tank pic & rainbow stocking question

[frog girl]

I know this isn't the best pic ever but I am still getting the hang of my camara & of taking pictures of aquariums. It gives you a basic idea though.

photobucket.com/albums/v220/klevering/?action=view&current=7089841a.jpg

My tank is 17 in. deep (water) & a maximum of 26 in. across. Its a hex as you can see in the pic (about 60 gallons in the tank). The fish are small tiger barbs about 1 in. long. The setup is done except I have one more piece of driftwood to add which isn't quite waterlogged & will add one more red melon sword in the midground. The foreground is lileopsis & backgroud various crypts & anacharis.

My plan is to have khuli's & rainbow fish (I plan to get rid of the barbs but keep the 6 ottos & 3 rasboras). There is a dizzying array of rainbowfish out there & I want one that will be happy in my tank. My pH is 7.0 or a bit under. KH is around 7. GH maybe 8 or 9. My tank is at a pretty steady 70 F with no heater. I do have supplemental DIY CO2. I am hoping this is enough room for small rainbows. I plan to get 6. Here are the ones I am thinking about . . .

Melanotaenia cathrinae - love the colors (size information is unclear to me as I have heard that they max. at 6 cm. or at 10 cm.) water temp would be OK w/ pH a bit low in my tank

M. pygmaea - again they would work but 2nd choice at this point

M. praecox - I really don't like the look of this species but they seem to be well suited for my tank as their behavior is described as shy & they usually don't eat their own fry

Most of my information comes from thatfishplace.com & the rainbowfish place (not sure of name but seems to have tons of info & pics of many many species even those not available in the hobby).

Anyway feel free to make suggestions of other species as I am a total newbie to rainbows. Or maybe my tank isn't suitable for them because I know they need swimming space.

 

[frog girl]

Well that link didn't work to well. What did I do wrong??

 

[sonoma2nv]

next time put www in front

www.photobucket.com/albums/v220/klevering/?action=view&current=7089841a.jpg

 

[RoK]

Hm, you should get a heater and set it between 76-79 IHMO.
Rainbows should be fine in there.

 

[frog girl]

RoK why do you think I need a heater? For a lot of rainbowfish 70 is w/in their normal temperature range. The stuff I have read suggests that for most of them keeping them just a bit cool is better anyway.

Thanks sonoma I just missed that

 

[czcz]

Your tank is even nicer than I imagined FWIW, my otos and kuhlis are at 74-76F (also equipment/light, heater usually unplugged). I sometimes wish I could go to your temps. Have you considered Hillstream loach? It might love the high oxygen, cool enviornment.

 

[Guest]

are rainbows agressive and will they fit in a 29 gal?

 

[RoK]

to frog girl: Unless you are getting Praecox rainbows or Axelrodis, most others would prefer a temp of at least 73F.
to Rudy: Rainbows aren't aggressive IME but as for tank size it depends on which rainbows. Austrailian rainbows prefer larger tanks, they are very active and should be given more room.

 

[Guest]

to RoK: well any type of rainbow like the prettiest one IYO i want one that is compatiable and non agressive if they arent agressive thats good

 

[An t-iasg]

You may have already seen this site: http://watershed3.tripod.com/rainbows.html

It has many rainbowfish species and their pH and temperature requirements. I'm thinking about starting a tank with the Pseudomugil gertrudae species. They are not pictured on the link, but they are neat looking.

 

[frog girl]

Thanks czcz . I wish I had room to do a sump like you have. I think the hillstream loaches would be too big in my tank. I sort of like to have it heavily planted with not too many fish. I also want to get a number of khulis (6 probably) so they will be happy & active & I can watch them a bit.

RoK - So I should not choose one from Australia probably because they need more room. Well I may end up with Praecox because I don't think I can do any more changes for a while (my SO gets sort of annoyed when I spend too much time on the tank & with all the rearranging that has been a lot lately). Anyway I am getting rainbows because they are supposed to be really interesting behaviorally not just for their looks. I will have to look at the size of Axelrodis. Just out of curiosity which rainbows do you think are the most fun to watch behaviorally?? Maybe in the future I will be able to get a different tank & it would be good to know. Or are they all fairly equivalent??

