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would an RTBshark get on well with wagtail platies? (or similar swordtails)

and maybe a pearl gourami as a centrepiece fish?

yeah ill probably go with my

15 flame tetras
3 red swordy's
6 black widows
5 more harlequins
and the 1 black angel.

Also noticing my below stocking list for the 55usgal atm.

Cheers

Pearl Gouramies have some white/pearlescent markings..but..if I did a red and black tank i'd do:
Blood Red male betta (3"
3 red female bettas with black stripes (3"
3 Pearl Gouramies(a male and 2 females)(6"
a Black Angel (7"
9 Harlequins ..maybe a few more if you do often water changes (2"

Have you considered black ruby barbs?
Cherry barbs are a good fish to consider as well. I used to have a rtbs that got along great with the cherry barbs. I think he/she thought it was a cherry barb.:%)

Swords are usually best in a ratio of 2 females to 1 male, but IMO it is BEST but not necessarily REQUIRED. That's just me.

Also, I personally would make the tetra schoold more even, like 10 and 10. Again, not a requirement, just my personal preference.

What if your centerpiece fish was a black angel? They're harder to find and more expensive, but pretty.

iltat said: "RTS should do fine with wagtails...they're not fin-nippers, but do remember that they may chase the wagtails a fair amount." My aunt also has a RTS in her community tank and it does just fine. If you get the shark small enough and give it a cave of some kind to call its own, it should leave its tankmates alone.
If not, as others also suggested, what about a school of cherry barbs or belted barbs? Not a good idea to have both a shark and barbs though.

The only thing you have to watch is overstocking. Using the 1" per galon rule:
10 black widows = 20"
10 flame tetras = 10"
3 swordtails = roughly 10"
angel = 5" (just to be safe)
RTS = 5"
That only gives you 50 inches, so you have 5 inches to work with.
Cherry barbs are 2" so if you got them instead of the shark and tweaked your tetra numbers a bit (but not below 6) you could get a school of them.

OR

15 flame tetras = 15"
2 red swordtails = roughly 7"
6 black widows = 13" (I'm making it come out to an even number)
Leaving you a bit over 20 inches to work with.

This rule is not always correct and in most cases leaves room for (IMO) 5 or so extra inches.

Sorry if this was confusing. It was kinda hard to put into words to explain :%) but I hope it helped. You really just need to make a list of the fish you want and tweak your numbers until you come to a total of 55-60 inches of fish. When I was deciding my stock list for my 55g I think I went through about 20 differnt lists until I was happy. It takes thought and patience. Good luck

atm im thinking

15 Flame Tetra's
2 red swordtails
6 black widows

Maybe a bit too much, but yeah im liking these lil babies atm. Also could i possibly squeeze in a single black fish.

Thanks

rad, some new ideas are still coming, i thought my choice of fish would be limited. I really need to go fish shopping soon, my 55gal is looking sooooo empty.

my tank is fairly red and black, though by accident rather than design. this includes

2 pearl gouramis, 1 firemouth, 10 tiger barbs, 1 rtbs.
i think a singe firemouth is a fair fish in a 55 community, as long as you don't crowd it, and adult ones (mine is still only 3" have a great red colour.

if you were going for livebearers i'd aim for swordtails rather than platies, since they're biger and a bit more robust vs rtbs and tiger barbs.

Buenos Aires Tetra, a Red and Black and silver fish. Gorgeous Schooling!
Heres a pic:
[link=Buenos Aires Tetra]http://www.aquariofilia.online.pt/peixes/tetra_buenos_aires_01.jpg [/link]
Another Pic of them
Head and Tail Lite Tetras?? Also red and black and silver
Head n Tail Lite
Harlequin Rasboras are also red and black
harlequin
Rummynose tetras are nice looking fish!
rummynose
Hope you have fun building your red and black tank!!
Please post a pic of it when you have it all stocked!!!


Come Play Yahtzee With Me!
http://games.atari.com
Http://www.myleague.com/yahtgames

My RTBS never bother the ol' wagtails. Mainly because the wagtails have kind of figered out where his territory is. So yeah there are some nice suggestions coming, maybe to make it easier for me, i could have a couple of stocking lists.

Cheers again

1)Don't school RTS in eight or more...while it DOES stunt their aggression and will eliminate territories, it'll also be causing a hyper-territorial fish to live in INTENSELY close proximity to others that it hates...not to mention that's far too many for a 55...

2)RTS should do fine with wagtails...they're not fin-nippers, but do remember that they may chase the wagtails a fair amount...

3)I'd recommend cherry barbs personally, but keep in mind the aggression levels of the various fish and who they may/may not get along with...e.g. RTS having a habit of being overtly aggressive to other Cyprinids (such as barbs) and other fish smaller than themselves...

PM/email/msg me if you have any questions/comments regarding me or my knowledge or if you want me to read a thread.

I want to stock my 55usgal. Yes i still haven't stocked it yet, and i just wanted to know if i had some options for a red/black themed tank. I kind of dont want just a bunch of black only fish or a bunch of red only fish. Kind of thinking red and black. So yeah, i hope you get what i mean.

See my stocking list for my 55usgal is practically red/black. Harlequin is pinky but still. So yeah, on a side note could i have a school of RTBS in the tank? Aswell as my school of harlequins when i eventually get it.


Cheers

Also Mollies come just red, just black or red and black.

but have red outline on their fins

That's only the females Males have a blue/grey color instead of the red.

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

Black Phantom Tetras? They are mostly black, but have red outline on their fins.
~ff~

-Formerly known as the Ferretfish

What about red velvet swords and black neon tetras? Cherry or rosey barbs? Otos? Red painted platys? Zebra/leopard danios? Black skirt tetras? I've also seen half balck guppies, and neon red serpaes. Neon serpaes are much redder than red serpaes. Solid black angels are gorgeous too. Flame gouramis aren't a brilliant red, but they might work depending on your taste. I know you said you wanted fish that are black and red, but IMO solid red and solid black would be cool too.

[span class="edited"][Edited by gartenzwerfe 2004-08-16 10:14][/span]

Belted barbs (http://www.fishprofiles.com/profiles/fw/profile.asp?id=Puntius++pentazona)

Good schoolers, not nippy, red & black. This pic was taken the day I bought mine. Good color then but it's acutally improved since they settled into their new home. The red of male cherry barbs used to be my favorite until I got these fish!

Theresa_M attached this image:
[img]http://www.fishprofiles.net/attachments/416333.jpg"]

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

sweet, just checking on the RTBS school.

And i got enough tiger barbs, i would like a large school of rummy's, but they are pretty damn expensive. People rekon i can't have betta's, so thats a no no. I might get a couple more redwagtail platys.

And i can't fit a Bgk. Well im pretty sure i can't

on a side note could i have a school of RTBS in the tank?

RTB sharks should either be kept singly or in a school of 8 or more. Any less than eight and they tend to fight with each other quite violently, and will eventually kill each other. Unfortunately, you don't have the space as they tend to be rather gregarious and claim large territories.

Joe Potato

big or small? i'm a big fan of a large school of rummynoses.

tuxedo guppies?

red/black swordtails?

red wag platies?

a red betta



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