FishProfiles.com Message Forums

Some of you may know I have a 125 gallon community. It's currently a catfish tank but this can change in the future. Except for the Panaque, which I have had for years in the tank alone, the rest of my fish I have only had anywhere from weeks to a few months.

Current fish (See Photo Booth for pics):
8x Pareutropius buffei Debauwi Catfish (~1.5" ea, 3" max size)
1x Entomocorus radiosus (~2", already at max size?)
1x Bagrichthys macracanthus Black Lancer (~2", ~9" max size)
1x Synodontis decorus-like hybrid (~3.5", ~9" max size?)
1x Panaque sp. L330 Royal Watermelon Plec (~8-9", 18" max size?)

Filtration:
Emperor 400
Aquaclear 500

Lighting:
4 x 30w fluorescent bulbs

Some of the below fish are being considered:
Semaprochilodus sp.; not likely, as they are very uncommon here
Denisonii barbs? They may be a bit pricy to get a good school.
Naturally large-finned tetras such as Rosy, Bleeding Heart, Red Phantom, or perhaps even Congos
Discus; but I don't think that they are a possibility, but figure I'd include them
Rams or some other dwarf cichlid
Pimelodella sp. (there's one at the LFS, but I can't identify it, I'm worried it'll eat the P. buffei)
Corydoras sp. (panda? arcuatus? sterbai?) I'd rather not go for Aeneus or Paleatus.
Black Ghost Knife

I know there are tons of options, but I was looking for some thoughts on what other fish I can have in such an aquarium. I have an interest in the more unusual. I'm also trying to look for fish that will be out and about during the day and don't try to hide everytime someone approaches the tank; I may have to resort to Angelfish and Gourami but was hoping there might be something more unusual. I've been keeping track of the snakeskin gourami at the LFS but they've been sick for the past couple trips there. Angelfish would probably have to be wild; don't think I want anything artifically selected. It's a bonus if the fish are colorful. I've thought about Rainbowfish but for schooling fish they are pricier than I'd like.

I've also got Corydoras as a big question mark. I'm also thinking about bottom feeders because there are some patches in my tank where some waste sometimes builds up, and I'm thinking that having some bottom feeders just merely swimming around regularly will mix it up so the filters can pick it up; thus, Cories are being considered. Basically I'm hoping by the act of exploring everything, the fish will make sure that waste won't build up anywhere between gravel siphoning and water changes. Again, the hope is that they will be out during the day doing their thing. The might also have to be confident with large fish (although all the current large fish are nocturnal or light-shy). When it comes to Cories I want something that may possibly breed in the 125 gallon, just for kicks. It'd also be nice if the P. buffei spawned... But I'm not going to specifically work towards spawning fish; it'd just be nice if they did it on their own.

No plants yet, but in this low-light tank I'd like some suggestions. I'm thinking about the following: Java Fern, Anubias, Wisteria, Hornwort (can't find this around here, though), and Water Sprite.

Thoughts?

--------------------------------------------
The aquarist is one who must learn the ways of the biologist, the chemist, and the veterinarian.

if you truly want hornwort i could mail you a small peice (if you pay shipping)...

something like a few inches long... it can grow up to 3 inches a day so even a micro peice will end up ginormous...

i loke the idea of the gourami... but health is key, maybe talk to the LFS owner and see if you buy a few sickies and they die he will exchange them and try to nurse them back to health in a QT tank...

\\\\\\\"an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of the cure\\\\\\\"

No thanks, I'm in no hurry to get hornwort. Probably might want to ask the LFS workers first to see if they can order it in, methinks.

I'm a "find a healthy fish" kind of person. I've actually never had a quarantine. It usually works, actually, although almost all the fish I've bought recently spent at least 3 weeks at the LFS before I bought them; it's almost like the LFS quarantines them for me, lol. I guess the fish I buy tend to be rather unpopular with common folk. Also I'm not allowed to set up anymore tanks... Health is indeed key, so I've always got my eyes wide open when I buy fish. Treating a 125 gallon is the last thing I want to do...

In any case, I'm also in no hurry to get the snakeskins, they're not always available but they're common enough. I'll just wait until these specimens are healthy or a healthy batch becomes available.

--------------------------------------------
The aquarist is one who must learn the ways of the biologist, the chemist, and the veterinarian.

