Need help choosing 2 more fish for our tanks!

[Lovin Fish]

My son is getting another tank soon...here's the plan:

He wants a bottom dweller also. He loves the spotted sailfin Pleco, but it's my understanding they get too large for this size tank. I was thinking the green darter would be nice; not quite sure on compatibilty yet though. Any suggestions?

My daughter is planning her first tank...here's the plan:

She loves the Golden Dojo Loach, but they get 6" long...too big. She wants another active schooling fish; something colorful or unusual. Any ideas?

Thanks guys! I love getting your suggestions! We have discovered some amazing fish through your suggestions! Such as the Dwarf Neon Rainbow and the Green Darter!

 

[Scouser]

I notice the bettas, they can make or break the tank really.

If they are aggressive then I wouldn't say keeping tanks mates is wise.

 

[blert]

Bettas will get along fine with the Cories, unless your Betta is a big jerk. I don't see why a Betta and Praecox can't get along, given a big enough tank. Praecox are peaceful and super fast. But, whenever you keep a Betta in a community tank you need to keep an eye on them because, as you know, Bettas can be mean. It all really depends on the Betta.

 

[Lovin Fish]

Thank you guys!
We tried the female betta in my community tank and she is doing amazing! She loves swimming about with all the other fish. Acts as though she is one of them. And my Male Kribensis and her are the best of pals. Looks as though he thinks she is "mate" material. She is purple afterall LOL!
I have one of the male crowntails in another community tank and at first he chased after some of the other fish, but it didn't last long. I am assuming because he was too tired...he chased and chased but could never get closer than an inch away. After a couple minutes he peacefully went about his business and is doing just that. Minding his own business. Actually, a Corydora (baby) was swimming up and down the side of the tank passing only a hair away from Mr. Betta and Betta didn't care at all. Then later I noticed the school of Glowlights swimming with the betta. So! So far so good!

I did a lot of reading and found that each betta can be remarkeably different being that one can never be calm in a community tank while others fit right in. I am glad that so far, with the first two, I am one of the lucky ones. As long as I don't have any other fish that resemble a betta, and are not too slow moving, all will be fine

 

[BHead707]

odessa barbs are beautiful but they prefer alot lower temps that what your other fish will want. around 68-73 where as rainbows prefer 73-82 as well as bettas prefer the higher temps..

they would probably be fine but just letting you know

 

[siva]

I think the cories selected are a bit large for the tank. Cories are very active catfish and the footprint of the tank is fairly small, so picking a smaller species like panda's would be best. They will also do better if you go with one, or maybe even two species, and get a proper shoal of 4-6, versus 1 or 2 of several different kinds. Many times different species of cories do not shoal together.

 

[rreekers]

Bristle/Bushy Nose plecos are very cool and they stay small

as for a schooling fish, neon tetras are great. there are black and albino (not sure of actual name)

 

[siva]

Neon tetras are also sold in a gold variant. Black neons are a different species of fish though.

 

[Lovin Fish]

odessa barbs are beautiful but they prefer alot lower temps that what your other fish will want. around 68-73 where as rainbows prefer 73-82 as well as bettas prefer the higher temps..

they would probably be fine but just letting you know

Oh your right! I knew that but forgot...DANG! Do you know of a similar looking fish to replace the Odessa? My son was set on that fish...oops! My fault totally! I'm the one that said "Hey! This fish would look great!". And when I plugged it into Aqadvisor, it didn't prompt me that there was a temp difference...usually the site does.

Thank you for pointing that out!

 

[Lovin Fish]

Neon tetras are also sold in a gold variant. Black neons are a different species of fish though.

He looked at the neons, but didn't like their size. He wants something at least 2" in length.
Do black neons get bigger since they are a different species??? That'd be sweet!Thank you!

 

[Lovin Fish]

Bristle/Bushy Nose plecos are very cool and they stay small

as for a schooling fish, neon tetras are great. there are black and albino (not sure of actual name)

LOL! I showed him the bristle nose pleco and he shivered and said it would give him nthe creeps... (He's 10) Is the bushy nose the same thing? Are there other small varieties?

Thanks!

 

[Koikid88]

Male bristlenose are usually sold as bushy nose, it's the same thing, just m/f.
If your son wanted a spotted pleco, why not a spotted bristlenose pleco? Looks pretty similar but stays under 5".
I'd go with Cardinals if you're getting a school of tetra. They can be mixed with glowlights and all the neons. I think only jumbo neons get to around 2"?.
I'm too tired to think of any ideas for a compatible 2" schooling fish lol I'll check back tomorrow. Just make sure they won't pester the betta or nip at him. The common misconception is they are the bully, when a lot of the time in an unsuitable set up, they are the ones being stressed.
If you have problems with a betta, you could try GBR or bolivian rams instead?

