Community Tank Addition Suggestions?

[Numen Wraith.]

Current tank mates:
Pair Electric Blue Rams
Cardinal Tetras
Glass Catfish
White Cloud Mountain Minnows
Dwarf Spotted Corys
Otos
Mystery Snails

The issue:

As of now, the glass cats and rams tend to stay on the bottom; the corys snails, and otos move about the plants, sides, and bottom; the tetras stay in the middle of the tank, and the minnows stay in the upper level.

When stocking the tank, I intentionally picked fish that should have filled every stratum of the tank, but the glass cats were supposed to be in the top, but they didn't read the same info I did.

Also, the rams were picked as the "centrepiece" that the tank was built around, but, while beautiful, they're kind of "boring"

We already have the minnows and tetras that are torpedo shaped and mostly silver in colour, and the corys and otos are lump shaped and brown. The glass cats and rams add a bit of colour and shape variety to the tank, and we'd like one more addition of this sort.

We have decided that'd we'd like one more species to add to the tank, and we'd like it to fill these criteria:

Musts:
• Peaceful (at least enough to not harass/bully the current fish)
• Swims in top strata (mostly at least, exclusively would be nice)
• Interesting colour/shape (not a silver torpedo)
Preferred:
• Better as a solitary, pair, or trio
• Large enough to "show up" but small enough for a 20 gallon high
• Lives on flake food
• Takes advantage of open swimming space


We considered (included to show the kind of thing we're looking for, but suggestions deviating from these are welcome):
Kribs - not sold because: they can be territorial, dig up plants, and are more bottom dwelling
Dwarf Cockatoo Cichlid - not sold because: they can be territorial, more bottom dwelling
Neon Rainbow - not sold because: they prefer groups of six or more

 

[smallfry53]

I was thinking hatchets until I read that you only want to get a few, but Idk maybe something to think about. Maybe a honey gourami? they tend to be pretty peaceful and mostly stay towards the top. Both of those options prefer to have the top to themselves though I think.

 

[Numen Wraith.]

Thanks for the advice. You're correct about why I avoided hatchets. I love them, personally, but "I've had them so many times" and this is a shared tank. As much as I like them, with the glass cats, that role seemed "filled" so I was too interested in them. A good suggestion, but you understand why it doesn't work.

After some reading on honey gouramis, I have some questions.

1) I saw some pictures of them in "mating conditions" and they're lovely and vibrant (exactly what we'd like for our show piece), but others make them look more drab and regular (still acceptable, but disappointing in comparison). Does anyone know how much time they spend in these "mating conditions" and how dependable it is? (I remember having kissing gouramis as a teenager, and being very disappointed when my [in my opinion] ugly fish never in exhibited the trademark extravagant ritual that sold me on buying them).

2) I've read that they become aggressive during mating. This is actually two questions. a) Do I need to worry about my other fish being bullied?
b) Some sites recommend removing the female after spawning. How necessary is this?

3) Floating plants are recommended in almost every source, but nothing really suggests a type. Any suggestions?



This does not mean we have decided on the honey gourami, but it certainly has our attention. Further suggestions are quite welcome.

 

[ktomminello]

Honey gourami can be nippy- but they aren't always, this is from personal experience, same goes for paradise gourami. Dwarf powder blue gourami are peaceful and kind of cool looking, endlers livebearers are cool, maybe an acei cichlid or an American flagfish?

 

[Numen Wraith.]

Thanks, again.

Paradise gourami - same issues as honey gourami, with added issue of tank size (some sources recommend twenty while others recommend thirty five). Possibility if I hear good things.

Dwarf powder blue gourami - not particularly interested. Kind of gaudy.

Endler's livebearers - Cool fish! If we didn't already have dither fish, these would be a great option, but not exactly what we're looking for in this case. Future consideration.

Acei cichlid - not possible. Way too large, but beautiful.

American flagfish - Read some nasty things about these fish, and not interested.


Any more follow up or farther suggestions?

