Can I add any other types of tetras w/ neons to form a shoal?

I've got 4 neons, so I was planning on picking up 2-4 more so that they'd be a little happier. I was wondering if I need to stick w/ neons, or if there's another type(s) of tetra I could use to fill out the group? My tanks only 20 gal & I'd like to get some color variation if I could.

Also, would platys or swordtails be good tank mates for these guys? Or perhaps someone has another suggestion? Someone on the forum suggested endlers recently which I liked, but neither of my local tropical fish stores carried them. Really, I'd just like to get the maximum variation in body type/color that I can in the space I've got to work w/. Thanks.

 

To fill out the group you need to stick to neons. They will not school with other types of fish. You can however comfortably fit a few other small fish in a 20 gallon with 6-7 or even a few more neons in there.

 

I think swordtails would be okay in there. You would want to get a combination of 1 male and 2 females. I don't think you can get too much more than that for your tank size, but I could be wrong. Someone with more expertise will be along to help you out, I'm sure.

 

Yeah, I thought I read swordtails produce a lot of waste so I wasn't sure. My concern w/ platys is the water temp, don't they like it a bit colder than 78? I could be wrong though. Mollies were another thought, but I wasn't sure if they got too big or if they were too aggresive. I'm just throwing out common options that I could get easily. If there's anything else that'd work that I'm not aware of I'd appreciate a heads up.

Too bad about the neons. I was hoping I could mix the black or 1 of the other more colorful varieties into the mix w/ out getting 6 of them. Oh, well. Better that I know than just wing it I guess.

After looking around some, it seems some people have had them school w/ glowlights. Am I just grasping at straws here or could I possibly make a mixed group of them?

 

Your grasping straws. Stick to neons. You could have a school of neons and a school of glowlights in the 20.

 

You guys are making me thirsty with all the straws!

 

You guys are making me thirsty with all the straws!

Everyone cover your fish tanks!!!!!

 

Ok, there goes that idea. So I'll get 2 more neons. If I've got a dwarf pleco & a few ghost shrimp, what are some possible tank mates that could offer a good variety of colors and or shapes w/ them? Aside from the endlers that I can't seem to find.

 

A school of harlequin rasboras.

Can I ask you why you want a dwarf pleco?

 

Because sometimes you just want a darn pleco! . They are cute, they are lovable and gosh darnit everyone wants one XD.

Now in a 20gal, you have a few species to pick from. Clown, Candy stripe, zebra, Pitbull(NOT BULLDOG) and a few other more rare species.

You will probably come across bristle nose plecos/albino plecos. This is actually a common name shared by many species of pleco but is commonly applied as a "dwarf pleco" which most species under the term, are not. They require a 29-30gal minimum.

if you have a 20gal with
6 neons
1 dwarf pleco
ghost shrimp

You may or may not be stocked depending on pleco species. If its a clown or a pitbull then a honey gourami may fit in there.

 

Because sometimes you just want a darn pleco! . They are cute, they are lovable and gosh darnit everyone wants one XD.

Now in a 20gal, you have a few species to pick from. Clown, Candy stripe, zebra, Bulldog and a few other more rare species.

You will probably come across bristle nose plecos/albino plecos. This is actually a common name shared by many species of pleco but is commonly applied as a "dwarf pleco" which most species under the term, are not. They require a 29-30gal minimum.

I fall in the category of "Nope, no thanks".

Never been a fan of pleco just a personal preference.

 

Figgured I needed something in there to control algae. One store had a couple albinos they said would stay small, & one they described as a calico? (not sure of spelling, like the cat) That was a light color, & had some interesting patterns on it. At another store they had a small black one w/ yellow spots that they said would max out at 4" or so. Sorry, can't remember all the names that were given.

As to the rasboras, I'd kind of like to stay away from another schooling fish so I can attempt to get a wider variety. I know it might be unrealistic w/ the size of the tank, but I've got a 30 gal filter on there & thought this would be the best place to ask.

