FishProfiles.com Message Forums

Heh yeah, don't have a spare 250. No RTBS then. (my featherfins are my favorite fish I have) 's okay, there are a lot of bottomfeeders (synos, whiptail cat, ottos) anyway.

I was sitting here thinking that Buenos Aires tetras might be a good addition as a dither for my N. brichardi tank, but cosidering the finnage on those fish it doesn't really seem like a good idea. Would be nice to have something else in there they can beat up on besides each other though. (I had three in another tank for several months, then attempted to reintroduce them the other day. Rearranged the rocks and everything. They're a little tattered And haven't gotten a chance to hide in any of the caves yet. Poor little guys have been hanging out behind the heater and filter intake. I might give up soon and move them back to the 10 upstairs, if only to let them heal up. And hopefully they won't beat on the ottos so much... (they don't look it, but they're mean fish!)

Last edited by superlion at 23-Dec-2005 12:48

><>

I got a couple pics of my big syno. Yeah I know I don't have a very good camera.

The front end

Tail

Yes, that big lump is his adipose fin The white spots along the lateral line seem to just occur in larger specimens (tried "treating" them to no effect, and I've seen that on other featherfins as well)

He wouldn't let me get a full-body shot, much less a good picture with that dorsal fin...

><>

sounds like a good idea!

First off, the new gouramis seem to be doing better now that they've figured out how to avoid the gold gourami better. When I last posted I was afraid they wouldn't even get a chance to eat with that gold gourami around. They seem like they might pull through. If the one with the skinned tail doesn't start healing up soon I will move him up to the 10 though.

In other news, though the smaller two of the brichardis I moved downstairs have been killed, the larger one is getting along swimmingly (haha) now. There are a bunch of pink eggs on the rockwork (strange for them to be exposed like that with brichardis though). They're opaque, so I don't think they're fertilized though.

><>

When I was a teenager I had "Mom problems" with my aquarium too. You'll love this one.

My mother dipped her hand in the water of my aquarium when I was a teenager, and thought it was too cold. So she turned the heater up. Never mind that there was a thermometer on the side of the aquarium registering the correct temperature - oh, no, that little piece of common sense didn't register.

So I came home from school, expecting to say hello to a lovely selection of fishes - trifasciatus Pencil Fishes and a stunning Anomalochromis thomasi Cichlid among them that I'd scrimped and saved from my paper round to buy - and when I got upstairs, every last fish was lying on the bottom all exploded. The ambient temperature? A whopping 130&#176;F.

Take my advice. Put rings of barbed wire around your aquarium along with a BIG notice reading:

UNAUTHORISED PERSONNEL FORBIDDEN
USE OF LETHAL FORCE IS AUTHORISED

If necessary, deploy land mines.


Panda Catfish fan and keeper/breeder since Christmas 2002

*sigh* kind of mad at my mom right now. She went fish shopping without me and brought home: 2 ottos (this is the good part), 2 dwarf gouramis, and 1 RTBS. I thought I had warned her about the RTBS but I guess I was too late.

The RTBS seems to be doing alright - it's only about 2 inches right now. Too big for the syno to swallow, but not big enough to boss around any of the catfish or kribs.

The new gouramis are being shredded by the gold gourami - something I warned my mom would happen but she didn't seem to care! (and she came home complaining about someone in the store trying to buy a common pleco for a 5-gallon tank...) She looks in there and goes "oh, looks like that gourami's probably not going to last the night"

It's too late now to transfer the dwarf gouramis to the leftover tank, and even if I did, that would *really* be pushing the stock limit. If they're still alive in the morning I might transfer them there and dose Melafix (one of the ottos looks like he's got some fin damage too). Maybe move the glass cat and undamaged otto to the big tank to cut the stocking level. Depending on how beat up they are see if the store will take them back. The rays on the upper lobe of one dwarf gourami's caudal fin have been skinned already

><>

Just a comment, I have 7 Buenos Aires tetra, and they are not nippy at all.
I consider them one of my most peaceful, if most active, tetra in my tank.
I also have red eye tetras which are very nice, and also very peaceful.
They are gorgeous, and with your fish I easily think a school of 8 Buenos Aires Would fit nicely./


Come Play Yahtzee With Me!
http://games.atari.com
Http://www.myleague.com/yahtgames

I'm told Synodontis eupterus can reach 12 inches given enough space. Fantastic show fish if you have space for it. Needless to say I'm more than a little envious of those who do have the space, because I'd LOVE to keep those guys ...

