Fish suggestions with my RCS

[mort]

I have been looking at these pencilfish. My tank base size is 35 X 35 cm. recommended numbers vary from 6, 10 or as many as you can afford. Would 10 be OK? I have just got a sponge filter for that tank. Any problem jumping out, I read one report to day they are jumpers.. Danio's are infamous for jumping but they are not doing so from my tank. Any other tips you can give me. Thanks.

If you have the borasas then I personally wouldn't add anything else (those pencils get a couple of inches and would feel cramped) and concentrate on making them feel confident. It's kinda of counterintuitive but the more cover you give fish the more you tend to see them. This is because they know they aren't far from safety so explore more. They should also become bolder once they have settled (plus the shrimp could help bring them out). Other fish could impact their behaviour in a good or bad way. Slow moving dither fish may help but energetic species could worry them and keep them in hiding.

 

[Robert Fletcher]

If you have the borasas then I personally wouldn't add anything else (those pencils get a couple of inches and would feel cramped) and concentrate on making them feel confident. It's kinda of counterintuitive but the more cover you give fish the more you tend to see them. This is because they know they aren't far from safety so explore more. They should also become bolder once they have settled (plus the shrimp could help bring them out). Other fish could impact their behaviour in a good or bad way. Slow moving dither fish may help but energetic species could worry them and keep them in hiding.

I have come to that conclusion after thinking about it. You are correct the shrimp did bring the fish out as they came in a shoal. I thought they were chasing shrimp but I was wrong there. The fish seem to stay where there is plants and rocks. I will just be patient as see what happens when the shrimp are breeding. Thanks for your help.

 

[mort]

No worries, shrimps often bring out small fish as they are near the bottom of the food chain so if they are out the fish see it as safer.

 

[Nanglebadger]

Hi Robert,

I'm currently keeping RCS with Ember Tetras and Ottos with no issues. I previously had blue rasboras, mosquito rasbora, galaxy rasbora and emerald dwarf rasbora in the tank, again, no issues at all, not even with the shrimplets.

Phil.