catfeesh

[ddayton21]

appearently the tengara cats in my sig are gonna get too big so i wanna look for a small, active, non-hiding catfish besides cories. I'm sure there isn't but it's worth a try.

thanks for the help everyone!

[Roan Art]

Hrm, you do realize that that turquoise rainbow is a schooling fish and can grow to 4-5 inches, no? They really need to be in schools of 6 or more.

Roan

[ddayton21]

haha why am I not surprised? well granted I return the tengara cats I suppose i could add another turquoise. I can also get (that is, return the cats and the turquoise first) a pair of australian rainbows; I read that they are smaller and do well in pairs.

[Roan Art]

haha why am I not surprised? well granted I return the tengara cats I suppose i could add another turquoise.
A 4-5" fish like a rainbow is too big for a 20 gallon tank. They need room to swim.


I can also get (that is, return the cats and the turquoise first) a pair of australian rainbows; I read that they are smaller and do well in pairs.No, they need to be in schools, not pairs. Rainbows are schooling fish, not grouping fish. The only type of schooling fish I would put in a 20g would be 2" or under. Otherwise, they don't have enough room to swim.

Roan

[ddayton21]

I don't know if it matters, but it's a 20g long and isn't heavily decorated or planted, so there's a little more area for the fish to swim in. The one I have is about 3 in. right now and doesn't seem cramped.

[Roan Art]

Ultimately it's up to you.

You have one right now. He needs five more friends -- 2 in the very least. Three 5" fish plus the fish you already have is an awful lot for that little tank.

But, I reiterate, it's up to you.

Roan

[Betta-Luvn]

I would just return the rainbows, and the catfish, and get something smaller like a tetra of somesort. Maybe some comlumbian tetras would do well. they are very pretty.

[ddayton21]

I agree;three 5-inch fish is overdoing it. There are some smaller species such as the dwarf neon rainbows that might be alright in a group of three. Haha... asked about catfish, ended up talking about rainbows but oh well it's all good info so thants a bunch roan. :D

[Roan Art]

I agree;three 5-inch fish is overdoing it. There are some smaller species such as the dwarf neon rainbows that might be alright in a group of three. Haha... asked about catfish, ended up talking about rainbows but oh well it's all good info so thants a bunch roan. :D
Well, I hate being pushy like that, but you can see by my sig that I'm big on rainbow fish :)

Roan

[ddayton21]

haha don't worry about it. I'm just glad to find these things out so the fish don't suffer. And yes you are quite the enthusiast...how on earth did you get ahold of P. gertrudae? Oh and if you don't mind me tapping your rainbowfish vein; how much do you know about dwarf neon rainbows? fishbase.org says they grow to about 5cm but is that right?

[daveedka]

As far as cats, I hate to sound like a broken record, but Cories fit your picture as well as anything. Unfortunately most cats get at least 4-6 inches. I do not by any means know everything available, but cories come in a wide variety of patterns, and everyone who has them seems to love them. I don't currently have any but did grow up with them in my tanks and never had one I didn't like.
Dave

[Roan Art]

We have a thread in General discussing this stuff. Lemme link you:

http://www.aquariacentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=61816

Read my post hrm, 3rd one down. He has them, so does LiveAquaria.com (but they are "assorted varieties" :rolleyes: ), and there's a guy on AquaBid.com, Eric Brock, who has a lot of rainbows and he's a member of ANGFA. Eric has alloddballfish.com, but he only sells on AquaBid.

I don't have the gertrudae yet, I'm setting up the biotopes first and then plugging the beauties in :) First thing I have to do, however, is set up the 55g bio for the Boesemanis in my 36g so I can free that tank up for my son. Then the other bios, then add za fishies!

Anyhow, neon dwarf I'll do some checking for you and post in that thread up there.

Roan

[ddayton21]

ya I thought as much...don't get my wrong, I love my cories...just wondering if I had any other options.

thanks Dave :dance2:

[ddayton21]

thanks to you too roan, I really like the rainbows after I saw the turquoise in the store...i'll keep an eye out in the other thread for any dwarf neon info you may come across.

thanks again :D

[congealedmeat]

I'd grab some shrimp. I don't know if anything you have will eat these, but they really spice up the tank and make it more interesting to look at. Especially since you don't often see them at first glance, but they are fun to watch when you actually catch a glimpse of them.

I've had 2 shrimp in my 33 I've only seen them 2-3 times other than taking out a decoration and finding a leaping shrimp on the floor! Try picking that up or putting it in a net! Too bad they both got eaten eventually :(

[daveedka]

I'd grab some shrimp. I don't know if anything you have will eat these, but they really spice up the tank and make it more interesting to look at. Especially since you don't often see them at first glance, but they are fun to watch when you actually catch a glimpse of them.

I was going to mention shrimp and or smaller type snails as well. I find shrimp to be more fun than many fish I've owned. Snails are awesome, and will do a good job of clean-up. I didn't see the cories in your sig the other day (wasn't paying attention). You might try browsing Planetcatfish and see if there are other fish options as well.
Dave

[ddayton21]

planetcatfish seems to have some problems with they're info. Hence why I am letting the tengaras go (not actually releasing them)....I think they're awsome fish and not very common but planetcatfish said they get 3" but everywhere else says 7-8".

Anyway I think i'm just gonna stick with cories...they're fun to watch and about the only kind of cat thats active during the day.