Any fish to go with tetras?

[rasboravalarie]

Hey every one! I really want some new fish. I have 1 harlequin, 2 cardinal tetras, 2 neon tetras.
I'd love to have some new fish, but what kind??? help me! I'm interested in Honey gouramis. My tank is only 10 galllons, and my current fish can apparantly grown to 1". Any suggestions? I love colorful, exotic fish!

 

[unwritten law]

a honey gourami would work or any dwarf gourami. Those are the only ones I can recommend right now because most small fish like your tetras, that can fit in a 10 should be in larger groups. I have luck with my betta and rasboras.

 

[Moshi-Cat]

Don't harlequins like to be in groups? Harlequin rabosas, right? You should get more of those. The neons and cardinals also like to be in groups but I've heard that they sometimes school with each other so those might be ok.

 

[RexyTexel]

Like the others I suggest purchasing more neons or cardinals. Moshi-Cat you were correct. They will school with other sometimes. My grandmother used to have a mix of them and they all stayed together.

For a while I had neon tetras with my betta. Males can be pretty good tankmates as long as the other fish are rather calm and not nippy.

 

[MissFishy]

Unfortunately, your 10 gallon tank is almost fully stocked with incomplete groups of schooling fish. If you want to do the right thing, you should buy a few more of your current types to complete these schools so the fish are happy. Your tank is too small for a gourami. You *might be able to consider adding a female betta, but make sure the tank is well covered as they like to jump and that you have the right kind of food for her.

Also, make sure you know what a cycled tank is, otherwise you'll just be killing off any fish you add. Take a read through the link in my signature if you don't know what cycling is.

 

[ValRasbora]

Hey everyone,
I COMPLETELY forgot my password, and so I just made a new account!
I am "rasboraval" only under a different name.

I think that I will buy
1 cardinal tetra
1 neon tetra
1 harlequin rasbora
& 1 dwarf gournami, or honey gournami!

What do the experts think?

 

[unwritten law]

You really should have stuck with one kind of schooling fish, plus the gourami.

 

[DesignsOnYou]

I agree. You have 3 different types of schooling fish, but not enough of any 1 kind for them to comfortably school. I would agree that you should pick one type of school and one "centerpiece" fish. Schooling fish that don't have enough to school just look kind of sad.

 

[ValRasbora]

I think 3 neons, then, and 1 dwarf/honey gournami.
You guys have been SOO helpful!
One more question:
About 3 or 4 days ago, one of my neons was all swollen up (only in her belly.. was it eggs?), and was swimming with her head pointed down and her tail in the air. She chased off all the other fish, especially the other neon & the 2 cardinals. She shrank down the next day, so I forgot about it. This happened one other time, but that time she wasn't swimming weird.

 

[unwritten law]

maybe she ate too much.... haha

 

[MissFishy]

Humans tend to overfeed our fish. In the wild, fish might not eat a full meal everyday so instinct tells them to eat as much as they can while they can get it, they'll just gorge on any food you put in front of them. Remember while feeding that their stomachs are the size of pins, only put in enough food so that it is gone within 2 minutes max, none should be floating around the tank. I also only feed every other day to every 3 days.

 

[mini 77]

Yea any gournami's are normally very pieceful, i have had 2 pearls and 2 kissing still got the kissing now and they are lovely fish. They will look good with small fish!

 

[DesignsOnYou]

The tank is a 10 gallon, which means it's probably too small for anything but the dwarf gourami.

 

[ValRasbora]

--

You're right, the tank is so small, it's hardly big enough for anything else exotic... I LOVE gournamis!

 

[ValRasbora]

MIssFishy,
You're so right! I thought I was giving my fish just enough, then realized they wher puny, so I got my fish net and scooped out most of the food.

 

[jo3olous]

Hey everyone,
I COMPLETELY forgot my password, and so I just made a new account!
I am "rasboraval" only under a different name.

I think that I will buy
1 cardinal tetra
1 neon tetra
1 harlequin rasbora
& 1 dwarf gournami, or honey gournami!

What do the experts think?

i don't think you should buy anything else for now.

I think you should reconsider what you have in the tank. Get rid of all but one type of schooling fish, and get 4-5 of those. Then you can add a gourami to the mix. You should not be trying to have multiple schools of fish your tank is too small. Also, a PAIR of fish is NOT a school. School = 4-8-15, not 2.

I don't even really promote the gourami, but if you MUST have a centerpiece fish I guess that works.

IDEALLY, you should do 4-5 of ONE schooling type fish, and 2-3 corys or ottos for your bottom feeders. It's not good to have too many fish that occupy the same area. Currently, all the fish you have and plan to get like the mid-top parts of the tank, they will be crowding each other causing stress, possible fin nipping, and other poor behaviors.

 

[ValRasbora]

The reason I have so many random schooling fish is because:
I had about 6 neon tetras, they all died.
My dad bought me cardinal tetras, thinking they where the same as I had.
I had 3 harlequin rasboras, just to try em' out, 1 leapt out of the tank, and one died.
That's why there are SO many different kinds of fish! I originally was going to stick to neons, and wait for the harlequin to.. well.. die... But he's a survivor, and he schools just fine with my other fish! And I, personally think it's rude to give away my dad's present! I Honestly think my fish are doing fine in a mixed school.
Also, I had an otto (I probably miss-spelled it ) and it died. I bought another, it died. I figure bottom feeders ain't my kind of fish.
Thanks for the advice, though.

 

[jo3olous]

The reason I have so many random schooling fish is because:
I had about 6 neon tetras, they all died.
My dad bought me cardinal tetras, thinking they where the same as I had.
I had 3 harlequin rasboras, just to try em' out, 1 leapt out of the tank, and one died.
That's why there are SO many different kinds of fish! I originally was going to stick to neons, and wait for the harlequin to.. well.. die... But he's a survivor, and he schools just fine with my other fish! And I, personally think it's rude to give away my dad's present! I Honestly think my fish are doing fine in a mixed school.
Also, I had an otto (I probably miss-spelled it ) and it died. I bought another, it died. I figure bottom feeders ain't my kind of fish.
Thanks for the advice, though.

Well do you at least understand why your fish are dieing? Because they will keep dieing and may turn what should be easy, fun fishkeeping into a nuisance for you, and a waste of money.

Fish leap out of the tank for many reasons: stress = feeling cramped, water conditions are poor, etc.

How have your fish died in the past?

Ottos will die if they have nothing to eat. Typically they eat algae but if there is no algae growing in the tank then you need to supplement them with algae wafers. Ottos also do better in groups, not just 1.

I know it's rude to return gifts but it's also stupid to keep a mix of fish that won't do well/die anyway. Better to exchange for other fish/store credit than to just have dead fish.

If you're not going to make useful decisions for your hobby then why bother posting.

 

[ValRasbora]

OOOH man, MY otto had TONS to eat... was he overfed??? Probably not... hahah whatever.

 

[ValRasbora]

I'm not sure about gourmamis... I went to a pet shop the other day, just to see if they had gouramis (dwarf ones, of course!) and had none. I didn't bother asking, though. I sick of Tetras +1 harlequin rasbora. I desperately need some variety and life in my tank! I want something available, easy to keep, beautiful, and not too big and not too small... Like, about 2", as a centerpiece fish. I'd love something with vibrant, bright, exotic colors, THAT IS NOT A TETRA! Something that's unique...
Oh, ya, thaks for all the advice from my previous Questions, y'all