Mind you, if you're looking for a Synodontis that will live alongside big, bad tempered nasty fishes, try Synodontis acanthomias. This beast reaches 12 inches, is one of the most avowedly predatory of the Synos, and a big one will pick fights with an Oscar if the Oscar tries bullying it! This is one Syno that you can't keep with anything it can swallow, though, because swallow it will. No half measures with acanthomias - if it thinks it spies a nice lunch, it strikes, no prisoners taken. It even looks the part - it has that kind of face, one that says "I'm going to eat you ..."

I wouldn't put an acanthomias in with your Brichardis, because once it put on some body mass, it would probably eat the Brichardis ...

Last edited by Calilasseia at 26-Dec-2005 16:59

Panda Catfish fan and keeper/breeder since Christmas 2002

Thank you! (yes he's big, but the rummies that disappeared weren't any smaller than the pearl danios that are doing fine in that tank). I think I've figured out what to do with fancy guppy culls though. If zebra danios weren't so nippy I'd probably put a few of them in there (the brichardis are not in very alkaline or hard water, no carbonate decorations in there and my mom can't be bothered to do anything to the water while I'm gone)

Keep in mind the brichardi are in a 20, there are only about five of them in there at the moment and only one full grown. Can't put too many dither fish in there. A while ago I had the smaller syno. in there (he was only about 3-4 inches at the time), he was a bit beat up but did fairly well in there. Those featherfins are deceptively tough fish!

The remaining four rummies seem to be very happy in the 10. And the glass cat and two ottos that were in there seem to enjoy the company (at least they're much more amiable than the brichardi juveniles I just moved!). Seems to be a leftover tank - all the fish that can't stay in other tanks because they won't get along or whatnot go in there. (total tanks are a 10 with fancy guppies, the 20 with brichardis, the 60 community, and the 10 leftover fish tank)

Also, apparently ACIDRAIN has a eupterus that is 11 inches! I don't know what I'll be doing with mine when it hits a size like that... I thought 9 was huge (and my mom doesn't think he had grown since I last saw him in August - yes he had, about two inches!) Beautiful fish though I should get a picture of him... (heh, if I can get a clear one)

Last edited by superlion at 26-Dec-2005 13:52

><>

Your biggest Syno is NINE INCHES??? No wonder it ate the Rummies ... poor Rummies ...

I've also been giving some thought to some dither fish for your Brichardis ... you'll need something that will like hard, alkaline water, will be too fast for them to nip but capable of distracting them, and preferably won't nip the Brichardis ... hmm, tough one. The only Tetra species I know of that will live happily in Rift Lake water is Astyanax mexicanus, which is a co-inhabitant of the same waters in which Guapotes are found, and is tough enough to live as dither fish even with these big bruisers. Trouble is, this is a Tetra that can hit 6 inches, and makes its living in the wild trying to poach Cichlid eggs and fry amongst other things. I suspect if you put those in with your Brichardis, the poor Cichlids would actually receive the worst of it ...

I'll have a dig around and see if I can find something that will fit the bill.


Panda Catfish fan and keeper/breeder since Christmas 2002

well the rummies started disappearing. Today we were down to 4. So I decided to rescue them (I assume they were slurped up in their sleep - the larger eupterus is approximately 9 inches long and rather hefty so I doubt it has a problem swallowing bottom-sleeping fish). They're now happily swimming around the 10 upstairs (showing great condition, color and absolutely no signs of disease). Which is fine because I moved most of the fish (the brichardis, one of which is finally starting to get along amicably with the largest one in the 20 downstairs) out of there recently, and the one remaining glass cat will enjoy the company. I doubt they'll vanish as easily there.

><>

So everyone, I am home again and we're looking to add to the stocking of our 60-gallon tank (planted community). Current inhabitants are

8 pearl danios
5 Odessa barbs
2 Syno. eupterus
1 whiptail catfish
2 kribs (both male)
2 ottos
1 gold gourami

First thought is to add more ottos. After that, I think some kind of smallish schooling fish (about 7 fish) is in order... Mom kind of wants Buenos Aires tetras. My main concern is getting fish that will school tightly and fill in the middle waters of the tank. That and being big enough not to be eaten live by the kribs or catfish. Also, would a RTBS be appropriate in this tank? The kribs have already staked out their territories. Thinking of going fish shopping tomorrow. Thanks!

><>

A Red Tailed Black Shark would have ben OK if you didn't already have the Featherfin Catfish in there. As it is, the two Featherfins will quarrel (though probably without too much mayhem) over available caves as they get older, and if you can provide more caves for them, this will help maintain the peace. The Red Tailed Black Shark would probably quarrel with the Synos over cave spaces evenif you had a surplus of caves - they're like that at times. With a Red Tailed Black Shark, you either keep one as the sole large bottom feeder in the aquarium (although it can be kept with tough catfish companions such as armoured Doradids) or if you have the space, you put a good number of them together so that any quarrels are spread thinly among the group. The trouble with the latter approach of course is that Red Tailed Black Sharks reach 7 inches, and a group of them would need at LEAST a 125 gallon, and preferably bigger quarters, with a LARGE surplus of caves.

