Aquarium advice (1 Viewer)

[Neil Joseph]

I am almost ready to stock a 65 gallon tank with the following fish....

- Yellow Lab (L. Caeruleus)
- Ps. Demasoni
- Clown Loach
- qty 1 of Red tailed Black Shark

I know I know but I am up to the challange of putting these Cichlids and other fish together. Do I add all of them at the same time or do I add the community fish first then the Cichlids afterwards? I have not decided if I will buy them all as juveniles so they can grow up together or get them as young adults. Will this make a difference as to how I introduce them to the tank?

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[Jack Gilvey]

The main thing I see is that you're mixing fish that prefer rather disparate conditions, aside from the potential temperment problems. The Africans are from hard, alkaline water (rift lakes) while the shark and loach prefer softer, acidic conditions.

 

[Alex S]

I agree with Jack.

I would get different chiclids and keep the clown loaches.
They are one of my favorite fish.
Africans are very territorial.

I have Severums with clown loaches and they get along great together.

Gold Severum
http://www.ticon.net/~rioxingu/severum.jpg

Green Severum
http://www.aquascape.co.uk/severum_green.jpg

 

[Jack Gilvey]

Yeah, Severums are cool fish. There are a few other cichlids which might match well. Rams, Angels, and the various Geophagus species might be nice, also.

 

[Jay H]

Try kuhli loaches too, if you get a bunch of them you can experience the infamous "Kuhli Ball"

Jay

 

[Jeff Rosz]

hello neil,
get them all as juveniles and let em grow up together. but imo chances are no matter how you add them, the loach and shark would prolly be toast sooner or later.
i once had a setup like this in a 75:
red-tailed charcarin (sp.?)
2 gouramis
2 silver dollars
a pleco
a jack dempsy
got them all the same day as juvies.
the gouramis grew to about 4", the charcarin to 6". the silver dollars grew to about 4-5" in diameter-awesome (started about the size of a quarter). pleco, well he grew huge. the jack is now prolly 9" and ten years old. the only one still alive is the jack due to an ice storm taking out the power while i was gone from home on a business trip 2 years ago. but anyway it can be done, even with the combo of docile dollars/gouramis in the same tank with a jack and a charcarin. this was a very odd group of large fish and may not be for a beginner. the trick is, get very fast or very agile fish to go in with cichlids. youd be surprised how fast a gourami can be and how a silver dollar can turn on a dime (pun intended).

 

[John Watson]

I'm just tail-gating here, but what I'd like is sites with great pics of aquariums, anything from guppies to groupers, large enough for computer wall papers? Anyone know any?

The lo-maintenance (and lossless!) aspect appeals to me.

 

[Neil Joseph]

Will the more aggressive Cichlids increase the stress level of the Loaches and thus increase the risk of disease due to the stress? I am still willing to go with this setup....

4 x Ps. Demasoni
4 x L. Caeruleus
4 x Clown Loach
1 x Red Tail Black Shark

... in a 65 gallon setup.

 

[Jeff Rosz]

well like i said before, i think it is doable. and after thinking about it more since yesterday, the cichs may leave the loaches alone altogether. fish have a way of knowing what they should attack and what not to attack. put a grouper and a lionfish together...100% mutual respect, they just know. why are cleaner wrasses never eaten? i think the same is true for some beneficial fish in the tank. the predators rarely mess with the bottom feeders, they know the bottom feeders are just doing their jobs. of all the tanks i have had over the years i never saw a fish attack a cory or a pleco. while loaches are bottom feeders, they do tend to swim shallow sometimes and this is when i think they will be a target. just a theory i have. i wont be doing any phd papers on it though. give it a shot, neil

 

[Jay H]

My clown loaches (small 2 inch long ones) have no fears when feeding, they will readily skim the surface like every other non-bottom feeder, whereas my cory cats don't bother. I have some adult angel fish in there, but as a species, the angels seem to be peaceful (with others) when cichlids are concerned.

Jay

 

[Jack Gilvey]

Still not a good idea from a temperment standpoint. Also, take seriously what I said about water conditions. I managed a store for years and had people kill many fish by merely combining pictures of fish without regard to what they need. They figured they looked good together.

 

[Neil Joseph]

While I am at it, I am also considering starting the following marine tank as well....

Percula Clownfish
Powder Blue Tang
Threadfin Butterflyfish