A few questions...

[Diva]

Hello all. Ive monopolized the heck out of someone on this site via PM..so i thought it would be nice to give her a break and let someone else answer me for a change..

I just added some new fish to my tank, and I've been watching them alot. Any insights on the following observations would be much appreciated.

1. Ive got one little panda who just isnt growing. At one point she (?) was very fat - though she always acted like the others. Ate well, swam around, etc. She finally got a lot thinner recently, though she still has a bit of a belly on her. Yesterday I came home and she was lying completely on her side. I thought she was dead! But then the pleco came into the vicinity and she swam off in a flurry. Ive watched her since then and shes still active and eating normal. Any idea why she seems to not be growing? Shes literally 1/2 the size of the others..

2. My new pleco is a little nutty. He just swims around from one place on the glass to the next. He doesnt get on the driftwood to eat that I can see - i have some brown slime i thought he would love..guess i was wrong. He has eaten some green algae off the walls, but skips over the hydra...guess they dont eat those either?? not plants, so not edible i guess..? IS there a fish who will eat this stuff off my driftwood??

3. I had a million snails in the tank the day i put the guppies platies and pleco in. Overnight the number dropped to like 15 or 20. How can that be?? I dont see them eating them...could they really be eating them? Or have my snails gone into hiding?? :?

4. I know the name on the tank was xiphophorus - but I cant be positive what these new guys are. Colors : 2 neon yellow, 2 all black and 2 neon orange/black speckels. They all appear to be the same exact fish - they dont have swordtails..so Im guessing they arent them. But they dont look like pictures ive seen of platies...the black ones are really really black like mollies...but they also had xiphophorus on their tank label... The black ones are hanging out on the very bottom, the orange ones swim around in the middle and the yellow ones are in hiding most of the time.

5. My 2 silver fancy guppies are the same color as my redtailed rasboras. I guess that has something to do with the fact that they seem to be schooling with them! Its so weird looking - but the rasboras seem to think they are part of the gang and dont mind. Is this normal??

6. My signature lists all the fishies I have in my 240 liter tank. can anyone reccomend some next fish for my tank? I would like some fish that are brightly colored if possible. But they have to be nice to the fishes I already have!!

And does anyone know what the max number of fish I should have are?

Thanks for reading/replying!

 

[Todd2]

Ok diva sorry I can't answer all of your questions but I'll try to answer some of them. Your panda cory may be a runt so its not growing. I wouldn't worry about it too much unless its behavior changes. I think ottos might eat the brown slime on your driftwood. I think I've heard of different species schooling together and I wouldn't worry about it too much. If you got more fancy guppies they might keep the ones you have company. The max number of fish depends on surface area and the type of fish. The 1 in per gallon rule doesn't really work.

 

[Hypostomus]

1. Could you give us some information about water parameters? Ammonia, Nitrite, Nitrate? How often and what you are feeding them? It may be genetics or it may be water quality or it may be something else entirely.. I would suspect that it's the runt of the litter, as aforementioned.

2. Make sure you offer your pleco zucchini, cucumber, nori, and algae wafers. They cannot survive by scraping things off your glass. I haven't ever had a fish that would eat brown slime/algae, but I haven't had algae problems for a long time. Maybe someone else can put a suggestion for this.

3. I would check thoroughly for any snail carcasses. If they died off, then they will put a massive bioload into your system. Dead snails are big stinky messes. Otherwise, look under rocks and siphon your substrate vigorously- that's where they enjoy hiding.

4. Could be female swordtails? Do they look like this? (w/color differences of course) http://www.joshmadison.com/aquarium/images/fish/swordtail-female-2309-lg.jpg, http://www.thetropicaltank.co.uk/Fishindx/Fishpics/swordt1.jpg

It could also be a hybrid or a specialized strain. This website has great images of different species of swordtails and platies: http://www.xiphophorus.org/

5. Normal? Well, it's a behavior induced by their collective captivity, but it's nothing to be worried about. My neon tetras accept the rejects of my feeder guppy stock as part of their "school."

6. For those that aren't liter-wise, that handy-dandy conversion site lists 240 L as being 63.4 US liquid gallons.

Provided your water parameters check out, there's many fish you can consider. Could you give the tank dimensions..?

Off the top of my head, some species that would work in this type of community that meet your requirements:

Pearl gourami (not precisely "brightly colored," but truly fantastic and relaxing to watch- the males do acquire a bright red sheen to their underside when in breeding condition that is stunning to look at)
Betta (...these are brightly colored; you could attempt a collection of females or a single male-- I would go with a single male)
Angelfish (come in many different strains- look into the "koi" strain for brilliant red/orange- there are also "blue" and "pink" angels that may be combined with other strains, though a pair of black angelfish may be very attractive against the color of your livebearers)
Kribensis (color, color, color...and they have wonderful personalities)
Bolivian ram (for some reason a lot of people disregard these cichlids and then are amazed when they see a brilliant orange-red fish in a well-maintained tank; these are more bark than bite compared to the Kribensis)
Glass catfish (<--awesomeness alert; not colorful, but very interesting)
Many tetra species (color + schooling = superb!)

Naturally not all of these should be together, but these are just a few of the fish I like that would appreciate a nicely set-up tank. I can toss up the scientific names if you need them.

There's no precise rule for the maximum number of fish. You could consider the 1" per gallon rule as a very rough guide, but if you are planning to keep all these fish in that tank make sure you factor in their adult sizes. An alternate formula involves surface area, but I have never used it. Make sure you always consider the needs of the community as far as interactions and not just the need to keep your water quality decent (though of course that would be the most important factor).

It looks like you are on the right track. =)

 

[Endgame319]

Gourami, Angels, and loaches would all be good choices. Check out liveaquaria.com and find a fish you like. We'll tell you if it would work in your tank.