# Fish for the new aquarium????



## Ivyrose (Aug 9, 2011)

I've been looking at fish for when I finally get my planted tank (have had problems) ready for fish and I was looking at neon tetras and also I saw some pot bellied mollies which I thought were very unusual. Would these fish be OK together the mollies looked as though they had big mouths and I wouldn't want anyone to end up as lunch?

Thanks.


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## TAB (Feb 7, 2009)

mollys are not true freshwater fish, they need a little bit of salt, they also tend to nibble on plants.


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## Michael (Jul 20, 2010)

The two species are not a good match. Neons like soft, acidic water, and mollies like hard, alkaline water. It could be done, but one or the other is likely to suffer.


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## Ivyrose (Aug 9, 2011)

Thanks for clearing that up. Does anyone have any suggestions for a bigger fish that would fit in with the neons? I've seen the male Beta fish (a single one) in some aquariums with other fish and I think they look lovely but since they seem to be aggressive I don't know if I would want to try it.


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## asukawashere (Mar 11, 2009)

Actually, mollies are a euryhaline species - they can tolerate a wide range of salinity levels, ranging from fully marine to fully freshwater. The trouble with pure freshwater is that mollies are extremely sensitive to nitrites - and the addition of salt to the water drastically reduces the toxicity of nitrite (and thus makes it easier to keep them happy) - hence the "mollies require salt" myth. What they do need is at least a moderate level of hardness in their water. For that reason, they're not a good choice for a tank filled with plants and tetras, both of which generally like water on the soft side.

That aside, what size is this tank, and what do you consider to be a "bigger" fish? Some choices you may want to consider with similar water needs are gouramis (the dwarf ones are particularly striking, but pearls are also nice), dwarf cichlids (i.e. kribs, rams, or apistos), or even a shoal of larger tetras - a half dozen (or more) bleeding hearts or something along those lines would look nice.  A group of small, peaceful loaches - sidthimunki are fun little guys if you have the budget for them, or something like kuhlis if you don't - would also be an option.


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## Ivyrose (Aug 9, 2011)

It's a 55 gallon tank. I just liked the Molllies because they looked a bit exotic and I thought they would be a contrast to the Tetras. I did look at the dwarf gouramis and the cichlids but I've heard they can be aggressive so I discounted them the same with Angel fish which I think are lovely but everyone says are anything but little angels. I did see the bleeding heart Tetras and I did like them,I'm trying to get advice here because I think the people in the local fish store are not always up front about what goes with what.

Thanks for the suggestions.


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## asukawashere (Mar 11, 2009)

Angels are jerks. The biggest problem with them, though, is that they get big enough to down little fish like neons in one bite. And they like to ambush their prey in the evening, when the neons start to settle down for the night. 

Dwarf cichlids, on the other hand, are much smaller than angels, and tend to occupy the bottom level of the tank, so conflicts with the middle-dwelling tetras are far less likely. As for the gouramis, a dwarf gourami is too small to do much damage to a tetra (not to mention they're far less agile). Most of their aggression is limited to others of their own kind (or other anabantids such as bettas and paradise fish).

I like mollies; they're really cool fish, but I have to confess I haven't the foggiest clue as to what you mean by them looking "exotic" - they're native to the U.S.  I brought my tankful of them back home from a vacation in Florida


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## Michael (Jul 20, 2010)

Among gouramis, one of the larger but very peaceful species is the pearl gourami. Mine don't even chase the red cherry shrimp.


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## Ivyrose (Aug 9, 2011)

asukawashere said:


> Angels are jerks. The biggest problem with them, though, is that they get big enough to down little fish like neons in one bite. And they like to ambush their prey in the evening, when the neons start to settle down for the night.
> 
> Dwarf cichlids, on the other hand, are much smaller than angels, and tend to occupy the bottom level of the tank, so conflicts with the middle-dwelling tetras are far less likely. As for the gouramis, a dwarf gourami is too small to do much damage to a tetra (not to mention they're far less agile). Most of their aggression is limited to others of their own kind (or other anabantids such as bettas and paradise fish).
> 
> I like mollies; they're really cool fish, but I have to confess I haven't the foggiest clue as to what you mean by them looking "exotic" - they're native to the U.S.  I brought my tankful of them back home from a vacation in Florida


It was the potbelly mollies I liked, I've never seen them before and I thought they would look really nice with the tetras. You've endorsed everything I've heard about the Angelfish although they do look lovely I think maybe they need to be the only fish in the tank. I've looked at dwarf gouramis and they are nice fish but what do you mean about their aggression? How bad is their aggression towards each other?

