Glowlights or Neons?

[beachkrazd]

I would like to get some opinions for my 29 gallon planted tank. I want to add one more school of tetras and I'm deciding between Glowlight tetras or Neon tetras. I think the blue Neons will stand out beautifully among my green plants but I'm drawn to the Glowlight tetras because they remind me of my beloved Lemon tetras. Which do you think I should choose and how many new tetras should I get? Thanks!

Preface: my cat popped off the 'five/percent sign' key on my keyboard so it doesn't work anymore

29 Gallon tank - about 7 months old

Current occupants:
6 Lemon tetras
3 Dwarf Neon Rainbowfish (1M:2F)
2 adult Apple snails (shell size about 2"); most active at night and are less active when fed regularly

Water: temp 78-80F; I'm slowly transitioning my tank to a lower pH and KH/GH with 80/20 RO/tap water mix. The water I am using now has a pH about 7, dKH 4, dGH five; I will wait a few months before I get the new tetras so that my new water chemistry has time to stabilize

Feeding: I feed the fish once per day consisting of high quality flake and frozen food for 1 minute (the Lemons are little pahranas so the tetras I add need to be able to compete with them for food); I may feed for 2 minutes when I get the new tetras; I feed the Apple snails blanched Kale in a separate plastic container every day or every other day since they are messy eaters

Filtration: 1 Aqueon filter rated for 30 gallons with sponge prefilter on intake tube; today I added a 2nd AquaClear filter (placed on the 'low' setting) rated for 30 gallons because I was suspicious and concerned about poor water circulation at the far end of the tank; my fish seem to enjoy the extra circulation/current

Cleaning regimen: weekly fifteen percent water changes with gravel vaccum

Plants: Cryptocoryne lutea and wendetti, Anubias nana attached to small pieces of driftwood, Java fern, Anubias congensis, Vallisneria (I want it to cover a good portion of the surface to reduce algae growth on the Anubias plants),

Lighting: sixty-five watts 6700K for 10 hrs per day (eventually I would like to change to lower lighting, 40watts); plus one 2L bottle of DIY CO2; daily dosing of liquid ferts; flourite substrate

[stormhawk]

You can probably remove the Neon Rainbows if you cannot decide between the Neon Tetra or the Glowlight Tetra. However, if the Neon Rainbows are not possible to be removed, just go with the Glowlight Tetra.

Reason being that since you already have a flashy fish in the Neon Rainbows, the Glowlight Tetra in a school of 6 to complement your Lemon Tetras should be great. They seem to be less fragile than Neons too. I kept a Glowlight for almost 3 years before it conked out due to old age.

[beachkrazd]

Thanks Stormhawk (again)! I am fond of the Dwarf Rainbowfish so the Glowlight Tetra seem like a good option. I'm glad to hear that I will be able to keep 6 of them; I was worried about overstocking. I think the tank will finally feel 'complete' with the new tetras.

[stormhawk]

Since you only feed them once a day and you have snails as the scavengers, it shouldn't be a problem to add 6 more Glowlights. The one that grew old with me, lived in a pretty nasty tank. It was brown all year long due to the driftwood leeching out tannins. I never did any measurements on the tank, but the hornwort grew like crazy so I bet it was nitrate rich.