 

[ktomminello]

Badis, marble headstander, rosy barb, pair of keyhole cichlid?

 

[CharlieKlein]

Current tank mates:
Pair Electric Blue Rams
Cardinal Tetras
Glass Catfish
White Cloud Mountain Minnows
Dwarf Spotted Corys
Otos
Mystery Snails

The issue:

As of now, the glass cats and rams tend to stay on the bottom; the corys snails, and otos move about the plants, sides, and bottom; the tetras stay in the middle of the tank, and the minnows stay in the upper level.

When stocking the tank, I intentionally picked fish that should have filled every stratum of the tank, but the glass cats were supposed to be in the top, but they didn't read the same info I did.

Also, the rams were picked as the "centrepiece" that the tank was built around, but, while beautiful, they're kind of "boring"

We already have the minnows and tetras that are torpedo shaped and mostly silver in colour, and the corys and otos are lump shaped and brown. The glass cats and rams add a bit of colour and shape variety to the tank, and we'd like one more addition of this sort.

We have decided that'd we'd like one more species to add to the tank, and we'd like it to fill these criteria:

Musts:
• Peaceful (at least enough to not harass/bully the current fish)
• Swims in top strata (mostly at least, exclusively would be nice)
• Interesting colour/shape (not a silver torpedo)
Preferred:
• Better as a solitary, pair, or trio
• Large enough to "show up" but small enough for a 20 gallon high
• Lives on flake food
• Takes advantage of open swimming space

We considered (included to show the kind of thing we're looking for, but suggestions deviating from these are welcome):
Kribs - not sold because: they can be territorial, dig up plants, and are more bottom dwelling
Dwarf Cockatoo Cichlid - not sold because: they can be territorial, more bottom dwelling
Neon Rainbow - not sold because: they prefer groups of six or more

How many if each fish do ya have? Can you give an exact stock list? And no, any other cichlid will not work here cuz it's a small tank and you have a pair of rams. So no to kribs or apistogramma. A honey or dwarf gourami would be good, Mabye a gw killifish?

 

[Numen Wraith.]

Badis- Sounds like the gouramis without the aggression problems. Possibly the best bet yet.
Marble headstander -Stays in the lower end.
Rosy barb - Other party not interested. "Too goldfishy"
Pair of keyhole cichlid - Given Charlie's concerns about other cichlids, I didn't research these.

 

[Numen Wraith.]

First thing I read about the GW was that it ate tetras and minnows. Probably not a good idea.

Stock:

2 electric blue rams
6 glass catfish
8 cardinal tetras
8 white cloud mountain minnows
4 dwarf spotted corys
5 otos
3 mystery snails

 

[CharlieKlein]

First thing I read about the GW was that it ate tetras and minnows. Probably not a good idea.

Stock:

2 electric blue rams
6 glass catfish
8 cardinal tetras
8 white cloud mountain minnows
4 dwarf spotted corys
5 otos
3 mystery snails

Sorry about that suggustion! I have never really looked in to them! And as for adding, it looks like your fairley stocked. The only addition I'd make is the honey gourami

 

[Numen Wraith.]

Thanks Charlie.

We do know that we're near our bioload limit with our tank size, but we "over filter" and stay very on top of water changes. We also do regular water quality checks with our LFS (which is The Wet Spot in Portland, OR and I've seen mentioned on many forums around the Internet as being one of the best stores on the west coast).

We realise that even with good water quality that fish can just plain not have enough room, but at the moment, there's pretty much a full third of the tank that isn't used by any fish at all, which is the only reason we're considering an addition. The bottom of the tank is a little more crowded, but everyone is getting along swimmingly.

Still, this is why we wanted to avoid another shoaling species like hatchet fish. So far, the honey gourami, the paradise gourami, and the Badis seem like the frontrunners, but I'm still open to suggestions. We'll only be getting one species, and only a few specimens of whatever species that is.

