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hi all....

well i'm just now starting to decide which fish i would like to display in my 60 gal. I now have some, but i will be contacting some petstores to see if they'd take some i'd rather not have anymore (if they don't take them i will keep them..don't worry).. currently in the tank i have:
- 5 neons
-1 pleco
-1 algea eater
-10 fancy tail guppies (3 are still fairly small, and i also have 12-15 2 week old fry in a two gallon )
-6 zebra striped danios
-2 mixed fruit tetras (the pink ones)
-1 male swordtail
-2 serpae tetras
-1 male betta

I would like my aquarium to have plenty of the neons (I love the way they just stay in the school ), some fancy tail guppies and more of the mixed fruit tetras... problem is, i would rather not have the one swordtail and 2 serpae tetras anymore... and the fancy tail guppies i have now are all grey bc my first female was grey and now they're all grey haha... so i'm thinking of maybe giving the petstore some of my babies while keeping some to still be able to claim how they were born here with me...

anyway, any help would be appreciated..maybe different types of fish that could mesh well with mine.. or what to do with the fish i don't want anymore...

thank u in advance, Caroline!

drop the pleco and the alge eater. Get some more sharpe tetras get 8 more. Get a female betta and 2 female soward tails.

Please do not buy more of the fruit tetras. These fish are dyed to have those colors. In the process many fish die and most do not live long afterward. The fish will be weak and e to illness. The color also fades over time. If you believe fish can feel pain then coloring them with dyes must be extremely painful. Sometimes they inject the dye using a needle that would be gigantic to us. The fish can often develop infections in the spots they were injected. Sometimes they dip them in acid first to remove the slime coat and then color them.
Most of the fish stores I know that sell healthy good quality fish refuse to sell dyed fish. Many people are putting in alot of effort to get the sale of dyed fish completely banned

The pleco might be ok in your tank but some common plecos will definitely outgrow a 60g. It might be better to trade him in for a pleco that is known to stay smaller if possible.
Fish labelled algae eater in stores are almost always chinese algae eaters(CAE) these fish reach 12" and once they get around 6" they stop eating algae and start becoming very agressive. They will attack your other fish and suck on their sides.
Serpae tetras are fin nippers so it would be good to return them especially consider how long of fins bettas have.

You can remove the Pleco, Algae Eater, Serpae Tetra & Swordtail & add more Neons & you can also add a school of Corydoras.

The Fruit Tetra's are Dyed fish & i recommend that you don't buy more.


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However, you could add more white skirt tetras. That is
the actual fish your "berry" tetras are.
The dyed ones will school with the regular white ones.

Heres what you have:
5 neons
-1 pleco
-1 algea eater
-10 fancy tail guppies
-6 zebra striped danios
-2 mixed fruit tetras (the pink ones)
-1 male swordtail
-2 serpae tetras
-1 male betta

And you want to get rid of the serpaes, and the guppies.
So do that. Remove the guppies, remove the serpaes.
What type of algae eater is it? If it is a Chinese Algae Eater, I would drop it out too, they get very big and quite hostile as adults (8-10 inches). What kind of pleco is it? If it is just a "common pleco" they can grow from anywhere from 14 inches, to 26 inches! Drop it too if its a common.

So then you would have this:
-5 Neons
-6 zebra striped danios
-2 mixed fruit tetras (the pink ones)
-1 male swordtail
-1 male Betta

Then you could up the number of neons to 12.
Get some White Skirt Tetras to school with your dyed ones,
up that to 8.
so then you would have
12 Neons
8 White Skirt Tetra
6 Zebra Danio
1 Swordtail
1 Betta
Then you could maybe add a small pleco, like a bristlenose, candystripe, clown, tiger peckoltia, queen arabesque, inspector, or something that stays 8 inches or less.
You could also have a group of Cory cats or some type of Loach for the bottom.
You could also consider maybe adding a trio of pearl gourami, or maybe opalines, or some other slightly larger centerpeice fish. Or you could add another group of schooling fish, like rummynose, black skirt tetras, cardinals, glowlights, or lemons, or something like that.


Last edited by So_Very_Sneaky at 23-Oct-2005 16:32

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I love all those ideas... although i would rather keep the pleco and the algea eater bc they both help my aquarium stay very clean.

and i was worried about those berry tetras.... i found out they were colour injected after i bought them, so i will keep the ones i have (they are very healthy) and i will steer clear of buying more.

I want to keep some of the guppies..... bc i like having a livebearer. it's just that i want colorful ones...

so i will be contacting the pet stores soon to ask if they would take my serpae tetras, my swordtail and some of my guppies.. if u have any other ideas, let me know!

Thanks!!!

Last edited by bratty_girl29 at 23-Oct-2005 16:41

you should still take the cae and pleco back. you've got a peaceful tank and the cae will kill some of your fish until you remove it. the pleco will get so friggin huge that in a tank with the second largest fish being a betta, it'll be a BIG eyesore, and you don't want that in a showcase tank. if you want some algae eaters that are peaceful, why don't you try getting some ottos, they only get up to 2" each and are very peaceful.

You could probably put several small plecos 8" or less in the tank and not add any cories or loaches or maybe 1 group of 6 of either of those. 2 bristlenose plecos or similar would clean up your algae far better than a cae and common plec. Cae don't even eat algae when they get bigger so it will just be a worthless fish killing your other fish. Get rid of it now while the stores are more willing to take it back. Otos are also an option but a bit more sensitive than the plecos.
Do not add any gouramis with the betta especially if it's a male betta. Bettas usually don't get along with other labyrinth fish(gouramis, betts, and paradise fish). A female betta just might get along with other labyrinth fish but the chance is still fairly low and you can't add a male and female betta to the same tank.
There shouldn't be a problem keeping the guppies because the danios and betta will eat any fry you don't want so you don't get overpopulated. Then if you do want to raise some fry you can move a female and let her give birth in a safe tank.

"although i would rather keep the pleco and the algea eater bc they both help my aquarium stay very clean."

Your gravel vac is what should be keeping the aquarium clean. The pleco and algae eater [i[may be doing some scavanging, but they are poop machines. They do not eat waste from other fish, therefor any fish waste you do not clean up will be left there. Some species of plecos and "algae eater" will not eat algae at all and will only add to the bioload of the tank. If you want a good algae eater that is not agressive and not a huge waste producer, you may want to look into otos.

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Otos are great little algae eaters (of green algae only), so are BN plecos.. BN's grow to about 5 inches.. Otos inch to inch and a half. Otos are happier in a school of 6 or more, whereas you only need one BN pleco and your tank will be clean.

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