Am I doing ok?

[Xabien]

Hello. I have had my 33 gallon aquarium set up for about 2 months now. I have 5 neon tetras which I got in my second week of tank cycling (quite proud that only 1 died so far ), 3 clown loaches, 1 para pleco, 3 mollies and 5 black phantom tetras. I also just changed my gravel to sand substrate. I have real plants and a few hiding places for the fish. I had a few nitrite spikes when I added some of the fish but nothing serious and the only other problem I had was white spot when I added the clown loaches but thats sorted out now. My concern is with the Para pleco and the clown loaches. The pleco is always hiding. the only time it comes out is when I drop a tablet in the tank and if i move suddenly it goes back into the cave. Is this because it isnt happy? Also, the clown loaches are only small at the moment. But I hear they will eventualy get to about 1 foot long. Should I try and take these fish back to the LFS before I get too attached? What other fish do you think would go nice in my tank?

Thanks

 

[Allivymar]

Sounds like you're doing great Xabien!

To address your concerns:

I'm not sure what a "para" pleco is. Is it the little spotted one? Or the more like the common one (its given an L number of 075, but whats listed under 075 on www.plantecatfish.com is a Ancistomus sp, what comes up in a google search for para is a Hypostomus sp; do find out for sure exactly what you have - some plecs will get twice the size of the clown loaches!). Most plecs are nocturnal, so no surprise he hangs out in the cave most of the time. Plecs also aren't usually very social, so I wouldn't worry if he's zipping back to his cave.

You may have a year or 2 before the clown loaches get too big for your tank; up to you whether you want to hang on to em long enough to get attached or not. You might want to look into some smaller loaches to replace them, such as Yoyo loaches which get to be about half the size. Go thru www.loaches.com to get an idea of which loaches might fit better in your tank.

 

[Xabien]

Would I be able to add 2 angel fish to my tank at the moment? Maybe koi angels? I have been told that they would eat the tetras but on liveaquaria.com it says that tetras make good tank mates. Or how about golden gouramis?

I have a small website that has some pictures on it of my tank. here is the link

http://www.btinternet.com/~s_pedder/

Thanks

 

[Allivymar]

Atm no, you really don't have enough room for the angels as well; if you returned the loaches you would tho.

And they eat neons in the wild. Because your neons are already established in the tank, and if you purchase juvenile angels, you may be able to get the to co-exist peacefully. Just keep in mind it may not work. Larger tetras aren't a problem, although do avoid the more fin nippy types as angelfish fins are irresistable to em.

Nice pics btw; still unsure about the para plec and how big it will get. Maybe someone else will pop in with more info. Good lookin tank with happy healthy lookin fish

 

[Madame_X]

Pretty little spotted pleco... Planet Catfish doesn't have much info listed in the catElog about the L075 (looks like what you have). I would suggest posting a message in the forum over there. I've found everyone to be very helpful with my pleco questions.

 

[tkos]

I would return the loaches now and get a different loach if that is an option. From all that I read the clowns get to be adorable and might be really hard to part with in the future. Anyways that is what I would do. Some people get bored with their fish after awhile and want new ones so maybe you won't have as much trouble returning them later. And from what I see in the store, the more mature a clown loach is the more the cost. Around here I have seen them as high as 90$ for the full grown adults. So they might be worth more money to you to raise them and seel/trade them later.

I would choose the dwarf gouramis over the angle fish if I were you. They are fun to watch, tough little guys and I have seen them work really well in tetra tanks.

 

[Sati]

I just want to say that those are great pics and your tank is beautiful :]

 

[Xabien]

Thanks alot guys. Maybe I will have to get a bigger tank instead of get rid of my fish Does anybody want to donate some money to the Xabiens tank fund?