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I've never kept guppies so I can't help you specifically there, but I have kept zebra and leopard danios and they definitely school together happily. They don't seem to distinguish between each other at all.

How about considering one of Sneaky_Pete's stocking plans, but instead of the more colourful tetras you could have the guppies instead?

For example:
6 Danios
6 glass cats
1 Pleco
6 Tetras...maybe 3 black, 3 white as suggested by Cory Addict (thanks for the info, I didn't know they would school together)
Plus a bunch of guppies

How does that sound? Do the guppie-keepers have any comments?

Also a note about the need for keeping certain fish in schools: I've had fish before that I've just had one or two of, following the advice of the people at the local fish store. They seemed happy and healthy. Then people on here advised me to get more and I grudgingly did so. Suddenly I discovered why they're happier in groups. Their behaviour changed, they became more active, they explored the whole tank and stuck up for themsleves more against their tank-mates at feeding time.

Of course, it's completely up to you whether you take any advice from people here, but in my personal experience the one about schooling fish is very valuable advice.

Lost another female guppy today ...

Its weird she appeard healthy as can be last night and this morning she was gone. I think thats the last guppy i get from that store... Although the males i got from the same place have done fine. So have the Harlequins I got from there too.

Don

petsmart is ok, petco usually isn't. Of course this is my opinion

Ok got me some more fish!

As of now I have

1 Common Pleco
1 Black Widow Tetra
1 Other Tetra (White - I still can't determine what she is)
6 Zebra Danios
5 Harlequin Rasboras
4 Fancy Guppies (2 Male/2 Female)

I had purchased another female guppy last weekend but she didn't last the day... not really sure why, she looked healthy enough when I put her in my tank.

I still plan on getting a few more harlequins (3-5)
Maybe a few more Danios (4)

And either another small school of smaller fish (neons, cardinals, silver-tips, serepes{SP}, enders) not sure there

Or I was thinking of getting a pair of Gouramis. Is this a good Idea? Would the Gouramis be aggressive towards my other fish? I was looking at a pair of Drawf Fire Gouramis at my lfs today and they looked pretty nice

Also I have bought my harlequins from the local Petco instead of my lfs only because they looked much more healthier there... is it taboo to buy fish from a chain of pet stores IE: PetCo, PetSmart and the like?

Don

Regarding the danios, zebras and leopards will school together, even when there are adequate schools of both.

This is because the two species are very closely related, and many scientists even consider them to be simply different varieties of the same species.

---

I'm not your neighbor, you Bakersfield trash.

Bought me some fish today...

I got 3 fancy guppies, and 2 harleguin rasboras (all they had left, but they looked extremely well so i got them)

I was gonna get more glass cats but i am concerned because the ones at the store are alot smaller than the one i got now... will that be a problem?

Don

uh oh... what have we done? created another addict! :%)

I think my first order of business is getting more glass fish... atm i only have one... he is the only one i have had since the others died out 2 years ago...

i am glueing rocks together to make some small caves (and one big one for the pleco) hopefully if these stick i will get them in by friday and saturday go fish shopping...

i have been reading some on these "enders livebearers" these guys look kinda cool too... bah im so confused... so many fish too little space! No wonder alot of you have more than one tank... maybe i will have to set my 29 gallon tank back up... all it needs is a new filter.

Don

Glassies are VERY tight schoolers.

The only question I can really answer is the danios schooling. I currently have 8 danios - 4 zebra, 4 leopard (well technically my sister has them but anyway :%)) they all school together just as strongly as a school of all zebra or all leopard. Hope that helps.

I agree about the glass cats needing more than 3 to be happy.

Last edited by whetu at 17-Nov-2004 00:06

10 danios 6 zebra 4 leapord ( they should school together right?)

Unfortunately, I don't believe the two different danios will school together

2. Can I get different finds of tetras? will they school together?

No, different kinds of tetras will not school together, possibly shoal if they need to(scared, etc.)

3. Can I get a pair of guppies or should I get 3 or more?

Guppies are considered a "group" fish, so 3 is the best, but IMO 2 is ok

4. Are all these fish compatable? If not suggestions...

The only compatibility problems I see is that many of the fish are surface dwellers, excluding guppies(anywhere) and plecos(bottom)
I know that both the danios and the glass cats are surface-dwellers for sure

5. My wife likes Balloon Mollies I told her they were probably too big to add to our tank, but are they? If not how many should/could I get?

Not too sure on this one, but I think you would need to remove some fish before adding ballon mollies(I think they are pretty cool, too)

6. What kind of live plants should I get to go with the fish I mentioned above.

Any plants should be fine, just look up if they are actual aquatic plants and can survive/thrive in your lighting conditions and water parameters

Besides that, I would especially keep the glass cats in schools, because they are pretty sensitive



Last edited by Me is already in use at 16-Nov-2004 23:54

Last edited by me is already in use at 16-Nov-2004 23:56

Ok i think i am narrowing down my list here...

ATM

I am gonna get 4 more danios (leopard this time)

8 harlequin rasboras

3 more tetras

3 guppies ( 1 male and 2 female?)

and 2 more glass cats

this would bring me to

10 danios 6 zebra 4 leapord ( they should school together right?)

