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I r ecently obtain some beautiful male flag fish, I want to put them in my 200 gallon planted community, is this a good idea?

Who are the current inhabitants of your 200 gallon tank? How many flagfish did you buy? In the book that i have it says that: "Inhabiting densely vegetated stretches of water in the wild, American flagfish require similar surroundings in their aquarium, otherwise they will prove to be nervous tank occupants. Vegetable matter is an important component of the diet of these fish...males will become quite aggresive as the time for spawning approaches" (Aquarium and Pond Fishes). Since you only have males and it is such a long tank i do not think you will have to worry about spawn aggression. You might just not see a lot of your fishies.

American Flag Fish would be an excellent and enviable choice for a planted tank. They are very highly rated as algae eaters. Some reckon they are only second to the SAE in this regard.

A planted community may be a different story though. From what I've heard they can be very very nippy to other fish. I've seen some people report they were intolerable because of this.

But I've never actually had any, so somebody who has direct experience might pop in. It may to be helpful to list what other fish are in the tank.

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Remember that age and treachery will always triumph over youth and ability.

I have various fish in the 200 gallon.

2 altums angels
4 regular angels
10 neons
4 serpae tetra
2 bristlenoses pleco
8 corydoras
2 discus
7 small clown loaches
3 swordtail
10 hatchet fish
and just recently I bought only 2 male flag fish, and a bunch of females. I did not add them to the tank because I heard they were agressive as cichlid when they breed. Yikes

So far I have not seen any nipping issues yet, but they seem to enjoy their new home.

Last edited by trojan_man at 31-May-2005 00:09

it's worth bearing in mind that they need lower temperatures than most tropical fish, as little as 70C seems to be optimum. I saw some at my lfs in a warmer tank and they looked very pale and stressed.

From what i've read on them, they're best kept in species only tanks. I've looked into adding them to my planted community tank myself, but for a number of reasons - temperment, water parameter needs etc. - I decided against it, though they seem like amazing algae eaters.

However, if the deed as already been done your best bet is to keep an eye on them and look for aggression. if you see any you may need to set up a special tank for them. Until then, though, good luck !

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