Swany

so i know that tetras need to be put into groups of 6 or more, that i know but my question is that i want to get 3 different kinds of tetras; the neon tetras, the blood fin tetras, and the silver tipped tetras. so do i have to have 6 of each species or will i b ok getting only 4 of each breed? i will be getting a 33 gallon long tank this weekend and im planning on putting in tetras, mollies, guppys and gourami. any advice is helpful because all i know about are mollies. thanks
-swany

KittieKat

u can get away with 4 but they may end up being alittle nippy and not school well... they might actually end up hiding a lot because they dont have the "safety in numbers" thing goin on..

however if u get neons, glowlites, black, and/or Kerri (blue) tetras they school all together regardless.. i know from experience... it also makes for a rather colorful tank.. plus theyre small so u can have more of them

Swany

o ok well cool, so if i wanted a little of all four of those i could do that? and also if i can do that how many of each should i get?
-swany

KittieKat

i would go for 4 of each type... the likelyhood of u finding Kerri tetras isnt very large so if u just got 4 of the neons, black, and glowlites u should still have a beautiful rainbow.. each fish counts as 1.5" of the bioload so if u got all 12 of them it would count as 18 of your fish inches. that still leaves u with about 15" of room.. you could try 3 of each, they still should be okay if you wanted more room for other types of fish but i will always recommend more fish to a school rather than fewer.

if u decide against one of the 3 you could still do the 4 of each and only use 12" of ur space in the tank... either way u choose it should be neat.

i also recommend a bottomfeeder over ur mollies.. they would clean up the bottom in case u overfed and dont require salt... when fish dont need salt, dont add it.. mollies are one of the fish that thrive with salt in their water (of course being a little sea salt not aquarium salt) while just about anything else doesnt.

if u wanted mollies i would say to just get them and then other brackish water fish... such as bumblebee gobies (get to about 1") and flounders (flat onesided fish) etc.. Mollies constantly pick at gouramis.. apparently snacking on their slime coating just so u know..

otherwise just scratch the mollies and go for something else.. (assuming i remember correctly) i know u were interested in Kuhli loaches.. they would be great with this combo of fish. they stay about 3" and like to be in groups but u can get away with a group of 3 and they dont add too much to the bioload. they dont create a lot of waste like goldfish or oscars..

i do also recommend snails... if u did get mollies and did add salt to ur water dont get snails. snails and salt dont play nice. snails are a great addition, eat algae, great cleanup crew, and are fasinating to watch when they suck to the front glass.. lol plus there are all different types and colors.

ghost shrimp also a good choice. they dont add to the bioload yet clean up any extra food on the bottom.. plus cute to watch! they play nicely with the fish that u plan to get as well. so regardless of what u end up choosing u should still get these guys.. definately if u dont have a bottom feeder!!

Swany

ok so lets say you were stocking this tank, what would you put in it, right now i am debating between doing the livebearers/bright colors or maybe even the bright chicilis (s/p) i am all excited because i finally get a bigger tank but i dont know what to stock it with. any ideas? i am thinking about taking your idea with the tetras but i was wondering what other options i have. thanks for all your help
-swany