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Fish recommendation

J

jellybean

Member
Joined
15 Jul 2023
Messages
50
Location
Louisiana, US
I’m hoping for help in selecting an additional group of fish for my 100 gallon low tech tank. I currently have pearl gouramis that hover near the top of the tank most of the time, harlequin and lamb chop rasboras that mostly stay in a huddle in the left middle, and bronze cories that are all over the bottom. I’d like to find a fish that might help the rasboras feel comfortable exploring the rest of the tank as well as give the gouramis a bit more confidence. Something peaceful, active but not frantic, and sort of monochromatic. Diamond tetras or lemon tetras or black neon tetras or … ? I’ve read conflicting opinions on whether these can be aggressive or not. I won’t be able to get them out of the tank once they are in so I’m hoping to get this right. Any suggestions? I know I’m asking for a lot. 🙂

The tank.
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Are green neons too snazzy? They are subtler than neons/cardinals, slightly below mid water, a little lurky through the plants but nice shoaling in a big group, quite similar to the lamb chops, maybe a little more chill wont cause anyone any trouble.
 
I think that black neons are a bit bolder than green neons, but I haven't kept them in the same tank and conditions can effect behaviour. I find youtube can be helpful sometimes - google the fish species and quite often there is someone showing them off in their personal tank and you can see the behaviour better than in a shop tank.
 
I've really been enjoying my current shoal of 6 scissortail rasboras, which have actually become my favourite larger tank dither/shoal fish. A much larger fish (around 4-4.5" max) than you suggested but 100g is ample space really, and they are not manic at all - the very opposite of a rainbowfish. Very confident, tend to shoal pretty well too, and generally hang around about 40-50% up from the bottom. utterly non-aggressive. They would also contrast nicely in size/shape to your harlequins. I have a dozen congos in the same tank, and these make the congos seem a little manic at times.
 
hamfist said:
I've really been enjoying my current shoal of 6 scissortail rasboras, which have actually become my favourite larger tank dither/shoal fish
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I’ve never seen that fish before and it’s very beautiful. None of my usual places have it in stock and it might be a bit large for what I have in mind. But I’m going to keep it on my list. Thanks for the suggestion.
 
Huh, I have lambchop rasboras and haven't found them shy at all, but find they like more swimming space. If they aren't bopping around, I know I really need to trim my stem plants. Maybe add a few more?

That said, you've got some great options. I'm planning on diamond tetra myself and possibly black neons as well. I love green neons, but I know they can be very shy for some people as well.
 
A few thoughts I'd consider. The first is diamond tetra can be ugly ducklings in the shops and turn into swans eventually but like swans they can be aggressive with one another and a pain in the bum if you have a peaceful tanks.
I like lemon tetra and pristella tetras are a similar species that like the black neon, are hardy, peaceful and quiet but that's also why I'd maybe consider something a little bit different. The one thing putting me off recommending this next species is that I think black neons slender profile would look great in your low tank but I like a bit of personality in my fish which is why I will mention black phantom tetra. They are common but lovely and if you had a dozen, 4 males and 8 females, you would get interesting male sparring behaviour as they try and show off for the ladies. I find them really peaceful and very outgoing and think they would compliment what you currently have.

Saying all that I'd probably double or triple the amount of harlequins first to see if you actually want another species. I tend to think less species but larger groups looks best and even with shy species, at high numbers you tend to see a lot of them.
 
ElleDee said:
Huh, I have lambchop rasboras and haven't found them shy at all, but find they like more swimming space. If they aren't bopping around, I know I really need to trim my stem plants. Maybe add a few more?

That said, you've got some great options. I'm planning on diamond tetra myself and possibly black neons as well. I love green neons, but I know they can be very shy for some people as well.
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I don’t think the lamb chop and harlequin rasboras are shy - they just tend to stay in a group on the left side of the tank. And the right side is like a dead zone. You may be right about the swimming space. The large sword is sort of the dividing line in the tank. Rasboras to the left; no one to the right. There is a group of roughly 20 so I’ll bet it’s the swimming room. Hmmmmm.

I’ve never seen any of these fish so I’m just having to go by online pics and videos. Going to New Orleans next weekend and planning to hit some shops. Otherwise, I’ll have to make my best choice and order them.

Thanks for your help.
 
mort said:
A few thoughts I'd consider. The first is diamond tetra can be ugly ducklings in the shops and turn into swans eventually but like swans they can be aggressive with one another and a pain in the bum if you have a peaceful tanks.
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Ok, crossing them off my list. This aquarium is my zen place.

mort said:
The one thing putting me off recommending this next species is that I think black neons slender profile would look great in your low tank but I like a bit of personality in my fish which is why I will mention black phantom tetra. They are common but lovely and if you had a dozen, 4 males and 8 females, you would get interesting male sparring behaviour as they try and show off for the ladies. I find them really peaceful and very outgoing and think they would compliment what you currently have.
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Off to do research on black phantoms. Not one I had considered.
mort said:
Saying all that I'd probably double or triple the amount of harlequins first to see if you actually want another species. I tend to think less species but larger groups looks best and even with shy species, at high numbers you tend to see a lot of them.
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Hmmm, I agree about having fewer species. I actually like the groups that I have now and really hadn’t thought much about adding anyone new. It was only when I realized the right side of the tank wasn’t really getting used that I thought of adding a different fish. Something that might weave around in the sword and lotus and show the rest of the crew that it’s possible. And help the pearl gouramis not be SO startled when I walk by the tank.
 
Another, slightly weird maybe, suggestion is maybe have a look at threadfin rainbows. They are pretty but subtly coloured and picking up some of the lampchops shades. Very peaceful, not frantic but some interesting behaviour (even their sparing is chilled). Not huge, but not tiny either. They would look good in your plants. They do have little mouths so you might have to grind up your food a bit.
 
Conort2 said:
Yes, I think they’d be perfect for that.
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I second this, my green neons are lovely and cohabit well with my smaller chili and axelrodi rasboras. They are both bold and lurky, depending on the time of day/availability of food!! They're not bullies though - in a well planted tank they are quite peaceful, and are even sometimes chased off by my pygmy Corys. They are a bit prone to over eating, so keep an eye on that. They also like soft water. I would definitely recommend quarantining them, as most stock (in the UK at least) is wild caught.

My dad kept black neon tetras for a while and they're lovely fish - I can't remember too much about their care as I was quite young at the time.

One thing to note - I know threadfin rainbows can be prone to jumping, worth bearing that in mind.
 
From my experience, the green neons spend about as much time in open water as they do in the plants - if anything, they probably spend more time in the plants. I can't comment on the others though 🙂

Edit: One thing you could also consider - when you add food, why not add it to the side of the tank they don't normally use? That way they will associate the area with breakfast & will probably spend a little more time over there. Mine collect in the food corner very expectantly (worse than cats!)

Edit #2: included some phone pics I just took of my green neons in the plants - they're lovely little fish. As I took this photo, half were shoaling in the open space at the front on the tank, and half were in the greenery. they use the full length, width and depth of my tank 🙂 PXL_20241025_162427954_exported_79170.jpgPXL_20241025_162427954_exported_59065.jpgPXL_20241025_162427954_exported_29893.jpg
 
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