# recommend a small schooling fish compatible with guppies?



## afrogg (Jul 1, 2007)

can someone recommend some fish for me? 

the ideal fish would be:
- small
- colorful
- schooling behavior
- won't eat or dig up live plants
- likely to breed and have babies 
- compatible with guppies 
- compatible with yamato shrimp

this is for a 90 or 110 gallon tank. i would like to have some small fish and watch them breed in a nice big planted tank where they have more than enough room. 

thanks in advance for ideas


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## Lupin (Aug 2, 2006)

Platies
Kuhli Loaches
True Siamese Algae Eater
Otocinclus
Corydoras
Glass Catfish
Ancistrus plecs 
Bumblebee Gobies
Checker Barb(_Barbus oligolepis_) 
Cherry Barb(_Capoeta titteya_) 
Golden Barb(_Capoeta schuberti_) 
Five-banded Barb(_Barbodes pentazona_) 
Odessa Barb(_Barbus "odessa"_) 
Cuming's Barb(_Barbus cumingi_) 
Zebra Danios
Pearl Danios
_Boraras brigittae - Mosquito rasbora 
Boraras maculatus - Dwarf rasbora 
Boraras merah 
Boraras micros 
Boraras urophthalmoides
Sawbwa resplendens_
Celestial Pearl Danio
Harlequin Rasboras
Hengeli Rasboras
_Trigonostigma espei
Rasbora boraptensis_
Black Neon Tetra(_Hyphessobrycon herbertaxelrodi_) 
Black Phantom Tetra(_Megalamphodus megalopterus_) 
Bleeding Heart Tetra(_Hyphessobrycon erythrostigma_) 
Cardinal Tetra(_Cheirodon axelrodi_) 
Diamond Tetra(_Moenkhausia pittieri_) 
Ember Tetra (_Hyphessobrycon amandae_)
Emperor Tetra(_Nematobrycon palmeri_) 
Flame Tetra(_Hyphessobrycon flammeus_) 
Glowlight Tetra(_Hemigrammus eryhthrozonus_) 
Head-and-Tail-Light(_Hemigrammus ocellifer_) 
January Tetra(_Hemigrammus hyanuary_) 
Jewel Tetra(_Hyphessobrycon callistus_) 
Kerri Tetra(_Inpaichthys kerri_) 
Lemon Tetra(_Hyphessobrycon pulchripinnis_) 
Loreto tetra(_Hyphessobrycon peruvianus_) 
Neon Tetra(_Paracheirodon innesi_) 
Red Phantom Tetra(_Hyphessobrycon sweglesi_) 
Robert's Tetra(_Hyphessobrycon robertsi_) 
Rosy Tetra(_Hyphessobrycon bentosi_) 
Rummy-Nose Tetra(_Hemigrammus bleheri_) 
Rummy-Nose Tetra(_Hemigrammus rhodostomus_) 
Rummy-Nose Tetra(_Petitella georgiae_) 
X-ray Tetra(_Pristella maxillaris_) 
_Copella arnoldi 
Copella nattereri 
Nannostomus beckfordi 
Nannostomus eques 
Nannostomus harrisoni 
Nannostomus marginatus 
Nannostomus mortenthaleri 
Nannostomus nitidus 
Nannostomus trifasciatus 
Nannostomus unifasciatus 
Carnegiella strigata 
Gasteropelecus levis 
Gasteropelecus sternicla
Iriatherina werneri
Telmatherina ladigesi 
Melanotaenia praecox
Pseudomugil furcatus 
Pseudomugil cyanodorsalis 
Pseudomugil gertrudae 
Pseudomugil signifer 
Pseudomugil tenellus_

Just as a side note, I did not include other livebearers for possible crossbreeding and temperament issues. Swordtails are well known for being aggressive and may bully guppies. The same thing can be said with _Xiphophorus variatus_ as they inherit the swordtail's genes. Endler's Livebearers will easily crossbreed with guppies.


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## afrogg (Jul 1, 2007)

wow that is quite a list! thanks so much!!


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## Falina (Feb 25, 2007)

The only fish I can think to add are cory species. They do display some schooling behavior and depending on what species, can be very attractively patterned and easy to breed.

I think that the danios and livebearers are probably the easiest to breed out of Lupins suggestions, all of which are great suggestions.


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## tophat665 (Sep 30, 2006)

Go with Cories. Get about a half dozen. I don't do anything exotic (beyond feeding them frozen food a couple of times a week) and I've had my sterbas breed once and my albino bronzes breed 3 times.


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## bettababy (Oct 12, 2006)

Cory cats would be one that would be likely to breed in the environment you describe. As for other small fish, the list that Lupin so generously provided contained a number of species I would never suggest mixing with guppies, and because they are egg laying and/or egg scattering fishes, are unlikely to spawn successfully in a community tank. 

I can think of 1 specific fish that would meet all of your requirements... coral platy. These are a dwarf species of livebearing platy, and the ratio for them is the same as the guppys (at least 2 females to each male). Coral platys tend to be a very deep and vivid red/orange in color, and are peaceful with the same breeding habits as the guppys.

There is quite a long list of compatible fish for what you wish to create, but as I said, the likliehood for most of them to breed is just not there. If content with not having babies from every type of fish in the tank, some quick ideas for you to consider that are peaceful enough to put with guppys, and quite common on the market, bright in color, schooling, and somewhat "easy" to keep... 
Neon tetras (I would suggest neon instead of cardinals, they tend to be sturdier and the pH requirements differ with the cardinals and guppys)
silver tetras
choprae danios
glo lite tetras
lampeye rasbora (these are pretty in a school with their blue eyes glowing in the reflection of the lights and stay fairly small like the rest)
green fire tetra (the green is almost irridescent, the red/orange is vivid once they're settled in and mature, and the white is so bright it just sets this fish on fire! These are one of my favorites of the smaller tetras, and they're peaceful)
pygmy cory catfish instead of any of the standard cory catfish
or panda corys (the pandas stay smaller than most of the others and the pygmys stay very small)
the list goes on, but these are the ones off the top of my head that I would suggest you google, take a look at what they all are before making your choices. Even in a 90 or 110 gallon tank, a few spawns from guppys and/or other groups of fish in the tank will send the population soaring quickly. Be prepared to not see many fry survive, even in a heavily planted tank, if there are a large number of other fish in there. The other fish will eat the fry if they find them or can catch them, and some fish know to hang out in the right places around a female giving birth in a community tank. 
If you have questions about any of the fish on any of our lists here, let us know, we're happy to help.. and be prepared to take pics, I want to see this tank when it's finished, it sounds beautifully planned.


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