Opinions from Diamond Tetra owners?

I currently have a 55 gallon tank of mostly older community fish which I would like to eventually convert to a SA/CA cichlid tank as the older fish die off. The cichlids I'm interested in are for the most part medium sized and semi-aggressive.

My current Stock is as follows:
1 old Rummy nose (last of school)
4 old Harlequin Rasboras (last of school)
1 5 yr. old SAE
1 young BN pleco
1 juvenile Firemouth

I would like to have a strictly SA/CA tank, so would like to re-home the SAE and get a school of tetras that will eventually serve as dithers for my cichlids, but I can also enjoy in the mean time. I will eventually be moving everyone into a 180 gallon tank. I LOVE my Rummy nose tetras and wouldn't hesitate to get another large school of them, but one of the cichlids I plan to get is an Acara and I've read many on the forum that say their's snack on Rummy nose. I'm thinking instead of getting a school of diamond tetras and would like opinions from some of you who have experience with them. Are they bad at fin nipping? One of the reason I love my Rummy nose is they NEVER nip! What area of the tank does yours occupy most often? Are they shy, or do they stay out in the open like Harlequins? Anything else I should know about them?Thank you so much in advance for your advice. I've read many articles, but would like to hear from those who have personal experience with them.

 

Never kept diamond tetras, but if they are like a lot of tetras, if you keep enough, shouldn't have a lot of issue of them going after other fish, just maybe themselves.

 

I currently keep a big group of Diamond Tetras. They are a very big, durable & colorful Tetra.
Diamonds frequent all levels of a tank & don't bother other species.
They shoal, rather than school. The males harmlessly chase each other usually in the morning hours. Diamond are not shy & are voracious feeders. One of my favorites.

 

THANK YOU! That is exactly the information I have been looking for. Your help is much appreciated. : )

 

I would love to get some diamond tetras, sadly I have never seen them for sale here. I agree they should be ideal for your cichlid setup.

 

I currently keep a big group of Diamond Tetras. They are a very big, durable & colorful Tetra.
Diamonds frequent all levels of a tank & don't bother other species.
They shoal, rather than school. The males harmlessly chase each other usually in the morning hours. Diamond are not shy & are voracious feeders. One of my favorites.

When you say big, like how big? I am looking to get some of these guys for my 29gallon.

 

I have a school of them with harliquin rasboras, corys and a ram cichlid.

They get quite big for tetras and the males do fight and nip eachother a bit, but nothing bad. They sort of have small territories (usually a plant) where they try and attract females. Also they are very quick and greedy and aren't shy at all. They will gobble up most of the food before it reaches the bottom which can be a problem.

 

Seven or eight Diamond Tetras would fit nicely in a 29 gal.
A big XL Diamond Tetra would be 2.5 inches. Ones that big aren't all that common.

 

Thank you! I seen them at my LFS and thought they would look very nice. with my M/F pair of cichlids.

 

I keep Diamonds with Columbian tetras, Filamentosa & Denison Barbs, Tinfoil Barbs, Various Loaches & two Chocolate Cichlids.
Truly a very good tankmate for so many varieties of fish.

 

I started with 6 Diamond Tetras in a 29 gallon tank, and they bred themselves up to a school of 11. At first they were breeding and sparring constantly with one 'alpha male' that would push around the other boys in the group. After about 5 to 6 months, when their surviving fry grew up and filled in the school, they calmed down considerably. I've had them for almost 10 months now and they are beautiful, beautiful fish. I keep them with honey gouramis and corydoras elegans and I've never had an issue with nipping other species; they keep any quarrels within their own group. You will see some torn fins amongst the males but as long as the group is big enough it won't get extremely vicious and the fins will heal fast.

 

Didn't mean to hijack the thread I was looking for input on these guys. I wanted to do more than six in my 29 gallon and I'm thinking that is possible.

Thank you everyone for their input, it is much appreciated.

 

Joshtank absolutely possible and I'd encourage it. We have 11, mixed sexes. You can start with 8 or so and see if they breed at all. If you have a well-planted tank you might have a handful of survivors like I did!