[glegleglo]

I have 8 neon tetras and 3 otos in a 30G, but my parents would like me to add a "bigger" fish. I don't know if it's bc they are getting older and are having trouble seeing the fish (I gave up seeing my otos anyways) but they are very adamant about it. I'll probably add more neon tetras but can anyone offer me some suggestions on what "bigger" fish I can add that won't eat the existing inhabitants? Thank you!

 

[TheJadeShrimp]

I suggest:

Gourami
Angelfish
Ram

 

[touch of sky]

Angelfish are fine when small, but will eat neons as the angelfish get larger. Some angels are fine with neons, if raised with them, but other are not and consider neons as snack size. Otos can also sometimes suck the slime coat of angels, although, I personally have not had this happen to my fish.

I think gouramis are a nice choice, and pearl gouramis are a large, and very peaceful fish.

I also think long finned rosy barbs are nice. They should be kept in a shoal of at least six, and I would try to get more females than males. They don't look like much when youngsters at a fish store, but develop a beautiful colour as they age and settle into an aquarium. I have not found them to be fin-nippers and seem to be kept busy with each other and don't bother other tankmates.

 

[adamprice271]

A pair of Pearl gouramis, German blue or Bolivian Rams, Festivum, Madagascar Rainbows...something like that.

Adam

 

[Noahma]

I would say A German Blue Ram, They are peaceful and beautiful fish with personality. They can be a bit sensitive to water quality, if you think you would have issues try the Bolivian Ram, they are similar, less colorful, lots of personality and a bit more forgiving of water quality.

 

[TheJadeShrimp]

Otos can also sometimes suck the slime coat of angels, although, I personally have not had this happen to my fish.

I don't Otos do that. I thought that was SAE that did that?

 

[touch of sky]

As I mentioned, I have never had that happen, but someone on the angelfish forum mentioned that they had problems with otos. I think it is just the odd one that can be kind of a rogue, not a general problem. Just something to keep in mind.

 

[Jaguar]

Rams look beautiful with neons, but they can be hard to keep. But I think if you can keep neons you can keep rams too.... I've had more problems with neons.

Electric blue or German blue rams would be your best bet, Bolivians are nice too and some claim they're more hardy but their colors aren't as bold. Get a male and like 3 females, and let him pick his mate. Then you can rehome the other girls, bring them back to a LFS, or try them out with another male.

 

[TheJadeShrimp]

You could also get another betta.

Plakat Bettas are very beautiful. But some have an attitude. Plakats are the true fighting fish. I had a sweet gentle giant with shrimps. Just depends on the attitude.

 

[DeusExCalibur]

+1 on some kind of gourami. I find them to be quite graceful, actually.

 

[Jadenlea]

I would vote for a pair of Blue Rams. They are beautiful, peaceful, they will pair for life and I really don't think they are that hard to keep. They do like clean water, but mine lived through the new england power outage and freezing water this past october! I didnt have power for 4 days.

http://www.aquahobby.com/gallery/e_German_Blue_Ram_Mikrogeophagus_ramirezi.

 

[glegleglo]

Thank you so much everyone, I really appreciated the input. I'm thinking of going with the Pearl Gourami or the Rams, whichever I can find around here. Did most of you get them from your lfs or order them online? Unfortunately, I only have petco & petsmart by me and they don't sell either.

 

[Jadenlea]

my petco here gets GBRs fairly regularly. They also get bolivans but they are called crown ruby cichlids there

 

[allaboutfish]

id do 20-neon tetras,2-gold rams,3-pearl gouramis 3-ottos

 

[Jaguar]

Pearl Gouramis are pretty, but I find them to be pretty boring in terms of personality... especially compared to Rams. Rams are a lot of fun to watch, they have a really unique swimming pattern... they go, stop cold, ripple their fins, go forward a bit more, stop again... follow your shadow around the tank... suck up and spit out your sand (and uproot your carpet plants)... LOL. They prefer the lower-mid area of the tank too, so they would generally be out of the way of the neons (who I find prefer mid-top like gouramis do) If you have a mated pair and your water params are right (they like low pH and soft water), they like to spawn and that is a lot of fun to experience too.

Here's a video of one I found that pretty much shows everything I mentioned:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=um5-whZ4OLE

 

[roadmaster]

Neon's prefer much cooler water than the blue ram's and both would not be a good fit in my view.(Cardinal tetra's and blue ram's could work)
Bolivian ram could work and I have seen these at petco .
I have ordered fish online from reputable sources and would quit the hobby if Petco,Petsmart.walmart,etc were the only choices I had with respect to variety or fishes that interested me and were compatible with my tapwater.

 

[wetworks]

I also think GBR would be a good choice. You may also look at adding a few Denosonii Barbs (Roselines).

 

[glegleglo]

Thanks everyone for the great advice! It turns out that Petco by my house does have Blue Rams and Pearl Gourami. They usually restock Thursday so I want to wait until next week to see what has survived. Although Petco isn't my ideal choice, I'd rather take a risk with them than shelling out $25 just for shipping, and I will say that I did get my neon tetras at Petsmart and they are pretty hardy. They survived the worst handling I have seen by a worker and (2) two week long power outtages (Irene & the snowstorm did a number on my town). So I'll just hold my breath and hope

 

[Noahma]

Thanks everyone for the great advice! It turns out that Petco by my house does have Blue Rams and Pearl Gourami. They usually restock Thursday so I want to wait until next week to see what has survived. Although Petco isn't my ideal choice, I'd rather take a risk with them than shelling out $25 just for shipping, and I will say that I did get my neon tetras at Petsmart and they are pretty hardy. They survived the worst handling I have seen by a worker and (2) two week long power outtages (Irene & the snowstorm did a number on my town). So I'll just hold my breath and hope

Rams go great with Neons, post some pics once everything is up and running.

 

[LB79]

Apistogramma cacatuoides? Laetacara curviceps? Keyhole cichlids? Nannacara Anomala