What kind of tetra to get...

Well, my parents are letting me set up another 20gal.   I will be moving all the fish in my 20 gal long to the new 20 gal, and then making the 20 long a sort of display tank with Endlers, tetras, and possibly a few catfish.
But I just can't decide what kind of tetra to get.  The ones I am/was considering are:
Emperors
Blue Emperors (aka KerrI Tetras)
Rummy Noses
Lemons
Silver Tips
Black Phantoms

Emperors were rejected based on price and the fact that they live too long--parents don't want to be stuck with fish when I leave for college.
Lemons and Silver Tips are nice, but perhaps a little boring for me...I want to try a species that is maybe a bit more challenging or has more interesting behavior. (don't get me wrong, these are great tetras)
Rummy Noses I love, but everything I read says they absolutely must be kept in soft, acidic water.  Now generally I don't listen to people who say fish can't adjust to a higher pH, but I have not read a single account of them being kept in a higher pH and my tap water here is extremely hard and alkaline (pH around 8 )...so what do you guys think? Would it be worth trying them or are they really as delicate as people say they are?
So anyway Blue Emperors and Black Phantoms left...not sure I can get Blue Emperors, and anyway not sure they're my favorite as far as interesting behavior and such.  Black Phantoms are pretty cool though...if I get a no go for Rummies I will probably end up getting Black Phantoms.

Well, what do you guys think?  *sigh* why can't I just get all of them... ;D

 

Why not a school of lemons and rummy noses? The lemons are really beautiful when they all school together. They are also probably the most calm tetra that I know of. They also look really neat when they are feeding.
Tom

 

I was thinking of doing something like that but unfortunately I don't have room for 2 shoals of tetras since I want to have some Endlers in there.

Heh that's funny, when I was saying my pH in the last post I put 8 and then ) but it turned it into a 8) --changed that.
Yeah so my ph is 8 and not "8)"

 

How many endlers were you wanting to get?
Tom

 

2-4 pair, not sure yet. But keep in mind that there would also be some fry (whatever excaped the tetras) which I may or may not keep.

 

How big do endlers grow?
Tom

 

I know they're not on you list, but you may want to consider a school of Serpae Tetra's... They're a riot, very pretty, very good schoolers, and definitly playful. I posted this already somewhere, but it's worth repeating:
I have a school of 10 Serpia Tetra's and the other evening they were all hanging out at the top of my bubble stream. 2 or 3 would dash into the bubbles, swim as hard as they could to the bottom, and ride the bubble stream back to the top. Then a couple more would do it, over and over. This went on for about an hour. It was the funniest thing I've ever seen.
Anyway, it's just a thought

 

How big do endlers grow?
Tom

Endlers are tiny, an inch or so max.

Thanks for the suggestion Jim. Serpaes are pretty, but I have heard they can be fin nippers unless kept in a very large group so I tend to shy away from them. I don't have room for a ton of them and I'm afraid they might harrass the Endlers.

 

yeah, mine behave, but they're 10 of them keeping each other busy. I'm not sure how they'd behave with Endlers...

 

glowlights are pretty neat to. Something maybe to consider in the future.

 

what's a glowlight?

 

Glowlight tetra, Hemigrammus erythrozonus, they have a red line down their body. They are really pretty cool looking. Here's the link describing them: https://www.fishlore.com/profiles_glowlight_tetra.htm

 

I like Glowlights too but I'm looking for something a bit more unusual.

Anyone have any thoughts on whether or not I should try Rummies?

 

rummy nosed tetras are so cool. I've seen them and they are really neat. They don't get that big either, which I don't know if you like. They are so cool to watch in larger schools (6 or more), so that may be cool to try.

 

my serpae tetra'ss are like a pack of tiny piranha when I feed them, I've never seen a fish move that fast! but other than that they're really peaceful. they mostly hang out swimming in the grassy stuff.

 

I am thinking of buying some kind of tetra to go in my tank? What kind do u recommend? I have room for about 10 inches of fish. I am thinking maybe 5 cardinal tetras.

 

What else is in your tank?

 

Yeah, what else is in your tank? It would help us.

 

depending on the other fish, my personal favorite for tetras are the rummynose

 

I also have cherry barbs, otos, and a couple of danios. I also like the rummynose they look very cool.

 

I have glowlight tetras and I love the little guys

 

or what about a small school of 8 or so of the small neons at not much over 1" bioload each.

 

Those both sound like good ideas.

 

I like black phantom tetras. They look cool.

 

I got 4 cardinal tetras so far. I wanted some rummy nose tetras but the fish stores I went to didn't have any. They are schooling but at times they are being harassed by my danios.

 

you should have atleast 5 of the cardinals

 

I plan on getting more

 

I have 5 black neon tetras and they are very nice looking. Their colors have been coming out with the diet I am feeding them.

 

My cardinals are so small right now. Probably only a half inch.

 

I like pristella tetras, I have a school and I would definitely recommend them. Glowlights and black neons are nice, too.

 

Blind Cave Tetras

 

5 black neons they would look good in there

 

hey. I really recommend the rummy noses. they're a beautiful fish and they school with the neons or cardinals as well. bonus! they are also good because they are a bit more of a bigger fish compared to a neon. good luck!

