I've recently claimed /t/legal and am looking forward to establishing it as a vibrant place to discuss the laws of the lands.

• Want to better understand how the US Supreme Court came to be the juggernaut that it is?

• Find a silly law on the books in your locality (in my state, it's legal to hold someone overnight if they are caught stealing your chickens.)

• Want to debate piracy in the modern or Napoleonic era?

• Curious about Sharia?

• Find a great lawyer ad? (I'm looking at you, Texas.)

• Want to talk about the difference between copyright laws in the EU versus the US?

• Want to talk about free speech, privacy, and other issues of the day?

Bring it to /t/legal!

The only thing I ask is that you do not solicit or offer legal advice. On the internet, everyone is a lawyer, and usually a bad one at that.

I have an established moderately planted (low tech) 29g tall community tank. I've lost some fish in the last year to old age, so now i'm in the process of slowly restocking and would like some advice on a nice, pleasant school to add and, possibly, a centerpiece fish.

Current inhabitants: 2 cory cats*, 6 colombian tetras, 3 nerite snails, 1 penguin tetra, 1 purple glo-tetra. I just got the Colombians on a whim about a month ago and they are a hoot. They follow me around for food, school beautifully in the evenings, and seem to get along with everyone fairly well. (Don't judge me for the frankenfish - I have a kid. You try keeping a kid from picking out neon colored fish when they are little.) I used to have a nice school of pristellas, the last passed two weeks ago from old age.

Since the tank is planted, it has a lot of dark and light green around. I like the way the blue and red of the Colombian Tetras flash and contrast. I was thinking of adding something silver/black to contrast, like a silvertip tetra or a diamond tetra. I would restock the penguin tetras, but I've had a lot of trouble with them being bullies, even in a school of 10. I do like pristellas as a fish - they were great, I just want something that doesn't have red fins now that I have the Colombians.

I've heard of people adding a betta to an established tank as a centerpiece. I'm interested in that, but I wouldn't want to add something just to kill it. I had a brief experiment with shrimp that ended with very happy fish, but no more shrimp. I have a female betta at work who is a delight. WIth the smaller fins on a female, it seems like that could be a decent option, if the other guys aren't going to harass her and vice versa.

So with all that, a school of diamond tetras and a betta? Or a school of something else? Betta or no betta?

*I added the cory pair when the tank was about a year old. They were castoffs from someone else's tank and my guess is that they are now 10 years old. I've tried adding other cories and they seem to fight with the established guys for food (even when I set up feeding stations) and die unexpectedly in the first month. Sometimes I can catch an injury and treat, most of the time I just have a dead fish, which sucks. I feel like a fish killer for the continued cory deaths. While I'd like a larger school, I'm not sure I can risk the lives of more innocent fish to get there.

OK, I admit it, I'm also a refugee. I really like being able to help out and/or commiserate with fellow fish/aquatic plant keepers, moms who have more in common with The Bloggess than Martha Stewart, and gather knowledge about history and science stuff. I share when I can, but I'm an expert in something that is useless to most people (research contracts).

I'm considering setting up a tribe for parents who are having bad days. I can't tell you how useful it has been to have a place where the pictures are not pretty, the grandmas are not nice, the spouse is not Channing Tatum, and the children are not angels (for whatever reason). I got some of the best advice on my worst days from that clan. I'd be happy to help bring a good version of it to life here, if others are interested.