Painted glass fish...any good substitutes?

[DragonChild]

Greetings all.

Today I saw this beautiful fish at the store...glass fish with a neon yellow stripe down it's back.

Unfortunatly, all links I found said that they are un-natural, and that the color is injected into their bodies, and thus, they don't live long, and I find that type of act to be cruel.

Any ideas on a nice substitute though?

 

[webmoose]

How about a Threadfin Rainbow:

http://www.liveaquaria.com/product/prod_Display.cfm?siteid=21&pCatId=1061

 

[DragonChild]

very wierd fish, that's for sure!

I have neon tetras, a red-tailed shark, and some mickey mouse platys in my tank right now, but none are really active. I want something bright and moving for it.

 

[Hypostomus]

Kribensis might fit the bill for you. Very active with wonderful colors. How big is the tank?

http://www.justbajan.com/pets/fish/species/krebensis/kribensis.jpg

 

[webmoose]

I really like my bohemian and praecox rainbows.. they are almost constantly swimming around and look very nice. bohemian is purple front / orange back. and praecox is silver with shinny colors a little bit like neon's only different.

Rainbows color up depending on mood and stuff which makes them interesting as well.

 

[DragonChild]

my tank is a 40 gallon long, with a ship and 3 plants. I'll try to post a pic soon.

 

[Aqua-Zodica]

A pair of Kribensis can be a very active and exciting show, while not harming your ather tank members.

 

[Christmasfish]

You have inactive TETRAS? 8O
What are your water parameters like? Like your tap pH. Every tetra I have is a PITA that goes snoopin where it shouldn't , generally bothers the other tank mates.

 

[Hypostomus]

In a 40g long, a Kribensis pair would be perfect, IMO.

 

[clueless]

If you're tank has enogh space and it's okay to have a big fish- not too big -then you could get a red-line torpedo ( barb). They have two stripes - one yellow- one redish pinkish. They are beautiful fish. The ones my dad has are about 4 inches long. There isn't much info on this fish yet- but they are indeed very pretty!! And colorful

 

[DragonChild]

You have inactive TETRAS? 8O
What are your water parameters like? Like your tap pH. Every tetra I have is a PITA that goes snoopin where it shouldn't , generally bothers the other tank mates.

Um...okay, how do I check the water parameters?

*gryns* Yeah, my tetras just hover behind the sunken ship display. The only time they are active is during feeding time, then they are like little torpedos!

 

[Hypostomus]

You need a liquid test kit, such as the Aquarium Pharmaceutical's Freshwater Master kit. You can get it for $13 at bigalsonline.com or you could try one of the AA sponsors. It's essential, IMO, for maintaining your water quality.

The basic tests you require are Ammonia, Nitrite, and Nitrate tests. Ammonia is the most dangerous waste product produced by your fish, and Nitrite is the second-most. Nitrates only become dangerous for most fish at 40ppm or higher. Your Ammonia and Nitrite should be zero.

For the time being, until you get a kit of your own, take a water sample to a LFS and have them test it for you. Please ask for the exact numerical reading range for each of those parameters and report it here.

Go ahead and get your pH done as well there, if it's possible. Any test kit you buy should have a pH tester included also- AP's has a pH and a high-range pH, which is more useful since most people's tap water is of a high pH.

 

[Devilishturtles]

check the parameters by buying a water test kit. Liquid test kits are reccomended over the test strip varieties, and you can pick one up in any pet store. You need to check ammonia, nitrates, nitrites, hardnress, Ph, etc. Also, what is your temp? Inactiviy is sometimes caused by too low temps also. HTH

 

[Endgame319]

Do you have any fish in there already? If not, then I suggest a Firmouth cichlid. They are beautiful, colorful, and quite peaceful when not breeding. They grow to 6", and try not to put them with any fish smaller than 2". Here's a pic:

http://www.malawicichlidhomepage.com/haps/T_meeki_DP.jpg

 

[DragonChild]

Okay, thanks all. I will check the water tomorrow at the lfs, and report back. The temp is around 75 degrees, the little thermometer thing isn't registering again, so I'm going to pick up another one of those.

Endgame319, you asked if I have any fish already. I have some tetras, a shark and a pleco, as well as some platys.

 

[Ramrebel]

i have 2 mollies in a 20 - would a krib fit? are they regularly avail. at the lfs?

 

[DragonChild]

Okay, back from the lfs. She said that my Nitrates were 80+, and my nitrites weren't registering on their scale, it was so low. She said it would be less than 1. That is the only things they test, so I dunno if that helps any or not.

 

[DragonChild]

*Bump*

Just bumping this up real quick.

 

[krap101]

if suggest Neolamprologus Brichardi. i just decided to put them in the 29 gallon i got yesterday. they wont eat their young/eggs unless they feel the tank is too small. if their having more babies and theres not enough room theyll eat the babies until theres enough room. talk about responsible parents. here you can sell the babies for about 6.50$ a piece and they cost 12.99.

dunno if this helps but their a really colorful fish.

check endgames gallery. its the blackish fish with the neon blue in the edges of the fins

 

[Hypostomus]

80+ Nitrates would probably be your problem. You need them to be less than 30/40 (depending on the sensitivity of the fish) and ideally 20 or below. Even on my overstocked tanks it doesn't go higher than 15.

However, 80+ seems abnormally high. My suggestion is that you do some partial water changes over a few days and vacuum your gravel thoroughly, and look into getting the liquid test kit I mentioned. I am suspicious of the pet store's results, and they didn't give you the most important one (Ammonia).