# schooling



## ajbwrg (Nov 11, 2011)

I want to do a school of fish in my 150 gal tank. what do you guy think would be the coolest fish for this.


----------



## crazy72 (Apr 22, 2010)

What other fish will you have in there? Or will it be just the one school? And is it planted?


----------



## target (Apr 21, 2010)

Yep, definitely depends what you have in there already. I live rummy nose tetras. Very active and they look good.


----------



## ajbwrg (Nov 11, 2011)

its not planted yet and will only have guppies and platties


----------



## crazy72 (Apr 22, 2010)

Then the choice virtually unlimited, but personally I'd go with some tetras because they typically school so well. They'd likely take care of all your guppy/platty fry though, unless you provide them with plenty of hiding spots (e.g. heavily planted). Depending on what you want to do, this could be a good thing or a bad thing.

Rummys are great, as Daniel suggested. Myself I'm a bit of a cardinal fan. I don't know how many livebearers you have in there, but in a 150G I think a large school (100+ or a lot more) of cardinals would look gorgeous. 

Rasboras are nice, too, but I've never kept them so I don't know how well they school.


----------



## ajbwrg (Nov 11, 2011)

Ive always wanted to do a huge school of fish. my first thought was neons, I think I am going to go with that, Any idea where I can get that many ?


----------



## crazy72 (Apr 22, 2010)

ajbwrg said:


> Ive always wanted to do a huge school of fish. my first thought was neons, I think I am going to go with that, Any idea where I can get that many ?


Several BCA sponsors have some at the moment. April, IPU and Charles (Canadian Aquatics) to name a few.

Neons are nice, but IMHO, cardinals are nicer...


----------



## gklaw (May 31, 2010)

target said:


> Yep, definitely depends what you have in there already. I live rummy nose tetras. Very active and they look good.


Hey Daniel: I had a toss up at KE betw rummy nose and cardinal yesterday. Cardinal won - this time 

ajbwrg: I heard Patrick (MyKiss) got a whole bunch of cardinal ? You may want to PM him.


----------



## Arcteryx (Nov 23, 2011)

100+ in a school would be something to see...


----------



## jkcichlid (Apr 21, 2010)

In a decently planted 150G a school of congo tetras would look awesome.. They are fish with enough body and color to fill out the space as well as use much of the tank space as they school back and forth.


----------



## charles (Apr 21, 2010)

I would do 100 cardinal, 100 rummynose, 100 hatchet, 100 cory


----------



## Luke78 (Apr 24, 2010)

Like the schools of cardinals and rummynose(they school the tighest,add plenty of colour and activity)myself,but after acquiring some lemon tetras recently they sure do look nice and keep a tight formation as well so iam leaning towards them now.


----------



## waynestractor (Nov 9, 2011)

Harlequin Rasboras school very well...and look nice with our Neons, we have 6 right now but plan on another 6 or so eventually.


----------



## bingerz (Mar 3, 2011)

crazy72 said:


> Myself I'm a bit of a cardinal fan. I don't know how many livebearers you have in there, but in a 150G I think a large school (100+ or a lot more) of cardinals would look gorgeous.


I would've said acei's, cuz i'm an african cichlid fan, but after looking up those cardinals....that would look impressive!!! :bigsmile:


----------



## crazy72 (Apr 22, 2010)

bingerz said:


> I would've said acei's, cuz i'm an african cichlid fan, but after looking up those cardinals....that would look impressive!!! :bigsmile:


I remember seeing a pic of a Tom Barr tank with a huge school (300? 500?) of cardinals and it looked fantastic. Also they had a tank of cardinals at the Vancouver Aquarium a while back, with bamboo if I remember correctly, and that looked awesome too. I don't know if they still have it, I haven't been in a while. Anyway, for me there's something special with cardinals. Always been like this for as long as I've known them.


----------



## Morainy (Apr 21, 2010)

All the fish that have been described would be stunning in a group, but if you are planning to mix them with the guppies and platys that you already have, then I would recommend getting fish that enjoy the same water conditions.

Cardinal tetras appreciate soft, acidic water with little mineral content, and livebearers seem to be more prone to disease if they don't have harder water. Cardinal tetras also usually enjoy warmer water than guppies do. So, I wouldn't recommend putting 100 cardinal tetras together with 100 guppies.

I've never had a tank as large as that. You are so lucky to be in the planning stages of such an amazing adventure!


----------



## crazy72 (Apr 22, 2010)

Morainy said:


> All the fish that have been described would be stunning in a group, but if you are planning to mix them with the guppies and platys that you already have, then I would recommend getting fish that enjoy the same water conditions.
> 
> Cardinal tetras appreciate soft, acidic water with little mineral content, and livebearers seem to be more prone to disease if they don't have harder water. Cardinal tetras also usually enjoy warmer water than guppies do. So, I wouldn't recommend putting 100 cardinal tetras together with 100 guppies.
> 
> I've never had a tank as large as that. You are so lucky to be in the planning stages of such an amazing adventure!


This is a good point, Maureen. My cardinals are doing fine in neutral pH and "average" (~25 degrees) temperature. I have also kept guppies in similar conditions, and that seemed to work too, but I don't know enough about guppies to be able to tell whether they were as healthy and nice as they should have been.


----------



## ajbwrg (Nov 11, 2011)

This is great allot of different opinions and ideas. I think Im going with cardinals. I will put the guppy in a different tank.I started this whole project from scratch. I built the tank , stand and lid. All I need is some good lights so I can get it planted. I really appreciate the help. Now I just need to find some real cheap Cardinals. I don't think my wife would appreciate me spending $400 on 100 fish.


----------



## bingerz (Mar 3, 2011)

wow! you built that tank?? You have to put up some pictures of it. I was thinking about building a bigger tank....one day, that is. How much did it cost? Is it difficult?


----------



## ajbwrg (Nov 11, 2011)

I was really easy if you have the space and contacts. I got the glass free from one of my suppliers and my father inlaw made the support rings and the stand was easy too, but I have alot of tools and Im a glazier by trade.I did allot of reading first ( boy is there allot of crap on the internet ). I just built a 30 gal as well all seamless no supports. I will post pics soon.


----------



## grizadams_7mm (Aug 29, 2011)

May I also suggest adding Emerald Eye Rasboras, they do school really well and have a nice flash to them.


----------



## crazy72 (Apr 22, 2010)

ajbwrg said:


> I was really easy if you have the space and contacts. I got the glass free from one of my suppliers and my father inlaw made the support rings and the stand was easy too, but I have alot of tools and Im a glazier by trade.I did allot of reading first ( boy is there allot of crap on the internet ). I just built a 30 gal as well all seamless no supports. I will post pics soon.


Wow, this is great! Yes, please do post pics.


----------

