rainbow fish

[nitrous]

do rainbow fish school?
for my tank im going to have
5 cories
5 tetras
1 cae
3 loaches
pleco/s
snails
shrimp
2 rainbow sharks
1 bala which i have now
4 rainbow fish

could i take out the 5 tetras and keep the 1 i have now and get 2/3 more rainbow fish instead of the 5 tetras?

if i was to do that would i be at max fish load for a 55 gallon tank

[Blazeherd2306]

Rainbows school, but I would get five instead of four.

[nitrous]

is it true that the males have more red in them and are more colorful at adult
also instead of the 5 tetras and 5 rainbows can i get maybe 7 rainbows or 5 rainbows and 5 rams?

[Blazeherd2306]

Have you added any fish yet? I'd say just 7 rainbows total and no tetras or rams. Also, snails and plecos don't mix too well.

Here is what I would do:

6 rainbows
1 CAE or one small-med sized pleco
3 yoyo loaches (or other small loaches) or 6 cories
3 bolivian rams (german blues if you're willing to take proper care for them)
1 rainbow shark (not enough room for two-they would fight)
1 bala shark

That would be a well stocked 55 gal.

[nitrous]

right now in there is 4 cories and 2 rainbows and i want to add 4 more like you said and i have 1 cae now that i want to put in there because my whole 15 gallon is going into the 55 so them im going to get 3 loaches, a small pleco, and maybe some rams or more rainbows along with the 1 tetra i have now and the 1 bala

[Andos99]

What kind of rainbows are we talking here. Some school and some don't. Some can get fairly big and some don't. Have you considered narrowing down a species? I've kept all kinds of rainbows and may be able to give you more info depending on what kind you want to get.

[nitrous]

i am kinda going by what is in the lfs, i have 2 australian rainbows now but im going to see what other lfs have

[Apocalypse_Gold]

I'm partial to the neon (praecox) rainbows. They stay small (max 3 in.). I've toyed with the idea of a school of praecox rainbows and a school of columbian tetras which have the same color scheme.

[Andos99]

Australian's and Boesemani's don't really school much once they become comfortable and confident in their new home. The smaller ones (praecox) tend to school better if that is what you are into. The males are much more colorful, and they do become much more brilliant and beautiful with age. The australians grow fairly slow, but can get pretty big. I have a 3 year old male who is a little over 5 inches. As with all rainbows.....they need very clean water!!!

[nitrous]

well thats good i got a better filter than, i was going to get a regular hob filter but i got a nice canister filter which will contribute to healthier water, so since they get so big ill opt for 5 rainbows

[Mazdaman]

yes males tend to show more color but get larger aswell. especially the boesmans. I wouldn't say they school but more shoal together. The celebs are quite small, plenty of bright colors and do school closer than others I've seenm.

[nitrous]

now my 1 male makes the female hide in the corner for some reason.

[RoK]

Hm, my australian rainbows generally stick together.

[nitrous]

i think they are getting used to each other now and are swimming with each other like my cories