Rudy - My favorite looking rainbowfish is the one madrasfish has on his icon. Soo beautiful you would swear it is retouched. I am blanking on the name for some reason.

Thanks for the input everyone. Hoping for more . . . (just greedy I guess)

 

[An t-iasg]

I think (not totally sure ) that madasafish's avatar is the Boesemani rainbowfish.

 

[RoK]

To Rudy: A boesemani or turquoise rainbow should do fine in your tank. All rainbows are peaceful, at least according to liveaquaria.com.
I also think the one in madasafish's avatar is a boesemani.

frog girl: The Australians need a tank that's long so they have swimming space. I'd say as long as it's at least 40 gal and long enough it would work.
All the rainbows you said you want besides the praecox need a temp of at least 76F. They would probably do fine in that size tank you just need the higher temp.
My rainbows are Australian and I like the Austalian's the most, in case you care.

 

[Guest]

are those too big for a 29 gal? :to RoK

 

[frog girl]

Thanks An t-iasg. I had seen the link but I looked again anyway. They do have good info. I am not sure why but I don't like the Pseudomugil much. I guess its the funny fins anyway the only one I thought was pretty was P. furcatus.

RoK, I do have over 40 gallons but there is no way to stretch out my hex for swimming space. I thought I had picked rainbows that where compatible with my tank conditions from internet research. I am not really that picky about the species I just want something that will be happy to live in my tank. Do you have specific recomendations (you said Praecox but the site An t-iasg posted said they where supper delicate)?? Maybe I can get Australian rainbows later if I get a longer tank (I do appreciate your opinion). Do you think I should give up on the rainbow idea? I will think about the heater situation. I may be able to improvise.

Bosemanni is my favorite in terms of looks but they get pretty big. If I have six 5 inchers it may be a bit much for my bioload. I like to keep it light (with a lot more plants than fish).

 

[Blucat]

How many bosemanni/turquoise rainbow fish can i fit?
24g:
lightly planted
2 male dwarf gouramis
1 female betta 1 female molly
1 fake rock

In my area there is an unpolluted spring that hosts the largest, healthiest population of rainbowfish available in Brisbane (one of the capital cities of aus).

 

[frog girl]

You are lucky blucat. I know there are neat native fish in the US but to have rainbowfish in the back yard would be amazing.

Do you know what species lives in the spring??

 

[Blucat]

in this spring there are the australian ones , there are many many different aus species. one type i know they have is the banded rainbowfish. Its really surprising that there is such a large population in a city.

 

[RoK]

are those too big for a 29 gal? :to RoK

I knew that it is a 29 gal and that's why I recommended those rainbows (the turquoise and boesemani), so yes.
Unless you were talking about the Austrailians?

Do you have specific recomendations (you said Praecox but the site An t-iasg posted said they where supper delicate)?? Maybe I can get Australian rainbows later if I get a longer tank (I do appreciate your opinion). Do you think I should give up on the rainbow idea? I will think about the heater situation. I may be able to improvise.

Bosemanni is my favorite in terms of looks but they get pretty big. If I have six 5 inchers it may be a bit much for my bioload. I like to keep it light (with a lot more plants than fish).

On that site you're talking about, for the Praecox actually says they should have 25-27C water which is 77-nearly 81F. The ones you can keep in your tank would have to say a minimum of 20C to do well in 70F. A heater set to 75-79 will allow much more of a variety. I think the Australians should do fine as long as you get a heater and put it in the temp range I suggested.
Boesemani's only get to about 2 inches which isn't large at all. You must have thought that site says 6 inches but it actually says 6 cm which is a big difference. You could get 3-6 of them in your tank IMO.

How many bosemanni/turquoise rainbow fish can i fit?
24g:
lightly planted
2 male dwarf gouramis
1 female betta 1 female molly
1 fake rock

I'd say 3 or 4 of either the boesemani or turquoise. Although, I have no experience with them and don't too know much about them, sorry.

 

[Blucat]

One day i will catch some australian rainbowfish, then take some pictures and then release them back. Then i wi ll post the pics..... one day