Pretty Fish

[countrygirl]

Hi There;
I am wondering if anyone knows of any very pretty, colorful , non-aggressive fish, that are on the larger side. I need to wait until my tank completely cycles, but this is what is in there right now:

1 leopoldi stingray
1 motoro stingray
2 fire eels
2 blue acara's
3 bala sharks

 

[QTOFFER]

Countrygirl, you probably should have mentioned that you have a 250 gal tank.

Sorry I can't be of much help. All I know about the fish you already have is that they're fascinating to watch and wayyy too big for my wee little 58 gal!

 

[countrygirl]

lol, I guess that would help, thanks. Oh I have a 250 gallon tank lol

 

[Christmasfish]

Um..and you are wanting to add these fish with your current mix? even in 200 plus gallons the truely peaceful fish that are mid sized will have a stress-out with the acaras at breeding time alone.
Why peaceful specifically? the eels? Are they meant to be snacks? Are these ray types fish eater?Or small stuff snackers?
Most colorful peaceful things are small for this lot of fellahs.

Maybe silver dollars ? Pacu? But balas are just the same colors there. And they can be stinkers too. What are you wanting these fish to do?
I guess I just don't know. Color and not be expensive snacks and not be aggressive..maybe a whole monster shoal of platies in riot of their available colors? or something like the larger tetras? A big mixed shoal of tetras and take the occasional 1-3 missing? maybe a bunch like emperor in red and blue, penguins and HATs
How about some semi-aggressives? Rainbowfish, Gourami
Angels? They are an expensive snack..... I've never kept anything large enough and not be peaceful. Unless you are well planted for gourami to nap at the top levels, they really like sleeping at the bottom often. Your bottom is busy. As far as size and temperment, kissing gourami would fit. But they are not all that colorful.

I don't think any of the fish I know well are suitable really. If you say WHAT function the fish are to fill, maybe more answers will crop up...

 

[countrygirl]

What Function? To swim around look pretty and get fed, not be food. lol. I guess what I am mostly looking for are fish that stay around the top with pretty coloration. Not sure if you are familiar with fire eels, but they are over a foot long and thick enough not to be considered lunch for anyone. The acara are pretty peaceful although the small one will chase after smaller fish.

 

[Menagerie]

How large are the acara? My acara holds his own against the zebras in my 80 gal. In your tank, they maybe more docile since none of the other fish look like conspecifics.

 

[countrygirl]

Well one is 5 inches in length, the other is about 3 - 3.5. The large one is not aggressive in the least bit. The small one, well don't forget to feed him or he will find food somewhere if it can fit in his mouth

 

[Menagerie]

That's the truth!

 

[Devilishturtles]

Hmm, how about pacu as christmasfish mentioned? They shouldn't get bothered (or bother for the matter) you acaras. I don't know much about the eels and all that you have now, but the pacu are cool. May be something to check out?

 

[countrygirl]

They look like Piranha's I'm not crazy about them. I am thinking Melanotaenia, Glossolepis (which are different types of rainbows, frontosa, severum, and/or blood parrots

 

[Fruitbat]

There are many fish that fit your description. If you want some pretty, relatively peaceful cichlids then you might consider the Rainbow Cichlid (Herotilapia multispinosa). A male in full color is absolutely exquisite!! Here's a link: http://www.thetropicaltank.co.uk/Fishindx/rbowcich.htm

You might also consider some of the larger gouramis like the Blue (Three Spot) or Gold (both varieties of Trichogaster trichopterus), the Snakeskin Gourami (Trichogaster pectoralis) or the Pearl Gourami (Trichogaster leeri). Links for these fish are below:

Blue Gourami: http://species.fishindex.com/photo_2928trichogaster_trichopterus_blue_gourami.html
Gold Gourami: http://www.aquahobby.com/tricho2.html
Snakeskin Gourami: http://www.jjphoto.dk/fish_archive/aquarium/trichogaster_pectoralis.htm
Pearl Gourami: http://www.aquahobby.com/leeri.html

You've already mentioned Rainbow Fish and, in their larger sizes, they would do quite well with your fish.