I would suggest at least one large swordplant, be it an amazon or a ozelot, but let it be one of the 1wpg ones. Try lots of anubias, java fern, and get a lot of sprite, as they, combined with wisteria, will help a lot in the long run. Especially if you are going to get a surface dweller.

How about some hatchetfish? They looks unusual enough to me! Big stomachs!!! The BGK might be predatory towards the smaller fish? Like the tetras? Maybe some serpae or red minor tetras (same ting) would suit your needs? They have long finned varieties! Also, for a stunning effect, try the Harlequin Rasboras! They are very neat looking, and are great and active fish. I would get at least 20 of any schoolers in a tank that big, as they would look splendid, and wont lose each other. Then again, if you have any predatory catfish, they might be an expensive and fancy decorative dinner!

I wouldnt stock up too much on the bottom part of the tank, as it seems that the catfish are already occupying a lot of space there. I would stick with 1 school of corys, and one with at least 12 members. That way, there is a lot of action on the bottom, and will stirr up some debris. Just be careful as to the Pandas, as they probably wont appreciate the debris, and might have a lower chance of survival and flourishing, as i heard they are very sensitive fish to wastes and nitrates.

Good luck! I hope you have fun deciding! (I like the Pseudopimeloids.....Bumblebee catfish rules!)

><> ~=!Vote Today!=~ <><
-----> View My Dragons <-----

I just remembered that Pearl Gouramis look awesome. Gouramis are still on the table, it seems.

Well technically I already do have surface fish, the debauwi catfish. The E. radiosus also inhabits midwater to surface, though at night, so it's kind of a moot point. I'm hesitant to include any plant as tasty as a sword for my Royal to possibly demolish.

Hmmm, I didn't think about the BGK being predaceous; I've kept them with tetras before, but never more than a 6" specimen so it might not have been big enough. An adult BGK might be problematic... Hmmm...

Wouldn't get long-finned serpaes even if my life depended on it (or long-finned anything for that matter), no offense to those who keep them! I'm all for natural fish, at least with finnage; some Discus colour morphs look pretty cool, though... If you ever get the chance to see male Rosy Tetras displaying to each other you'll know what I mean when I want some naturally long-finned tetras; they know what they're doing with their little extra finnage! Hmmm, Harlies may be a little on the small side. Didn't even consider hatchets, that might be a possibility.

You would think the catfish I currently have would occupy the bottom space, but the fact that most of the bottom isn't touched is evidence enough that they're not using very much of it. Only three catfish are bottom feeders, and of them neither the Royal nor the Black Lancer move very far from their caves. Only the Synodontis ventures out, but it doesn't cover all the little corners that I'm hoping a Corydoras school might in their foraging activities. I read the same thing about Pandas not tolerating waste (from Cali's article, heh), so perhaps I might not get them. Of course I'd make sure to siphon the gravel before getting them... But from what my Royal Plec leaves in some corners there still might actually be a problem for them.

There are more pseudopimelodids then just bumblebee catfish; you've only touched the tip of the iceberg. Bumblebee cats are all right, but I don't think I'll get any for my tank.

--------------------------------------------
The aquarist is one who must learn the ways of the biologist, the chemist, and the veterinarian.

LOL, i am definately not one for Scientific Names!!! I truly had no idea of the fish that you have in your tank! I guess i will have to ask or search up each Sciname before! I have also never heard of a black lancer before.....Sounds cool and big!

Everywhere, i have heard that the BGK might snack upon little fish like neons and such, but i have never had one, so......Anywho, no neons in this tank right?

Pearl gouramis are stunning, and if you dont have too many overly colorful fish, then i would suggest a few fish! 3 maybe?

Anywho, i missed the natural finnage extention thing that you put up, and i kinda agree....I am only suggesting it because it was long finned.....I didnt know discus' color morphs were artificial! I thought it was natural......

About the plants, I forgot that the plec would at least scrape it a bit! IME, even a small BN like mine has done a bit of leaf munching! I bet it is like lettuce to them! Anubias species are really nice, but also a bit pricy to have a lot of them! Javafern would look really neat, especially if they grow huge! Maybe some pellia? I think it is a low light plant?

Anyways, i am sure that others will have some stockings too, so these are just my thoughts! Good luck!



