Schooling fish 3 inches - 4 inches long

IceH2O

Bazinga
Nov 26, 2005
1,682
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Rock Hill,South Carolina
Real Name
Ice
I decided in my 75 gallon tank that my Clown loaches would prefer a schooling fish to make them feel more comfortable.

Since I'll also have senegal birchirs in the tank I need to have fish that are bigger than 3 inches long or have a wide girth or are tall. They also can't be aggressive.

What can I throw in there to compliment the Clowns and Senegals?
 
rainbowfish would be a good choice
 
Well the birchirs are a beige color and of course the clowns are orange and black.

Since I'm a guy, and we all know guys have no color coordination, I'll have to differ to you.

It'll be a planted tank so maybe not green. I like to see my fish.
 
Okay, bear in mind that rainbows are slow growers, so any you get are going to be around 2-2.5" to start and will usually look blah. Many don't color up until they are closer to 4-6 months old. All of the sizes listed are approximate. All of these fish can, and probably will, exceed the sizes listed, although it will take some years for them to do so.

I have only listed bows that I know are available in the US in aquaria, that are fairly deep bodied or VERY deep bodied. Some are very rare and you won't find them in your LFS. I have probably missed a few, too.

Melanotaenia Species
Melanotaenia boesemani, Boeseman's Rainbowfish, 3½-4", blue, yellow/orange/red ***
Melanotaenia trifasciata, Banded or Regal Rainbowfish, 4½, Color depends on origin
Melanotaenia duboulayi, Crimson-Spotted, ~4", multi colored ***
Melanotaenia affinis, New Guinea Blue, ~4½", Blue, whitish undersides
Melanotaenia maccullochi, Black Lined Rainbowfish, ~3"
Melanotaenia parkinsoni, Parkinson's Rainbow, ~4¼", popular fish, but does not get very deep bodied compared to others
Melanotaenia parva, Lake Kurumoi or Flame Rainbowfish, ~3", extremely rare, red and gorgeous ***
Melanotaenia herbertaxelrodi, Lake Tebera, ~4", Yellow with black bands

Glossolepis Species
Glossolepis pseudoincisus, Millenium Rainbowfish, ~3", very red, very rare ***
Glossolepis wanamensis, Lake Wanam, ~4", Green


Other Specie
Chilatherina bleheri, Blehers Rainbowfish, ~4"
Chilatherina fasciata, Barred Rainbowfish, ~4"

Here is a link to an article written by Christophe Maillet on parva and pseudoincisus: http://members.cox.net/roanart/Tanks/'Those%20little%20red%20fish'.pdf that has some awesome pictures of these rare fish.


Anything with *** is a bow I have in my tanks.

My top choice would be the Boeseman because I know they don't put up with any crap from other fish :) They also grow to a decent size and are not too pricey.

Hope this helps,
Roan
 
I will also vote for rainbows for schooling fish of that size. I love rainbows.

Roan - those Lake Kurumoi rainbows are gorgeous. Do they look that good or better in your tanks? Do you have pictures posted anywhere of your tanks? I would love to see them.
 
EcoPit said:
I will also vote for rainbows for schooling fish of that size. I love rainbows.

Roan - those Lake Kurumoi rainbows are gorgeous. Do they look that good or better in your tanks? Do you have pictures posted anywhere of your tanks? I would love to see them.
They're still babies and haven't really colored up yet enough to post pictures.

There are a couple in the tank that are showing red along the dorsal and caudal fins and along the sides a bit, I'll see if I can get pictures this weekend.

Roan
 
Since you now have a new used 55g tank also, you should move the birchers to that. They'd probably do best with their own tank . Set-up the 75g tank for the clowns and for other peaceful community fish. The 20g for the goldfish. Get a 10g tank for your snails.
It's that easy.
 
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