Silvertip tetra with Amano shrimp.

[Paul M]

I am considering adding some Silvertip Tetra to my well planted scape along with the Cardinals, Otocinclus and Amano shrimpthat I already have in there. But I'm a little unsure whether they will harrass the shrimp and nip at their antennae after reading that they can be fin nippers.
Will the long antennae of my shrimp be too much temptation for them?

 

[mort]

Hi, I've never tried it so I don't know but I do know silver tips are best in large groups, where they are more interested in other members of the group than their tankmates. They have the reputation for being nippy, like a far less aggressive version of the Tiger barb, but it's normally when they are kept in small numbers (neons can be nippy as well but people never even flinch at adding them).
Hopefully someone will have first hand experience with the mix but I wouldn't even consider them if you couldn't comfortably house a dozen or so.

 

[Paul M]

Thanks Mort. Much appreciated. I have 10 Cardinals who are v.happy and don't bother at all with their fellow tank mates. My initial plan was to add a few more cardinals to make a single species school, However, now I am thinking that maybe a second group might be the way forward. I can't really do 12 silvertip, I was thinking 8 or 9 so might give them a miss in favour of something a bit smaller or with a better reputation. Or maybe I'll just stick to the original plan.

 

[Conort2]

Thanks Mort. Much appreciated. I have 10 Cardinals who are v.happy and don't bother at all with their fellow tank mates. My initial plan was to add a few more cardinals to make a single species school, However, now I am thinking that maybe a second group might be the way forward. I can't really do 12 silvertip, I was thinking 8 or 9 so might give them a miss in favour of something a bit smaller or with a better reputation. Or maybe I'll just stick to the original plan.

They can certainly be a bit nippy especially when kept in small numbers as @mort mentioned. I think the initial plan of more cardinals would be your best bet. The cardinals will appreciate it and large numbers of single species can look very effective.

cheers

 

[Paul M]

Thanks Conort2 . That was my thought originally. aim for about 16/18 cardinals.
30 yeas ago when I last had tanks I was that guy who had 1 of these, 2 of those, a couple of the other. Nobody at the time pulled me up about it so I'm determined to avoid that nonsense. I'm loving the way the cardinals pop against the greens of the planting.
👍

 

[mort]

I think all of us have been through the sweetshop stage in our fish keeping. When I sold fish I can only remember a few people that bought large groups. Today I believe more people, especially in the aquascaping world, appreciate the harmony of less is more.

 

[Conort2]

Thanks Conort2 . That was my thought originally. aim for about 16/18 cardinals.
30 yeas ago when I last had tanks I was that guy who had 1 of these, 2 of those, a couple of the other. Nobody at the time pulled me up about it so I'm determined to avoid that nonsense. I'm loving the way the cardinals pop against the greens of the planting.
👍

Ah we’ve all been there, I used to have pairs of all sorts kept together when I didn’t know any better.

18 cardinals against the green of the plants will look great. You could always go with a pair of dwarf cichlids or a small group of corydoras if you wanted something else to add abit of interest.

cheers

 

[Paul M]

Ah we’ve all been there, I used to have pairs of all sorts kept together when I didn’t know any better.

18 cardinals against the green of the plants will look great. You could always go with a pair of dwarf cichlids or a small group of corydoras if you wanted something else to add abit of interest.

cheers

I wondered about a pair of Rams but I don't think I'm running my scape at a high enough temp for them. Also considered sparkling gourami but the flashes of blue are similar colour to the cardinals so I might as well just have a larger number of cardinals. I've got 3 otocinclus ( started with 4 but lost one ) and intend to get them some buddies to bring their number up to 6.