Hi All -

I have a 55g planted tank, 80w of 6500K light, no CO2 (not yet at least
altho I keep drooling over the systems I see out there :-) It's a
community tank with Otos (6), Angels (4), 4" gold gourami, 9 small
neons, 3 serpae tetras, 1 white-skirt, 1 5" pl*co & 1 cory. I've seen
some fish in the lfs that caught my fancy, and am wondering if folks
here have had any experiences with these that they could share. I want
to continue the community tank, and with fish that won't eat the plants.

Here are the fish:

Electric Yellow Labidochromus (grows to 4" I believe)
Bumble Bee african cichlid (up to 4")
Dwarf puffer
Gold Mickey Mouse platy (and the red version too)
Lemon tetra
Gold Pristella
Decta Sunrise Tequila Guppy (really neat looking fish - never seen one
before the lfs visit.

Any experiences/knowledge would be greatly appreciated!
--
pete in colorado

"It is unwise to insult a doughnut be refusing to eat it."

Pete in the Colorado Mtns wrote:
neons, 3 serpae tetras, 1 white-skirt, 1 5" pl*co & 1 cory. I've seen

You should add more cories, they like to be in groups.

Electric Yellow Labidochromus (grows to 4" I believe)
Bumble Bee african cichlid (up to 4")

Those two require hard, basic water IIRC.

Dwarf puffer

Brackish?

Decta Sunrise Tequila Guppy (really neat looking fish - never seen one

Guppies are nice. Rainbowfish make great community fish and they are
very beautiful.


--
Victor M. Martinez

http://www.che.utexas.edu/~martiv

Pete in the Colorado Mtns wrote:
neons, 3 serpae tetras, 1 white-skirt, 1 5" pl*co & 1 cory. I've seen

You should add more cories, they like to be in groups.

Electric Yellow Labidochromus (grows to 4" I believe)
Bumble Bee african cichlid (up to 4")

Those two require hard, basic water IIRC.

Dwarf puffer

Brackish?

Decta Sunrise Tequila Guppy (really neat looking fish - never seen one

Guppies are nice. Rainbowfish make great community fish and they are
very beautiful.


--
Victor M. Martinez

http://www.che.utexas.edu/~martiv

community tank with Otos (6), Angels (4), 4" gold gourami, 9 small
neons, 3 serpae tetras, 1 white-skirt, 1 5" pl*co & 1 cory.

Your neons are likely to become snacks for the angels eventually. If the
pleco is a common pleco, he will eventually outgrow that tank. If it's an
ancistrus, you're ok. As mentioned already, cories like to be in groups- you
should have 3-4 more. The same for any tetras, so your white skirt should
have company, too.


Electric Yellow Labidochromus (grows to 4" I believe)
Bumble Bee african cichlid (up to 4")

Cichlids -can- be too aggressive for a community tank. The yellow lab might
be ok, as they can be less aggressive than some, but it probably isn't worth
the risk. If you want cichlids, do a separate tank and set it up properly
for them.

Dwarf puffer

Yes, this is a brackish fish- likes the water with a bit more salt content
than most community fish. They will also eat small fish in a tank with them.

Gold Mickey Mouse platy (and the red version too)
Lemon tetra
Gold Pristella
Decta Sunrise Tequila Guppy (really neat looking fish - never seen one
before the lfs visit.

These are all good community fish. The tetras and the pristella are
schooling fish, so you should get them in groups if you want to keep them.
Watch the sizes, tho- angels will eat anything small enough to fit in their
mouths....

-Mak
http://www.thirtytwopaws.com/mak
Updates 1/30/03

You can't ask to start over just because you're losing the game.

community tank with Otos (6), Angels (4), 4" gold gourami, 9 small
neons, 3 serpae tetras, 1 white-skirt, 1 5" pl*co & 1 cory.

Your neons are likely to become snacks for the angels eventually. If the
pleco is a common pleco, he will eventually outgrow that tank. If it's an
ancistrus, you're ok. As mentioned already, cories like to be in groups- you
should have 3-4 more. The same for any tetras, so your white skirt should
have company, too.


Electric Yellow Labidochromus (grows to 4" I believe)
Bumble Bee african cichlid (up to 4")

Cichlids -can- be too aggressive for a community tank. The yellow lab might
be ok, as they can be less aggressive than some, but it probably isn't worth
the risk. If you want cichlids, do a separate tank and set it up properly
for them.

Dwarf puffer

Yes, this is a brackish fish- likes the water with a bit more salt content
than most community fish. They will also eat small fish in a tank with them.

Gold Mickey Mouse platy (and the red version too)
Lemon tetra
Gold Pristella
Decta Sunrise Tequila Guppy (really neat looking fish - never seen one
before the lfs visit.

These are all good community fish. The tetras and the pristella are
schooling fish, so you should get them in groups if you want to keep them.
Watch the sizes, tho- angels will eat anything small enough to fit in their
mouths....

-Mak
http://www.thirtytwopaws.com/mak
Updates 1/30/03

You can't ask to start over just because you're losing the game.

"Mary Alice Kropp" wrote:

Dwarf puffer

Yes, this is a brackish fish- likes the water with a bit more salt content
than most community fish. They will also eat small fish in a tank with them.

