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Kattastorphy

Aquarium Advice Apprentice
Joined
Mar 7, 2013
Messages
23
I have a 65 gallon tank. I have 5 Cory cats. One spotted baby pleco. 6 baby hatchet fish. I need something big, beautiful for the middle of my tank. Cory cats are fun and active to watch as my bottom dwellers. The hatchetfish are shiny and interesting for my top dwellers. The middle of my tank is empty. I want something to fill the middle of my tank. I am also in the middle of growing out my live plants. Any suggestions on a group of fish would be great an helpful. Please help. ImageUploadedByAquarium Advice1416932990.257880.jpg


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A- that driftwood is sick!! B- Get some angel fish

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It has always been that way since I bought it new. I was thinking about angelfish but they are so common everyone seems to have them. Was thinking maybe discus but they are so expensive.


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Discus prefer a 4' tank i believe.. gourami? They're kind of common to i suppose.

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gourami's don't really get that big and I've had one that was bigger(don't remember name) it was aggressive. Plus they aren't that colorful.


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A big shoal of small size tetra. Perfect alongside Cory and plecostomus.

My biggest single species shoal so far was 20, really it's an incredible sight even with those low numbers. Normally they are 1"-1 1/2" so you can fit lots in.
 
Millennium Rainbowfish Glossolepis pseudoincisus
or Banded Rainbowfish Melanotaenia trifasciata

Stunning fish and if you need, one gorgeous Koi or Red Koi Angel male, so you don't need to get involved with territorial issues (or 3 males) if not going for Rainbows
 
I've always found the turquoise rainbows beautiful, and the variations in color they come on makes each one look unique, from an almost emerald green to deep blues.


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I like the look of the rainbow fish but how would I make sure I had the correct sex so there's one male for every female is what was suggested. I love the tetra idea maybe get some to school together. Do they have to be the same or could I mix and match different tetras together? Maybe get a good few of them and then a main pair of a bigger fish. I like the Koi angel fish but I'd want a pair of them (would be good with the tetra combo I think) if hate to get two and they both turn out to be male or both female.


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You can mix and match small shoals of each species. They should get along fine together. They will mix into a large shoal at times but I think it has less impact.
Most if not all small species of tetra are considered peaceful schooling.

I've only kept 3 species but they seem to have very similar traits. I've witnessed a few more in friends tanks.

I can personally recommend,
Hemigrammus erythrozonus (glowlight) (kept with both species below, no issues)
Gymnocorymbus ternetzi (black) (didn't really co-shoal, really different shape?)
Hyphessobrycon herbertaxelrodi (black neon) (sometimes shoal with glow lights)

Friends tank (kept together)
Hyphessobrycon amandae (ember)
Pristella maxillaris (x ray)
These were kept together, I thought the x ray were really nice. Didn't seem to shoal but they were different sizes and I wasn't always looking!
The embers were nice but really small!
 
What about blue emperor tetra? I had it down on my list of original fish I was going to add.


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On the schools of smaller tetras like the body shape of a Cardinal or Neon, there are many but after awhile there are too many smaller shapes. When this happened in my tank I realized other than the Neon/Cardinals which make a statement no matter what, the other tetras which I like are Glowlight Tetras (not GLO tetras)

I LOVE my male Pearl Gourami. For a single fish very calm and peaceful kind of fish.

Giant Danios are really good movers and show offs for a bunch or action in the tank.

Congo Tetras usually don't usually look great in the lfs but once in a stable community tank can be stunning.

If you want a pair of angels for breeding then at some point when they are breeding age thy should have a tank built around their needs which are basically not to be bothered by other fish getting near their eggs. They can terrorize an entire tank. My newest 2 which just paired up pretty much kept all the other fish in the far 1/3rd of the 72G tank, and the 2 of them got the 2/3 of the tank, so I just moved them to a "breeding" tank and now all my other fish are SOOOOOOO happy.

My point would be to think through your list for small schooling, medium shoaling and larger fish/ the occasional showpiece like an Angel or 3 males and a Gourami. Upper, upper mid and lower and bottom dwelling fish.

It is your tank and that is the great thing that you can pick what you want. Lots of small schools of the same shape fish tend to distract from the tank.
 
I'll probably get one school of tetra and I don't want to breed any fish but if it happens my best friend owns a pet store who said he'd buy any babies I accidentally have if it ever happens. I just want a good community. I want something kinda large as my focal point. A pair or a single but no more than 4. Just having hard time picking that out. Angelfish are just everywhere which is why I didn't really want them but they are gorgeous. Lol


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Id go with angels. If you want rare then go with Koi Angels or Blue Angels. No one has those and they are very colorful. Cool tank btw.
 
Thank you I guess angels are my best option. Should I go with just one or a few? How are they temper wise to each other?


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A big shoal of small size tetra. Perfect alongside Cory and plecostomus.


Yep, and they and the hatchets all prefer the same water conditions.

I'd do a shoal of 15-20 Cardinals in that tank.

Angels are a nice alternative, but I wouldn't keep more than one pair. If you did an angel or two, go with a larger species tetra, such as Bleeding Heart.


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So blue emperor tetras would be too small for angelfish? I'd rather have those tetras than angelfish. So I still am at a loss for a good size fish to e my center piece for the tank... I wasn't a big fan of angelfish because they are pretty but I just see them in everyone's tank.


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If you'd rather have tetra, get them. You may feel that the shoal itself is the centrepiece, especially once the fish have settled and coloured up. One thing that is certain, tetra are colourful fish.

That's one step toward your goal, then you'll have time to consider the diamond.

A shoal of Hemigrammus rhodostomus, rummy nose, is a show stopper, even in a dealer tank. I've never kept any but they will be kept by me at some point.
There are a few rummy nose tetra with differences mostly in the tail marking I think.
They are a touch longer than cardinal/neon etc, and could quite easily fill both slots of shoal and centre piece.
(That's just what I think though, you may prefer a different colour set)
 
I've already decided on which tetras just need that "diamond" fish. Even with the tetras added all my fish are really small compared to the size of my tank (eventually my pleco won't be lol) so I just want something to be a big beautiful diamond for my center piece.


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Er, wait on the plec!

Mine very quickly grew very big!
(First 15 months)

(Up to 3 years)

Your centrepiece may just need to mature.
 
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