Tropical Fish Forum
Tropical Fish Keeping Help and Advice => New Fishkeepers => Topic started by: Aquamaid on February 18, 2015, 03:04:32 PM
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So my tank is a 4ft, 230ltr and is very new, only about two months, i have 9 Congo Tetras and 12 Harlequine Rasboras, in the day they are very active and the tank almost looks full enough, in the evening when lights are on, they seem to hover above the sand in the corners, and tank looks empty.I shall wait a few months to see how big they are growing before deciding what to put in next, but would like some feedback. I love what i have and they are so peacefull and they shine beautiful colours but they are all a bit "silvery" i would love a shot of block colour in the tank, and as i can't really have Discus my only options are 6 big rainbow fish, (but again i think they may be too silvery ) or i was thinking how about a lot of hi fin Platies they certainly are colourful, how do you think they would get on? i have 4 in my other tank but they are all males so they tend to get a bit frustrated and bully one another, so i would go for mixed hopefully no fry would survive? How am i doing for stocking? id like Corys too. Oh temp is 24 at present and all happy.
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You should definitely have Corys, with a tank that size and temperature you could choose whichever you want, though they're not cheap and you MUST get at least 6 of one species. Sterbai might be good.
I'm a bit surprised that you say your fish are "silvery", I wouldn't have described either of them like that! Maybe they haven't fully coloured yet?
Personally I'm not keen on the platy varieties, to me they look unnatural and overbred, the Busy Lizzies or Pelargoniums of the fish tank :). I prefer more natural looking fish (and flowers).
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I'd go for the Boesemans Rainbows. They usually look very bland in stores but once they settle in they are absolutely stunning and not silvery at all. There's also a great article on Red Rainbowfish in PFK this month. Another stunning addition once settled in the tank.
I love Panda Cories, but if you fancied something a bit different you could for the Green-Gold Variety. The most colourful cories I've seen!
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The congos and harleys are certainly colourful turquoise, orange yellow etc but in an irridescent way, i just feel i need a "ping" of bright colour, oh well plenty of time to think about it, and yes i have seen "emerald cory" in local MA, they are lovely, but again too much like what i have already, oh well at least i have a very subtle and harmonious tank lol :))
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Once your harlies have settled in they will be a pretty strong red and black, not at all shimerry hues. When people see my tank for the first time, they describe my harlies as the red fish. And that is in comparison to the cardinal tetras that have very red tummies. I have a feeling it takes about a month or so for them to colour up. But I've had mine for a few years now, so can't remember properly.
The half dozen new harlies that I bought on Sunday are noticeably paler and I expect them to stay 'shimmery for a while longer yet.
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I think people often have a "vision" of what they want their tank to look like, but it is more like a marine coral reef than a freshwater tank. In the coral reef type there are many very strongly coloured fish, often in solid reds, blues, yellows etc. I think many people are attracted to the Malawi cichlids because they are closest in look to reef fish, probably because their habitat is rather similar.
However, there are very few freshwater fish with that look. Fish are generally designed NOT to be seen, a solid red fish swimming in a river or lake would be an easy target for any predator. Hence almost the only fish of this sort of colour are artificially bred, wild platies, swordfish, mollies and even goldfish are basically rather boring greenish.
The Boesmani rainbows are one of the fish that really does seem to need a higher temperature, the Red rainbow is perhaps the closest to a solid red fish that is easily obtainable though they take a fair time to mature.
For contrast, I'd be tempted to go for fish with stronger patterns, e.g. stripy barbs (not Tigers with Congo tetras) and patterned Corydoras e.g. sterbai, julii, reticulatus or loaches such as the Zebra loach.
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Or could you just move the platies from your smaller tank to the bigger one? Maybe swap them for the Harlequins? With Harlies in the big tank you are a bit more restricted in putting big and boisterous fish in there.
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Yes did wonder about a swop around, mind you the Harleys seem brave little things, and as you say, Richard, it is a very natural looking tank at the moment. Ah well, time to think and rethink. Yes Helen, my Harleys do look red sometimes, mainly when i have pink light on, they are "on fire" then, in natural sunlight they are beatiful silver lilac and purple. :)
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Just echoing a couple of other comments re the fish's colours coming out as they settle in - and grow. Now in their 4th month in the tank, my x-ray tetras' colours have become really bold and strong, possibly also because they've grown and therefore their coloured fins are more noticeable from a distance.
Some excellent suggestions from Richard W and others. It's not all about colour - the patterned fish may provide the visual stimulus you're looking for but in a different way, and perhaps a range of sizes (provided that they're compatible), while fish with different behaviours (eg cories or loaches) provide a different type of stimulus.
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Thanks, fcmf, yes i will give it a few months before i decide i think :)
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Green tiger barbs are very brightly coloured fish and would enjoy the low temp or rosy barbs.
When I first started stocking my 200L I felt the same as you and wanted a brightly coloured fish but I have to say once I'd clapped eyes on how beautiful a lot of the rainbow fish species are I changed my mind and went for interesting, although I do have some purple harlequins which partially satisfied my need for big and bright.
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I have green tiger barbs, normally I don't like fish which have been "changed" from the original colour, but in this case they actually look like "real" fish, more than the original stripy ones even. I did get 10 to avoid fin nipping of other fish, which took up a lot of the stocking capacity, but they do look very nice swimming in a shoal. It's the red fins that make all the difference.
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I have green tiger barbs, normally I don't like fish which have been "changed" from the original colour, but in this case they actually look like "real" fish,
They are beautiful and Ikwym about 'changed' fish, I haven't given up on owning some yet, I'm thinking of a cool tank which GTBs would love and some golden white cloud minnows which are also lovely fish.
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Thanks all, it's looking like Rainbows are my only option to be honest, so i will have to decide which ones and see what's available. I also want some Corys, but i gather they need a well established tank, so i will wait a few months.
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See if you can find some threadfin rainbows AM, they're quite spectacular
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But very small for a big tank, maybe too nervous to be with Congo tetras.
Not sure why Aquamaid has decided that only rainbows are suitable though?
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She's got quite hard water, so I suppose that's why and yes the threadfins are supposed to be nervous of large, energetic fish
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I think the cardinal tetras add the most colour to my tank. They are the fish that show up most in photos. But they are another relatively small fish.
I've had bronze cories previously but am going to get emerald catfish (similar to but not cories) which are bigger but hopefully also a bit more colourful.
I considered rainbow fish, but with soft water had less choice. I'd love to see how they develop colour wise if you do get some.
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Thanks Helen, they remind me of my little long finned white cloud minnows, that or a an ancient flying machine :rotfl: lol