Thanks for your help.


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## Ivyrose (Aug 9, 2011)

Michael said:


> Among gouramis, one of the larger but very peaceful species is the pearl gourami. Mine don't even chase the red cherry shrimp.


I don't think I've ever seen pearl gouramis can you put them in with the dwarf gouramis and tetras? I was thinking of getting a shrimp but from what you say they sound as though they are the victims sometimes. Do they tend to uproot the plants?


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## Michael (Jul 20, 2010)

I don't know about pearl with dwarf gouramis, but I think the pearl gouramis would be fine with neons and other small tetras. Mine share a tank with silver tip tetras.

Baby shrimp are small, and likely to be eaten by all but the smallest fish. Adults are large and fast enough to avoid small and medium sized fish. Fish and shrimp are likely to be successful together long term only if the tank is densely planted, and if the shrimp are put in first and allowed to establish a breeding colony before many fish are introduced.

The common species of shrimp are completely harmless to plants.


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## Ivyrose (Aug 9, 2011)

If I went with dwarf gouramis how many do you think I should put in there and I noticed in the fish store they have some labelled male or female which would you get?

I'm assuming from what you say that just one shrimp would not be a good idea.


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## Michael (Jul 20, 2010)

One of the best places to learn about fish is Seriously Fish at http://www.seriouslyfish.com/news.php.

You can do a search for any species you are interested in. The comments on dwarf gouramis are something you should definitely read.

You would never even see one shrimp in a 55 gal tank. A tank that size could easily support 100+.


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## Ivyrose (Aug 9, 2011)

Thanks for the link I'll read up on dwarf gouramis. Obviously I don't know how big the shrimp you mention are, I used to have a wood shrimp which was quite a good size and I thought the red ones were about the same. They must be really small.


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## Michael (Jul 20, 2010)

Maximum size for a red cherry shrimp is 1.25" for a very mature female. You will rarely see one that large.


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## dclangford3 (Jun 1, 2011)

Dwarf cichlids would be a good choice for this setup as well. Most apistos and all rams get along just fine with smaller fish. The only times they get somewhat aggressive is with each other over territory or when they breed, and even then all they do is chase any fish that gets too close to their fry. Apistogramma Cacatuoides and Bolivian Rams are excellent choices for someone new to dwarf cichlids.


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## ddavila06 (Jan 31, 2009)

dclangford3 said:


> Dwarf cichlids would be a good choice for this setup as well. Most apistos and all rams get along just fine with smaller fish. The only times they get somewhat aggressive is with each other over territory or when they breed, and even then all they do is chase any fish that gets too close to their fry. Apistogramma Cacatuoides and Bolivian Rams are excellent choices for someone new to dwarf cichlids.


very good response AND these fish come from same region (south americas) and have similar water conditions and stuff so it would be nice to have them together.

i never had A SINGLE ISSUE with my angels.. they wont eat your neons IMO. especially if you get them young and grow them together and feed well. 
other tetras would do good in a tank that size, endless choices! :fish2:


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## Ivyrose (Aug 9, 2011)

I got one dwarf gourami, some neon tetras and some bleeding heart tetras. After reading about gouramis I was afraid to put more than one male in the same tank and females seem to be hard to find. I would like to have had more gouramis, I really like the different colors. Would dward cichlids fit into this?


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## dclangford3 (Jun 1, 2011)

Possibly, but I wouldn't mix gouramis and dwarf cichlids. One reason I say this is you might have some territorial issues which can get nippy, especially with apistos. They wouldn't bother the tetras, but they might get on each others nerves. Dwarf cichlids do best if they are the largest species in the tank, at least in my personal experience. If you were going to add a dwarf cichlid species to this setup, the only one I would try would be Bolivian Rams. However, I wouldn't recommend it.


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## Ivyrose (Aug 9, 2011)

Thanks for your advice, I'll stick with the fish I've got for now and I certainly won't try the Cichlids I don't want war breaking out in my fish tank.

Thanks to everyone who has given me advice during the set up of this tank I would really have been lost without all the help I've been given on this forum.


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