# Centerpiece fish suggestions for new 40g breeder. Please and thank you!



## Moleen

Hi!,

I'm starting a new tank. I bought a 40g breeder last summer during one of Petco's $1 gallon sales. I'm getting ready to start setting it up. I'm definately going to have a school of Rummy's, a school of Blue Emperor Tetras and a school of Pygmy Cory. I would love to hear some suggestions for a larger centerpiece fish. Also how many each of the Tetras/Cory's. The tank will have a dark substrate, driftwood, rocks and lots of plants. My water is soft. Thank you....Kathy


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## madyotto

Moleen said:


> Hi!,
> 
> I'm starting a new tank. I bought a 40g breeder last summer during one of Petco's $1 gallon sales. I'm getting ready to start setting it up. I'm definately going to have a school of Rummy's, a school of Blue Emperor Tetras and a school of Pygmy Cory. I would love to hear some suggestions for a larger centerpiece fish. Also how many each of the Tetras/Cory's. The tank will have a dark substrate, driftwood, rocks and lots of plants. My water is soft. Thank you....Kathy


20-30 of each tetra would be a good amount as we all expect when buying so many we will loose a small % 

centerpiece is not so straight forward instead of one large one how about having a clean up crew to make your work easier and looking intresting 

suggestions 

golden weather loach (A.K.A golden dojo loach)
these are quite cute things and are quite active and VERY intresting all most always feeding on the bottom so less gravel vac's for you to do 

(these can grow to 8.5 inch's)6 - 7.5" is more the norm)

also you could concider a few golden apple snail's these to are very intresting 

a plec of some kind would compleat the cleaning crew but i would advise strongly that you do your reasearch and get one that grows no more than 10" this is presuming your tank is 4FT


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## jentralala

I wouldn't do 20-30 personally...Maybe 10 of each on the Rummies/Tetras, and 15 or so of the pygmy corys since they're so small. For a centerpiece you could look into gourami...Pearl, Honey, or Dwarf could work. I would just research the tetras, I'm not familiar with that exact species but I have heard most tetras are nippers.


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## fairghum

I believe the 40 gal breeder is one of the best tanks!! I have one and the fish that is the most striking is a clown loach that is now about 5". Good luck- great deal you got on the tank!!


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## Nilet699

Just one clown loach? Needs a group.
40 gallon breeder? Needs like a 6 foot tank.
Doing Damage. Need to say.

^^


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## fairghum

I have had the loach since very small (probably 7 or 8 years ago)l, and it appears quite happy. I know about schooling, but no way my tank could handle it. Needless to say, I read about its needs after I got it. I appreciate your concern for him, though!


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## Moleen

After talking to my go-to-guy at my LFS, I've decided to to go with a male Pearl Guarami. I don't like Loaches or Plecos so I'm going with Cories and maybe some Panda Garras. It's going to be a couple of months before I get this tank rockin' and rollin. Right now I've been searching for the perfect piece of driftwood. This tank will be on display in the kitchen/dining room so it's got to be spectacular!

Does anyone have Blue Emperor Tetras and are they as peaceful as the Rummy's? Thank you all for your contributions!

Maddyotto....I'm going with Assassin Snails, I love them! I love Apple snails too but they like to eat my plants. Kathy


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## fairghum

If I could give you any advice at all, it would be NOT to get a pleco. There are other better alternatives. I got, at my LFS's advice, a bristlenose cat which will stay small. He's doing wonderfully in the 40 breeder. I bought a pleco 8 or 9 years ago, and he hasn't gotten really big (maybe 6" or so) but if you go into a lot of fish stores there are HUGE plecos that people have given up because of the pleco outgrowing their tanks. My avatar is a photo of "Karl Katfish".

And, IMHO, you'll never go wrong with cories. The cute little guys sit on the bottom and wink at you. I had one (from WalMart no less) that lived nearly 9 years. I was successful at breeding some cories as well. You'll love 'em! And yes, I have a school of them...


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## madyotto

jentralala said:


> I wouldn't do 20-30 personally...Maybe 10 of each on the Rummies/Tetras, and 15 or so of the pygmy corys since they're so small. For a centerpiece you could look into gourami...Pearl, Honey, or Dwarf could work. I would just research the tetras, I'm not familiar with that exact species but I have heard most tetras are nippers.


if you got 10 say 8 survive maybe 9 this is way too small a group for a tank of 40 gal volume 

what is the size of the tank is it a 4ft tank or a tall 3ft ?

maybe some glass cats if it is a 4ft ?

take a look here
http://www.aquaticstoyourdoor.co.uk/Blue-Emperor-Tetra.html


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## Moleen

*What else do I need? 40g Breeder*

I have a 40g Breeder that I plan on setting up in the next few months. This is what I've pretty much decided on for fish:

1 male Pearl Guarami
10-15 Rummynose
10-15 Blue Emperor Tetras
10 Pygmy Cory's
2 or 3 Assasin Snails
3 or 4 Panda Garras

I do have a couple of questions. Are the Rummy's and Emperors to fast moving for the Guarami? I've never had Blue Emperors, are they aggressive or nippers? Thank You all! Kathy

Edit: I came across this post and noticed it was on the same topic, so I merged it into this existing thread. Byron.


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## Moleen

A 40G Breeder is a 4ft tank


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## Byron

I would not combine gourami with Emperor Tetra. The latter are quite active fish, and this can unsettle sedate fish like gourami. Either or. If the gourami are chosen, one male and 2 females would be best.

With these, the rummys should be fine; they stay near the bottom and the gourami are upper water fish. Lots of floating plants for gourami.

For another mid-water fish, one of the medium rasbora would work. Rasbora are peaceful and rather sedate fish too, and spend their time in the upper half of the tank. Not the "dwarf" species though, as they will be eaten.

After coming across your second post, and merging that in to this thread, I see Panda Garra is also mentioned. This is not at all a good combo with the other fish. The Garra occurs in fast-flowing mountain streams, so it needs a decent current and cooler water. The gourami would perish in this (both aspects).

Byron.


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## Moleen

Hi Byron,

Thanks for responding. What type of Rasbora would you suggest and how many? Can just one male Pearl Gourami be ok by his lonesome? Thank Kathy


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## Byron

Moleen said:


> Hi Byron,
> 
> Thanks for responding. What type of Rasbora would you suggest and how many? Can just one male Pearl Gourami be ok by his lonesome? Thank Kathy


I would get three Pearls, provided you are sure they are 1 male and 2 females; otherwise just one male or a pair. It is always nice having both sexes because the fish will be more natural in its behaviours and this is usually fascinating to watch, and very rewarding when fish are themselves in an aquarium. This is a very beautiful gourami, and more inclined to be peacefrul than the similar-sized Blue Gourami (or any of that species' varieties of which there are sedveral), but males are territorial and with more than one male might be troublesome.

The three species in Trigonstigma (like the Harlequin, Lambchop or Hengels) are ideal, a group of 9-12. There are some others that are not in our profiles, and the names are eluding me at the moment.:roll: There was an article on rasbora in a recent issue of Practical FishKeeping, unfortunately I don't have the copy or I could easily scan it.

Byron.


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