Oh geeze, I hope I haven't reached my limit already. I thought neons, as small schooling fish, didn't add as much to the overall bio-lode as some other non schooling fish of equivalent total size?

 

Figgured I needed something in there to control algae. One store had a couple albinos they said would stay small, & one they described as a calico? (not sure of spelling, like the cat) That was a light color, & had some interesting patterns on it. At another store they had a small black one w/ yellow spots that they said would max out at 4" or so. Sorry, can't remember all the names that were given.

As to the rasboras, I'd kind of like to stay away from another schooling fish so I can attempt to get a wider variety. I know it might be unrealistic w/ the size of the tank, but I've got a 30 gal filter on there & thought this would be the best place to ask.

If your 20 gallon tank is long, have you considered perhaps a single Ram? German Blue Ram, Gold Ram, or Electric Blue Ram...I find them extremely colorful instead of getting a dwarf pleco? I would add down the line once your water params are stabilize.

 

Because sometimes you just want a darn pleco! . They are cute, they are lovable and gosh darnit everyone wants one XD.

Now in a 20gal, you have a few species to pick from. Clown, Candy stripe, zebra, Pitbull(NOT BULLDOG) and a few other more rare species.

You will probably come across bristle nose plecos/albino plecos. This is actually a common name shared by many species of pleco but is commonly applied as a "dwarf pleco" which most species under the term, are not. They require a 29-30gal minimum.

if you have a 20gal with
6 neons
1 dwarf pleco
ghost shrimp

You may or may not be stocked depending on pleco species. If its a clown or a pitbull then a honey gourami may fit in there.

Hey, the honey gourami looks nice. Do you keep them individually, pairs, or the 1 male to 2 female ratio? Honestly, I just assumed you needed to have a pleco or something similar in the tank for algae. I got a regular pleco before I realized how big it'd get, so I'm going to bring him into one of the stores to get a little store credit for something else. He's about 4" so he's fine now, but I figgured it'd be better to get him into a more appropriate home sooner rather than later. They're not exactly my favorites to be honest, but my dog likes to try to eat him through the glass & she would be disappointed if I got rid of this one w/out a replacement. lol.

 

Dont listen to them PLECOS ARE AWESOME.

Calico and snow ball plecos are both BN species. For an in depth look at the variety of species see the list here

So long as they stay under 5" you'll be fine, but definitely check up online, don't go just by what the employees say.

 

If your 20 gallon tank is long, have you considered perhaps a single Ram? German Blue Ram, Gold Ram, or Electric Blue Ram...I find them extremely colorful instead of getting a dwarf pleco? I would add down the line once your water params are stabilize.

Yeah someone mentioned a German Blue Ram, but I would wait a few months before attempting to add 1 w/ what I've read about them.

 

No you don't NEED a pleco . There is no guarantee there will be algae anyways. That's not a given.

Honeys are group-able. Unlike many other gourami species. They can be in pairs or harems, normally you want a little bigger tank for more then a pair or 2 males.

 

No you don't NEED a pleco . There is no guarantee there will be algae anyways. That's not a given.

Honeys are group-able. Unlike many other gourami species. They can be in pairs or harems, normally you want a little bigger tank for more then a pair or 2 males.

Well, I may have placed the tank where 1 side gets some sunlight & as it was previously used as a saltwater tank I guess the light also contributes to algae growth. I may be completely off base w/ that last statement, but I thought I heard that was correct anyway. Also, I already have a bag of the algae wafers so a new pleco won't go hungry. Aside from my dog liking the pleco, my wife also seems to like them, so I REALLY don't have a choice in the matter. So 2 of the honey gouramis would be okay? I'll check the store to see if they have them. Thanks for the pleco site, the black & yellow one was in the 1st pic & apparently they stay small enough.

