Fit the fish to the criteria

[Cinnebuns]

Alright. So I have a list of demands. Can we find a fish to fit this?  

1.  Works in a 29 gallon tank.

2.  Medium to high activity level. I realize that some highly active fish need more length so keep that in consideration. 

3.  Bright colors that look good against green and preferably comes in red. 

4.  Can be tank mates with thick-lipped gourami, honey gourami and panda cories. 

5.  Isn't too incredibly expensive. I'm thinking like $60 maximum for the entire school of them. Preferably $40 or less. 

6.  Mid or top dweller. 

Black list:  guppies, ember tetras (unless for some reason I just had a bad experience but mine never moved), green neon tetras. 

Considering:  

-  cherry barbs but temp could be an issue with the gourami

-  pseudomugil luminatus-  I have some already and could add to the school but they aren't active enough for me. 

-  pseudomugil furcata - they are active but not brightly colored 

-  killifish?  I'm not sure here. 

[Guppysnail]

What temp are you keeping the gourami at? Cherry barbs and gourami are a temp match. 
 

 

[Miranda Marie]

You could try some green neon rasboras. I have them in my 20g long and they're insanely active swimmers. Compared to my ember tetras who hover a lot, the neon green rasboras *never* stop swimming. I got mine (school of 8 ) from aqua huna for $30. They're a bright true-neon green (much brighter in color than green neon tetras), though, not a red color.

Edited August 26, 2023 by Miranda Marie

[AnotherHumanPerson]

I have both platies and pseudomugil rainbows in my 29 (albeit they are gertrudae, not luminatus or furcata), and I feel like both would be good options for what you want. However, the rainbows in my experience tend to be a lot more skittish than other fish. They will definitely make a good use of the 29’s footprint, especially if you get a good school going. And of course platies are livebearers, so overpopulation might be an eventual issue with them, but the gouramis may be able to help with that.

[nabokovfan87]

Chili Rasbora, emerald green Rasbora. Baaaaaaaaaasaarbs. All of the barbs. White clouds might be a bit too chill. Danios. All of those should do well. Activity level goes to barbs though.

Small barb species: Stoliczkae’s Barb, melon barb, cherry barb, snakeskin barb, Odessa barb, checkerboard barb

https://www.tfhmagazine.com/articles/freshwater/top-10-barbs-for-the-community-aquarium-full-article

 

 

[Cinnebuns]

On 8/26/2023 at 5:48 AM, Guppysnail said:

What temp are you keeping the gourami at? Cherry barbs and gourami are a temp match. 
 

 

74 currently. 

On 8/26/2023 at 11:47 AM, AnotherHumanPerson said:

I have both platies and pseudomugil rainbows in my 29 (albeit they are gertrudae, not luminatus or furcata), and I feel like both would be good options for what you want. However, the rainbows in my experience tend to be a lot more skittish than other fish. They will definitely make a good use of the 29’s footprint, especially if you get a good school going. And of course platies are livebearers, so overpopulation might be an eventual issue with them, but the gouramis may be able to help with that.

This is what I'm kinda wondering about my pseudomugil. I know my furcata were VERY active but they also had a larger school than my luminatus currently have. I kinda wonder if I just add to my luminatus school if that's my solution. There is gerturdea in with them but my idea is maybe to rehome them and add luminatus. Idk

On 8/26/2023 at 11:52 AM, nabokovfan87 said:

Chili Rasbora

This has been in the back of my head for sure. 

On 8/26/2023 at 11:52 AM, nabokovfan87 said:

Baaaaaaaaaasaarbs. All of the barbs.

Haha ofc you would say that. 

[Cinnebuns]

On 8/26/2023 at 10:54 AM, Miranda Marie said:

Compared to my ember tetras who hover a lot

That was my experience with them too. They just kind of hang out. 

[Ninjoma]

Platies would be my choice. 

[nabokovfan87]

On 8/26/2023 at 11:45 AM, Cinnebuns said:

Haha ofc you would say that. 

To be fair, barbs enjoy pond life a lot too.  They are so fun to feed. 
 

 

[Tanked]

My 29 gal. small community has Bloodfin, Serpae and Ember Tetras, Cherry Barbs, and SAEs. SAE's got expensive where I live, but all of the others should easily fit your budget and other requirements..  The SAEs can/might get big, but they don't bother anyone and a lot of activity to your aquarium.  When I had them, The Zebra Danios (another good choice) and the SAEs would play tag with each other. I don't think there should be any issues keeping any of those fish with the Gourami.

 

 

[Schuyler]

On 8/26/2023 at 11:45 AM, Cinnebuns said:

74 currently

Lots of killis like things on the cooler side like this. Here are some potential red killis or ones that have red in them.

If you're going on the neutral/slightly hard side you could do Nothobranchius Guentheri, Rubripinnis, or Korthausae. All are mostly red. All of them are annuals but realistically you can expect them to live 12 - 18 months. Guentheri is the longest living from what I understand. As long as there aren't other aggressive feeders or long flowy fins you could do a pair of them in there. If you want more than one male you'll want around 5 to spread the aggression. I haven't really seen them show aggression towards other species unless they could fit it in their mouth or they weren't getting enough food. They are live fast and die young, they're metabolism goes along with that too. Pair that with the fact that males easily get distracted by females during feeding and it's not uncommon that they'll miss out on food if you're not paying attention.

If you're going neutral to acidic you could go with Aphyosemion Australe Gold, A. Striatum, A. Bitaeniatum Lagos Red, or Fundulopanchax Gardneri. They love stem plants and shady spots. I think the Aphyosemion species will be a little more on the shy side if there are bullies in the tank. These are also on the easier side for breeding so you may see some fry pop up but nothing like having to keep livebearers in check. You could also throw in a spawning mop if you want to try raising the fry separately. These are "non-annuals" so they'll live 2-3 years. I have less experience with these but @Slick_Nick has some awesome pictures of A Striatum in his journal (most pictures don't do them justice). Cory has A Australe Gold in one of his recent fish room tours.

These are more commonly available but you may have to order online or ask your LFS if they can special order then from one of their wholesalers.

If you're willing to listen to someone talk about killifish for a long time you can also look and see if you have a local AKA affiliate club. I've found that there are lots of killifish people excited to share eggs, fish, notes, etc.

If you're feeling adventurous and willing to pay shipping I'd be willing to share some eggs.

Edit: Oh yeah... And don't forget to have a lid with no gaps

Edited August 28, 2023 by Schuyler

[TOtrees]

why has no one added dwarf neon rainbows? don't tell me they're not colorful, their reflective base color is like all the colors together. what about the myriad tetras that are not ember or green neon? also white clouds. is there something about the rules here I'm missing? 😛