Stocking suggestions for Diamond Tetra biotope?

[Corbidorbidoodle]

I've never done a proper snapshot-of-nature type biotope tank. (I'm not even sure I'm using that word correctly) I'm really in to Diamond Tetras currently and would like to build a tank around them.

I'm pretty sure I can handle decorations, layout, and plants. But I can't find much info regarding what fish might live with them. Do you all have any suggestions?

I keep googling variations of "Fish" and "Lake Valencia", but mostly I can only find sport fishing info.

[Colu]

fish found with diamond tetras ancistrus brevifilis corydoras aeneus aequidens pulcher corynopoma riisei wolf fish crenicichla geayi wild guppies 

[CorydorasEthan]

Hi I checked a few websites and here's what I found:

Wikipedia mentions the only other aquarium fish kept from Lake Valencia would be Pimelodella tapatapae. It could be replicated in the aquarium with the Pictus catfish, which you can commonly find in a lot of pet stores.

I also found this article: https://www.tfhmagazine.com/articles/freshwater/firstever-photos-of-diamond-tetras-in-their-natural-habitat

It mentions several other fish found to be living in the same area:

• Wild guppies (Poecilia reticulata)
• Corynopoma riisei (another species of tetra)
• Corydoras aeneus
• Ancistrus spp.
• Blue Acara Cichlids (Aequidens pulcher)

Hope this helps!

[Steve and His Animals]

I find seriouslyfish.com often has good info on specific habitats including decor, plants, and congeners (species they share habitat with) but not many sites seem to have good info on fish that live in the lake that diamond tetras live in, as they are endemic to lake Valencia in Venezuela. According to the World Lake Database, Valencia seems to be home to a few species of cichlids like Mozambique tilapia, Petenia kraussii, and Geophagus surinamensis, and some odd eels and catfish. There's also apparently Poecilia sphenops which are a species of molly. I would probably stick to what CorydorasEthan said, probably much better options for a peaceful community haha.

[Patrick_G]

This might help

The Fishes of Lake Valencia, Venezuela (Classic Reprint)

[TheSwissAquarist]

To be honest, I have seen diamond tetras live perfectly fine with other Tetras, but if it's to be a biotope...

Blue Acaras would be a good choice, as they are pretty beautiful! Aeneus corys would be a great clean up crew.

[Corbidorbidoodle]

These are fabulous suggestions. Ultimately, this will be at decoration, not so much a scientific display, so it's okay to fudge a little bit. It doesn't have to be perfect.

I'm just finding that as I really appreciate a particular kind of fish, I want to properly build a tank around it. Rather than just shotgunning a bunch of cool things in there.