Advice on New Fishies please?

[Chele&Luke]

Okay - so this is probably going to seem a little callous after my last posting... However this IS my son's tank and with the death (or is that *gulp* murder?) of 60% of my Neons it IS looking very empty in there!!

What could I put in my 15 gallon (24" x 12" x 12") that will fit in nicely with my 4x Albino Corys and the 4 surviving Neons?

Only real criteria is that they be large enough to not succumb to my fish eating filter!! And yep - it IS covered with nylon at the moment - they found a whole new way to commit suicide round the back!!! :cry:

My parameters are ususally Ph 6.8, Ammonia 0, Nitrite 0, Nitrate 0-5 (depending on how many Neons are stuck in the filter :cry: )

I would LOVE some more Corys, but don't want to overcrowd, not sure how that stacks up now. If I am allowed 4 more which other type are zippy and fun like the albinos?

I really don't want guppies, I gave them a LOT of thought when I was originally stocking and decided against because of the moss I have in there and possibility of survivors if they bred!

All suggestions/ideas VERY welcome - I am sooo down at the moment after last nights 'suicide party'. I really want to get Lukeys tank back to being 'fun and active' :)

[Dangerdoll]

gah, sorry to hear of the bad luck with your tank.

have you thought about danios?

[msjinkzd]

or cardinals, mine school with my neons but are larger and a little more hardy.

[Wat2Go]

How about a group (let's say 3) of female bettas? (my 5 year old has a group of those and she loves to watch them).
My other daughter has a male betta with neons and cories, great fish to watch!
In our big tank red mickey platies, and tri-color platies. GREAT fun to watch (always playful).
Or a bigger fish like a dwarf gourami?
Or maybe two Australian Rainbows (very colorful and fun to watch) (they get biggish though).
I love danios, but my zebras were too crazy for the neons...

L.

[Dwarf Puffers]

How about a group (let's say 3) of female bettas? (my 5 year old has a group of those and she loves to watch them).
My other daughter has a male betta with neons and cories, great fish to watch!
In our big tank red mickey platies, and tri-color platies. GREAT fun to watch (always playful).
Or a bigger fish like a dwarf gourami?
Or maybe two Australian Rainbows (very colorful and fun to watch) (they get biggish though).
I love danios, but my zebras were too crazy for the neons...

L.

Australian rainbows get far too large for a 15g, I'm afraid. Also, you should be careful with the bettas. 2 of my original 5 were stressed to death by the dominant red.

Are you planning on any more neons? And for the cories, my peppered are nice, although they're way too comfortable to school. I'll have to change that (Rubs hands and cackles manically). Maybe 4-5 pandas? Seems like everyone loves them. A good centerpiece would be a betta or a non-flame/neon/cobalt etc dwarf gourami. I'm not sure, but the smaller (2-2.5") killies might work.

[Rbishop]

I vote for the danios, lots of activity.

[Chele&Luke]

Are you planning on any more neons? .... although they're way too comfortable to school. I'll have to change that (Rubs hands and cackles manically).

Not planning on anymore neons until I get a new hob filter!! I've renamed the Stingray *drumroll please* "The Tetra-nator!!!" Not very funny I know - however the only thing keeping me sane thru this whole sad business is my rather twisted sense of humour!!

And yep - definitely Interested in some more corys!! Those guys rock - will investigate and see if we have panda's down here.. We MUST do!!

LMAO!! Yeah my Albino Corys are WAY too comfortable to school too - awfully tempting isn't it??!!! *evil grin*



I vote for the danios, lots of activity.

Will take my "Little Mister" down to the lfs and check out danios, when something turns up in a thread twice it's GOT to be worth checking out!!


On a different note I'm looking at a fishtank - currently coldwater with a big ugly goldfish in it, that I'm considering buying.

The dimensions are: L 110cm x W 40cm x D 41cm

Think that works out to be 47.368 US Gallons (40 Imperial Gallons)

Comes with a HOB (YAY!!) filter, and the before mentioned ugly fish.

Seriously considering buying it and doing a 'switcheroo' on the fishies, ie give my fishies the BIG(er lol) tank, and give 'ugly' the 15 gallon until I can find it a new home!!

I have 2x heaters already, which would cover that ok, just need to get lights and half sheet of glass for the 'new' tank (if I get it)

Do you think it's worth me going for it and forking over some cash? 47 US Gallons is bigger than 15 USG for sure, but is it worth it for better stocking options? Not a huge fan over lugging those buckets - and if I'm going bigger I want some NICE fish ;)

As always thanks so much for your help! Haven't been able to get on for a few days and I been missing my daily 'fix'. Even when I'm 'quiet' I learn SOOO much from you guys!! :grinyes:

[Daniel_MoY]

Get the tank, It's alot of fun with a larger tank. (IMHO)

might think of getting a hose that connect's to your sink, like the python, deffently makes it alot easyer then buckets. something like
http://www.amazon.com/Ultimate-Aquarium-Gravel-Vac-Kit/dp/B0002APT3G
http://www.amazon.com/Python-No-Spill-Clean-Fill/dp/B000255NXM/ref=pd_bbs_sr_2/105-1521505-2132440?ie=UTF8&s=home-garden&qid=1191495439&sr=1-2

Either of those would work, I have the second one and it works Great :) just alittle spendy, but I feel it's worth it with no more buckets.