If anyone has the space to put say, 8 or more of them together in a big aquarium, then they look impressive, but even in large quarters you would not stop them engaging in at least occasional quarrels. This is definitely a project for someone with a spare 250 gallon or upwards to try! The up side of this being, of course, that if you CAN do this, you might - just might - get them to spawn.


Panda Catfish fan and keeper/breeder since Christmas 2002

Whew! I'm glad we didn't then! I'll have to warn my mom about that. The rummies are down to 7 now I noticed one of them was bruised when I netted them out of the bag. Got a look at him from above and looked like he had gas bubbles in his head. Didn't school with the other 7 either. The rest look in ship-shape and are doing great, eating and BRIGHT red noses

><>

I've caught this late, and fortunately you did NOT get Buenos Aires Tetras. WHY you are fortunate I'm about to reveal!

Buenos Aires Tetras are the largest of the Hemigrammus Tetras, reaching 3&#189; inches in length. They are also nippy, and if you EVER make the mistake of putting them in with a Synodontis eupterus, for example, expect the Featherfin Catfish's fine dorsal to be shredded in the space of a few hours.

To give you an idea of what you would be taking on if you DID buy them, Buenos Aires Tetras are capable of surviving, indeed thriving, in a suitable size shoal, as dither fish for Convict Cichlids and other fairly mean tempered fish species. In fact, with some smaller Central American Cichlids, the Buenos Aires Tetras could well bite back if attacked! They'll even survive alongside such demon berserkers as Neetroplus nematopus because they're quick enough to escape the attentions of the Cichlids if there's enough tank space. Mind you, in the case of Neetroplus nematopus, most people keep those on their own because they practise the 'search and destroy' method of fry guarding, but that's another story ...

Buenos Aires Tetras are NOT gentle fishes. They belong in an aquarium with other tough customers. Don't EVER put them in with Featherfin Synos, Angel Fishes or other long finned species, or the result will be mayhem.


Panda Catfish fan and keeper/breeder since Christmas 2002

As the RTBS get older they can become very bossy in a tank. They must have an area (cave) that they can call their own.

Have a look in [link=My Profile]http://
www.fishprofiles.com/interactive/forums/profile.asp?userid=6741" style="COLOR: #00FF00[/link] for my tank info

[link=Betta 11Gal Desktop &amp; Placidity 5ft Community Tanks]http://photobucket.com/albums/b209/keithgh/Betta%20desktop%20tank/" style="COLOR: #00FF00[/link]

Keith

Near enough is not good enough, therefore good enough is not near enough, and only your best will do.
I VOTE DO YOU if not WHY NOT?
VOTE NOW VOTE NOW

Well, we went and got 3 more odessa barbs (they only had three and now we've upped our school as well as made a better M/F ratio and 8 rummy-noses. They seem to be doing great and the rummies have been scared into a school by well-meaning other fish (one of the danios and the biggest Odessa were chasing them around). And the Odessa barbs seem to be getting along well with the new additions. So it was a successful trip! Except we didn't get any ottos. But I think I'd want to QT them in a tank that is lightly stocked right now anyway. So we'll leave them for another day. The question about the RTBS remains.

><>

Don't really want more danios or barbs, should have mentioned that to begin with. Also have to not be nippy at least not to the big ol' synodontis (although smaller fish tend to stay away from him, and all fish I could put in there are smaller fish at this point), as well as able to compete for food because it's really a circus in there around feeding time.

Yes, I know that it's pretty close to stocked as it is. But the tank is pretty well planted and strongly filtered so I'm pretty comfortable overstocking carefully.

Another fish we can't have - bristlenose plec. We had one and our dog liked it too much and scared it to death, apparently.

Thanks for the tips, any comments on the RTBS?

><>

I also go with more Ottos &amp; maybe a school of 8 Buenos Aires or other Tetra's.



http://uk.pg.photos.yahoo.com/ph/s8xi5heh/my_photos
http://www.geocities.com/s8xi5heh/classic_blue.html
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/buzaqq/

http://www.flickr.com/photos/corydoras/
Member of the Malta Aquarist Society - 1970.
http://www.maltaaquarist.com

Maybe 6 or 7 spotted danios ? They are less "nippy" and more peaceful than the other danios. 1&#188;" long.

Sponge

i think your tank if fine as it is - i would add more ottos and more danios then and that would be fine.



www.blooming-brilliant.co.uk