# centre piece fish?



## Ben M (20 Mar 2010)

hi, i have a 216l, 4ft community tank. it houses, 20 copper harlequins, 5 harlequins, 4 rummynose tetras, 3 cardinal tetras, 3 serpae tetras, 5 SAE's, 3 otocinclus affinis and 4 kribs. i am getting rid of the kribs, and adding 10 either bronze corys or trilineatus. i am also adding 10 more otto's and a load of red cherry shrimp. but now that i'm getting rid of my kribs, i am looking for another centre piece fish. i am looking for a colourful, active fish that will stand out from the rest of them. obviously, it can't be at all aggressive towards any of the other fish, and will not hurt the shrimp. also, it would be nice if i could breed it. any thoughts of a good species?

cheers


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## BAE (21 Mar 2010)

maybe some dwarf blue gouramis (prone to bacterial infection)

or honeys ime fairly sure there ok with shrimp but wait for some one to verify


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## Ben M (21 Mar 2010)

thanks, i have thought about gouramis, but the only thing i was bothered about is the shrimp.

cheers


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## OllieNZ (21 Mar 2010)

IMHO the dwarf gouramis would be to small for a centre piece fish I had 4 in my 150l 4ft tank and they just seemed too small 





			
				BAE said:
			
		

> (prone to bacterial infection)


 and I lost 2 to illness in the first 2 weeks.
Pearl gouramis (trichogaster leeri) would be better perhaps getting 4-5 inches.
No idea what they would be like with shrimp though.

Regards

Ollie


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## Ben M (21 Mar 2010)

thanks, i think that the pearl gouramis would be the best. i'm just worried about the shrimp.

cheers


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## Colinlp (21 Mar 2010)

The pearls would be fine with shrimp but that's an awful lot of fish you have in there


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## Ben M (21 Mar 2010)

thanks, is it overstocked? i didn't think it was. i think it's just because i've got a few of a lot of different species it looks overstocked. most of my fish don't produce much waste, and i do large water changes weekly. i was also thinking of getting another external filter to run along side my rena filstar xp2. is that a good idea, and would it make my stocking levels better?

cheers


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## Colinlp (21 Mar 2010)

It's not overstocked just now it's about at the limit but add another 10 Otos, Corys and shrimp then the addition of large centre piece fish will tip the balance. Another filter wont do any harm at all and is worth doing anyway imo. I do large water changes daily and my water is good but at the moment I'm overstocked too until my new tank arrives. It's not so much the water quality as the space the fish have to do their own thing in peace without having some guppy's @r$e pushed in their face (paints a picture doesn't it lol). OK most of your new input re or will be bottom dwellers so there will be some free swimming space, I think that will have to be your call, you know your tank


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## Ben M (21 Mar 2010)

thanks, well the ottos don't do much swimming, they tend to sit on the plants and nibble on the algae. there will be a lot of open space in the bottom for the corys, and the shrimp don't really take up that much room. the tetras are really old now, and seem to be slowly dying off. i think i may have to eventually get rid of the SAE's, as they grow really big. and do the gouramis stay around the top? there seems to be a lot of room ATM, and the copper harlequins and corys are both shoaling fish, so i don't think they'll mind being stuck up each others @r$e$ lol. 

cheers


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## Colinlp (21 Mar 2010)

The Pearls will stay in the top third of the tank mostly but like most fish the do travel up and down. A small group of pearls is a lovely sight, at first glance they're unremarkable but the more you look the more you see and as they mature the reds show up more. Needless to say I like them a lot


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## Ben M (21 Mar 2010)

thanks, i've seen in one of George Farmers aquascapes he has a group of pearl gouramis, and they look really good. i might get a group of them, although then i would have to definitely get another filter. anyways, i'll have a think about it.

cheers


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## chris1004 (27 Mar 2010)

Hi,

I absolutly love pearl gouramis, but they can get skittish if the lights are to bright and there isn't any shade or cover, there not lovers of flow either so I doubt there suitability for planted tanks, in fact I removed my group from my planted tank within a couple of months of being introduced for exactly those reasons. When they get like this they can become a real pain bolting around the tank for no apparent reason, upsetting the other residents and damaging plants in the process. They do however remain one of my all time favourite fish and are a joy to watch as they are highly interactive sociable creatures when in a group.

Have you considered a group of Rams, they can be quite stunning but generally require very good water parameters.

Some of the pleco's available nowdays are IMO super stunning showpiece fish. Gold nuggetts, snowballs, blue phantoms and green emeralds being among my personal favourites. I have them all and they are very easy to keep (good clean water the right diet and plenty of hiding places). They don't damage the plants and they all love flow, the more the better, they are very peacefull and long lived 10+ years in good conditions. You won't see them all the time though which I think makes it all the more special when you do and adds to the excitment whilst viewing the tank which I believe is exactly what you want from a showpiece fish.   

Regards, Chris.


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## Ajm200 (27 Mar 2010)

Most of the colouful fish I can think of are either dwarf cichlids or likely to snack on the shrimp.  My personal favorites are either apistogammas or dennisons barbs.  The former are probably too close to the kribs and a shoal of  the others might be a bit big given your stocking levels.

BTW..  If I was nearer to you and my big tank was cycled I'd love to take your kribs,  they look fab.

My centrepiece fish is going to be a L134 plecs..  Shame they are noctural.   

Did have gouramis for a bit but found that they got a bit aggressive towards each other and when seperated they took to bullying their smaller tankmates.

I've got a group of rams in my 90l,  females and one male, who seem to get on fine with each other but are starting to bully their smaller tankmates.


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## Ben M (28 Mar 2010)

thanks, i forgot about this topic. i'm not too keen on the plecos, well the price anyway. i prefer a more active fish i think. but there doesn't seem to be any fish that is compatible with corys and shrimp that i like.   and i really like the dennisons barbs, but the price is too much. and i wouldn't trust them with my shrimp. i've thought about a group of honey gouramis, as i've kept those before and they are quite cool. but are they the same as the pearls in that they don't go too well in a planted tank? and are they ok with the shrimp? and i do like the other dwarf cichlids, but would they be ok with the corys and shrimp? a lot of people who keep corys say that they would  never keep them with dwarf cichlids. i've been thinking about an oddball, would there be any suitable for my tank. i do like the twigtail and banjo catfish, but would they be suitable with the shrimp and corys? 

oh and thanks about the kribs.   i just can't seem to get rid of them. if no one takes them soon, i'll have to give them to an lfs.   so if there is anyone near hornsea, east yorkshire who would like 1 male and 3 female kribs, 1 breeding pair + 2 mature females for a small donation to my fish funds, then PLEASE pm me, or they will have to go to an lfs!!!

cheers


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## Ed Seeley (28 Mar 2010)

IME all cichlids will eat shrimp they can fit in their mouths.  My best bet was Biotoecus as they are very shy, retiring and small and even they ate small shrimp.  Apistos will eat any shrimp they can fit into their mouths, as will most fish.  The problem you have is any centrepiece fish will be a bit larger than the average and will therefore be more likely to fit a shrimp in their mouth!

Maybe a small school of larger tetras could be an option?


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## Ben M (28 Mar 2010)

thanks, i was a bit concerned about the cichlids. i have been thinking about some larger tetras, possibly red phantoms or some more serpaes. can you think of any other brightly coloured medium sized tetras that will be ok with corys/shrimp?

cheers


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