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Anyone have a large school of congo tetras. They seem to be really active. How are they with smaller tetras?

My Scapes

From what I know, they are, rather can be nippy kids! i would make sure you have a long tank, as they can get to a larger size than our popular smaller tetras. beautiful fish, but they need to be in a shoal of no less than 6 to keep their semi agressiveness to themselves. the males are very stunning with their fins. I hope this helps, but others need to chime in with the detailed stats!

72 gallon bowfront:Tanganyikan Lake set up
75 gallon: A. Baenschi trio,Cyanotilapia Afra Cobwe(4), copadichromis trewavase, protomelas sp. tangerine tiger(breeding pair)

Yes, they need to stay in schools of 6 & you'll need a big tank for them. Their colours are very beautiful & you'll enjoy them alot.



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I have a 46gallon that has:
15 cards
7 rummys
4 dwarf plecos
4 otos
3 dwarf rams
2 large angels

I am planning on moving the 2 angels to another tank. Without the angels do you think I have the room.



My Scapes

Without the Angels, i think it will be Ok, but keep up with the water changes & gravel cleaning, as the dwarf Pleco's leave alot of waste.



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The congos I've had were not nippy at all. Whether in a group of 8-10 or a pair singled out for breeding to another tank. They have never nipped long finned fish or shown any agression. Right now I have only 3 left in my 55g with sparkling gouramis, an emperor tetra, threadfins, a blue gourami, shrimp, and various bottom feeders. They also did fine temporarily with my angelfish when I pulled the healthy ones out and treated my main tank. I had some disease kill off my tetras almost exclusively. They do need a long tank as the males are quite active and at least 3 adult females to a group of 8 or 2 to a group of 6 or the males will stress the females too much. The females are rather plain just being a dull yellow with short fins unlike the males which can be quite stunning. They are very tight schoolers and when not displaying or spawning 10 of them will all be crammed together in 1/3 of the 55g. They do appreciate tall plants along the sides of the tank and don't seem picky about water conditions. Mine would spawn constantly in the planted community tank and actually seem to enjoy my harder water.

Tetra,

If I remember correctly you want to move the Angels because there size doesn't look right in your planted tank ?

I would reckon, forgetting about stock capacity, you would have the same problem with the Congos. They are quite a big fish, at least compared to other Tetras, a normal school would take up as much space as the 2 angels. I had a school in my 65 gal at one stage and just felt they looked too big for the tank. This is not to say that a 65gal is too small for them, it's just an aesthetic issue.

My own experience of them is that they were peaceful, not nippy at all but very active. The males like to race ! They are beautiful. But for me in a planted tank they compliment a much larger tank better.

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Some days you're the pigeon and some days you're the statue.

Remember that age and treachery will always triumph over youth and ability.

You are right Bensaf. Thanks for keeping me from making a mistake. I would like to move up to a 72g bowfront, but right now I think I'm sticking with my 46g. I'm going to move the angels and increase school sizes as I know it's the correct thing to do for my tank.

Actually I removed some plants from my tank and created more "school swimming areas" I noticed that the fish school much better in my new setup then before. When I had all the plants in the back they would scatter into them. I recently got a new camera and will post good pics soon.

I'm amazed at the different behavior the fish show, depending on the aquascaping.

My Scapes

Yeah most of the smaller Tetras will seek security in the plants. You may also see them out more if the Angels are moved, they probably see them as potential predators.

If you're still interested in replacing the Angels how about something like a couple of Gourami ? Maybe Pearls.
I find while the Gourami can be a similar size to the Angels they are more suited to a planted tank.The behaviour is abit more natural. Angels tend to just sit there blocking the view Gourami interact much more with the plants, poking around, popping in and out of thickets and cover all areas of the tank. Pearls are much more beautidul then any Angel I've ever seen IMO

Another option would be a school of Praecox Rainbows, perfect size, very active and fun, but their simple but stunning coloration really shows off the plants and vice versa.

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Some days you're the pigeon and some days you're the statue.

