Schooling fish

[fishlover25]

what good schooling fish for my 55g tank with a temp that can be either 70-80F and ph is higher than 7.4 but lower than 8.0?

[NJ Devils Fan]

Neons are good schooling fish. So are cardinals, zebra danios, tiger barbs, just ot name a few.

[fishlover25]

Neons and cardinals like a lowr ph than what i have. they like a ph lower than 7.0

[djlen]

If you want a manic tank, get danios. If you want a more serene tank with IMO one of the most beautiful, best schooling fish around go with Cardinals. Don't be fooled by the hype about pH. They can and will adjust to 7.0 to 7.6 easily if you keep the water "clean". Once acustomed to their environment, they are very hardy. Neons, on the other hand IME are a bit tougher. Many people are scared off of Discus thinking that pH again is an issue, but they also do fine in a bit higher pH.
Len

[NJ Devils Fan]

Yea, ph really isn't a big deal with them

[NJDUDE358]

Some good schooling fish would be barbs, danios, or tetras. For barbs I would recommend tiger barbs, although I've seen different varaities of them. Danios could basically be any species because they are so easy to take care of. Tetras could be cardinals, congo, or basically any other type of small tetra possible.

[Darkangel]

No body has mentioned Rainbows. Praecox rainbows would be a perfect size for that tank.

[JP457]

If you like the way that neons look get them. Lots of people say that they are hard to keep but the truth is that they dont travel well. I have never had one that lasted less than a year if it survived the first day and night. Another good schooling fish is also Marbled hatchets. tougher than neons and more interesting shaped but much less colorfull

[GillBates]

I agree with darkangel....australian rainbowfish are terrific for a number of reasons.....they're very colorful, social, easy to care for, and grow to a nice size.....they are hard to find, though, and more expensive than the usual aquaium inhabitants...generally, I pay between $8 and $13 for a good rainbowfish...lots of varieties, with the Boesmani and Turqouise being fairly easy to find....if you enjoy finding and keeping fish that not a lot of other people have, investigate rainbowfish.(in fact, it's hard to find many people that even know about them) They like warm water (78-80) and higher pH...7.8-8.0......but they adapt well and are very hardy.....plenty of water changes, like every other week, about 10-20 %, will keep them happy and well!

[FishmasteR2002]

Rasboras people!!! I have Harlequin Rasboras and they are excellent schooling fish. Also Swallow Tail Rasboras are very good schooling fish. Any Tetra will do as well and don't worry about pH, that's why you float the bag for 15 to 20 minutes. Neons die very easily as they are very small, I had 6 in my 29G and they didn't last 3 days. Also what other fish do you have in the tank? Von Rio Tetras are very pretty fish when they school. They look like small black tetras with red in the back by their anal fins. Good Luck on deciding. :)

[fishlover25]

I have decided to get either barbs or dainos. What is the best fish of them? can i mix the differnt kind together? For example a tiger barb and a green tiger barb.

[NJ Devils Fan]

Yes, you can mix the barbs up.

[redrf900]

I have greens and tigers and they get along JUST fine...They DO behave better when they have Bossier tankmates, such as gouramis...hehe....

[fishlover25]

what gouramis can i put with them and how many?

[NJ Devils Fan]

Any gourami, whichever you like, and, as many as you want/ that can fit in the tank.

[carpguy]

If you've decided you want to go with cyprinids there are a lot to choose from. Tigers are known for being on the nippy side of the coin, and zebras are known for being a bit manic. There are calmer relatives of both. Both are popular fish. Depends on what you want. I have dwarf barbs and two different types of rasbora, all of whom school. Nice fish, fairly mellow.

Green Tiger Barbs are just a color morph of the regular kind -- they're the same species and will school together. Tiger Barbs are generally better in groups. A few may be aggressive towards other tankmates,a few more and they'll direct more of their attention towards each other.

Gouramis are territorial fish and can be aggressive. They are close relatives of bettas and exhibit similar behavior. My male pearl gourami runs the tank, especially when bubblenest incidents are going on. I wouldn't put more than 1 male trichogaster in with 1 or 2 females. The female is pretty mellow. Dwarfs may be different, don't know as much about them, have heard they are prone to health problems.

Gouramis are also a fairly slow moving fish with long fins and those big whiskers. Boisterous fin-nippers like tigers may not be a great mix with them, although as RedRf noted, they can be quite fierce if provoked. Might work fine, might be a problem.

Some moderately sized loaches would make a nice bottom fish (clowns will eventually get to be too big for a 55). Loaches also generally like being in groups and like to play together. Mine are some of my favorites.