Helping A Friend

[LilBlub]

I'm planning to help my friend start a 20 gallon bleeding heart tetra (or black skirt, if we can't find bleeding hearts in the area) tank, and was wondering if anyone had tips? I've done plenty of research on tetras but I've never owned them. I'm going to set up an Amazon biotope tank with lots of driftwood and live South American plants.

 

[Wobbegong]

Be careful with tank mates, I have heard that these kinds of tetras can get a little bit nippy.

 

[LilBlub]

I'm planning to put a small school of cories and a couple snails in, would a tetra bother them?

 

[Wobbegong]

Cories are bottom dwellers so they probably won't get nipped, just make sure you don't get anything with long fins.

 

[Wobbegong]

Also a bushy nosed pleco would make a great addition, they get a little bit big but they love driftwood, are good at hiding and will help clean your algae.

 

[FishFish221]

I have five, and they won't really bother my other fish. Its not like they will actually attack fish just to nip their fins, but if they get the opportunity (for example for some reason they are with a betta), they might nip its fin. The black skirts also will stay away from any fish that show a bit of aggression against them, so basically there's not a lot of fish that have even the slightest possibility of getting nipped.

 

[LilBlub]

Well don't worry, I'm not planning to put a betta in there! That would sort of ruin the "Amazon river" vibe I'm going for.

 

[LilBlub]

I've shown him lots of different species of tetra online and in pet stores, and he seems like he'd be happy with any that has a similar body type to bleeding hearts (like black skirts, glowlites, diamonds, etc) so I don't know which species we'll end up getting. Bleeding hearts were his favorite, though.

 

[chromedome52]

The common Bleeding Hearts get a bit large for a 20 gallon tank, as they can reach 3 inches SL. Only Hyphessobrycon pyrrhonotus, the Red Backed Bleeding Heart, stays small enough, and that is not commonly available (but if you can find it, get it!). Another red and white fish would be the White tipped form of the Rosy Tetra, sometimes sold as Candy Cane. Almost look the same except for the "bleeding heart" red flank spot.

 

[fishychachki]

Is this a 20 gallon long or high we are talking about? I do agree with cd52 that bleeding hearts get real big by tetra's standard. If it's a 20 gallon long you may be able to get away with 6-7 I think. In a 20 gallon high I think you would be pushing it because tetras love swimming space and for a tetra species that get well larger than 2" that's not much room for a proper school.

 

[LilBlub]

We haven't bought the tank yet, but I'd prefer it if he got a 20 long. I know tetras like a lot of swimming room and I talked him into changing his mind about a 10 gal. We won't be adding the tetras for a while, I just wanted some tips before we started setting the tank up.