><> ~=!Vote Today!=~ <><
-----> View My Dragons <-----

Check out the Photo Booth; I have some pics of all of my fish so you can figure out what they are. None of them are extremely common, so even with "common names" you might not know what I'm talking about. I can't even give a common name for E. radiosus; it's a new species that was only given a scientific name in 2006!

Hehe, Black Lancers do get rather large, but not huge, "only" around maybe 9". Mine's a wee little guy right now. On top of that, they might be described as "gentle giants" since their mouths are too small to eat many types of fish. Great fish for a community, IMO!

Yeah, no neons in this tank. I'm pretty sure a BGK will be fine.

Discus have been bred quite a lot. You can't find wild types at the LFS, at least around here. This is even true of the angelfish; I haven't seen many angelfish with just the plain old stripes! On the other hand, the other week I actually saw angelfish marked as wild, and I considered grabbing them! The natural angelfish are pretty amazing already, so I never expected them to be displaced by captive bred morphs like has happened.

There'll be at least 2 Pearls if I get them, maybe 3. Still looking for some other colorful possibilities, though. Help me out!

So many Corydoras! I have to admit that I'm not huge into cories (yet!); I wish I was so I could spot contaminants coming in for cheap. I'm having some trouble trying to cut down on what to get, past knowing I don't want Aeneus, Paleatus, or anything that's too hard to breed. I'm looking for something hardy, active during the day, and will breed without too much trouble; I mean, Aeneus and Paleatus probably both fit this description perfectly, but I'm looking for something else. Pandas around here, as I see them, tend to be only sold less than inch long, which is nuts as they still are priced higher than some of the other cories which are at least twice their size! As an alternative any of the other black and white cories would be fine; I'm just trying to find which is easiest to breed and raise... metae? arcuatus? adolfoi? I was thinking sterbai, since these are apparently relatively easy to breed. I don't know how much these go at the LFS, though; some people say that they're actually rather pricy, which means I probably wouldn't go for them.

On the nocturnal catfish angle I might be considering Tatia perugiae, the Oil Catfish or Honeycomb Tatia. They get about 3" max and are cool little catfishes. Plus they've been captive-bred, so it wouldn't be out of the question for me to attempt it. Maybe.

Some plants do seem to be somewhat expensive; $6 for a plant? How can I afford that?! LoL, I say that when I've paid around $90 on all the fish that I've currently got and am ready to put down more for more fish. I've actually never heard of "Pellia". What is that? Does it have another name?

Your thoughts are welcomed! Thanks! Yeah, I'm hoping some other people can help me out here.

--------------------------------------------
The aquarist is one who must learn the ways of the biologist, the chemist, and the veterinarian.

are you against a schooll of diamond tetras? Im not sure how they will behave with the other tankmates. Ive found their temperament varies.

are you after an active fish or something that just potters around the tank?

It doesn't really matter if they're active or not, they just have to be out and about during the day and not freak out when someone draws near. I'm not especially against a school of Diamond Tetras, but aren't they just kind of greyish? They're rather attractive, to be sure, but I'm not sure about the colouration. I'll consider them, though.

The idea I'm having with schoolers, if I actually go for it, is probably not to have a great variation in tetra species. I might even just go for one species and get a huge school. Black Phantoms, for example, have the upside that they're really cheap around here, so it'd be easy to build a sizeable school. On the other hand, I don't know how small of a species some of these tetras are so I don't know how much danger they might be with other fish I might want, like the BGK.

--------------------------------------------
The aquarist is one who must learn the ways of the biologist, the chemist, and the veterinarian.

My favourite schoolling tetra are the rummynoses. They always swim in a close pack, they are always active and entertaining.

What do you think about Emperor tetras. They are fairly strong fish and not shy at all.Also very active. They might school in the first days, but afterwords they will spread all over in the tank.

I have had a small school (6) of Lemon Tetras now for a month. They are a very beautiful fish, active, and love to stick together. I have them in with a school of Green Cories and they get along great together. They actually have become friends and it seems the Tetras now kind of mimic the Cories behaviour, pretty interesting.

I would prefer tight schoolers if I even get a school of fish. I actually like the idea of Rummynoses, as they are quite different from the Hyphessobrycon species I have been considering already; they'd provide a nice contrast in body shape. I just hope they don't drop like flies in my tank, I keep hearing they're delicate.

