Boston Aquarium Society Message Board

any ideas.. lots of color for my 3 year old would be nice...

Is this a Biorb ?
( I think I remember you mentioning Biorb recently).
heated or no ?

What's your water chemistry like ?

I've got a few ideas, but my first thought without any other info would be variatus platies -- they are small but not tiny, colorful, tolerant of a wide range of temps (heated or not), hardy, and peaceful.
I'd cycle the tank with two platies and a handful of gravel from an established tank.

If you've got the room to deal with fry, a male with 3 or 4 females would work well in an 8gal IMO.
A few nerite snails to deal with algae, maybe some amano shrimp as well, and a little anubias, java fern, or java moss to add some "green" to the tank (and give fry a place to hide).

I've got a few other thoughts, but I want to wait until I hear if its a Biorb or not.

_________________
Rich
-- ---------------------------------------
Its new, its improved (its still a work-in-progress)
its http://redpaulhus.com !

yes its a biorb, and will be heated . got shotdown on my other suggestions. have not tested the h2o its mwra somerville

ok, basically, the major limiting factors in the Biorb are filtration (gentle biofiltration - good for moderate bioloads but not for really messy fishes) and substrate (big chunky rough edged porus stuff on the Biorbs packages I've opened). Lack of heat in the core package can also be a factor but you've got a heater so thats good.

Because of the gravel I avoid bottom dwelling fishes that prefer smooth gravel - cories, loaches, etc.
Small hardy fishes are the way to go.
Platies, or male guppies, or brightly colored danios (even glofish) such as rosy danios, or two small schools of micro-rasboras (maybe 4-5 each of a redish species and a greenish one) all come mind as possible ways to go. A pair or trio of colorful killies would be another cool option.

_________________
Rich
-- ---------------------------------------
Its new, its improved (its still a work-in-progress)
its http://redpaulhus.com !

I find kids prefer one larger "pet" fish, over a school of small fish and you also want something that is not skittish when the kids undoubtedly are poking at the tank. So I would probably go with a paradisefish, or one of smaller gouramis (not a dwarf) or a betta if the heater is able to keep the temp stable.

How tough are killies? I have never kept them before.

Not that tough, but they need higher quality food, frozen or live. They also like pretty stagnant, peat-stained water. Probably not the best fit for your tank.

I would agree with what people said before and say some small livebearers (I may be getting rid of some endlers soon) or a small group of schoolers. Celestial rasboras wouldn't be bad from what I've heard, and you could keep a decently sized group. Already mentioned, a single laberynth fish wouldn't be bad if the filtration isn't too strong.

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Trying to concentrate on dart frogs, African cichlids and Aphyosemion killifish (oh, and mysnake pair and reef too). I've always got something for sale, PM.

i'll have to get the tank up and running and see if i have to damper down the filtration..

thanks for the input..

Many killies are really colorful, but in my experience they are very skittish and even the non-annuals are still relatively short-lived, so I would not recommend them for a kid's tank. Some of the mouthbrooding bettas do okay with more flow than many of the bubble-nesting labrynths and might also be a good choice. Tony Pinto would be the man to ask about these.

tank is up and running, and warming to room temp as i type..

the mrs was thinking tetras.. or something with color..

who has the best south american fish in the boston area?

I'd go with Lovely Pets in Quincy, but it depends where you live. Uncle Ned's gets rare tetras in often, but the standard fare's probably better for that kind of tank. I'd assume he stocks run-o'-the-mill tetras as well if it's less of a drive for you.

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Trying to concentrate on dart frogs, African cichlids and Aphyosemion killifish (oh, and mysnake pair and reef too). I've always got something for sale, PM.

how is skipton?

Skipton's is great - several of the BAS members work there.

Oh yeah, Skipton's too. I just didn't think of it because I've only been there once and that was only for a few minutes. It's right next to the Reggie Lewis Center though, which means I may get a few more trips in, in the future. Great place from what I saw, someone else would have to tell you the tetra selection though.

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Trying to concentrate on dart frogs, African cichlids and Aphyosemion killifish (oh, and mysnake pair and reef too). I've always got something for sale, PM.

The only reason I wasn't suggesting a single larger fish like a betta or gourami is that many of my customers who bought biorbs were NOT happy with the idea of a single-fish aquarium (I can't print most of their comments on a family website).
I don't think the flow in a biorb would bother any of the common bettas or gourami's.
However - right now I would avoid "dwarf" gourami's, as there is a virus going around most of the dwarf gourami wholesale population from SE Asia and they are not in good shape.

The only downside I see to tetras is that if you cycle traditionally (ie slowly without any "boosters") you really can't add a full school at once to such a small tank - just 2 (maybe 3) fish at first, then 2 or 3 more after a few months, etc. Which can lead to skittish fish.
However - adding a booster like Stability (from Seachem) or Safestart (Tetra) can make it easier to add more fish sooner. But I'd probably plan on eventually having a single school of one species, rather than a noah's ark of 2 of this and 2 of that, if your going with tetras.

Skipton's had a pretty good mix the last time I was there, but I was out sick this weekend so I'm not sure for certain what's in stock.
Off the top of my head:
Cardinal Tetras
Black Neon Tetras
Silvertip Tetras
Rummynose Tetras (kinda delicate to cycle with)
Red-tail Blue Columbian tetras (too big)
Ember Tetras (my first choice - bright red and peaceful)
Von Rio Tetras
Blue Tetras
Redeye Tetras
Pristilla and gold Pristilla tetras
Congo Tetras (too big)
Head-and-Taillight tetras
Splashing Tetras
probably lots more I'm forgetting...

other small fishes in stock:
Danios
Celestial Pearl Danios
Harlequin rasboras
a few really nice "micro" rasboras including Boraras merah :

Emerald Eye rasbora (Rasbora dorsiocellata)
Norman's Lampeye (Aplocheilichthys normani)
Pygmy Gouramis
And probably a few more fish I'm forgetting.

I think the micro rasboras are small enough that you could keep 2 small schools, but they may be too small for a young child to enjoy.

Another option - add a little crushed coral gravel, add a little pH buffer to the water, place a few snail shells on the bottom, and put in a pair or trio of small shell dwelling cichlids.
As long as you kept up with the water changes, multi's would probably do fine in there.

_________________
Rich
-- ---------------------------------------
Its new, its improved (its still a work-in-progress)
its http://redpaulhus.com !