[Dwarf Puffers]

Hope someone takes Sir Ugly the Fugly there...

[Cory Keeper]

tip with danios, They may not seem active in a the stores tanks, but after a week (or less) in your tank they will be some active little buggers, even more so if food is involved. Look for long finned blue, my favorite.

[furfinsfeathers]

The bigger the tank, the better. Big tanks are less prone to ammonia spikes and are more stable.

How can you call a goldfish ugly!?!? We LOVE ours! Our first 2 within a couple months got so tame they would eat from my 3 year old's fingers.

[Chele&Luke]

How can you call a goldfish ugly!?!? We LOVE ours! Our first 2 within a couple months got so tame they would eat from my 3 year old's fingers.

Errr... honestly it's mostly because they take up sooo much room that I could fill with tropical fishies!! *hang head in shame*

They just don't appeal to me in general I think - never have...

Besides right now he is an "unwelcome" resident in the tank I want :laugh:

I'm not mean, really!!! If I get the tank I will look after him (and do it well!!) until I can find him a new home :)

[iamgroovy]

I agree with the others, if you want active fish, go for the danios. They are down right hyper!

[silentskream]

danios are definitely active. especially during feeding time.. they shoot up to the food like little bullets! its really fun to watch.

panda corys are really cool, i could never find any around here though.

[hatcheridiot]

My rasboras are waaaay active and my Sterbai cories are fun to watch too.

[StereoKills]

I agree with Danios! After they got settled into my tank, they became very active. They're always playing and chasing each other around. Great to watch especially now that they're growing out.

[ideas1400]

Get sailfin red mollies. 2 males and 4 females. You will have yourself a blast and every month new baby fish.

[Chele&Luke]

Sorry to drag this thread back up...

Starting to get excited - looks like I got the larger tank, 'Fugly' and all...

Unfortunately it looks like that will end up being the poor things name for a while - it doesn't have one currently!!! Ever since Dwarf Puffers made that comment bout Sir Ugly the Fugly I been calling it Fugly in my head!! *shame on me!!*

All going well it will be delivered on Friday morning - YAY!!

Now I gots to reorganise my living room all over again!

THE BAD NEWS - after it arrives I will most likely annoy everyone asking for advice to stock it with after I evict Sir Fugly... Don't panic - I'll try find him a nice big goldfish pond to 'retire' into :grinyes:

Any initial ideas for me to start researching on would be REAL appreciated..

110cm L, 41cm W, 40cm D. 180 Litres = 47.something US Gallons.

I soooo wanna evict Fugly so I can get it cycled and watch my corys do some REAL drag-racing!! :grinyes:

Open to leaving them in the 15 USG if they won't work with any future stocking plans in the 47G tho ;)

Wheeeeeeeeee - won't believe it until it arrives SAFE AND SOUND Friday!!!

[OldMan1947]

If Fugly is coming with his tank's filter intact and the gravel in the aquarium, you probably won't need to cycle the new tank. Before we got smarter about fishless cycling, the old standard was get the tank and throw in a couple of goldfish to "age the water", then you replaced the goldfish with what you really wanted. No mention was ever made about the golfish's outcome.
If you are only doing a switch between the goldfish and the tropicals, you might wait a few days for conditions to stabilize after the switch and you will be good to go with normal gradual increases in stocking of your new tank. The goldfish usually produce enough waste that even one is equivalent to several tropicals in terms of bioload.

[Chele&Luke]

Hehe - yeah... or I could do that!!! *big goofy grin*

I kinda forgot you could do that!!

Guess I'll let Fugly hang round a bit longer while I decide where I'm going to go with this tank - I AM going to have to get some lights if I want to put some plants in there. I'm just plain not sure WHAT I'm going to do yet!

Just hope I don't end up getting too attached to him/her and end up planning a COLD water tank...

Not 100% sure, but I think Fugly might be a lil large to be 'condemned' to the 15G.

[Dwarf Puffers]

Not 100% sure, but I think Fugly might be a lil large to be 'condemned' to the 15G.

That he would be :). Never too late for a pond, though, is it? :grinno:

Btw, my LFS recently got in some "asst. danios", including golds, long finned, pearl, striped, leopard, and... Rainbow?! I looked at them, they deffinately arn't dyed, and not GMed in Canada at 2.99$. They have kind of a teal mid section, with purple/blue/etc sections. They look like a bowl of moon mist ice cream, IMO :grinyes:

You might wanna consider them.

[Chele&Luke]

Ooohhhh - they sound NICE!! :grinyes:

Back to 'Fugly' - there is a WAY better chance of me building him a BBQ out the back than a fish pond!!!

I'M JOKING!!!! :grinyes:

Although I refuse to build a blasted fish pond for a fish I never wanted in the first place that came with the tank that I did...

