80 gallon long anymore. Lets see, I think I have had the tank running since just before Christmas, I wrote it down in my little fish log and don't have it in front of me right now. I have a shrimp, three neons, two other little fish comparable to neons, and a tiger pleco. I had a snail, but he killed himself when he got wedged between the heater and the glass. I have been getting these small fish to make sure I got a nice smooth cycle going in my tank. It has been just about a month, and my levels never spiked once. So I started moving into more expensive fish (my tiger). I'm ready for another bigger fish. But it has only been a few days since I had my tiger put in, so I am doing my research now, so by the time I get something picked out, any sickness or spiking in the levels would have appeared already and been taken care of. Any suggestions?
Most fish 6 inches will be able to eat neon tetras. (most cichlids, catfish, and cyprinids get large mouths) Gouramis are nice and colourful, I like the gold, 3 spot (blue), pearl and snakeskin gouramis.
*Some gourami are aggressive towards other gourami so it is wise to have only one or to have several to distribute the wrath of the dominant male.*
These fish grow about 5 inches long.
Glass catfish are really cool too. They need to be in large numbers or else they die. Go for as many as the LFS has in stock and then go again and buy their entire stock again. You should try for 6 or as many as you can get. There are 2 distinct kinds: ghost glass catfish and the 3 striped glass catfish. Both are awesomosaurus. If you end up with a low number (less than 3) you still have a few months to get more before they die of stress.
You will want many more neon tetras. Some people aim for like 20-30 or so. consider 8 a good number to start.
Having fish as small as neon tetras make it difficult to stock a large tank such as a 80 gallon. Filament barbs get to 6 inches and rosy barbs get to about 4. Both have really tiny mouths. Spanner/T barb might get large enough to eat neons or shrimps. Contrary to popular belief barbs are very peaceful in numbers greater than 4... with tiger barbs this number must be more than 10 to ensure safety.
The red tail black shark (or other red and black "sharks") get to about 6 inches and are semi peaceful .. but intolerant of other similar looking fishes.
Some good tetras to try (in numbers over 6 please) are congo tetra, flame tetra, black neon tetra, black widow or black skirt tetra, lemon tetra, head and tail light tetra.
The dojo / weather loaches get to like 8 inches and have tiny mouths... tiny eyes... and are thin like eels.
Try the "good (and bad) beginner fish" thread at the bottom. It will be extraordinarily helpful.
http://www.monsterfishkeepers.com/forums/showthread.php?t=21847
*Some gourami are aggressive towards other gourami so it is wise to have only one or to have several to distribute the wrath of the dominant male.*
These fish grow about 5 inches long.
Glass catfish are really cool too. They need to be in large numbers or else they die. Go for as many as the LFS has in stock and then go again and buy their entire stock again. You should try for 6 or as many as you can get. There are 2 distinct kinds: ghost glass catfish and the 3 striped glass catfish. Both are awesomosaurus. If you end up with a low number (less than 3) you still have a few months to get more before they die of stress.
You will want many more neon tetras. Some people aim for like 20-30 or so. consider 8 a good number to start.
Having fish as small as neon tetras make it difficult to stock a large tank such as a 80 gallon. Filament barbs get to 6 inches and rosy barbs get to about 4. Both have really tiny mouths. Spanner/T barb might get large enough to eat neons or shrimps. Contrary to popular belief barbs are very peaceful in numbers greater than 4... with tiger barbs this number must be more than 10 to ensure safety.
The red tail black shark (or other red and black "sharks") get to about 6 inches and are semi peaceful .. but intolerant of other similar looking fishes.
Some good tetras to try (in numbers over 6 please) are congo tetra, flame tetra, black neon tetra, black widow or black skirt tetra, lemon tetra, head and tail light tetra.
The dojo / weather loaches get to like 8 inches and have tiny mouths... tiny eyes... and are thin like eels.
Try the "good (and bad) beginner fish" thread at the bottom. It will be extraordinarily helpful.
http://www.monsterfishkeepers.com/forums/showthread.php?t=21847
Thanks alot for all the awesome info. I was thinking about getting a rainbow shark since I had one before and I liked him. I forgot to mention that I already have a dwarf neon gourami... very nice looking. When you say to have at least 6 of those tetras, is it sufficient to have a few of each kind to get to that required amount? Or does it have to be 6 of the same kind? Hope that question makes sense. I like the tiger barbs but was under the assumption they were aggressive. I will be looking at pictures of the fish you recommended. Thanks again.
There are some 5-6" fish like festivums that could work, but those neons can be a tempting treat, although I've seen things like that work