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Hi!

A nearby store is selling lyretails (Aphyosemion australe) and they look really nice
I have a 38 gal with 6 jullii corys, 1 dwarf gourami, 1 blue jack dempsey and 5 zebra danios. Would it be ok to add a lyretail to this setup?
And also, how many should I get? Do they do better in pairs, one male, one female? In groups? Or alone?
I haven't been able to find a good profile for this fish. Any advice and knowledge is greatly appreciated, thanks!

They do best in pairs, and mostly alone....consider putting them into a dedicated 10 gallon, ith plants and maybe 3-4 small corydoras to keep the bottom tidy. That dempsey of yours will chew them up, the danios will stress them, and the gourami may nip them.

Aphyosemions are best in species aquaria unless one plans their companions VERY carefully. The Demspey will eat them once it puts on a bit of body mass!

You're looking at soft, acid water filtered over peat, temperature of around 22C, and a mixture of plant thickets and open spaces. Oh, and be careful if keeping more than one male, as they are strongly territorial. This applies to most of the Genus. Ideally, keep several females with a lone male. He'll have a big smile on his face

Panda Catfish fan and keeper/breeder since Christmas 2002

Thanks for the help

I really do not want to set up another tank. The dempsey is big and doesn't bother other fish, since it's a blue dempsey.

But if they can only be in a species tank I'll stay away from them. The store said they were good for community tanks, but of course, fish shops are not to be trusted

Has anyone kept them with other fish with good results?

Thanks

"Oh, and be careful if keeping more than one male, as they are strongly territorial."

I'll second this statement. I recently bought two pairs (two males and two females) and one male has shown to be EXTREMELY territorial. He constantly swims laps around one particular ornament and any fish that comes near is chased away (including the cories who are much larger then he). It's comical to watch really because they are such small/cute little fish.

And I also agree with everyone else who says you should have a dedicated tank for them. If you can swing it I would buy them and keep 'em in your community tank until you can have another smaller species tank set up. It'll be worth it in the end.. these are some really cool fish.

Thanks again for all the advice

What are their feeding habits like? Do they feed from the surface, substrate? Are they too shy?

I haven't figured out the feeding habits of my lyretails yet. I'm actually a little concerned because I feed all of my fish primlarily flake food with freeze dried/frozen/live food thrown in as treats. So far, at feeding time they gobble up the flakes only to spit them back out. I've had this problem with other fish and they usually adapt to the flakes. Hopefully they will too aftertime. Mine usually feed on all levels of the tank as well.

Lyretails tend to like their food live and wriggling. They can be weaned onto dead foods, but it takes patience. Needless to say, these are NOT fishes for the beginner

Panda Catfish fan and keeper/breeder since Christmas 2002