how many white clouds??

[dabruno]

ok... i have a plaudarium that has about 5 gallons of water at the bottom of it. i've done some research and found that White cloud mountain minnows will do best in the conditions that i have provided

how many of them can i stock in there and is it possible to add 1-2 otos in there as well to clean?

thank you very much...
dabruno

[Lupin]

Do you have pics of your paludarium? This is much easier to make an answer out of your question. Otos like their company. 2-3 would be a good number but do make sure the water conditions have stabilized as they do get a little sensitive over changes.

[THE V]

How many you can keep depends on the filtration and actual room that is available to swim. For 5 gallons I would limit it to 4 or 5. As a species they like to be kept in larger groups of 6-8 or more.

[dabruno]

file:///C:/DOCUME%7E1/Nicholas/LOCALS%7E1/Temp/moz-screenshot.jpg
tats the main jist of it few changes since tat pic was taken but same water space

[dabruno]

file:///C:/DOCUME%7E1/Nicholas/LOCALS%7E1/Temp/moz-screenshot-1.jpg

[dabruno]

http://www.aquariacentral.com/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=48285&thumb=1&d=1208480932 (http://www.aquariacentral.com/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=1&d=1208480932)

[dabruno]

sorry try tat

[dabruno]

http://www.aquariacentral.com/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=48285&thumb=1&d=1208480932

[dabruno]

filtered by an ehiem 2213 rated for a 65 gallon tank w/140 gph

[IceH2O]

I think you could get away with 5 or 6 no problem. I'd think twice about the otos though and just rely on the scraper or try some cherry shrimp.

[dabruno]

aha i didnt think bout shrimp ill do 6 white clouds and how many shrimp?(i think ill try glass first 2 c how dey do)

[DAVIDFBT]

You could go ahead and put 5 shrimp in there and it'll be fine.

[Danyal]

what are the approx. dimensions of the water area? white clouds are very active fish so you might not even have enough room for 1 in there.

[dabruno]

10x20x5 about

[dabruno]

are white clouds good schooling fish?

[DAVIDFBT]

That's the same as a half-full (Or half-empty) 10 gallon tank. It's fine.

[Danyal]

white clouds are an excellent schoolers, i was concerned that your background when all the way into the water, most paludariums i've seen tend to have only a miniscule amout of actual living space for fish. i'd say you'd be good for no more than 5 small white clouds, if you can try to get 2 male and 3 female or 1 male and 4 female

[dabruno]

how can i tell if they are male or female??

[Danyal]

the males a slimmer, more hatchet shaped and have longer fins. usually if you watch them long enough you'll see a male flash his fins and hold them out a lot like an aggressive betta. in front of other males its usually a very short display that is easy to miss but in front of females they will often hold it for much longer if they're in the mood and even do a little dance infront of the female.

[dabruno]

thats so cool... how do i decipher this in the store... i plan on getting them from a very trusted aquarium shop do i just let them tell me what they are... or should i watch them for a little bit in the store?

[sillypony]

I'd watch them for a bit AND ask their opinion. Better safe than sorry, and two heads are better than one, and all that.

[dabruno]

so im gunna get 5 white clouds(2 males, 3 females) and 5-6 glass shrimp


sounds good ill get to the lfs this weekend nd stock da tank
thanx guys

also can you post some pics of them ive found some mixed pics so far nd i juss wanna make sure im thinking about the right fish.

[dabruno]

and what are your favorite varieties?

gold, long tailed etc.

[dabruno]

which will add more color to my plaudarium?

[doreenjoy]

Here's a decent pic:
http://www.practicalfishkeeping.co.uk/pfk/pages/show_article.php?article_id=262

IMHO it's not worth the extra expense of finding the other varieties (gold, long finned, etc). If they happen to have them in the store, get the ones that you like best. I personally think the original is as nice as any of the others.

[dabruno]

do any of the other varieties show their fins more extravagantly or do they all show them the same?

[THE V]

The longer finned strains are very pretty and show their fins very nicely. I have both the wild type and golds in my tank. They are both very pretty. I just need to pick up some java moss and I'll probably have a few hundred more of them in a few weeks. My females have gotten very swollen as of late and my males are dancing all over the place.

As for your tank I would go with the golds if you can find them. You have a darker substrate and they will really pop out.

[dabruno]

ok that was what i was thinking
at my lfs, although it is kinda far away will order anything in for me and they are the best quality i've ever seen.

they seem very easy to breed, would i eventually have a problem with that in my small tank ?