Barren planted tank needs some life!

[Peyton]

I have a 29gal heavily planted tank that has nothing in it other than a SAE, a couple of ottos, and a few amano shrimp. I think it is just too boring looking so I want to add a nice school of... something.

I can't decide on what to get though. I've looked at the LFS but nothing really stands out. I've had schools of serpea tetras, neons/cardinals, black neons, x-ray tetras, etc. Also right now I have schools of pearl dainos and harlequin rasboras in other tanks and I love both of them.

Any ideas on somewhat common, perhaps overlooked, fish that would fit the bill? They must be small and hardy. I REALLY want neons or cardinals again but I must have bought hundreds of them over the years only to have them to slowly all die off over a few weeks.

[Zagz]

If you want cardinals try to get them from a breeder. They are not the hardiest fish but IMO not difficult to keep. The red and blue stands out on them in a planted tank very well. I find neons more difficult to keep.
There are many tetras that have great colors. What about some rummynose tetras?

[Peyton]

Rummynose are a great idea! I've kept them before a few years back and they did great. I think I lost them all to a DIY co2 accident IIRC. Not 100% sure my LFS can get them but I can check. Anyone else have a suggestion?

[rich311k]

Pair of angels.

[Purrbox]

How about some smaller rainbow fish? Gertrude's Rainbow, Threadfin Rainbow, or Dwarf Neon Blue Rainbows might be nice.

[chipchop]

How about celebes rainbows? I think they look pretty amazing.

[neilanh]

German Blue Rams or Bolivian Rams comes to mind as well.

[Peyton]

Dwarf neons are another possibility. I've had them several times over the years and they are one of my favorite fish. I've tried angels, GBRs, and bolivian rams before with no success. I think the longest lived out of that group was probably bolivians. Kinda looking for a smaller schooling fish though.

I was at the LFS today and seen some cardinals. The LFS owner said the stock that had been coming in lately was very hardy. They all looked really healthy and full of color so I decided to pick up about ten of them. I floated them for about 3 hours slowly aclimating them to the tank. So far three are dead. It's really frustrating. I guess I will never face the fact I just can't have them.

I did talk to the owner about ordering some rummynose tetras for me. He said no problem. Maybe I'll just go with a few dwarf neon rainbows and a small school of rummys. I have a 20gal tank FULL of "blueberry" shrimp I'm thinking about getting rid of so I might trade the shrimp for store credit.

[marchmaxima]

Originally Posted by Peyton

I was at the LFS today and seen some cardinals. I floated them for about 3 hours slowly aclimating them to the tank. So far three are dead.

Something sounds very wrong here. What method are you using to acclimate them? Are you certain your tank set up is in check?

I only also ask because I had a similar situation, but in my case, everything I put into my tank died (except one scissortail) and, after many months of confusion, the issue was traced back to being a faulty thermometer. I'm not suggesting this is why yours died, but it seems a little strange to me that your fish just died suddenly after a long acclimation.

[pitt420dude]

Originally Posted by marchmaxima

Something sounds very wrong here. What method are you using to acclimate them? Are you certain your tank set up is in check?

I only also ask because I had a similar situation, but in my case, everything I put into my tank died (except one scissortail) and, after many months of confusion, the issue was traced back to being a faulty thermometer. I'm not suggesting this is why yours died, but it seems a little strange to me that your fish just died suddenly after a long acclimation.

QFT, seems fishy (no pun intended) to me as well.

For three to go like that so quickly (the day you got them!?) something else may be wrong, unless you drove them home on a dirtbike.