# Mixing tetras, endlers and shrimp



## InfraredDream

Hello,

My family is discussing what we could add to our new 20 g. It's a planted one and hopefully will become a heavily planted  We currently have shrimps (wild cherries), endlers and snails. Kids would really love something colourful and I am looking at the nice sales IPU usually have on neons and lemon tetras (3 for $1.99). From what I read these guys live well in community, I wonder would they school together or we will need 3-5 of each. I need to also do some calculations and see what else we could have possibly there in the future.
We love barbs, but they are too aggressive to keep with tetras and endlers.
Maybe consider just the livebearers and get some platy and/or molly?

We probably would need some corries too, is the minimum that will make them happy 3?

I also wonder will any baby endlers and shrimps survive with tetras and or corries?

Too many questions, but that's how my home is lately - everybody suggesting fish and discuss  So I wonder what you experience people think.

Thanks!


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## jobber

Tetras and rasboras look great in a school of 6+. You can look at canadian aquatics for a few deals.

Rummynose tetra school together and have great colours.

The rasbora espeis that pieces71 are selling for cheap are very colourful and school together.

Wish I had a 20gallon to fill with livestock. Best of luck!


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## InfraredDream

Thank you. Just want to plan what we can happily have there  As I don't wanna be restricted later on and not being able to use the tank well.
I also would love to keep fry in the main tank if possible as I don't have room for yet another tank


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## pdoutaz

I don't know about the endlers, but I have lots of cherry shrimp in my 30 Gal tank with mixed tetras, BN plecos and 3 cories, and no issues - frequently see lots of new baby cherry shrimp, and no one bothers them


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## jobber

All the fish you've mention are "well behaved" community fish. 

aggressive fish to stay away from:
Angelfish
Cichlids (african/south american)
Most barbs

To counter barbs aggression, keep a few more together so it spreads their aggression amongst themselves.

Cories are awesome. They're really good when they're 6 or more. They will not be shy if kept in a "pack". The cories seem to remind me of a bunch of field mice scurrying around on the bottom.

I'm hoping to pick up a pack of 6 panda cories from canadian aquatics. But make sure the water has enough GH and mineral salt. I find that the cories are very sensitive to the water. I've learnt through trial and error and hope you don't need to go through that costly process.

The tetras, rummynose and rasboras, act more natural in a group.

Other types you may consider are rainbow fish, gouramis, pleco, and snails.

It must be exciting looking at different types of fish.


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## InfraredDream

pdoutaz, great! This is exactly what I would love to get in my 20 g  What kind of tetras you have in the mix? Do they all school together?

jobber604, yeah I knew some of these (never had lemon tetras, but they look awesome!) and I did some initial research on the rest before asking here. And was hoping to get some personal experience like the one pdoutaz gave. I don't wanna get the pregnant fish and shrimp out, etc. I just wanna have a nice community that no group is bothering the rest too much  And I don't wanna doa mistake with getting a wonderful looking fish like barbs that luckily I had before and know well and then be stuck with them and not able to fully use the capacity.

I do have snails  I LOVE gouramis, the colours are great! But again, not sure if they are well with tetras. I guess I'll stick with a nice mix of tetras that can school together if possible.

Thanks again everybody and please post more


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## VinnyD

for my tank..i have amano shrimps...along with neons and cardinal tetras..plus oto and cory cats...a few assassin snails ..and some zebra danios.obviously some of the critters aren't "colourful" but they add what i call character to the tank. 

amanos are very hardy and you dun have to worry about them getting eaten by small community fishes...but they dun breed well(need brackish water for the babies).they eat algae...and other types of food you put into the tank(fish flakes,pellets,discs,vegetables)...but because they are a decent size, they tend to be "feisty"(they will grab food and hog it). these shrimps go everywhere..kinda fun to watch

Cardinal and neon tetras..do well in groups of 6 or more...i just let them school together..and they usually hang out mid tank level...but they can be shy(especially if you have less than 4 of them..and if u have more active tankmates)...neons are cheaper..but they are known to have "neon tetra" issues(maybe it is a disease..dunno)...Cardinals are a bit more expensive and bigger..but their red stripe go full length(neons go half way). Both beautiful fishes...make sure they are able to eat food you put into tank tho if u have other critters with them because like i said, they hang out mid level

zebra danios..very hardy fishes...they are inexpensive...they have nice looking stripes..very active and playful..and they usually swim around the top of the tank. with that said...dun just put sinking food into tank...the danio might get hungry. there are some variations to the common zebra danios like long fin..coloured..yada. nice to have a few 4 or more...

