100 gallon needs changes!!

[tetra lover]

The whole time that I've had my 100 gallon, I've been dreaming of a big school of tetras gliding in and out of my plants. The only reason I don't have them is becuase of my stupid blood parrots!!! I added in 4 rummynoses to see if my angels would go after them but they didn't, my blood parrots and gold barbs did. I thought they would be fine since I have some platies in there that are even smaller then the tetras!

So now I thinking of bringing back the parrots and barbs and try ing the tetras again. The only sad thing about bringing back the blood parrots is that they were so colourful and big so you can really see them in my tank, they were the centrepieces. So what would you suggest for me? Can I get maybe 2 good sized schools and some other type of big fish that won't kill the tetras?

So when I bring back the blood parrots and barbs I will have.......
4 clown loaches
8 platies
2 bristlenose
8 cories
4 angels

Could I add 12 bleeding heart tetras and 24 rummy noses and 2 other bigger fish?
Sorry about the long post but I really appreciate all you help!

[a_free_bird73]

There are not that many large fish species that will not eat tetras (of course large is a relative word). The only large fish compatible with Tetras that I can think of at the moment are Discus and Kissing Gouramies

If you are welling to compromise a little on size, then other Gouramies would also be a good choice since most reach a respectable size though I would not call them large

Just note that you should always add the smallest fish you intend to keep first and allow them to get established

[stik6shift98]

i would just add the tetras...

[tetra lover]

Ok thanks for the advice! When I say large I didn't mean huge more like a 6-7" fish. Can't the kissing gouramis be aggressive?

[SnakeIce]

some of the tetras cam be large comparitively, if you can find columbian blue tetras they get about 2 1/2 inches and are quite nice... bleeding hearts get to a good size as well... diamond tetras get over 2 inches
heh the ember tetra maxes out at less than an inch and there are many that are in between these in size
so when you say you want a center piece that will not eat these it depends on what size tetras you want

really some tetras are almost large enough to be center pieces as a small school

[tetra lover]

I have my heart set on the bleeding hearts and rummy noses. I was also considering congo tetras since they get a nice size but I'd rather get a huge school of smaller ones then less but bigger ones. How about I do this.....I get the 2 schools set up, see what the tank looks like and go from there. So with that out of the way, how many of each tetra could I put in there?
Thank you for all your help so far!

[SnakeIce]

IMO a tetra that is just big enough to be safe with the angels would look nicer, make the tank look bigger, and you would be able to have more of them. then I would have a small school of a large tetra for contrast.

another thing to consider is habitat level in your tank. black phantom or serpae tetras(I don't recomend with angels, serpae's can be mean little buggers) both are lower level swimmers, while a lot of the other tetras are mid tank

trust me I have dreamed of my own tank of that size and restocked that dream countless times lol

[tetra lover]

Ok I think I'll go with your suggestion, a large school of smaller ones and i smaller school of bigger ones. Yea I know all about which tetras are nippy lol. Now all I need are numbers.....30 rummy nose and 16 bleeding hearts????:)

[SnakeIce]

one final question and a suggestion

how big are your clown loaches and would they make the tanks fish waste production go to high if they continue to grow like they are known to do... you can expect them to reach at least 8-10 inches in the long run.

I would start by adding the larger tetra first to get the tank mates used to introductions wait a bit and gradually bring the numbers of the smaller tetra's school up till you think it is good keeping in mind that if you get young fish they have an adult size that fills more room

start each school out in the tank with about 8 fish and then add more

as for the total # of each hmm you said you wanted a school swimming in and out of your plants... to many and they will be every where at once, to few and you won't see them as much as you like
8-10 of the bleeding hearts, and 16-20 of the rummies, I have suggested a lower # of them and here is why, you have removed fewer but larger fish, and these schools are going to fill a larger space in the tank, you haven't said whether your angels are pairs or not but if they decide to pair up that is going to take a sizable chunk out of the space in the tank, and last if after these smaller schools are full grown adults or aging you can add some more young fish to those school to add variety and not be pushing it

but I would let a smaller # settle in for a while before adding as many as 46 more fish we can't say what the social limits of the fish that are already in the tank are so I would build up to it while keeping an eye on the behavior of the inhabitants of the tank

if they start changeing what they do on a regular basis cause ot the new introductions then you have introduced a stressor and as far as I know to the best of our knowlege we try not to do that

[tetra lover]

Ok I will go with the numbers you have said. Right now my clown loaches are 3" and my angels haven't paired up yet and are about half way to full size.