It's probably carinotetraodon travancoricus (which is commonly sold as
a dwarf puffer). If that's the case, it's a true freshwater fish, not
brackish.

But yeah, it could be tough on the gentler tank mates.


--
www.ericschreiber.com

"Mary Alice Kropp" wrote:

Dwarf puffer

Yes, this is a brackish fish- likes the water with a bit more salt content
than most community fish. They will also eat small fish in a tank with them.

It's probably carinotetraodon travancoricus (which is commonly sold as
a dwarf puffer). If that's the case, it's a true freshwater fish, not
brackish.

But yeah, it could be tough on the gentler tank mates.


--
www.ericschreiber.com

"Mary Alice Kropp" wrote in message
news:iIS5a.13458
Dwarf puffer

Yes, this is a brackish fish- likes the water with a bit more salt content
than most community fish. They will also eat small fish in a tank with
them.

LOL! As I have discovered, puffers will eat anything that will fit in thier
mouth.bg

"Mary Alice Kropp" wrote in message
news:iIS5a.13458
Dwarf puffer

Yes, this is a brackish fish- likes the water with a bit more salt content
than most community fish. They will also eat small fish in a tank with
them.

LOL! As I have discovered, puffers will eat anything that will fit in thier
mouth.bg

As others have pointed out, corys should be kept in schools, and neons will
eventually be eaten by the angelfish. Lemon tetras get to be a little bigger
than neons, so they might be okay, but if they're small, and the angelfish are
big, look out!

The platies and guppies are probably the most suitable fish on your list.
Ordinarily, I'd worry that they'd reproduce so fast they'd take over the tank,
but with angelfish in the mix, that's not a worry. The livebearers will
provide live food for the angels. And platies will make short work of any hair
algae that dares to grow in your tank.

You might consider rainbowfish. They might not look like much in the pet
store, but once they are well-cared for, in your own tank, they are stunning.
And they are large enough that they can stand up to angelfish and gouramis.
They are active, but not so hyper that they'd scare sedate fish like angelfish
and gouramis.


Leigh

http://www.fortunecity.com/lavender/halloween/881/

As others have pointed out, corys should be kept in schools, and neons will
eventually be eaten by the angelfish. Lemon tetras get to be a little bigger
than neons, so they might be okay, but if they're small, and the angelfish are
big, look out!

The platies and guppies are probably the most suitable fish on your list.
Ordinarily, I'd worry that they'd reproduce so fast they'd take over the tank,
but with angelfish in the mix, that's not a worry. The livebearers will
provide live food for the angels. And platies will make short work of any hair
algae that dares to grow in your tank.

You might consider rainbowfish. They might not look like much in the pet
store, but once they are well-cared for, in your own tank, they are stunning.
And they are large enough that they can stand up to angelfish and gouramis.
They are active, but not so hyper that they'd scare sedate fish like angelfish
and gouramis.


Leigh

http://www.fortunecity.com/lavender/halloween/881/

It's probably carinotetraodon travancoricus (which is commonly sold as
a dwarf puffer). If that's the case, it's a true freshwater fish, not
brackish.

But yeah, it could be tough on the gentler tank mates.



Puffers and angelfish are a bad combination. Puffers are especially tough on
fish with long, thin, trailing fins, like angelfish and gouramis. They seem to
think those skinny fins are worms or something. A 1" puffer can terrorize an
8" angelfish.



Leigh

http://www.fortunecity.com/lavender/halloween/881/

It's probably carinotetraodon travancoricus (which is commonly sold as
a dwarf puffer). If that's the case, it's a true freshwater fish, not
brackish.

But yeah, it could be tough on the gentler tank mates.



Puffers and angelfish are a bad combination. Puffers are especially tough on
fish with long, thin, trailing fins, like angelfish and gouramis. They seem to
think those skinny fins are worms or something. A 1" puffer can terrorize an
8" angelfish.



Leigh

http://www.fortunecity.com/lavender/halloween/881/

tose (LeighMo) wrote:

Puffers and angelfish are a bad combination. Puffers are especially tough on
fish with long, thin, trailing fins, like angelfish and gouramis. They seem to
think those skinny fins are worms or something. A 1" puffer can terrorize an
8" angelfish.

Having an entire week's experience with puffers under my belt now, I'd
hazard to say they're a bad combination with almost anything. Mine are
less than a half inch in size, but were beating the crap out of my
golf ball sized apple snails. They've got a tank all to themselves
now.

Gram per gram, puffers are about the meanest fish I've seen so far.
Cute as the dickens, though.


--
www.ericschreiber.com

tose (LeighMo) wrote:

Puffers and angelfish are a bad combination. Puffers are especially tough on
fish with long, thin, trailing fins, like angelfish and gouramis. They seem to
think those skinny fins are worms or something. A 1" puffer can terrorize an
8" angelfish.

Having an entire week's experience with puffers under my belt now, I'd
hazard to say they're a bad combination with almost anything. Mine are
less than a half inch in size, but were beating the crap out of my
golf ball sized apple snails. They've got a tank all to themselves
now.

Gram per gram, puffers are about the meanest fish I've seen so far.
Cute as the dickens, though.


--
www.ericschreiber.com