Wow - must be time for some zzzz's... Even I can't understand me :)

Will cruise by the LFS in the morning and have a look at some danios, lfs is directly over the road from local supermarket - grocery day ROCKS!!!

[Dwarf Puffers]

Sweet, also tell us if you see any fish you'd like, might be able to get 'em ;)

[AnnetteG]

have you thought about adding in just a few male guppies? They're prettier anyway and they can't over run you with babies without the women. Some of them have really pretty colorations and my boys both love watching ours. They're really active and entertaining. I did make the mistake of getting just one female, hoping for just a few" babies but now that I've moved some of the males and there are just 2 left in with her, she's doing better. They spend more time chasing each other than they do her. :-) And they're gorgeous. One of them has a bright orange tail and fins with a shimmery body and black spots all over. The other one is mostly yellow with white spots all over him that make me think of a giraffe. Both of them have big full tails too and they're so zippy and fun to watch.

What about taking Mr. Fugly to the lfs and see if they'll take him in? Or maybe your zoo or arboretum have a pond they could put him in. I doubt he'd taste very good, no matter what kind of bbq sauce you use on him. :crazy:

Oh and what about putting some shrimp on the bottom of your new tank? I'm surprised at how much fun we have watching the ghost shrimp we have in with our frogs. I originally put them in thinking they'd be a tasty snack for my frogs, but the frogs are still to small to eat them. They do an awesome job of cleaning up leftover food and they're actually really funny little things. My 2 year old calls them "kickets". He thinks they look like crickets. And now I've ordered some red cherry shrimp from mgamer and I'm SO excited to get them! They're SO pretty!

We also like our snails a lot. They do a great job of keeping the tank clean and they're really fun to watch. They're surprisingly fast once they get going and it's been fun pointing out their antennae and eyes and explaining them to my boys.

Isn't this hobby addicting?! I started it "for the boys" as and educational and entertaining hobby, but I'm totally enjoying it more than they are. LOL

[Chele&Luke]

Isn't this hobby addicting?! I started it "for the boys" as and educational and entertaining hobby, but I'm totally enjoying it more than they are. LOL

LOL - I can SOOOO relate to that one!!! I rather think my 16 month old boy is thinking "mommy gone crazy!!"

Well I went off to the lfs this morning - and the only danio they have is the long finned? zebra. I DID find 2 panda corys there tho!! I asked them if the pandas were something they had often and apparently they only had 3 lots of them in the last coupla years!!

I'm sorely tempted to get the 2 tho - I'd rather they were with me in a pair, where there is at least the possibility that I would get more, than being sold separately or even together and being 1 or 2 forever. One of the guys down there told me that people usually would only have 2 of them in a tank anyway... I'm kinda a bit stuck on this one coz it looks like they aren't going to be easy to get!!

Am I wrong thinking panda corys should be in a 'gang', or will they be happy as just a pair?

They did mention that they will be ordering off the list next week so I might be cheeky and ask if I can see what's on the list!! Maybe they can get some in for me by request - it looks like most the lfs's (round here anyway) pretty much just order the 'staples'. Of course it's going to depend on what's being imported too. Guess it's worth a shot - I REALLY like the sound of Dwarf Puffers suggested danios!!

I was also wondering if I made the smaller 15G tank a 'cory' tank would it be ok to put a male betta in there too? Or is he just going to get run over? If he just going to get run over all the time maybe some male guppies would be ok instead? Would appreciate some input on that one :)

With the 47G I'm having a calling for convicts / tiger barbs. Would they be ok together? Is that tank going to be big enough? What sort of numbers would be ok? What 'sex' would be ok? I really don't want to be overrun with baby convicts!! What else would be ok with them? What sort of environment/decoration will they need? And am I making a REALLY big mistake even considering keeping them?!!!

If you have made it this far through - I THANK YOU!!!

All and any suggestions gratefully received :)

[Dwarf Puffers]

You could also try Galaxy Rasboras (Celestial Pearl Danio) http://www.azgardens.com/images/Rasbora-Galaxy.gif

[AnnetteG]

I know I'm a newbie and all, but I have a betta in with my 2 cories and he's just fine and the tank is smaller than yours. They don't bother him at all. I have 2 male guppies in there too and they're fine as well. Oh and the two mollies. Unfortunately, my last little girl died on me this morning. :( I think I'm going to stick with that tank as is now and just add in the cherry shrimp I've ordered. No more fish though. I know I overstocked it a bit at first. Lesson learned. :duh: I think you should get the two cories. My two are different and they swim together and I've even seen them just laying on the gravel, hanging out together. I have a peppered and a green/gold.

Personally, I'm staying away from puffers since I want to keep shrimp too. I was in LOVE with them. Maybe I can have just one dwarf one of these days in a small tank by himself. In my mind, I keep thinking of all the different places in my house I could have a tank. LOL There's the office, the kids room, the playroom, the living room, the homeschool room and a corner in the kitchen. Hee! OH and maybe one in my bedroom. :y220d: