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Need inspiration for fish options !

F

Fred13

Member
Joined
13 Jul 2016
Messages
321
Location
Athens
Hello,

I lack inspiration of what to keep in my new scape.

250 liters, fully planted with rocks and cosmetic sand in front.

I am between Asia and America.

First option
12 (or more) Harlequin Rasbora + 2 pearl gourami+ 6 danio margaritatus + amano shrimp

Second option
12 emperor tetra + 6 otocinclus+amano + (larger fish?!)

In that scape i need something larger than just a shoaling fish.
Pearl gourami is a good option but i still afraid of ripping off my plants in order to construct its nest.

On the other hand i really like the emperor tetra fish which i never kept till now but i dont know what larger fish should i take that is compatible with cosmetic sand iand plants. A chichild probably?
I dont want a highly active chichild that can ruin my cosmetic sand by digging etc etc...

Soooooo..... any ideas or personal experiences would be awsome for me!

Thank you,
Fred
 
Hi Fred.
My favourite choice for a gourami would be 2 to 6 honey gourami Trichogaster chuna. They behave in a very similar way to the pearl gourami, which I also keep and find it gets incredibly large by comparison. I have also kept fish like Apistogramma viejita II, and I think that a pair of these chichlids could also be considered for your aquarium. The males have a red patch and a distinctly tropical look. The male honey gourami would also look stunning in an island set up.
My Amanos have gone for plants before, so now I mostly keep and rear red cherry shrimp, which seem to leave plants alone, and do not burrow as much.
All of the other fish you have picked look ideal, and I was very impressed by your first option - they all seem nicely balanced.
 
Simon Cole said:
Hi Fred.
My favourite choice for a gourami would be 2 to 6 honey gourami Trichogaster chuna. They behave in a very similar way to the pearl gourami, which I also keep and find it gets incredibly large by comparison. I have also kept fish like Apistogramma viejita II, and I think that a pair of these chichlids could also be considered for your aquarium. The males have a red patch and a distinctly tropical look. The male honey gourami would also look stunning in an island set up.
My Amanos have gone for plants before, so now I mostly keep and rear red cherry shrimp, which seem to leave plants alone, and do not burrow as much.
All of the other fish you have picked look ideal, and I was very impressed by your first option - they all seem nicely balanced.
Click to expand...

Hello Simon and thank you very much for your ideas! It is true that when is time to choose the fish i study carefully the potential options :)
The only thing about my first option that i am worried about is that gouramies tend to use small pieces of plants to build their nest. Since this tank is going to be a more delicate aquascape, i prefer to avoid this behavior. A solution may be to choose just females but i am not sure.

Thank you again,
Fred
 
akwarium said:
first idea: a shoal of Iriatherina werneri or/and Pseudomugil gertrudae with a group of Tateurndina ocellicauda + amano shrimp.
Click to expand...
The last one "Tateurndina ocellicauda" looks amazing ! I havent see that before and i am not sure if i can easily find it.

Is this fish totaly plant friendly? It is like a chichild !
 
akwarium said:
perfectly save for plants, despite their appearance they are quite timid and somewhat shy, but they do great in a densely planted aquarium
Click to expand...
It is somehow difficult to find this in Greece but i can order it and wait till its available. That is a very nice fish.

Do you know if its compatible with pearl gourami? From my research i havent found any compatibility issues.
 
If the tank is big enough they can be kept together, no problem.

Pearl gouramis are not necessarily the best fish for a planted aquarium, they prefer very gentle flow and need at least some surface vegetation. Don't get me wrong, they can do great, but it might take some compromising.
 
akwarium said:
If the tank is big enough they can be kept together, no problem.

Pearl gouramis are not necessarily the best fish for a planted aquarium, they prefer very gentle flow and need at least some surface vegetation. Don't get me wrong, they can do great, but it might take some compromising.
Click to expand...
65 gallons.
To be honest i am thinking of putting 2 females so they wont build nest for breeding etc etc. I am not sure about this choice, i am still thinking of it.
 
