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I recently have decided that I'm going to give up discus and try to get some rainbow fish for my 58G tank. It is a planted tank at around 78 degrees with a Eheim Professional II canister filter. Currently I have in there 6 rummynose tetras and 3 black phantom tetras, though I'm going to get around 8-10 more rummynose tetras and 3 more black phantom tetras and a few other fish. The population WITHOUT the rainbows will be as follows:

14-16 rummynose tetras
6 black phantom tetras
3 golden rams
3 yoyo loaches
6 cardinal tetras

I am only putting the rams and the cardinals in there if I have to combine my 10G tank into my 58G tank before I go to college - the other option would be to bring it with me, but for the moment I need to know if the tank is overstocked with the rainbows WITH the inhabitants of the 10G, if that makes any sense.

Anyways, I want to get 6 praecox (I believe that's how you spell it) and 6 theadfin rainbows. Will these species be in conflict with any fish in the tank? Will it be over stocked with these and the species listed above in the 58G? Is there anything I should know about these fish? I've done a bit of research, but I plan to do more, and anything anyone can tell me would be great.

discus lover hi
my suggestion would be to not put the rams in their with the rainbows.they are fast moving and will make them nerves.
also with tetras their kind of nippy and would prob nip at the threadfin rainbows.
my suggestion would to put 10 rummynose,6 plack phantoms,6 praecox, and some corys.
the reason for the corys is beacuse that yoyo loaches seem to be mean to each other when in tanks togehter. if you still want to do loaches i would say a shoal oh khulli loach.but i still would go with corys.
as for more rainbows maybe some aussies and boesiamns.quite attractive. if you have anymore qusetions pm me or im or email.
have a good one

I've heard that regarding loaches, 3 seem to be the magic number and they maintain their activity within themselves when you have three or more. Are you saying you disagree? I have previously tried to keep cories but with absolutely no luck.

In my experience, having previously kept rams, they don't seem to be fast moving. And also, maybe I've just never kept fish with enough long, flowing finnage, but the rummies tend to actually not nip at all. -shrug- I may be wrong however.

Does anyone else have an opinion?

Well I did have some rummy nose once and although they were nice looking they nipped just about every fish in the tank ]

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I don't have any experience with the Threadfins but I think the Praecox will do fine. Rainbows are peaceful but also athletic enough to take care of themselves. They are active swimmers but I have 9 Praecox in a 55G with three Pearl Gouramis and the rainbow's activity doesn't bother the Gouramis at all. There is also a Krib in the tank and there are no issues between the Krib and Praecox. They are great little fish but all Rainbows are somewhat sensitive to nitrates. Live plants, good filtration and frequent water changes are really important. They don't seem to mind being somewhat crowded physically but watch the water quality closely.

[span class="edited"][Edited by steve 2004-08-25 23:53][/span]

You say that all rainbows are sensitive to nitrates - how high is too high? I dose regularly with nitrates because my plants need them, and if I don't dose the nitrates quickly go to 0 and an algae bloom occurs. I try to keep the levels between 10 and 15ppm - is that too high?

No, that's fine. I try to keep my around 10 to 20 ppm. They will survive higher nitrates but will really show much better coloration and activity with low nitrates and fresh water. I often say that the best thing about keeping rainbows is that they really let you know when you do something right. A water change or live food will instantly make them show breeding colors and increased activity. They reward you for your work. Live plants seem to really help them stay healthy as well so keep those plants thriving.

I've been doing a lot of reading about rainbows lately. Most people recommend threadfins in a species tank. I've seen them at a few lfs and was very tempted but I bought dwarf neons (praecox) instead. Great coloring, they don't get too large, and they school well. If you happen to get Aquarium Fish Magazine the July issue has a big article on rainbows.

I have both bottom feeders but my personal preference is loaches. Kuhlis are nice but they're noctural by nature. Some people-myself included-get those that once they're comfortable in the tank become more diurnal but that's iffy. Depending on what's available in your area you could get yo-yos, queens, zebras, dwarfs...no need for a school, a group of three or more is fine. Loaches Online has a lot of good info.

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