otos and the cories are nice to have in a tank..they usually swim near the bottom half of the tank...the otos eat algae or vegetables..and the cories eat food aprticles around the bottom of the tank. the fishes do well if u have 4 or more for each species(like at least 3 otos and /or 4 or more cories). very fun to watch...otos are like bats..they will hang on to leaves..glass..wood..yada. cories are like mice haha like someone said..they scurry around the lower half of tank.

assassin snails...well...they eat other snails...great if u have a increasing population of pond snails...but dun get the assassins if u like to keep other snails cuz they might like their name states...downsize your snail community. they like to hide in the substrate so u might not be able to see them in action. plus..if u have too much other food available..they might not be that effective.

red cherry shrimps and green shrimps are also nice...if u have the right tankmates and equipment(prefilter intake mesh or sponge filter)...pretty hardy...but if u have the wild shrimps...it might interbreed with the red cherries.

hmm thats all the critters that i have/had in my tank....


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## plantedinvertz

Cories and most tetras will leave the endler fry alone. The tetras may eat the cherry shrimp babies if they get the chance


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## neven

on a side note, if you get an outbreak of pond snails you likely are over feeding. I've not bothered with my pond snails for quite some time and the population never seems to increase much (barely noticeable).

Amano's are definately food hogs, thats why when you feed, always hold back a bit of food and drop it in later, as you'll find yourself with a squadron of shrimp goin for the food. a couple of mine outsize my zebra danios and they definately show the fish that they take what they want. Cherry's though rarely go for the food i feed the fish. 

Remember that shrimp are food for most fishies, even mild tempered ones like tetra, so if they are small enough to fit in the mouth they may go for it. I've not seen anything in my tank attack my cherry shrimp since the day i added them (it was hectic for day one).

My stock is zebra danios, cardinals, black phantom tetra's, a guppy, a BN and an otoc.

On the flip side, if your cherry's breed and are overcrowding the tank, i recommend pulling out your brightest cherry's, and using them as breed stock in a nano tank (small easy to keep, great for your desk). Then throw in community tank a friendly pair cichlid or rainbow fish. They wont be *******s and hunt down the shrimp, they'll just naturally cull away some of the very small cherry's. If they go to far, you got that nano tank to keep your other tank's stock up.


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## wsl

If you're keeping dwarf shrimp, I'd be worried about keeping gouramis and rainbowfish with them. Heck, I've seen my neon tetras going after young shrimp many times (usually not successfully thankfully). Cories and otos are definitely safe to keep with shrimp in my experience though.


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## pdoutaz

InfraredDream said:


> pdoutaz, great! This is exactly what I would love to get in my 20 g  What kind of tetras you have in the mix? Do they all school together?
> 
> In my 30G I have Neon, Black Neon and Glowlight tetras, some zerbra danios, 4 Julie Cories and currently 5 juvie BN plecos (regular and Calico).
> Currently ABOUT 50-60 cherry shrimp - hard to get a count in a heavily planted tank
> Both Neons tend to school, and the glowlights form there own school, the cories usually hang around together also (which is cool to watch)
> Hope that helps...


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## Sandy Landau

Neons would go well with them but I have not found neons to school well except in a much bigger tank. They tend to hang around mid tank in various places and be somewhat boring. Cardinals are more colorful. However, cardinals typically enjoy very soft water and livebearers prefer it a little harder. Rainbow fish are much more interesting in general and you wouldn't need a big huge school. 

For corydoras I would recommend panda corydoras because they are smaller and very active. As well, dwarf corydoras of almost any kind would be good. I would recommend some otos if you have plants.

Some tetras can be nippy, so stay away from the black skirt tetra or phantom tetra with endlers. Zebra danios are similar to female endlers in colour and shape from a distance, so they might not look very colourful when combined with endlers.