Other cichlids you might consider are the Firemouth Cichlid (Thorichthys meeki) or the Gold Severum (Heros severus).

Firemouth: http://freshaquarium.about.com/cs/centralamerican/p/firemouth.htm
Gold Severum: http://www.aquahobby.com/gallery/gseverumm.html

I could go on with this list for hours but this may give you something to think about anyway!

 

[Christmasfish]

Do any of those hang in the upper levels normally? And wont they get nasty with the acara at some point? Except the rainbows.
But don't rainbows look ugly when they are unhappy (like if they feel stressed or the acara target them? What if the severums don't like your eel..they can really give it a bad time can't they? Don't most cichlids hand in the lower half?

Looks more like the cloud of tetra or the platy parade would be your best "moving color" source. anyone have a colorful shoaling topdweller in mind?
my cloud of tetras never lost a member..now they are the overstock in my tank..^_^ nobody ate them while they were small.

Also..what is the decoration situation?Plants? logs? sand? gravel..etc

 

[Fruitbat]

The cichlids and gouramis will wander through various tank levels but you're right...they'll stick primarily at the bottom. Some of the larger tetras might fit the bill here....like Congo Tetras (Phenacogrammus interruptus).

 

[countrygirl]

Ok here is what I am thinking. Lets say 6-12 Boesemani Rainbows, 3-4 Severum, 3 Wild Altum Angels and a pair of undyed Blood Parrots. How do you think that would work out?

The tank is all open around the outside for the stingrays then in the center there are two log-like tubes for the eels, in between the tubes is a tree-stump looking thing with wholes for fish to swim in and out of. Amongst these three things, the tank is planted with about 13 live plants. Then on the far end around the pre-filter, there are two large fake plants. Well here look at my pics. Digital camera is not great though:

http://www.z300.com/top/countrygirl/aquarium.html

 

[ferret]

Isn't a 250 gallon with the above mentioned stock a little small for a Pacu? I wonder if by 'on the larger' side countrygirl meant 2-3 feet.. Just doesn't seem like a lot of room for a Pacu.

There are also some larger sizes of gourami you could consider. A pink kissing gourami would look nice, but I'm not sure how many you could have. They tend to fight amongst themselves but maybe 250g is enough for two or three. They reach a foot or so.

There's also the ever popular tin foil barb.

 

[countrygirl]

I am thinking between 4 - 8 inches. I am n ot crazy about Pacu, I think they look like Piranha's

 

[Christmasfish]

As you keep coming back to rainbow fish and mentioned angels......

What happened to the veiled angel and what looks like a rainbow fish that were the previous occupants with your Rays when you took those pictures?

It seems like you want large colorful bodies to fill the void above the rays racetrack..trouble is that island couldn't provide them ALL cover when they decide they DONT want to be in the open. Especially what I understand about most cichlids and KNOW about most labyrinth fish.

Also none of us have thought to ask your water values...not so much the cycle parameters but Temp and ph?


I know your eels are supposed to be pretty easygoing and not specifically hunt fish..I know acara can be real stinkers with aggression. I know or am certain of a lot of fish that would go great
..that is, until they mature into breeding age.


Some floating plants as a cover oasis and a cloud of large tetras is the way I still suggest if your water isn't too hard. And that wont be causing a territory imbalance in your tank or be stressing shy fish.
And I would suggest against any type of gourami..the larger ones are not comfortable alone and the large animals in your tank will intimidate them. It doesn't matter if they are herbivores or canivores, or benthic hunters

 

[countrygirl]

The temperature is 78 degrees and the pH is 7.2 The veiled angels that were in there before were from my sons tank I put them back in there because the baby acara got aggressive towards the male and I didn't want anything to happen to him. I never had a Rainbowfish in there, just what I have listed at the top the two veiled angels and a Berney's shark, whom I removed scared they would get eaten because of their size

 

[countrygirl]

Ok, so far we have Parrots, Severum, and risking it with the Rainbows. What other kinds of cichlids are not aggressive? The Altums I guess won't work