Remember that age and treachery will always triumph over youth and ability.

The rainbows sound interesting. Are they south american?
Anyway, I think once I relocate the Angels I'm going to increase the size of my cardinal school from 15 to 25. Now that they are swimming as a tigher school I think the 25 will look stunning. This will leave a bolivian ram as my biggest fish.

One thing I did notice with my plants, is that I had thread algae under control, but after removing some plants and just leaving plant groupings in strategic areas this fast growing greyish thread algae has returned mostly on my Hygrophila Sunset. Although it comes right off if I touch the leaves with my gravel vac, but the next day I have 3 inch strands coming off the leaves again.

I've been keeping up with co2 and nitrate, but maybe because I have less plants the equation has changed.

My Scapes

Tetra,

The Rainbows are not SA they are Asian from right here in Indonesia (Irian Jaya). But then again the Congo Tetra's weren't South American either, they are African

If you want to stick to SA fish how about some rounder shaped tetras like Red Phantoms, Bleeding Hearts etc. Or more Rummies

The algae sounds a bit weird. Usually I find thread algae a bugger to get off leaves always firmly attached. The fact that yours come off so easily is strange. Maybe removeing some plants or stirring up the substrate when removing them may have temporarily knocked things out of whack.

You haven't put in any new driftwood recently by any chance have you ?

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Some days you're the pigeon and some days you're the statue.

Remember that age and treachery will always triumph over youth and ability.

Your right about the Congos, I guess I'm just thinking tetras.

No I haven't put new driftwood in. I try to take a pic and post. They are very fluid, loose strands just swaying from the leaves. The only think I've done is remove some plants. Actually I ran out of the fine filter pad in my eheim and that has been in there quite a while, but I don't think there is a connection.

My Scapes

Slightly off topic a moment:

Thread algae. Want to nuke it? Get the true Siamese Algae Eater, Crossocheilus siamensis, and let it loose on your thread algae. I bought two in 1999 for that express purpose, and my thread algae was totally exterminated at the end of 2 weeks. However, in a 46 gallon, you'd best stick to just one, as they grow FAST - mine grew from 1 inch to over 4 inches in less than 6 weeks!

Back to Tetras:

Congos are big and active, and need a long, shallow, spacious aquarium. It's not overdoing it to suggest an 8 foot aquarium to make them really happy, especially if you want a big shoal (12 or more). Bensaf's suggestion of more Rummies is an excellent one: on the other hand, if you want variety, try Rosy Tetras. Small and peaceful (about the same size as Lemons) but with gorgeous cerise-garnet coloured fin markings, and perky and active enough to be entertaining without undue fin-nipping worries. Shini's a big fan of them, and once my LFS got hold of them I became one too - only reason I don't have them is because I'd need a serious size upgrade to my Panda Fun Palace™ to fit them in with the current stock, and I'm not ditching the current stock because they're old friends!


Panda Catfish fan and keeper/breeder since Christmas 2002

Cali,

Thanks for the thread algae idea. Don't know if my setup can handle a sae.

Anyway once I find a home for my angels I'm going to increase my school of cardinals from 15 to 25. I do have a school of 7 rummys and they are great fish. Only lost one in a year and a half, but they tend to look washed out in my setup, whereas my cardinals stand out. Once I increase the cardinal school I might add a gourami or a keyhole cichlid as a centerpiece.

My Scapes

My 8 congos worked fine in my 55g. I plant mostly around the edges so they had the whole middle and front to swim. In the morning and evening they'd race around and display or even spawn. Then during the day they'd just gather in a group either in the plants or in the open middle and just sit there for a few hours. I'm not sure I'd put them in less than a 55g though.
If your looking for something less bold that will blend into your tank then a gourami would be great. My blue gourami likes to cruise around the plants and pick off dying bits or algae. If you want something small and possibly bolder than tetras there are small species of gouramis and threadfin rainbows. While a bit expensive threadfins look great as a good sized school in a planted tank.