X-Ray Tetra or Other Small Tetra?

[FisherMack]

55 G planted aquarium. Current stock:

1 dwarf gourami
16 neon tetras
12 candy cane tetras
2 false julii corys
3 panda corys

*Yes we are adding more corys. We are currently waiting for our LFS to get them in.

Other than bumping up our cory schools we want to add one more school of tetras. We really like the look of the gold x-ray tetra and it's something we can readily get from our LFS. My question is, the candy cane tetras are quite active. We have no issues with aggression but I don't want to add another active school and stress the neons out. Are x-ray tetras very active or are they more calm like the neons?

 

[Wyomingite]

X-rays are hardy peaceful fish, but are more active than neons. X-rays usually stay in the mid to upper reaches of the tank, though, while neons usually stay closer to the bottom except at feeding time.

X-rays are actually one of my go to dither fish for small to medium peaceful cichlids. I like to mix the regular silver x-rays, the gold x-rays, and an active red species such as red phantom, serpae, or candy cane tetras for visual contrast in the mid to upper levels of a tank. The effect can be quite striking.

A dither fish, BTW, isn't a species of fish. It is a group of fish added to a tank to make shy species more comfortable, encouraging the shy species to be more visible and active, or it is a single tough specimen meant to reduce aggression between a pair of fish (usually providing an alternate target for the male's aggression to reduce aggression toward the female of the pair and to encourage pair bonding.) In both cases a dither is usually used to promote breeding.

WYite

 

[FisherMack]

Thank you for the advice! We just added a few fish yesterday so it'll be a good week or more before the tank is ready for anything else. Although I'm still torn! It sounds like the x-ray would work just fine in our setup but my son would love the glowlights best. Guess we'll see when the time comes. Thanks again

 

[Wyomingite]

Glowlights will intermingle with your neons. Back in college I had a tank with neons, glowlights and january tetras (also called costello tetras, I believe) in a 20 gallon long tank. They all schooled together and the iridescent blue, orange and gold lines swimming back and forth was pretty cool. Glowlights will fit in fine with your set up as well.

Some trivia on x-ray tetras, they are extremely adaptable to water conditions. In their native countries of Venezuela, Guyana, Suriname and French Guiana, they can be found from lightly brackish coastal waters to the acidic rivers, streams and flooded forests of the interior jungles. In Guyana, they are found along the coast and all the way up the Essequibo and Siparuni rivers into the Iwokrama Forest.

Anyways, you have some choices to make. Happy fishkeeping!

WYite