8 harlequin rasboras

5 tetras

3 guppies

3 glass cats

and 1 pleco.

Now a couple of questions.

1. Is this too much fish?
2. Can I get different finds of tetras? will they school together?
3. Can I get a pair of guppies or should I get 3 or more?
4. Are all these fish compatable? If not suggestions...
5. My wife likes Balloon Mollies I told her they were probably too big to add to our tank, but are they? If not how many should/could I get?
6. What kind of live plants should I get to go with the fish I mentioned above.

ok so that was more than a couple questions :%)
But you guys have been great so far.

Don

ok, here is what i am thinking so far

I have my 6 zebra danios, 4 more zebras or 4 leopard danios. I like the looks of both of these danios and if they school together i would like to get both instead of a bunch of one.

I am gonna add 5 glass fish.

I am gonna get 6 fancy guppies

I have my big-arsed pleco

i have the 2 tetras I know the lfs has more of the black tetras, but im not sure on the white. But I will get 4 more tetras

that will leave me with\

10 danios
6 glass fish
6 guppies
6 tetras
1 pleco

is this overcrowding my 55 gallon tank? can i add more fish? can i get another school of fish say 5-8 of maybe a barb or rasbora or maybe neon or cardinal tetras? or should i add more of the existing fish i have listed above?

If i weren't so attached to the tetras i have I would trade them in but i am kinda fond of the little buggers.

what about decorations. I want to put a nice sized cave for my pleco because he likes to hang out in this fake plastic log that i have in the tank but it seems to be getting small for him and i was thinking of adding a piece of driftwood and then some live plants and assorted rocks to fill in the tank. any suggestions on decorations?

I borrowed some books from the local library and in one of them it mentions making sure that the fish swim in diffent parts of the tank. IE: top, middle and bottom... im not sure what to make of that? can someone explain this? am i getting alot of fish that will hog the same space?

thanks everyone, I appreciate all the advice, and am glad I found this forum... i was hardpressed to find a decent aquarium advice place on the web...

Last edited by DonnieBoy at 12-Nov-2004 22:38

Hello all,

I recently upgraded from a 20 gallon tank to a 55 gallon tank and want some suggestions as to how to stock it. Right now all that is there is

6 zebra danios (just bought these to test the water)
1 Pleco
1 glass cat
1 black tetra
1 white (?) tetra

I would like a few schools of fish, it doesnt matter if they are egg layers or live bearers. My wife would like some fancy guppies but other than that we are open for suggestions. How many fish can we have in a 55 gallon? we were kind of understocked with our 20 gallon i think but we recently lost an angel fish and last year lost 2 other glass cats.

some fish i would be interested in are neons, mollies and some kind of loach, i was leaning towards kuli (SP) loaches but after reading some posts here about the clown loach, i might go with them instead.

any help is appreciated. i would like to have a few different kinds of fish but are not sure what go good together. My black tetra can get kinda moody but so far he has left the danios alone.

what about puffer fish. I have heard these are aggresive, are they and if not are they ok to go in a community tank?

thanks

Don

Actually, they do fine in groups of 5-6 (although more is better, obviously).

The black and the white tetras are hanging out together because they are the same species, black skirt tetras. The only difference is that one has been bred into a semi-albino form. If you want, you could have a school of 6 skirt tetras made up of 3 black skirts and 3 white skirts.

---

I'm not your neighbor, you Bakersfield trash.

glass cats need to be kept in a group of atleast 8

---

''All the clown fish and yellow tangs in the world cant save you now!''

I'm pretty sure the black tetra is a black widow, but i am not sure what the white tetra is it is all white with long, fancy fins.

My wife wants guppies, so I will probably get some guppies and then im not sure if what else some that i have seen at the fish store are

cherry barbs (but are these aggresive?)
harliqune rasbora(SP)
maybe some neons or cardinal tetras
maybe some leapord danios also (will these get along with the zebras?)

what about hatchets?

I am gonna get some more glass cats for sure, probably 3 or 4 more.

and my 2 tetras seem to get along very well they are always hanging out together even though they are not the same kind of tetra.

when getting a group of fish what is the male/female ratio i should follow? 1 male to 2 female? can they be all male or female or will they fight?


Don

Last edited by DonnieBoy at 12-Nov-2004 00:59

I hope I'm not asking the obvious, but of the fish you listed do you plan to keep all of them in this tank?

~~~~~~~~~~~~
There is water at the bottom of the ocean

I agree with some of the other posters, you should add more of the glass catfish and the tetras. They do much better in groups, where they are less stressed, happier, more active, and less disease-e. Six of the catfish, and six each of the tetras is just fine for your stocking. I wouldn't add anything else after that.

---

And when he gets to Heaven, to Saint Peter he will tell: "One more Marine reporting, Sir! I've served my time in Hell."

3 Angels, some rams, plecos and a large school of cardinals or rummynoses would look great. As long as you keep the water warm (82f - 85f) and clean weekly or bi-weekly water changes of at least 15%.



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