We do appreciate your concern, and it echoes our own thoughts, but our tank seems to be a bit of an oddity. Also, many of our fish are juveniles, and we plan on starting another tank in the future, so any overcrowding would be solved by removing some fish to the other tank. Thank you.

 

[CharlieKlein]

Thanks Charlie.

We do know that we're near our bioload limit with our tank size, but we "over filter" and stay very on top of water changes. We also do regular water quality checks with our LFS (which is The Wet Spot in Portland, OR and I've seen mentioned on many forums around the Internet as being one of the best stores on the west coast).

We realise that even with good water quality that fish can just plain not have enough room, but at the moment, there's pretty much a full third of the tank that isn't used by any fish at all, which is the only reason we're considering an addition. The bottom of the tank is a little more crowded, but everyone is getting along swimmingly.

Still, this is why we wanted to avoid another shoaling species like hatchet fish. So far, the honey gourami, the paradise gourami, and the Badis seem like the frontrunners, but I'm still open to suggestions. We'll only be getting one species, and only a few specimens of whatever species that is.

We do appreciate your concern, and it echoes our own thoughts, but our tank seems to be a bit of an oddity. Also, many of our fish are juveniles, and we plan on starting another tank in the future, so any overcrowding would be solved by removing some fish to the other tank. Thank you.

Thank you for clearing things up! And if you decide on the honey, I think you can get a m and f pair. It's good to hear you are keeping your tank in good shape, and its not nessicarly overstocked. And adding to the top will be your best option. I'd advise against a badis they are great fish, but tiny(less than an inch) and are picket eaters. Also, they don't do we'll in communities and will be twits the bottom of the tank
The paradise fish is another good option! I'm trying to think of another one, I'll let you know if I do

 

[Numen Wraith.]

I'll take all of that under consideration. Thank you again.

 

[Numen Wraith.]

Well, an update on the tank:

We did get a pair of honey gouramis. Our male (Miel) wasn't very interestingly coloured when we picked him up at the LFS, and he was initially kind of shy and hid, but the day after being introduced his colours perked right up. Within days he had built a bubble nest in the corner and claimed a space. We haven't noticed any actual mating, but poor Madu gets a lot of interest from our big boy. She generally responds by taking a lap around the tank.

The white cloud mountain minnows lost their normal territory, but don't seem too put out emotionally. They spend more time on the move now, but don't seem stressed at all. The tetras, corys, and otos seem completely unaffected by the additions.

The electric blue ram male (Jungen) took notice and tried to be a bully, but his dominance was very short lived. He still rules the lower stratum of the tank, but he's abandoned Miel and respects his territory. Jungen's attention has seemingly turned to the other ram, though he seems to be lacking a true territory of his own, which we will attempt to remedy by rearranging some plants and driftwood with tomorrow's water change. His mate (Maddie) rarely takes notice of anything but Jungen and food, so she was already adapted to Miel and Madu before they came out of their acclimating bag.

We also have noticed that much of our algae hasn't been cleaned as well by the combination of otos and snails as we anticipated, so today we picked up a twig catfish (named Ella).

In (hopefully) unrelated news:

One of our mystery snails (Jean, the albino) went from being the most active member of the tank to extremely lethargic. We took "her" (don't know the sex, but she had a feminine quality to her) into the LFS today, and we were told she wasn't likely to come around, so we left her with them for disposal.

We also lost an oto overnight last night, but it was one of those sudden and unexplained things. Our water quality checks out wonderfully on all fronts, even though our weekly water change is a day behind schedule. After talking with the LFS, we're sure it's just "one of those things."

 

[ktomminello]

Otos are commonly afflicted with 'new tank syndrome' and 'instant death'. I've had a couple die after a water change and addition of a raspbora. Just as an observation from my experience they have been much more effective as a group of 4 then 6.

 

[Rivercats]

Algae eater are very specific on the types of algae they eat. Plus there are some types of algae that no algae eater will eat. So you need to determine what type of algae you have, find out what you need to do to correct the problem (often times it a simple matter of leaving tank lights on too long daily), and use algae eaters just to keep things tidy.