1, Common name: Chain loach
Scientific name: yasuhikotakia sidthimunki.
origin: laos and Thailand.
Size: Around 5cm/2"
water: pH 6.0-8.0.26c/79f
Aquarium: A mid-water resident, this very peaceful, easy-to keep fish thrives in large groups. It feeds on Daphnia and cyclops. As a bonus, it is more active in the day than most other loaches.
Price: £5-£10, depending on size and availability.


2, Common name: Cherry barb
Scientific name: Puntius titteya.
origin: Sri Lanka, ut now masss-produced on fish farms.
Size: 5cm/2"
water: Ideally neutral or slightly soft and acidic.
Aquarium: Although juvinile and females are quite drab, good feeding sees males turn brick-red.
keep in a mixed-sex groups of at least six in a planted tank with other peaceful species.
Price: £1-2, depending on size.


3, Common name: Glowlight tetra.
Scientific name: Hemigrammus erythrozonus
origin: South America.
Size: 3.5cm/1.5"
water: Soft, acidicwater, but will adapt to harder, more alkline conditions.
Aquarium: Planted tanks of 60x30x30cm/4", with plenty of free swimming space. keep in groups of five or more.
Price: £1.25.


4, Common name: Boesman's rainbow.
Scientific name: melanotaenia boesemani.
origin: Iran Jaya indonesia.
Size: Around 10cm/4"
water: pH 7.0-8.0, 26c/79f.
Aquarium: 75x38x38cm/30"x15x15" and over. Like the cherry barb, a good diet (bloodworm and colour foods) brings out their colour. Keep in small shoals of both sexes in medium and large planted aquaria. Perfect for the community- theses fish are stunning, asyto keep, peaceful and resistant to most diseases.
Price: Around a fiver.


5, Common name: Honey gourami.
Scientific name: Colisa chuna/sota.
origin: bangladesh, Nepal and india.
Size: About 7cm/2.5"
water: Generally better in neutral or soft water.
Aquarium: So very easy to keep and unlike some other gouramies, is made for the community. Just make sure you dont keep it with fin-nippers, like some of the tetras. This is an active fish that likes busy plant growth to hide in.
Price: Around £2 each


6, Common name: Emperor tetra.
Scientific name: Nematobrycon palmeri.
origin: Atrato and Sanjuan basins, columbia.
Size: 5cm/2"
water: Can be climatised to slightly alkaline conditions,but does best in softer, more acidic water, pH 6.0-7.0. needs excellent water conditions.
Aquarium: Very placid for a tetra.They look great in a small shoal against a backdrop of busy plants.
Price: Around £2


7,Common name: Golden barb.
Scientific name: Puntius semifaciolatus.
origin: Asia.
Size: 7.5cm/3"
water: Soft, acidic conditions, but can adapt to a wide range.
Aquarium: 6-x30x30cm/24"x12"x12" minimum, with plants and plenty of open swimming space.
Notes: A peaceful, colourful addition to the community. For best effect, keep in groups of five or more.
Accepts all the usual aaurium foods.
Price: About £ 1.25.


8, Common name: Zebra danio.
Scientific name: Danio rerio.
origin: pakistan,India,Bangladesh,Nepal and Myanmar.
Size: 6cm/2.5"
water: tolerates a wide pH range.
Aquarium: 60x30x30cm/24"x12"x12" is the minnimum size to accomodate this fast swimmer. As with many community fish, go for planted tanks but with plenty of open swimming space, Keep in groups of five or more.
Price: Around £1


9, Common name: Panda corydoras.
Scientific name: Corydorsa panda.
origin: The upper Amazon around Peru.
Size: up to 5cm/2"
water: neutral or soft water.
Aquarium: From 60x30x30cm/24"x12"x12" upwards. best kept in a group with a sandy substrate. One of the best cats available for the tropical tank.
Price: About A fiver.


10, Common name: Platy.
Scientific name: Xiphophorus maculatus.
origin: North and central America.
Size: 6cm/2", female are larger than males.
water: prefers meadium hard to slightly alkaline water, pH 7 and over.
Aquarium: 60x30x30cm/24"x12"x12"minimum. A live bearer that will breed readily in the community tank, but the fry may be eaten by the other fish unless the female is moved to a seperate tank before giving birth. otherwise provide plenty of plant growth to give the babies somewhere to hide. best kept in a ratio of one male to two or three females. Many colour forms are available.
Price: Around £1.50


Hope that gives you guys something to choose from

A good selection from across the world. I like to keep fish and plants from the same geographical area and liking very similar water conditions. Out of that selection I would go for the Asian fish to make up a community tank consisting of the, cherry barbs, golden barbs a small group of upsidedown catfish (Synodontis nigriventris) and a few zebra danios for upper movement in the tank. If i had any more space available I would add a school of Harlequin fish (Rasbora heteromorpha)just to show off the front of the tank. Ahhh it's good to dream...

Attic

How dare they leave out the neon tetra and the mighty guppy, everyone cuts their teeth on those two!
Maybe we should start a bad community tank thread, the worst fish you ever bought and regretted it!
Ill start with a plec!

Not such a bad idea actually

Fantastic thread. Glad to see I have Three of the ten. Well 4 If you count my long finned Rosy/Golden barbs. I need a few more but I don't know if I have the room. O.o

cant really say worst fish, worst fish for the set up, as in an appropriate set up they wouldnt be a problem. but the worst mistakes i have made, were putting one of my beautiful fighters in my large community tank to be killed by the male bolivian ram! oops! and then bought a baby black syno, and it grew pretty fast (several months), and one night all but one of my cardinals disappeared, he lives with much bigger fish in grahams tank now tho!

Some of my 'perfect' fish are...

Congo Tetras's (amazing colours)
Clown Loach (always active)
Roberts Tetra's (similar to Rosy Tetras but with much
better colouring - hard to find)
Torpedo Barbs (peaceful, and non fin nipping)

and some problem fish, with are supposed community...

Rosy Barbs (great colours, but fin nip like crazy)
Opaline Gourami (mr bully of the tank)
Spotted Headstanders (never got to eat anything)
Silver Sharks (get too big, 5' tank needed at least)
Hope this helps someone...
Rgds Alfie

Thanks for that

I am going to set up a tropical tank, but i would love some a to z advice on setting it up cycle etc to stocking. tank is biorb heated 30 litres, so i thought a few neon tetras, what would live happily along side these, and how big can they be before they eat each other, i believe neons grow to about 1.7 inch so how much bigger can you go with other fish before they attack the neons.
thanks
sarah
any hints and tips on keeping heated aquarium are really appreciated. am a total novice

a good rule is whatever they can fit in there mouths, they will eat! also you cant really have fish much bigger than about 2-3 inchesmax in a bi-orb anyway, they just dont have enough room. so a decne tshoal of teras or somehting similar would just about fill it.