I've got a 40-gallon long, moderately planted tank. Currently, I have a school of seven black phantoms (one of my favorites) and a school of six black neons. I have two Bolivian Rams that I've had for about seven years and that seem to be doing reasonably well and a bristlenose pleco. I'd like to add a school of something with a bit more color, and I want to keep it within the general biome. Any recommendations?
Stocking Recommendation
- Thread starter Neptunius
- Start date
I tried cardinals twice many years ago and had no luck with them. Granted it was much earlier in my time in the hobby and hopefully I've developed better skills since, but I'm still a little reluctant to try again.
I'm not a fan of keri (pesonal thing; you might like them); i'd look for some nice wild caught cardinals or if you are in usa aquahuana cardinals (these are tank raised but i've had good luck with them). Of course if you live somewhere cold don't use mail order. Hum. Boston. Another fish i like a lot are kubotai rasbora (but those are asian so out of biotope). white fin rosy tetra are nice (there are several species); they aren't small - similar to black phantom but older fishes in both species can put on a bit of size. Ember tetra are very nice but they are just small enough not sure if they would temp the rams. rummy need a longer aquarium. COCHU'S BLUE TETRA (blue king tetra) is an option but not as common. green neon are nice - bit more active than cardinals and neon but like ember they might be treated as food for the rams - they are a bit slimmer than ember so not large at all. Instead of a another tetra - you could consider 12 pygmy cory. Not very colourful but can be lively.
Personally i'd still go with cardinals. I used to live in boston; the water there is nice and soft - the hardest part is finding a reliable group as a lot of shop sell bad stock. I could never find a great store in the Boston area but further out i heard of some nicer stores (i had no car).
I will say that most tetra do well if the water is very clean; so if you don't do regular water changes not sure.
Personally i'd still go with cardinals. I used to live in boston; the water there is nice and soft - the hardest part is finding a reliable group as a lot of shop sell bad stock. I could never find a great store in the Boston area but further out i heard of some nicer stores (i had no car).
I will say that most tetra do well if the water is very clean; so if you don't do regular water changes not sure.
I haven't seen glowlights in many years, we had them early on, nice fish! Those blue tetras sound aggressive from a quick search, I've never seen them in person. I have a personal dislike or at least caution with tall bodied reddish tetras, there are many species available. Bad experience with serpae tetras may have scarred me forever. What about red phantoms or candycanes? I've never kept them (too similar to serpae) but they "might" work with your black phantoms. A few red high body tetras get pretty big & might boss your other tetras around (polite to shred their fins) Be careful! Read a lot!
Lemon tetras? Not the most colorful for me but NoodleCats has some very yellow 1s that are pretty.
Really, rather than another species I'd suggest doubling the number of both tetra species you have. Black neons can be lovely & you know you already love the black phantoms. 5 or 6 is a "minimum" of schooling fish. More of both would be more fun! Just think about it...
Also not to be too much of a downer but you might start thinking about what you'd like after your rams die off eventually. I take it they are not a pair (so no breeding replacements) & 7 years is getting up in age. Apistos? Corys? There's nothing wrong with planning & researching ahead of time.
Lemon tetras? Not the most colorful for me but NoodleCats has some very yellow 1s that are pretty.
Really, rather than another species I'd suggest doubling the number of both tetra species you have. Black neons can be lovely & you know you already love the black phantoms. 5 or 6 is a "minimum" of schooling fish. More of both would be more fun! Just think about it...
Also not to be too much of a downer but you might start thinking about what you'd like after your rams die off eventually. I take it they are not a pair (so no breeding replacements) & 7 years is getting up in age. Apistos? Corys? There's nothing wrong with planning & researching ahead of time.
Yea people claim serpae are nippers but i've kept them with angels for about 6 years now without any issues. To be honest they usually seem intimidated by the angels and stay away from them. Aquahauna has glowlight; quite cheap and nice fish. I have them mixed in with cardinals and the two species pretty much school together in my discus aquarium. Only issue is i will be pushing their temp range to accomodate the discus.
I had candy cane tetras years ago. They're lovely fish, but as that school was dying out I couldn't find any more in my lfs and so as the last one died out I never replaced that school. I've found the same with red phantoms. When I set up a tank for my mom I stocked it with red phantoms. Did great for years but as the fish in the school were coming to the end of their lifespans I could find new stock locally to replace them.
You're right about the Rams. To be honest they've been such wonderful fish that I think I'd just get another pair of Bolivians or I might try some German Blues.
