I had forgotten about dwarf cichlids. When I was first looking for 'neat' fish I wanted something that would stick towards the top so I ruled them out. My bloodfins go all over the place though so it may not be such an issue.
Colorful, Characterful Fish
- Thread starter Lansirill
- Start date
the regular form of the dwarf gourami is very colorful. it has alternating stripes of red and blue, and DGs are very personable.
you amy also want to try platies. they stay pretty small, are very colorful, and interact with whats going on outside the tank.
you amy also want to try platies. they stay pretty small, are very colorful, and interact with whats going on outside the tank.
platys and swordtails dont school, if that's what you're wondering.
we have a collection of about 20 mixed mollys/swords/platys. they dont even kinda school. I really dont like them at all... the pineapple swordtails are kinda neat looking.. but the rest of them are just.. blah. yeah they're bright colors, but they're not the least bit entertaining.
i finally got a predatory fish that eats all the babies so i dont have to have any more.
we have a collection of about 20 mixed mollys/swords/platys. they dont even kinda school. I really dont like them at all... the pineapple swordtails are kinda neat looking.. but the rest of them are just.. blah. yeah they're bright colors, but they're not the least bit entertaining.
i finally got a predatory fish that eats all the babies so i dont have to have any more.
I already have a nice school of Bloodfins. If I had a larger tank I'd go for a second school and get Rummies, but that's going to have to wait until I move into a larger place. I'm tempting fate enough as it is having a 33G in my apartment. I'd really rather not flood my downstairs neighbor's place. 
The more I think about it the more I like the idea of a pair of Dwarf Gouramis and a pair of Cockatoo Cichlids. My tank is 20" tall and they occupy separate strata so they hopefully won't become territorial against each other. If they do I can add an extra female or use it as an excuse to get another smallish tank for the troublemakers. The DGs aren't as striking as the Pearls, but they'll probably cause less stocking problems for me.
Thanks for the feedback on the platies and swords. If they don't interact much I don't really feel the need to get a decent sized group of them. With any luck the DGs and CCs will add enough color and break up the Bloodfins enough (visually) that I won't feel the need to add anything more.
The more I think about it the more I like the idea of a pair of Dwarf Gouramis and a pair of Cockatoo Cichlids. My tank is 20" tall and they occupy separate strata so they hopefully won't become territorial against each other. If they do I can add an extra female or use it as an excuse to get another smallish tank for the troublemakers. The DGs aren't as striking as the Pearls, but they'll probably cause less stocking problems for me.
Thanks for the feedback on the platies and swords. If they don't interact much I don't really feel the need to get a decent sized group of them. With any luck the DGs and CCs will add enough color and break up the Bloodfins enough (visually) that I won't feel the need to add anything more.
I don't know about platies being boring. Mine are pretty entertaining, and they sure know who feeds them. I think they have a religion going about "the HAND" since any time I want to look at them I just have to put my fingers on the front of the tank and it's like a platy magnet.
I agree with pcnicholson, my platies are the entertainment of the tank. They are colorful, smart, and so different from each other. Of course they don't school but I have a pair(m/f) of red wags and they are like husband and wife. They do everything together! My other two females love the snails and plants in the tank. They play with them all day it seems.
Since you're alittle limited on adding more fish I would recommend 4 platies. If you don't want fry get all of one sex or just get one female and 3 males.
If you're interested in something else I would go the with only one pair instead of both. IMO
Since you're alittle limited on adding more fish I would recommend 4 platies. If you don't want fry get all of one sex or just get one female and 3 males.
If you're interested in something else I would go the with only one pair instead of both. IMO
