Which of these is the least skittish?

[Oskie Boy]

I am looking for a group of fish to keep towards the top of the water column of my standard 125 that currently has a few small Bichirs that stay at the bottom of the tank most of the time. I am looking for a group of 5-10 fish that are not skittish. The tank is in an area where there will be people walking around that could possibly spook the fish. Also, I am not worried about max fish size because I could move the fish to a larger tank later. Here are the ones I am considering... Group of silver dollars, group of Bala sharks, group of Tinfoil barbs. Which is the best for this spot? Thanks

 

[A201]

Bala's & Tinfoil's will eventually outgrow the 125, so out of the three, Spotted & Striped SD's would be my choice.
Tannin stained water combined with a substantial amount of driftwood & dim lighting are factors that will reduce the skittish behavior commonly exhibited by SD's.

 

[Rocksor]

Even in a common traffic area, and no overhead lights (ambient room light), common SD's were too skittish in my 8 foot tank. They made my cichlids way too skittish. Once they were removed, no more skittish cichlids. The cichlids couldn't care less about the movement outside of the tank unless they were hungry. It didn't have have heavy tannin at the time though.

 

[tlindsey]

I agree with A201 and Rocksor but most don't want to add tannins in the aquarium so SD's wouldn't be good in a high traffic area.

 

[Schniz]

Bala sharks and SD are very skittish. Tin foil barbs grow really fast, in 10 months you'll have a group of 10"+ fish you'll have to rehome. Have you considered a group of giant Danios? They get a decent size but not too big and will add movement to the top portion of your tank?

 

[Mitchell The Monster]

Could do a large group of pinktail chalceus. I’d do 10+

 

[Kolton13]

why not 2 or 3 african butterfly fish then maybe a few bigger gouramis

 

[esoxlucius]

When I had my tinfoils, balas and chalceus in my 180g com tank they weren't that skittish, at first. As they grew they seemed to spook more easily. And of course when bigger fish spook it can get a bit messy splash wise, and dangerous for the fish in case they injure themselves. When I moved them to my 360g fibreglass tank they chilled right out, no amount of moving in front of the tank can spook them now. And silver dollars, although I haven't kept them, I believe can be even more skittish than the other three!

If you want a seriously chilled out tank with no freaking out at all i'd honestly give all four a miss, unless you can go a lot bigger than a 125 and put it somewhere where traffic isn't an issue.

 

[Magnus_Bane]

Honestly in my opinion if you want a fish that won't be totally skittish I would go with the previously mentioned African butterfly fish or even possibly a school of hatchet fish.

 

[Oskie Boy]

Thanks for all the information guys, Ill have to think this over.