 

Just added water today to my 55g tank. This is a dirted tank, that will have plants. The water temperature gets very warm here during the summer, low 80s. So the tetra fish need to tolerate warmer water. I am thinking about a tetra fish oriented tank, with as many of the same species as can safely have living in it. I hope to get these fish from a hardy stock that don't have a history of problems. ie diseases common to that species.

 

How warm is "very warm"? 80F, 95F?

 

How warm is "very warm"? 80F, 95F?

Sorry about that, in the low 80s.

 

My mind immediately goes to cardinal tetras, they're known for loving warm water (and they're stunning in a planted tank)

 

My mind immediately goes to cardinal tetras, they're known for loving warm water (and they're stunning in a planted tank)

Yes I know of these, had to refresh my memory about them. They are really nice, but are they hardy and easy to find for sale. I'll never do neons again, the one's I bought, brought in two different kinds of diseases.

 

I have heard everything about cardinals, from bulletproof to looking for an excuse to die. They should be easy to find though, I've never not seen them at a store. I think quarantining and slow acclimation are key to their success.
*This is based off research, not experience.

 

I have heard everything about cardinals, from bulletproof to looking for an excuse to die. They should be easy to find though, I've never not seen them at a store. I think quarantining and slow acclimation are key to their success.
*This is based off research, not experience.

Thanks you for the info, I have been looking them up for sale online. I found them on one website so far. But just started looking. I will be more inclined to order my fish, rather then going to LFS, because the closest one to me is an hour away. But I want be doing this for a few months now. I would rather not order fish during the summer time, gets too hot here. Tank needs to cycle , and age for awhile.

I still want to take this time to consider all options for stocking.

 

If I were you, I would do a few schools of different types of tetra. Make sure each school is at least 6 fish, closer to 12 is better tho. In a 55g you could fit quite a few tetra and It would look beautiful. I like rummy-nose, ember, and glow light tetra. I have kept neons successfully with minimal death but they have all come from smaller local fish stores.

 

If I were you, I would do a few schools of different types of tetra. Make sure each school is at least 6 fish, closer to 12 is better tho. In a 55g you could fit quite a few tetra and It would look beautiful. I like rummy-nose, ember, and glow light tetra. I have kept neons successfully with minimal death but they have all come from smaller local fish stores.

That sounds great, but as I was reading about the cardinals, even a school of six is not enough. It would have to be schools in the 12s, anything less then the fish in the small schools will become stressed.

Here is a picture of my tank I took today. The substrate is 5" thick, and after adding wood etc. This want be a 55g tank with 55gallons of water in it, probbly more like 35 to 40 gallons. Even worse if I use this big piece of wood in one of the pictures.

 

Even so, you could still fit a decent number in the tank with schools of 12. Are you planning to stock anything else?

 

Even so, you could still fit a decent number in the tank with schools of 12. Are you planning to stock anything else?

I was thinking some cories, snails, maybe some shrimp. The tank needs a cleanup crew. But other then that, no other fish except small schooling fish. Hopefully, I want a peaceful planted tank, nice to look at.

 

I was thinking some cories, snails, maybe some shrimp. The tank needs a cleanup crew. But other then that, no other fish except small schooling fish. Hopefully, I want a peaceful planted tank, nice to look at.

I'm doing something similar soon with my 72g. I love corys with tetra. Its a classic community tank. Beautiful to look at. Maybe start with 1-2 schools and slowly increase until its stocked? Corys are also schooling fish so they will also need 6+.

 

In a 55 I honestly would do much more than 6 corydoras. I believe cardinals are fine, what about black neons?

 

I'm doing something similar soon with my 72g. I love corys with tetra. Its a classic community tank. Beautiful to look at. Maybe start with 1-2 schools and slowly increase until its stocked? Corys are also schooling fish so they will also need 6+.

I have been looking at different kinds of schooling fish does, harlequin rasbora go ok with cardinal tetras. They are temp compatible.

In a 55 I honestly would do much more than 6 corydoras. I believe cardinals are fine, what about black neons?

Black neons, just clicked on the name, I like them. The are about the same size as regular blue neons. So good do 12 easy.

 

I have been looking at different kinds of schooling fish does, harlequin rasbora go ok with cardinal tetras. They are temp compatible.

Yep you totally should be able to. They are both non-aggressive schooling fish.

 

Black neons are one of my favorites but I don't know how they'd do in that warm water. Just one big school of cardinals and a dozen sterbai corys (that I believe also do well in warm water) would look great.

 

Given a temp range of the low 80s, the fish I'd recommend as peaceful schoolers are cardinal tetras, black neon tetras, green neon tetras, rummynose tetras, von rio tetras, silvertip tetras or harlequin rasboras.
As for warm water corydoras, c. Aeneus, c. Sterbai, c. Adolfoi and c. Brochis are going to be your best bet.

Personally I tend to like the look of only one or two bug schools than a bunch of smaller schools, so I'd do a single species of corydoras, probably around 12-15 individuals as they'll be your only bottom dweller. Then I'd do either one group of 35-40 of single tetra species, or two group of 15-18 of each species. Great thing about these smaller tetras is their bioload is pretty small and a planted tank is going to be good at sucking up nutrients (especially once a dirted tank has had time to settle and mature) so having a big school of them isn't going to be hard to maintain good water conditions on.