[Tetranerd]

I have a 90 gal tank with 12 black skirt & 20 cardinal tetras cohabiting with 3 albino bristle nose pleco & 6 emerald cories. Looking for suggestions for a larger fish that can do OK in a community tank but stand up for themselves with the black skirts. Water's fairly soft with a pH of 6.8-7.0. Any suggestions would be appreciated. Thanks!

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[Plant keeper]

Keyhole cichlid

 

[james1542]

You could try a shoal of discus if your water temps are high enough. They are extremely challenging though so do your homework before getting any!

 

[mcaquatic]

is it a planted tank? if not look into a fei feng. Amazing looking fish. Would outgrow your tank though, just not sure how long it would take. Also pretty sure it wouldn't touch the other fish, but you would need to double check that.

 

[Tetranerd]

Thank you everyone! It is a planted tank.

I'll check out your suggestions.

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[wicca27]

a couple of angels like 3 or so would be nice and if you get them when small (not adult) they should do ok. i have a breeding pair of angels in my 55 with a large group of columbian tetras a few guppies and 2 hill stream loaches. my temp in the tank is between 70 and 75 and they are fine and breed there.

 

[Tetranerd]

Black skirts won't chew up the angels?

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[farrenator]

rainbows!

I have a 90 gal tank with 12 black skirt & 20 cardinal tetras cohabiting with 3 albino bristle nose pleco & 6 emerald cories. Looking for suggestions for a larger fish that can do OK in a community tank but stand up for themselves with the black skirts. Water's fairly soft with a pH of 6.8-7.0. Any suggestions would be appreciated. Thanks!

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[LB79]

How many skirts are there? You could try angels, or discus, but I'd go with some cichlids like the keyholes.

 

[greatoutdoorsman65]

perhaps you could do some angels or discus as well as even a small shoal of assorted rams. another good centerpiece would be some rainbowfish or even some larger tetras such as bleeding hearts

 

[jemminnifener]

What about gourami? Like lace/pearl gourami, three-spot gourami (gold, blue, opaline), moonlight gourami...

 

[HybridHerp]

problem is the cardinals, since they are so small, most larger fish would potentially eat them.
only thing I could think of, that I think is a cool idea tbh, is an elephant nose fish.

 

[LB79]

OOPS! 12 skirts.... missed that one... With that number I think they would leave angelfish alone.

 

[Ike]

A couple Bolivian Rams would be nice, and they'll hold their own.

 

[Tetranerd]

Wow!

Thanks! Lots of ideas to consider - main suggestions being keyhole cichlids, rams, angels, discus, rainbows, bleeding hearts or fei feng. I looked up the fei feng - don't think that will work for what I have. I already re-homed a common pleco because I didn't know enough when I bought him. Don't want to do that again if possible. All the others look like they would work great. My tank is on the warm side (78). I guess I need to do some studying now. Anyone know a good source for some large vals?

 

[LB79]

aquariumplants.com. Absolutely epic place.

 

[farrenator]

If you want to get sucked into the world of rainbow fish spend some time reading this: http://rainbowfish.angfaqld.org.au/Melano.htm

Thanks! Lots of ideas to consider - main suggestions being keyhole cichlids, rams, angels, discus, rainbows, bleeding hearts or fei feng. I looked up the fei feng - don't think that will work for what I have. I already re-homed a common pleco because I didn't know enough when I bought him. Don't want to do that again if possible. All the others look like they would work great. My tank is on the warm side (78). I guess I need to do some studying now. Anyone know a good source for some large vals?

 

[Tetranerd]

If you want to get sucked into the world of rainbow fish spend some time reading this: http://rainbowfish.angfaqld.org.au/Melano.htm

Which, of that huge list, would you recommend I consider?

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[farrenator]

The common ones found at most aquariums are :
M. Boesmani
M. Lacustris (Turqouise rainbow)
M. Herbertaxelrodi
M. Praecox (stay small and most of what you see in stores is bad examples - washed out/overbred)
M. Splendida Inornata (I had a pair and they were AWESOME! Really colored up when displaying to each other).
G. Incisus
G.

Frankly, your best bet would be to call stores local to you to see what they carry and then do your research on the website since that will tell you how big they get. Most will get to 4" or more. If the store says they have the generic 'Australian Rainbowfish' stay away. These are normally mass raised fish in Florida ponds that are a mish-mash of different strains and aren't that good looking.

If you want to geek out some more, a good resource for US based rainbow fish keepers is www.rainbow-fish.org

I kept rainbows for a couple of years and then decided I wanted to keep tetras. I have had tetras for about 1 year and while I like schooling fish they aren't nearly as interesting as rainbows. When rainbows start displaying to each other they take on some beautiful colors and are a sight to see. I am definitely going back at some point.

Which, of that huge list, would you recommend I consider?

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[Tetranerd]

Thanks, farrenator! I'm making a trip to my lfs (Preuss Pets in Lansing, MI) this weekend hoping to pick up my Christmas present - centerpiece fish. Rainbows & Keyholes are running neck & neck right now, closely followed by Angels & Rams.

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