 

[CMN]

My son is getting another tank soon...here's the plan:

He wants a bottom dweller also. He loves the spotted sailfin Pleco, but it's my understanding they get too large for this size tank. I was thinking the green darter would be nice; not quite sure on compatibilty yet though. Any suggestions?

My daughter is planning her first tank...here's the plan:

She loves the Golden Dojo Loach, but they get 6" long...too big. She wants another active schooling fish; something colorful or unusual. Any ideas?

Thanks guys! I love getting your suggestions! We have discovered some amazing fish through your suggestions! Such as the Dwarf Neon Rainbow and the Green Darter!

You could get a salt and pepper or albino catfish they don't get that big but they have a big personality. Also I have never had mollies mixed with a beta, don't know if that would even work but they are very pretty and hardy fish. They are very personable and a fun kind of fish all around. Ik the water temp of the betta is around the same as mollies so that is a match. On mollies behavior they are not at all aggressive and I have 41of them! They get to be around 2".

 

[rreekers]

You could get a salt and pepper or albino catfish they don't get that big but they have a big personality. Also I have never had mollies mixed with a beta, don't know if that would even work but they are very pretty and hardy fish. They are very personable and a fun kind of fish all around. Ik the water temp of the betta is around the same as mollies so that is a match. On mollies behavior they are not at all aggressive and I have 41of them! They get to be around 2".

the size of mollies variety a lot depending on type because mine were 4 inches... and I was at my lfs today and there were 4 there that were between 5-6 inches

 

[Lovin Fish]

Male bristlenose are usually sold as bushy nose, it's the same thing, just m/f.
If your son wanted a spotted pleco, why not a spotted bristlenose pleco? Looks pretty similar but stays under 5".
I'd go with Cardinals if you're getting a school of tetra. They can be mixed with glowlights and all the neons. I think only jumbo neons get to around 2"?.
I'm too tired to think of any ideas for a compatible 2" schooling fish lol I'll check back tomorrow. Just make sure they won't pester the betta or nip at him. The common misconception is they are the bully, when a lot of the time in an unsuitable set up, they are the ones being stressed.
If you have problems with a betta, you could try GBR or bolivian rams instead?

I have read that alot about bettas having a bad rap when in fact they shouldn't be housed in a community tank for their own protection...so far so good with the choices we've made thus far. We have glowlight tetras and corydoras with my daughter's betta. The corydoras get kinda pushy at times when the betta is resting (as bettas love to do) but he just moves elsewhere. Sometimes he will search the corydoras out and hang with them for awhile until they get too rambunctious then he heads back to the top. Pretty funny really.

I will show him the spotted bristlenose and hopefully he loves it! This has been hard work. My arms are swore from searching fish out on the computer for days and days now LOL!
Jumbo Neons? I'm going to look them up right now! Awe...darn. This is what I found about them: QOUTE: Jumbo neons are just older neons. The problem with them being old and big is you don't know how much of their life span is still left. :QOUTE
Neither of the kids like Cardinal Tetras. Boy! This is soooo hard! At least they know what they don't like.
What about Pristella Tetra? Are they fin nippers? My son saw them at the LFS today and loved them. I don't think they school nicely like he wants though. Hmmmmmmm.

Hey I appreciate you taking the time to help us on this! The schooler can be between 2" and 3".

 

[Lovin Fish]

You could get a salt and pepper or albino catfish they don't get that big but they have a big personality. Also I have never had mollies mixed with a beta, don't know if that would even work but they are very pretty and hardy fish. They are very personable and a fun kind of fish all around. Ik the water temp of the betta is around the same as mollies so that is a match. On mollies behavior they are not at all aggressive and I have 41of them! They get to be around 2".

Is the Salt and Pepper catfish a Corydoras? I looked it up and that's what came up. Super cute! But, my daughter has corydoras in my tank and the kids want completely different species from eachother (except for the bettas of course) so that we have lots of different types of fish to enjoy. Good thinking I say! I also have Kuhli Loaches in my tank, so those are out.

Thanks to your suggestions, I found something really cute! Are any of you familiar with this little guy; Perugia's Woodcat Tatia perugiae.

Mollies do best in brackish water (at least that is what I have read repeatedly) so I told him no Mollies. Actually, they were his first choice. He is crazy for Mollies. Especially the dalmation and the black ones. Most the fish he is attracted to turn out to be brackish water fish. But, we already have the Betta so we have to do freshwater. I won't take him to the LFS so he can be put back into a tiny little box.

Thank you for your suggestions! It really helps me find new ideas!

 

[Lovin Fish]

the size of mollies variety a lot depending on type because mine were 4 inches... and I was at my lfs today and there were 4 there that were between 5-6 inches

Yes, the mollies at our LFS range between 2-6". Babies to adults...