Before this topic becomes a long list of tetra species stretching into oblivion, I would like to say I am also looking into a larger, preferably colourful centerpiece-ish fish. As well as Cories. Any comments about the fish that I listed that I might be considering? Comments about plants? Thanks.

--------------------------------------------
The aquarist is one who must learn the ways of the biologist, the chemist, and the veterinarian.

Just throwing out some different ideas for larger fish:

Spanner Barb -- yeah, they get big, but I like them. Not necessarily colorful, though.

Giant Danio -- old standby. I absolutely love these guys. Only problem I've found is that the blue markings fade with age.

Headstanders -- Well, they're definitely different. These guys are one of those "keep singly or keep in large numbers" type of fish, especially Anostomus anostomus. A. ternetzi is usually a bit nicer. The markings on these are striking.

That's all I'm coming up with for now.

I didn't even think of headstanders! They are pretty cool. I was looking into Distichodus, and headstanders are a bit of a smaller alternative, hehe. Can anyone say a little more about them? I'd rather not get anything that's remotely aggressive after a bad experience with a singular Leporinus terrorizing my tank years back; without knowing better I'm thinking that headstanders might actually behave rather similarly, at least if kept alone. Will having multiple specimens divert aggression amongst themselves, similar to Tiger Barbs? Or are they not aggressive at all? Now that I've been cued into headstanders, maybe someone could talk about not only the Anostomus, but the Abramites as well? Also what's the difference between Anostomus anostomus and Anostomus ternetzi? I can't tell...

Along a similar line as the heastanders I was looking at Hemiodus. They're pretty cool too, but I like how headstanders are at least more colourful than they are.

Wow, I started looking into Denisonii Barbs and apparently they are VERY expensive. I'd be hard-pressed to pay that much even if I were getting a school of catfish. I wasn't really thinking about a surface-schooler; I kind of already have that set with my Debauwi Catfish, although granted there's still a lot of surface to go around. I don't think I'd go for Giant Danios... Now that I know there are awesome danios like Devario pathirana. Crazy awesome danio right there, though probably a little pricy too.

--------------------------------------------
The aquarist is one who must learn the ways of the biologist, the chemist, and the veterinarian.

A. ternetzi has slightly less colorful fins. Apart from that, there's not much external difference. Generally speaking with Anastomus, they'll be alright in groups of about 5 or above, although you will get the occasional punk.

Abramites hypselonotus will probably be too nippy for your tank.

I can understand your problem with your Leporinus. They can be downright hooligans.

I actually doubt the rummynoses are so delicate. A friend of mine, totally beginner in fishkeeping, has a school of them and didn't lose one. I also have a school, they moved from my 240 l to an 80 l and they did great in both tanks, without any special care. They even get chased away all the time by spawning emperor tetras but they dont seem to care about it. If you cycle your tank and keep doing the waterchanges they will be fine.

So with the Anostomus it's either by themselves or in groups over 5? Hmmm, as cool as a group might be, I don't think I've ever seen 5 Anostomus in one tank at a time at the LFS, lol, nor do I think they'd be that cheap. Will probably have to go the loner route, just hoping it doesn't decide to be a nipper; trying to catch a fish like that in my 125 gallon seems like it would be quite a pain. Kinda sucks about the Abramites, as they do have an interesting body shape going for them too.

That does make me feel better about the Rummies. I'm a little tentative because with them that restricts possibly predatory fish even more, though. Will have to think about it.

I've decided I will probably switch out most of my gravel for a sand/gravel mix. Hopefully, with enough washing of the sand, my filters won't die on me.

That'll let me keep some cool sand-dwellers like Banjo cats. Banjos will certainly help me mix up the sediment. That said, I would still like Cories, though I'm hoping the Banjos aren't too bothered if Cories come by and dig them up. I haven't found any information that claims Banjo catfish eat other fish, which is a super bonus.

--------------------------------------------
The aquarist is one who must learn the ways of the biologist, the chemist, and the veterinarian.

Lately Ive been tempted to switch to sand and keep weather loaches...but enough about me.

I have had a quick look around the internet and found that B. coracoideus isnt a predatory fish. Its more of a scavenger. I have seen a post somewhere that somebody had kept neon tetras with one (I wouldnt do that though...I just couldnt trust it at night).

The cories would love that substrate too. If you get particularly active corys the sand will be regularly tilled.