Some questions about my rainbows.

Hey all,

I am new to the forum and fairly new to fish tanks, and I have had my tank since September. It is a planted 55 gallon tank with the following fish:
2 turquoise rainbow (1 male/1 female)
3 male praecox rainbow
3 cardinal tetra
6 bleeding heart tetra
2 sword tails
1 angel fish
1 denison barb
2 small plecos (3 inches)

All of the fish in the tank seem to get along well except for the rainbows. The male turquoise rainbow, who is much larger, is very aggressive towards the 3 male praecox. He basically keeps them in one corner of the tank and chases them if they try to move (reminds me of my buddy's cichlids). I know I need to make some changes because I know it is recommended to have 2-3 females per male. My question is if I were to get more female praecox and another female turquoise, would the male turquoise stop messing with the male praecox and let them swim freely? Or should I get another larger species of rainbow fish like Boesemani? I am planning on giving the bleeding hearts to my buddy so I will have more room. Also, if I were to get rid of the female turquoise and keep only males, would it help reduce the male turquoise's aggression? And will he still flash if there are no females? Thanks so much for the help and sorry if there are any dumb questions, I am new to this! Also, I attached a picture of my tank, please let me know what you guys think.

 

Honestly...I dont' think you should consider getting any more fish. If any you should get rid of the plecos as they are going to grow. And with two in tank already it will be pretty dirty with the amount of waste it produces.

 

You need to take a really hard look at your stock and their requirements. Denison barbs are schooling fish and reach 5 inches each; they need a very large tank and a proper school of 5 or more. Cardinal tetras also require a school.

You would also need 5 or more of each type of rainbow, as they are schoolers as well.

What kind of pleco are your guys? Depending on type, they could get to almost 2 feet long and are massive waste producers.

Schooling fish have two basic reactions to not being kept in proper schools; either they get very aggressive (like your rainbow) or they hide constantly. Since you're already experiencing aggression with the one rainbow, I would look at rehoming some of the fish inappropriate to your tank and filling out the rainbow schools with more females, preferably.

 

I agree with fashooga, the waste it produces is unreal!

also, I am in the same boat as you, with the same 2 types of rainbows. I have 2 to 1 female over males.I notice the praecox rainbow male is always flashing and showing off in the mornings, and chasing all other rainbows, be it male or female or race. after eating it seems to be the male Melanotaenia herbertaxelrodI (if that is what you have) then is in turn flashing and showing off, and chasing all other rainbows. Ive just taken it as that is just the way they are. they only seem to do it too each other an no one else.

 

Thank you guys for the replies. The plecos I have are only 3 inches long and the guy at my LFS told me that they will stay this size. They do produce a lot of waste, but they also do a good job of reducing the algae in the tank. I may give one of them away. I had 8 cardinal tetra but 5 of them died, so that is why I am left with 3. Do I really need 5 of EACH type of rainbow? I have read that they school with different species well. I am definitely going to get more female rainbows regardless. Thanks for your help again, really appreciate it! Sorry I am such a newbie haha.

 

Thank you guys for the replies. The plecos I have are only 3 inches long and the guy at my LFS told me that they will stay this size. They do produce a lot of waste, but they also do a good job of reducing the algae in the tank. I may give one of them away. I had 8 cardinal tetra but 5 of them died, so that is why I am left with 3. Do I really need 5 of EACH type of rainbow? I have read that they school with different species well. I am definitely going to get more female rainbows regardless. Thanks for your help again, really appreciate it! Sorry I am such a newbie haha.

It is possible to get different types of rainbows to shoal together, but you have to keep in mind that they can hybridize and produce offspring with muddy colors. If anything, if you can get a tank to a point where rainbows will reproduce, you want pretty babies, so avoid this. I'd say, rehome the tetras, the plecos, and one type of rainbows. Get a good sized shoal going. Put a nice shoal of small cory cats in there.

Good luck!