 

Oh, plecos don't eat algae strictly BTW. Both BN and the other species mentioned are omnivores and may very well ignore algae. ...... Catfish pellets, shrimp pellets, algae wafers, fresh veggies and frozen foods are all important with plecos. If you need algae control, get nerite snails and an algae scrubber.

 

My Neighbor has a School of Neons with Mollies,a Cory, A Cichlid, A Costama and a 3 baby Mollies the Mollies and Neons will follow each other around so I am sure Neons can school with other fish

 

nope doesn't work... I tried it when the petsmart lady said I could... n I returned them bec it was clear they didnt like to swim together and one even died

 

Oh, plecos don't eat algae strictly BTW. Both BN and the other species mentioned are omnivores and may very well ignore algae. ...... Catfish pellets, shrimp pellets, algae wafers, fresh veggies and frozen foods are all important with plecos. If you need algae control, get nerite snails and an algae scrubber.

How about freeze dried bloodworms? I've been feeding the fish some of those every few days. I've got a scrubber, maybe it's a comfort thing seeing the pleco constantly at what appears to be work cleaning the tank every day? lol, I dunno. I saw on here somewhere they like greenbeans, do you know if it's canned or fresh they prefer (or if it makes a differance)? I'm assuming the non-salted kind though.

 

My Neighbor has a School of Neons with Mollies,a Cory, A Cichlid, A Costama and a 3 baby Mollies the Mollies and Neons will follow each other around so I am sure Neons can school with other fish

Maybe he should check his stock. also what the heck is a Costama no further comment.

As for the plecos, I don't know, I just like seeing them swimming around on the glass and defending what ever caves they have, its cute. As for FD blood worms, unless you can get them to sink it probably won't work. Make sure to be soaking those and not over feeding with them so they don't harm the fish. Frozen/fresh veggies are preferred. Canned normally have salt in them.

 

Well, I screwed that up. Took the pleco & serpaes I needed to get out of my tank to my LFS, they gave me some store credit to get a dwarf pleco. Turns out the spotted pleco would've gotten too big, so they pointed out the 1 short, round, mud-colored pleco that would stay small. Finding that one not to my liking, I had to ask about the small, flat, interesting looking fish that also appeared to be an algae eater. After being told it wouldn't grow above 3", I purchased a butterfly (hillstream) loach...... Really wish they would've mentioned it needs cooler, fast-flowing, & highly-oxygenated water.......(sigh)....... Especially considering that I was trading in fish that require warmer water & asking about neons, which obviously also need warm water. This hobby better get easier in the future......

 

*sigh* It's usually a headache in the beginning, but most embrace the challenge of the hobby and get multible tank syndrome.

You have been warned...

 

Yeah, when you learn not to shop and buy in the same day He will need to be returned/rehomed soon, unless you feel like making a little high tech loach set up. Rewarding I must say. Loaches are awesome. . For now, you can chill the water to around 75-76, the neons can handle it.

 

When you say a little high tech loach set up, what would that entail exactly?

Oh, back to the actual topic of this thread, nobody yell at me, but I ended up getting 3 glowlight tetras. lol. Sorry, sorry, couldn't be helped. The small fish store didn't have any neons for some reason, & the larger 1 happened to be treating theirs for ich. I told the guy I was just trying to fill out a shoal (or is it school?) & he suggested the glowlights. I fought the good fight & said I didn't think you could do that, but he runs a 10,000 sq ft fish store w/ like 2,000 gallons worth of freshwater tanks w/ even more in saltwater. Needless to say he was convincing, it probably helped he was telling me what I wanted to hear initially as well. Anyway, it seems like they do school together in my observation. As soon as I put them in 1 glowlight joined the neons & they started swimming together. Then the other 2 joined in & they all roamed around together for a while. It's been a few hours & they've been hanging out in various mixed groups: 2x2x3, 6x1, 5x2, splitting up by species 4x3, & all 7 together again w/ different types/individuals in the lead from time to time. I figgure if this doesn't last I can just add a few more of each, but they really seem like they're all pretty much on the same page at this point. I'll let you guys know if they have a falling out, & I realize my loach problems are probably karma related for not listening better. I hope I've been punished enough by the fish gods & this one just works out.