Have you thought of a female betta or a peaceable dwarf gourami?


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## InfraredDream

Thanks for all the great replies! I will post more a bit later, just wanted to post a quick question before that.
We ended up getting 2 bloodfin glass tetras - the weekly special of IPU - VERY cute ones. The guy in the store told us they are community fish, so 2 of them are enough of a group. They are still pretty shy though, won't fight for food and run in the distant corner when I get close to the tank. And they stick together. So do you think I better get 2 more? Get 2-3 other tetras like lemon ones if they will school together? Or just give them a few days to relax.

Thanks!


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## neven

should be 5-6 bloodfins atleast some say 10. otherwise they'll remain skittish and hide for the most part, even with other tetras in the tank.


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## InfraredDream

I though so, that's why I asked. Will go and get some more later then. Thanks, neven!
(will they school with other tetras in the future?)


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## neven

im not sure about bloodfins, but most tetra's will only shoal with their own specific kind. My Cardinal and black phantoms have nothing to do with one another, they roughly stick to their groups, but due to the tanks small size, you don't see them shoal as you would in a large tank


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## InfraredDream

I see. So no hope in schooling them together, no lemon tetras then.

I guess the next group will be some cories in a month or so. I guess it will be best to get 4-5-6 at the same time too?


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## Byron H

No one has mentioned water parameters which is probably the most important consideration in a community tank. Endlers prefer basic harder water (pH 7 and above, GH 15-35d). Some tetra will be fine in this, some will not. Cardinals and rummynose were mentioned, they should not go in with livebearers as these require very soft acidic water if they are to remain healthier.

Some of the corys (esp if wild caught) would fall into the same boat.


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## InfraredDream

Nice input, thanks! Actually Sandy Landau mentioned that consideration.
So, forget about neons and cardinals then.

We like cories for a long time and we never had them before. Which one would you recommend with endlers, shrimp (cherry) and (now) bloodfin tetras? Panda and dwarf that Sandy Landau mentioned are very cute indeed!

Thanks a lot!


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## Byron H

InfraredDream said:


> Nice input, thanks! Actually Sandy Landau mentioned that consideration.
> So, forget about neons and cardinals then.
> 
> We like cories for a long time and we never had them before. Which one would you recommend with endlers, shrimp (cherry) and (now) bloodfin tetras? Panda and dwarf that Sandy Landau mentioned are very cute indeed!
> 
> Thanks a lot!


Water parameters again will determine this, plus temp. Pandas would be OK around neutral (slightly acidic-slightly basic) but can't tolerate high temps (above 78F) so if 75-77F, fine. Corydoras pygmaeus would be the best of the "dwarf" species, same water params as Panda. In both cases, make sure the tank is well established before adding these species, they do not adjust as well to newer tanks. Also be aware that Panda are prob the most difficult of the genus, they seem to catch anything out there, and as with all corys they do not tolerate medications and never salt.

Most of the corys you will find locally will be suitable. Rare species such as Charles or Grant import will be wild caught and thus demanding of more soft acidic water which I'm assuming is not what you are providing for the endlers and shrimp.


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## Sandy Landau

I have seen some Fluval Edge displays of male endlers mixed with celestrial pearl danios, which are also called galaxy rasboras. Both of these are small fish.


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## InfraredDream

Thanks for all the great replies!

I will take more bloodfins this week and I hope they will relax. I guess I have to ask IPU if they will take them back for a credit even if they don't. As right now I can't really enjoy the tank, every time I get closer they run and hide in their favourite distant corner. On feeding time they won't go up, they wait for me to get away from the tank and start swimming at the bottom below the food hoping to catch some leftovers - totally doesn't look like this is a normal behaviour.


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## NegativeLogic

If you really do like barbs, don't forget about cherry barbs, which are less aggressive than the other species. I currently have mine in with a nice colony of blue pearl shrimp, dwarf gouramis and some scarlet badis as well.

I'm sure that some of the young shrimp do get eaten, but my tank is heavily planted and it hasn't been an issue. The fish mostly ignore the shrimp.


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## InfraredDream

Sounds good!

My kids fell in love with some neon green guppy today and I wonder if interbreeding them with endlers is a good idea or not.


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