Coal mine canary for fish tanks

[Kuhli Loach]

Is there any fish that will be able to be the proverbial coal mine canary in our fish tank? Canaries are especially sensitive to methane (http://www.wisegeek.com/what-is-methane.htm) and carbon (http://www.wisegeek.com/what-is-carbon.htm) monoxide, which made them ideal for detecting any dangerous gas build-ups in the mines. As long as the canary in a coal mine kept singing, the miners knew their air supply was safe. A dead canary in a coal mine signaled an immediate evacuation.

Which fish species will be idea for this purpose in a community tank. Sort of an early warning system that will be able to show you that there is something wrong with the water quality. As soon as you spot this “canary” fish behaving peculiarly you know something is wrong and can take action before you loose some of the hardier species.

Any thoughts?

[butcherman]

discus are pretty sensative lol but not cheap

[Sean J]

I recon that your entire collection of fish is the "canary in the coalmine". The moment a fish shows signs of distress, the warning bells should be sounding, and steps need to be taken.

Besides, as Butcherman stated, the more sensitive the fish, generally, the more expensive it is.

[veegal]

An extremely good 'canary' fish for the aquarium is the rummynose tetra. You will immediately see if there is even a slight problem with the water as the red on their nose disappears/fades. They are extremely sensitive to the water parameters.

[Zafgak]

Again Veegal beat me to the answer - but absolutely agree - Rummynose is the only way to go

[veegal]

The rummynose tetras are also a helluva lot cheaper than discus. They usually retail at around R15-R17 each. Remember to keep them in a school though.

[Gilbertr14]

Black Widow / Black Skirted Tetra

Gymnocorymbus ternetzi


Is usually black, but will go light grey when stressed, yet a hardy little fish..


School of 6 or more, but will not school when grown up.

[Kuhli Loach]

Thanks Veegal - I will get some - how many would you suggest.

[veegal]

No less than 5-6 for schooling fish. They are beautiful as well and are actually my favorite of the tetras :D

[f-fish]

Thanks Veegal - for the suggestion, Kuhli Loach good question - never thought that these fish would be useful and not "just another tetra". Went to the LFS this morning got 5 for a panted tank & love them - they school like crazy - even get the other fish to join. Think I got ripped - paid almost double your estimate - might just be the increase in altitude ....

https://sites.google.com/a/f-fish.net/home/images-cabinet/newrummynose.JPG?

[veegal]

Almost double? :eek: Geez, you MUST be kidding???? If not then that is ridiculous! :evil:

They are stunning tetras and extremely active - never a dull moment with the rummy-nose tetras in your tank! :bigsmile: The colour on your rummies are great considering they have only been in your tank for a few hours. The red gets much more intense :D

[theosmit]

Yip - I love mine - nine of them and they are beautiful as they swim all over - The 11 neons join in from time to time. :bigsmile: What a sight!

You should consider more of them if you have the space. Since they are small fish they do not add too much load on your filtration. They are fairly active though.