 

The fish gods don't know what mercy means. You may want to sacrifice a lamb...maybe a small child as well. Didnt you have a little one of your own..? XD

 

Actually that could brighten up my day (well night) a little. So long as the sacrafice is the cat my wife had to have, even though I'm allergic to him, he thinks biting is playing, & we can't declaw him at all because it would be inhumane. With my luck it'd be the dog, who seems to be the only one in the household who is on my side occasionally. Great, now I'm depressed.... lol.

In case anyone else was going to try this, I'll update how the 2 types of tetras are getting along (i.e. schooling together). To be honest, they've split up a little bit. 1-2 glowlights are occasionally still joining w/ the neons, but 1 seems to go his own way. Unfortunately it appears the glowlights came in w/ a mild case of ich though, so not sure if that is the culprit. Just started treating them yesterday, so I'll post how it turns out & if they begin schooling again when they're all healthy.

 

They will school, then swim away, then school again.
See

 

In case anyone else was going to try this, I'll update how the 2 types of tetras are getting along (i.e. schooling together). To be honest, they've split up a little bit. 1-2 glowlights are occasionally still joining w/ the neons, but 1 seems to go his own way. Unfortunately it appears the glowlights came in w/ a mild case of ich though, so not sure if that is the culprit. Just started treating them yesterday, so I'll post how it turns out & if they begin schooling again when they're all healthy.

I have a tank of 10 Glowlights and a school of 20+ Neons, they don't school together, they hang out in their separate groups. Of course if I walk to one side to the tank, everyone schools together and swims to the opposite direction.

You should really up your schools of tetras to get a proper school. It's more then swimming together, it is about feeling secure with species of their own kind. If you have a proper school of fish, their immune system tends to be better then having improper school because they aren't as stressed.

 

I have a tank of 10 Glowlights and a school of 20+ Neons, they don't school together, they hang out in their separate groups. Of course if I walk to one side to the tank, everyone schools together and swims to the opposite direction.

You should really up your schools of tetras to get a proper school. It's more then swimming together, it is about feeling secure with species of their own kind. If you have a proper school of fish, their immune system tends to be better then having improper school because they aren't as stressed.

Maybe it's the big fish that make the difference.

 

Know its been a while, but I found an alternate solution & thought I'd share. I eventually added another neon, but then I found albino glowlights & added those as well. Getting the albino's allowed for some color variation while sticking w/ the same species. Although to be honest, now they all seem to pretty much swim together & even "sleep" in the same spot in the tank.

 

Any photos?

 

If I can find my camera I'll post some.

 

I had glowlight tetras that schooled with the neons happily.

*sigh* It's usually a headache in the beginning, but most embrace the challenge of the hobby and get multible tank syndrome.

You have been warned...

Definitely Tigress...let's see...we went from a 2.5 gallon, to a 2.5 gallon and a 37 gallon, to a 2.5 gallon and a 40 gallon breeder, to a 10 gallon and a 40 gallon, to a 10 gallon a 40 gallon and a 20 gallon long until we can break down the 10 gallon (hopefully)?

 

Nice moondog!

 

Just thought I'd mention that my neons school with my cardinal tetras. Like you, I went in needing a few more neons to make a comfortable school, and the guy at the store convinced me to get cardinals because they were on sale. Pretty stupid, but they school with the neons and seem to be doing well. They look extremely similar to neons so it makes sense... and it doesn't really provide the color differentiation that you were looking for. Just thought I 'd throw it out there!

 

I rescued a few neons recently and placed them with 6 cherry barbs. After a day of a split tank, they started to intermingle and now it's happy time all the time. I don't think this is normal but it's been very entertaining!

 

They shouldn't stick to tight schools if they feel safe. Sounds like they're doing pretty good!