Caves and fishes.

[lovecatfish]

Hi guys again. I would just like to consult ya'll about my tank. Currently 15gallon 2foot by 1 foot by 1 foot. I have 6rummynose, 4Cory, 1 Bolivian ram and a young male Betta. I would like to have fish that hides in the numerous caves I provided for them. There are stacked up driftwood forming a cave, empty flower pots another, bent live plants forming another and a 'mini forest' of tall plants in one corner. I have a sand substrate. pH is 7.1 hardness is 50ppm. Thanks for your replies!



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[The Trooper]

Can i ask why you want your fish to hide?

It's usually the other way around.

 

[nameless01]

lol yea. you should be glad they don't hide, I have a blue gourami that used to hide all the time in this little decoration and it got me so mad cause it was so pretty and one of my big display fish in my tank but it would always hide. but eventually he got used to me and only goes to the corner if I do like sudden real fast movements close to the tank or am wiping it down, he goes nuts haha

 

[lovecatfish]

Oh... I have this cave formation there which practically none of my fish uses. So I would like a fish that would actually use them. All my fish just ignore the caves fully. Not even the Cory. So I want a fish that utilize my decor and also it would look nice. I like hiding fishes haha

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[katiekelsey]

I have a Pictus catfish and a Rainbow shark. They're both about 5" and they both like to hide so I have two caves made from rocks. They both come out of their cave and then go back in. They even switch caves. They are not aggressive to each other and they're fun to watch.

 

[lovecatfish]

Okay thanks. Rainbow shark sounds okay. Thanks

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[NYgiantsRP]

Rainbow shark is a bad idea. Way to big for that tank. They need 30g minimum. They can also be very aggressive as the grown.

 

[Dnoel5787]

Rainbow shark is a bad idea. Way to big for that tank. They need 30g minimum. They can also be very aggressive as the grown.

Completely agree. What about a loach of some sort? I've never kept them myself, so I'm not sure if they would work. I do keep shrimp, and with a Bolivian ram in the lower level, they would spend lots of time in your caves. There are a few options to consider if you like shrimp.

 

[Toad]

Most freshwater gobies like caves and stay on the smaller side, they might be a good choice.

 

[lovecatfish]

My ram prefers the plants. I added one bubble goby from my other tank, they also hide amongst the plants... is there any other fish other than loach. Iam considering them, kuhli loach sounds okay. Are there any other choices?

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[redsox19]

Id say go with some cherry shrimp, add some beautiful color while also providing some cleanup!... easy to breed as well

 

[scotty1301]

Dwarf plec

 

[siva]

Definitely no on the rainbow shark, 55 gals is about the minimum for them IMO.

It would be a miracle if colorful dwarf shrimp survived a bolivian and a betta so I wouldn't waste money on those.

With the water volume and current stock the bio-load of a pleco might not be best to add, but if the filtration is awesome and it's heavily planted and you are easily maintaining great water quality than that could be an option. You mentioned you have driftwood in the tank, clown plecos are wood eaters (they do prefer something soft like mopani) and hide a lot.

The foot print of your tank would be great for a group of 5-6 kuhli's but not along with the cories you already have (unless we are talking dwarf cories) as well as the ram who will also hang out on the bottom a lot. Honestly I'd add a couple more cories and call the tank stocked.

If you really wanted to add loaches you could do 5 or so Yunnanilus cruciatus..they are very small loaches that are quite adorable and they are shy, I find mine hide in the plants and caves most of the time.

 

[lovecatfish]

Thanks @Siva for the long reply your advice of the zebra loach is cool. Iam wonder if it would eat frozen blood worms and fine spirulina flake?

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[siva]

No prob! Just make sure it's the "hovering zebra loach" and not the "zebra loach" I haven't found them to be picky at all, they have readily accepted all frozen and prepared foods.

 

[lovecatfish]

LOL I know the zebra loach is the clown loach shape with stripes haha. Thanks

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[siva]

lol ok just making sure! Those little guys can be hard to find. Sources I have found them from are wetspottropicalfish.com and Severum Mama(mod on this site).

 

[NYgiantsRP]

I assume you mean striatia botia when you say zebra loach. Those would not be a good choice for a 15 gallon tank. They can grow to almost 4" and need to be in groups of 5. 5 4" fish in a 15 gallon tank is too much. They are also VERY active. Furthermore, you already have 4 cory cats and a ram whom all are bottom dwellers.

 

[siva]

Definitely no on the rainbow shark, 55 gals is about the minimum for them IMO.

It would be a miracle if colorful dwarf shrimp survived a bolivian and a betta so I wouldn't waste money on those.

With the water volume and current stock the bio-load of a pleco might not be best to add, but if the filtration is awesome and it's heavily planted and you are easily maintaining great water quality than that could be an option. You mentioned you have driftwood in the tank, clown plecos are wood eaters (they do prefer something soft like mopani) and hide a lot.

The foot print of your tank would be great for a group of 5-6 kuhli's but not along with the cories you already have (unless we are talking dwarf cories) as well as the ram who will also hang out on the bottom a lot. Honestly I'd add a couple more cories and call the tank stocked.

If you really wanted to add loaches you could do 5 or so Yunnanilus cruciatus..they are very small loaches that are quite adorable and they are shy, I find mine hide in the plants and caves most of the time.

No as I said above we are talking about Yunnanilus cruciatus. AKA hovering zebra loach.