Danios..

[misscrosson]

I have a 70gallon tank... what would be a good number of possibly zebra danios to keep together... I was thinking 5-8?

[tanker]

If you have just zebras you can keep about 50+.

How about 12?? with about 6-8 giant danios?? Your upper level would be in constant motion!!

[BcBerri]

I love my little Zebras. They are quite zippy. I would get atleast 12 in a tank that big. They will look cool. What else are you looking at putting with them. I know mine can be a bit fin nippy when overly excited. I also love the long finned variety. Still striped and zippy, just a little more girly. And for those really girly moments I even thought about the pink zebra danios. Too much for the hubby though. :p:

[misscrosson]

Well.. at the current moment I have 4 mollies (picking up 2more today I hope).. 2 platies... 4 rasboras... 2 dwarf gouramis... and a cory cat... but, I also want to get guppies, swordtails, and rainbowfish.. so...

I was thinking about only like.. 6 zebra danios

[phanmc]

Its all a matter of preference, but you may find that your tank looks much nicer with a few large group of a certain type of fish than alot of small groups of several species. Not only will fishes be more active in larger groups, they'll look much more impressive when viewed from afar.

[mooman]

Its all a matter of preference, but you may find that your tank looks much nicer with a few large group of a certain type of fish than alot of small groups of several species.

Amen!! You also might want to consider adding some cichlids. There are lots of dwarf species that go great in a community tank.

[misscrosson]

Alright... I bought 4 danios today.. because the lady at the petstore said I should only start with a small group.... and I bought another female mollie...

My tank still looks REALLY empty ... blah... any help with how I can make it more attractive looking.. and other fish maybe I should add would be of great help!

[tanker]

The fish will grow and "fill out" the tank. Get some more zebras, they do better in a bigger group. Try to get about 8-12.

[phanmc]

Flesh out your schooling fishes. In a 70g tank, get 10 more rasboras, 10 more danios, 5-10 more cory cats.

[jaylin]

The lady at the pet store should be shot. The more Danios you have, the happier the ones you have will be. In such a big tank, 6-8 danios isn't going to shift the biological load very much. So even if it's a new/newish tank ... go get some more Danios. Your other danios will thank you!

I was watching some silver tip tetra the other day at the LFS. What little characters they are. They're a schooling fish too and I think they'd look cool with some Danios.

[misscrosson]

alright... I'll pick up afew more danios.... any advice on any other interesting... colourful... and pretty fish that I can get??...

[mooman]

Cichlids!

Orange Chromide (Etroplus maculatus ) - bright orange medium sized cichlid from India. Good community cichlid.

Blue Ram (colorful but hard to acclimate) or Bolivian Ram (hardy, not quite as colorful) - Dwarf cichlid that goes great in community tanks. Inexpensive and widely available. 2m and 4-5f in a 70g would really flesh out the bottom half of the tank.

Apistogrammas (apistos) - Any of a number of species of dwarf cichlids. Colorful and really interesting to watch. A little expensive and sometimes hard to find, but worth every penny. They get a little territorial, but will only defend the bottom half of the tank (your livebearers and tetras will be fine).

Kribs - the apistos of Africa (see above). Colorful and less expensive/more widely available than apistos.

Keyhole cichlids (Aequidens maronii ) - Not very colorful, but very community oriented and a little different looking. Very affordable.

If you don't put at least one of these species in your tank, I'm will never talk to you again.... I'm kidding, I just won't respect you as much :Angel:

[misscrosson]

I though cichlids were really aggresive fish... and shouldn't be kept with the fish that I have at the current moment?..

[jaylin]

Depends on the species. Not all cichlids are killers. Some are confirmed vegitarians who march for "tank peace" every saturday.

[mooman]

You are thinking of the more aggressive Rift Lake Cichlids (commonly called African Cichlids). Alot of those are herbiverous (not all), and most are on the boisterous side. Common misconception.

The ones I listed are all South American Dwarf cichlids (except for the Orange Chromide and the Kribensis). They are all carnivores. But they only eat small insects, aquatic worms, and such. Not usually other fish. None of the ones I mentioned get big enough to consider any of your fish a meal. They can get territorial when they spawn, but in your size tank that would not be an issue.

Warning, they're addictive. You might never buy another danio ever again.

[misscrosson]

Do you know of any sites that I would be able to look at to see the different types of them that would be alright in my tank?...

Also, my fish I have now are on flake food... and the bottom feed has his own food.. so what type of food would I need to get those fish?

[mooman]

I went back and added species names to some of the fish I mentioned before. If you google them you should come up with tons of hits. You could also try here. www.thekrib.com (http://www.thekrib.com/Apisto/#pix)

Its a compilation of the old usenet newsgroup on dwarf cichlids. The messages can be a little disconnected, but you should be able to get pictures of most of the fish, and here accounts on keeping them.

Also try www.aquarticles.com (http://www.aquarticles.com/articles/breeding/index.html#Cichlids,%20New%20World) Go to new world cichlids, and there should be some good articles.

[staceyanna]

On the subject of Danios, would the regular danios and the longfinned ones get along? I saw some beautiful longfin danios and I want to add at least 2 to my tank of 6, but I dont want to if they will nip at the longfinned ones.

[mykidsmylife]

You are thinking of the more aggressive Rift Lake Cichlids (commonly called African Cichlids). Alot of those are herbiverous (not all), and most are on the boisterous side. Common misconception.

The ones I listed are all South American Dwarf cichlids (except for the Orange Chromide and the Kribensis). They are all carnivores. But they only eat small insects, aquatic worms, and such. Not usually other fish. None of the ones I mentioned get big enough to consider any of your fish a meal. They can get territorial when they spawn, but in your size tank that would not be an issue.

Warning, they're addictive. You might never buy another danio ever again.


Ooooo....now you have ME thinking! I am fishless cycling a 75 gallon at the moment. Would the Ram's go well with a few Angel fish?? I think they are gorgeous. So far the only definate in my tank would be 2-3 angels....oh...and a gold nugget pl*co I already paid for.
mykidsmylife
Sorry if I highjacked the thread :o

[misscrosson]

alright... I think this coming weekend i'm going to pick up myself 4-5 bolivian rams....

what type of food do these fish eat though?... My fish that I have at the moment are just eating a mixture of flake and dried worms.... umm... also I have food for bottom feeders...

And, I'd have to get these fish from out of town... so like... 4hrs away... what would be the best way to travel with them?

[misscrosson]

I'd just kind of like to know because I'm suppose to be leaving for the city in... 3hrs...

[mooman]

Have them put in the largest bag they have. 1/3 full of water. The fish will be fine for 24 hours if they needed to be. Good choice with the Bolivians. They are way more hardy than the blue rams and once they settle in thier color will be almost as nice. One male to a couple females is prefered. Males will have a much brighter color and more pointed anal fins (not 100% accurate, but it might help).

As for the blues with angels. It shouldn't be a problem. The problem is finding quality blue rams. Most are from Southeast Asia, and have very high mortality rates (supposedly due to hormone and antibiotic injection). Don't put them in the tank untill it is at least 2-3months old (they do much better in a muture tank). Make sure the ones you buy have been in the dealer's tank for at least a week. Both bolivians and blues will appreciate a little higher temp (around 79-80) if you can swing it. This temp is fine for most other tropicals as well.

[misscrosson]

Thanks for all the help... I'll be sure to post pictures if I pick some up this weekend!