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Hiya
Now that my SW tank is all set up i find myself with a empty 60g. and am going to change it into FW. Being out of the freashwater gamefor a while was hoping you could pick my stocklist to pieces i seem to of forgotten. what does well with what etc.

5x yoyo loaches
10x neons
2x clown plecos
2x blue rams

Are all fish mentioned compatible? and if so if there enough or spare room?

Thank you for your time

Patchy,

Not being a particular expert on the clown plecos and the loaches, but having an overall idea about them, I would say your selection is more than good, with one or the other comment:

You may be a little dense on the bottom layer of the tank, with the plecos, loaches, and Rams (like to hang low).
To counter it out, you have only 10 neons in the middle, although they may prefer to be lower themselves.

Overall, 60 Gallons (that's what you said, right?) gives you more than enough space for these fishies, but I would suggest you stock more evenly on the layers. Like, get 20 Neons instead

Ingo

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Proud Member of the New Jersey Aquatic Gardeners Club

First question - is this fish your 'Clown Pleco'?

Only if it is, bear in mind that it's a wood eating fish. Bogwood will be needed in order to maintain the fish's digestion properly. Plus, you need to be careful about the choice of wood - soft wood that is easy for the fish to chew is the order of the day.

Your best bet for furnishing the aquarium would be to find hard wood for the features you wish to be relatively permanent, and supply pre-soaked soft wood pieces on a regular basis for the fishes to chew upon. Of course, this is easier said than done, as the hardness of the bogwood on sale at a dealer's may be impossible to determine in advance. So, for example, though I've been using Mopani Wood for a long time as part of my decorative setup, I don't know whether this is a hard wood or a soft wood (and have no intention of chewing a piece myself to find out!), so whether Mopani Wood should be used for the permanent features or offered as 'chew toys' for the Clown Plecs is moot.

One GOOD thing about your choice, if this is indeed the fish in question, is that your Clown Plec will stay small - under 4 inches. An excellent choice. When you view the Planet Catfish link above, pay particular attention to the taxonomic hoo-ha surrounding this fish - I have the article in one of my magazine back numbers where the possibility of the small wood eating Loricariids of this kind being moved into their own separate Genus - Panaqolus - was discussed at length (there are contributions to this article from Ingo Seidel and J.W. Armbruster) and I recall mailing scans of the pages to Cup_of_Lifenoodles some time ago. It's quite an interesting read, but sadly, the scientists have chosen to keep the fish as a Panaque species, which means it's lumped in taxonomically with colossal juggernauts that would outgrow your aquarium in pretty short order. Why this should be the case when the fish exhibits peculiarities that make it an 'oddball' member of Panaque to put it mildly is a bit of a puzzle, but then some taxonomists have yet to learn the lesson that aquaristic input can be just as informative and valid as bleached specimens in spirit jars ...

Returning to the 'big picture' of your setup, you have scope for 20 Neons as Little_Fish has said, or 20 Cardinals. However, to balance things out, you might want to consider a Tetra species that is more likely to be active in the upper layers. Which in a space the size of a 60 says to me ... Cochu's Blues. 20 Cochu's Blues would go in there, and once the aquarium was set up, it would be a show stopper of an aquarium as the Cochu's Blues flitted about!

Of course, if you want something a little more relaxing to watch (I admit Cochu's Blues can induce a facial tic if you watch them long enough!) then something a little more sedate could be ... Rosy Tetras. A particular favourite of mine, nice and peaceful, beautiful when they colour up, and against a planted backdrop, would make another fine display.

If by 'Rams' you mean Papiliochromis ramirezi, be advised this is a warm water lover that won't do well below 76 degrees F. If you don't want your tank to be a sauna to keep that species happy, Bolivian Rams might be a better choice. Alternatively, if you're looking for a Cichlid that fits in with the South American theme, and is both colourful and peaceful, go for Laetacara curviceps, the flag Cichlid, which is one of the most peaceful of all Cichlids (along with Anomalochromis thomasi, another favourite of mine, the Flag Cichlid is about as close as you'll come to a 'pacifist' Cichlid!) and which when breeding is an exemplary parent. If you're not overly concerned with sticking to a South American theme, then go for the Anomalochromis thomasi, feed it colour food, and watch it turn into an iridescent spangled magenta and purple gem of a fish which well and truly lives up to its name of 'Dwarf Jewel Fish'!


Panda Catfish fan and keeper/breeder since Christmas 2002

I agree with LF and Cali. I'll just repeat what they said and tell you that you have room for more upper level swimmers. Another option is some hatchetfish that will use the middle-surface area of the tank. You could fit 8-10 in with your current stocking list.

My neons tend to hang out near the bottom...they are kind of mid-bottom fish.

You will love the yoyos. They are so funny! Mine have dug them a little hideout under a piece of driftwood..silly things.

Do you have any ideas of what type of mid-surface swimmers you like? A gourami would also work.

*Kristin*

What are the dimensions of your tank. 60 gal. comes in many shapes and sizes, though the standard is tall rather than wide.

I mention it because, as LF mentioned, you have a lot of bottom-ish dwelling fish there, and if the tank is narrow and tall rather than shorter and wide, it may be a little crampy down there (not that the fish would care, the plecos will find hiding spots, the yoyos will chase each other and the rams will move to and fro, all ignoring each other - just saying from an aesthetic point of view).

So long as you keep up on bottom gravel vacs (yoyos and ESPECIALLY plecos are big waste contributors, plecos are poop machines, no matter how small) you could probably add more neons/ cardinals/ whatever kind of small tetra. Say, 12 neons, 10 something else small.

Tell me... have you considered planting this tank?

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Back in the saddle!

Do North American natives.

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I'm not your neighbor, you Bakersfield trash.

Thank you all for your advice.
The rams, yoyos and clown plecs are my favorite FW fish so i will diffently look at adding top dwelling fish.

Nowhereman: tank has already been considered and am going to planting and decorating it tomorrow. Nothing that is going to need extreme lighting or lots of care just a simpleplanted set up. i spend enough time with my SW tank as it is.


Does anyone have any good ideas for top dwellers? i dont like hatchet fish im open for ideas