Fred13 said:
Soooooo..... any ideas or personal experiences would be awsome for me!
Click to expand...

Years ago, when setting up a tank, my idea was to get it fully stocked soon after set up. It turned out that months after I would really fall in love with some other fish species but I would have no room for them. So I'd set up a second tank, a third tank and so on...What I am trying to say is that I should have just picked a few of the fish I am 100% certain I want, basically the ones I am nearly dying to own, and leave some room for more fish for when I get that overwhelming feeling for some other type of fish. This would satisfy one's need for having fish in the mean time, but give room to wiggle later on, instead of ending up overstocking the tank eventually....which tends to happen to most people.....

So from the fish you mentioned, think which ones do you really like and can't get without? Then start watching youtube videos and read on any other species you may like. It will give you an idea of their behaviour, their needs, etc...Some fish look pretty on picture but one may find them not so exciting in their own tank, etc...
 
Fred13 said:
Weird question...:)
I like them as fish , i mean they are so peaceful and having nice patterns .
Click to expand...

If you like them as fish, then why sell yourself short on only getting two females? You will miss the social behavior of them in a small group, which is very interesting to watch. You wont get the beautiful coloration of the males, mating behavior etc. If you have your heart set on them, then by all means get them, they are beautiful fish. But do it the right way: get a small group and put them in an aquascape that fits their needs. Such a planted tank does not only have great esthetic value on its own, but also makes sense as a home for your fish.

If their is a certain layout you want to create, then do so and choose fish that will be at home in that tank.
 
akwarium said:
If you like them as fish, then why sell yourself short on only getting two females? You will miss the social behavior of them in a small group, which is very interesting to watch. You wont get the beautiful coloration of the males, mating behavior etc. If you have your heart set on them, then by all means get them, they are beautiful fish. But do it the right way: get a small group and put them in an aquascape that fits their needs. Such a planted tank does not only have great esthetic value on its own, but also makes sense as a home for your fish.

If their is a certain layout you want to create, then do so and choose fish that will be at home in that tank.
Click to expand...

Hello,
I agree 100% with you.
I always pick pairs or groups to achieve the best possible behaviors and conditions for the fish.
Let me explain..
I had a bad experience with my last setup after i introduced a pair of dwarf gouramies. The male ripped off lots of plants. The funny thing is that gouramies do not tend to destroy plants. They are plant friendly. In my case, this little guy was a destroyer;)
Now, that i want the pearl gouramies ( i was fascinating by George Farmer home scape) this behavior comes in my mind.
I can always introduce surface plants but i dont know how to make them stay in a corner because of flow !
 
I had a dwarf gourami that did exactly the same thing ;) wen it comes to nesting I think you will never have a guarantee they will leave your plants in one piece. But I believe Pearls are less picky about their nesting material then dwarfs.

Some people use a piece of fishing line just below the surface to keep floating plants in place. Besides floating plants also long leaves from for example Vallisineria or Cryptocoryne crispulata. var balansae, or even long stem plants can be used to provide vegetation on the surface.

In breeding tanks I used to tie some stems of cabomba on a suction cup and place it just below the surface.
 
akwarium said:
I had a dwarf gourami that did exactly the same thing ;) wen it comes to nesting I think you will never have a guarantee they will leave your plants in one piece. But I believe Pearls are less picky about their nesting material then dwarfs.

Some people use a piece of fishing line just below the surface to keep floating plants in place. Besides floating plants also long leaves from for example Vallisineria or Cryptocoryne crispulata. var balansae, or even long stem plants can be used to provide vegetation on the surface.

In breeding tanks I used to tie some stems of cabomba on a suction cup and place it just below the surface.
Click to expand...

I believe that if there is some float vegetation they don't need to pick material from plants so everything is going to be fine .
The fishing line is a nice tip but what Happens after few days when the water level drops ? Is there anything you can do about that ?
 
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