time to vote

[lellison]

Hyphessobrycon flammeus ( first pic) or Hyphessobrycon bentosi ( second pic) ?
http://i263.photobucket.com/albums/ii143/lbe2125/flame.jpg
http://i263.photobucket.com/albums/ii143/lbe2125/whitetip.jpg

First off, would they be okay dithers for my keyholes? I have angels in the tank also, so I figured I want a bigger tetra instead of feeding them cardinals or something. Which one should I go for if so? :confuzeld:

[supersmirky]

I am more in favor of pic #2.

[lellison]

yea I like that one too. both are very impressive in person. The flame tetra in the first pic looks much better than the pic, that is just the best I could find.

[supersmirky]

My decision was just because you can find lots of #1 but not so much of #2. You could also do congo tetra too...they are awesome

[lellison]

I do love congos, but I wanted to stick with a South American fish. Otherwise I might go for congos. I just need a fairly cheap dither with some color. I would love to get blue and red columbian tetras, but they are a little more pricey, esp. when you are getting 10-12 of them.

[supersmirky]

Have you seen the blue platy?? Awesome fish...

http://liveaquaria.com/product/prod_display.cfm?c=830+1535+2726&pcatid=2726

[fishyjoe24]

boo do silver dollars. and then when they out grow your tank you can give them to me.

[bra8ndy8]

That is VERY pretty....never seen one of those!

[supersmirky]

Yeah....striking colors for a platy I think.

[ElijahTurtle]

#2!!!

[supersmirky]

Now the key is to see if JFP will get some in for you! lol

[AndrewH]

I'm torn... I like both options :hehe:.

[lellison]

I went with the first one. Main reason= cheaper :) I picked up 10. They are okay fish, I basically just wanted something cheap with a little color to try to get some activity in my tank. I'm happy with the purchase

[AndrewH]

Awesome...

They look a lot like the black skirt tetras, just a color variation.

Can you sex them?

[lellison]

they are too young. Many of them are still fairly small but they have nice color. 2 of them have a deformed spine, I was a little aggrevated, but I almost wanted them more because I felt sorry for them. Rather them go home with me than someone else. Guess that's bad, but they swim fine and eat like horses. All of them got a treat this morning and were schooling around all happy, so we will see if they give me what I was looking for. If not, I just got some colorful fish. Win-win.

[lellison]

I will post pics if I ever get a good one

[bra8ndy8]

I liked the first ones......Well hurry up with the picture posting!! hehehe

[lellison]

Too much pressure! lol

[supersmirky]

That's great....they will add some nice color and certainly look good in a school of 10! Way to go! And yes yes...of course we want to see some pics!

[kewlkatdady]

2

[lellison]

here's some pics. I could not get my camera to cooperate, my tank is not the dreary and dark looking
http://i263.photobucket.com/albums/ii143/lbe2125/Fish/tetras2.jpg
http://i263.photobucket.com/albums/ii143/lbe2125/Fish/tetras3.jpg
http://i263.photobucket.com/albums/ii143/lbe2125/Fish/tetra.jpg
http://i263.photobucket.com/albums/ii143/lbe2125/Fish/tetras.jpg

[supersmirky]

I like them!! Good choice Laura!

[lellison]

thanks! They are my little buddies! Not skittish like most tetras I've kept. I come in the room and they're like " you got more bloodworms for me??"

It's been a while since I have kept any kind of tetra, they seem so common and fragile to me that I'm not fond of most of them, but I like my little guys!

[ElijahTurtle]

thanks! They are my little buddies! Not skittish like most tetras I've kept. I come in the room and they're like " you got more bloodworms for me??"

It's been a while since I have kept any kind of tetra, they seem so common and fragile to me that I'm not fond of most of them, but I like my little guys!

Tetras really respond to water conditions, if something isn't right in a tank, they are usually the first to show it by displaying duller colors than normal. They make a really good alert system. Like one of those stick on ammonia or pH monitors...except you get to feed them. :hehe:

[lellison]

lol, true.

[AndrewH]

Yeah, I was thinking the exact same thing. My tetras definitely indicate problems really fast (duller colors).

I bet yours will get a lot brighter once they settle in.

[bra8ndy8]

They look good! I think they added some good color!

[lellison]

Thanks for the good comments guys!

Amon and Andrew, I was not sure if your comments on them being good alarm systems were trying to tell me to check my water or not? Water conditions are good. little high pH (nothing new), but other than that okay.
They seemed to gain a lot of color even hours after I added them. I took these pics shortly after I added them, and their colors seem even more vibrant in the last day or two. I really like them.

[supersmirky]

I think they were letting you know the added benefits of tetras. Alot of people use rummy nose tetras in discuss tanks because when the vibrant red goes dull on their noses, it's the first sign of needing to do a little water check.

[lellison]

okay, I was just wondering, they scared me for a sec. lol. Thanks!

[supersmirky]

LOL....I see!

Obviously whenever you just get fish and take them home, they will not have great and bright coloring. No worries.

Your fish look great....get us a full tank shot. We are pic whores remember?

[AndrewH]

Oh no... I wasn't trying to hit or beat around the bush about telling your water parameters were off. (if I was going to say that I'd come right out and tell you).

I and I'm sure Amon too, were merely stating the added benefits of tetras like SS stated.

It's actually tied into their stress level, not just water parameters. When I tried to catch mine so I could move the tank it took 'em all several days to darken back up.

[lellison]

oh, and it's fine even if that's what you meant, I just wanted to check cause it wasn't clear to me and I wanted to know if there was something I needed to know. No worries!

[AndrewH]

;)