Advice with creating a breed and feed system in a community tank.

[BenjiLew]

My first time on here.
I have done several aquariums all freshwater and mostly tropical.

The most recent one is for my mom.

I visit a few times a week to make sure the fish are cared for because she is elderly and I honestly can't trust her to remember.

I put together a 55 gal panoramic tropical tank.

However I live in Israel now and I wasn't very familiar with the fish available here for pets.
(I am from the Texas)

Almost all available fish here are aggressive species.
So I had a challenge choosing fish.

A marine biologist I spoke to gave me some ideas.

I now have this in my population count:

1 fire eel
1 freshwater snowflake moray
1 baby Oscar
1 blood parrot cichlid
2 gouramis
2 blue/gray cichlids
2 rainbow? Cichlids
5 tiger barbs
1 unknown cichlid

I have never had cichlids before so this is new to me and I am not 100% I have them identified correctly.
If you know better please tell me.

Here is what I want to do based on what I was told could be done:

I want to set up an ecosystem where there are many guppies or mollies that breed so frequently that the larger more aggressive fish will have a steady supply of fry or small fish to eat to keep any aggression down.

I need to know what kind of fish would be suitable, how many, and what will be needed to ensure they are not all eaten so their population will be able to be sustained.

 

[Reykur]

Firstly, welcome to the forums.

Secondly, I don't know how likely it would be to set up feeder fish to breed in that tank. The parents might get eaten. With that said, I would suggest looking at popular choices for feeder fish, selecting a smaller, faster breeding species; and then I suppose you could introduce them. I wouldn't suggest it though, if your fish are aggressive and pick apart the smaller fish before they can mate and colonize, well you're back at square 1 minus a few bucks.

The other part of that is your bioload and filtration capacity at that point (and even at this point the tank sounds overstocked to me, but I'm a novice) you may not be able to sustain a breeding colony even if the fry are picked off.

 

[BenjiLew]

Firstly, welcome to the forums.

Secondly, I don't know how likely it would be to set up feeder fish to breed in that tank. The parents might get eaten. With that said, I would suggest looking at popular choices for feeder fish, selecting a smaller, faster breeding species; and then I suppose you could introduce them. I wouldn't suggest it though, if your fish are aggressive and pick apart the smaller fish before they can mate and colonize, well you're back at square 1 minus a few bucks.

The other part of that is your bioload and filtration capacity at that point (and even at this point the tank sounds overstocked to me, but I'm a novice) you may not be able to sustain a breeding colony even if the fry are picked off.

I concept for this is mimicking what I once saw a guy do. He was an expert however.

He had a 60gal tropical community tank. He had found a way to balance aggression amoung aggressive varieties while breeding enough to supplement feed.

I was to young to fully understand the details of how to do so and I don't know how to reach him anymore.

That's how I do know it is possible. But I need advice along with my research.

 

[Reykur]

Hmm.. Maybe try getting a mesh net breeder box to put inside the tank, with a m/f pair inside the net box. Let them mate and then depending on what breeder box and what fish you select, the fry will escape through the mesh and be eaten. Leaving the parents to safely generate another generation of food?

 

[BenjiLew]

Here are some of the tricks I learned from him.

Get all of the fish around the same size and young or in age to balance out the more aggressive ones.

I got all of mine about 2-3 inches long with a few exceptions.

The eels as I've have learned are overrated in terms of difficulty of care.

Brackish water isn't really needed and I wouldn't add any salt unless they got ick.

People always argue about freshwater eel needing salt in the water but the guy who taught me this was a marine biologist whose hobby was keeping tanks and making new ones.
So I trust what he said rather than argue.

The eels are one snowflake moray



And one fire eel.
The fire eel is shyer the the moray and doesn't show up much during the day.

The moray is about 10" long and the fire eel about 8".

They are fed at night every day and the lights are turned off 2 hours beforehand to calm the other fish whole the nocturnal eels wake up.

Once a week extended release or frozen food is buried in the sand near their cave.

They are for the most part loners who stick together.
Nobody bothers them and they don't bother anyone.

My only worry for them was starvation from not eating enough due to the other fish getting to it before they can.

They only other fish that interacts with them is one of my two risky fish.
The blood parrot cichlid.

That one is an *******.
From the moment I put him on he started pulling on the Oscar and being an all around dick in the neighborhood.

However now he is calm and has developed a friendship with the eels.
During the day he stays in the opening of the cave and keeps watch if the eels are sleeping.
He pops in and out to eat but generally stays there.

At night the eels keep watch for him and they all share the cave peacefully.

The Oscar was another one that I considered risky. He is also a dick as all Oscars are.

He's a baby about 3 1/2 inches long but bold. He regularly messes with other fish and the breeding will be mostly for him and the eels.
He's the one I may remove and rehome by himself if I have to.

The rule I learned with the cichlids are that.

1. South American ones are less aggressive than African.
2. They tend to be more aggressive to their own spieces.
3. When mixing don't get more than two of the same kind. Only one if it's more aggressive.
That way two males won't have a female to fight over and same for females. A couple usually won't fight.

4. When it comes to balanced aggression you introduce them all at the same time and make sure that nobody can be a bully without someone fighting back.

For instance last week the Oscar got bit being a dick to someone else and has been calming down now that he is realizing that nobody will just go down like a punk.

So everyone in the tank can put up a fight bit for the most part leave each other alone.

The other reason for it would be mating thus the fish limit on varieties so there will be no mating competition.

Then there is territory but it hasn't been a problem and each fish seems to respect each other.

The last would be food.
And that's why I want to breed smaller fish.

Really just feeder fish for the others. They don't have to look pretty but it's nice if they do.

My plan is to get a structure that only they can fit into so they will always have a safe spot in the tank and to cover it and some other small nooks with vegetation a safe pockets for fry. That way couples can breed.

I would have enough that I expect to loose some. But if I can get the cycle started I think I can keep it up.

It will only be for supplemental feeding so if a fish is hungry or in the mood to hunt they can get a little guy rather than someone important.

Other than that they will be fed enough to not rely of hunting. But aggressive fish are aggressive. They need the option.

I don't know what fish would be best in terms of:
the speed of breeding
Volume of eggs and hatched
Required maintenance.
And I suppose survival instinct. I don't want someone swimming too slow in here..

 

[BenjiLew]

Oh and I forgot to say the tank decor and design is temporary. I am waiting for the tangleroot to become waterlogged.
Otherwise it will try to float.
That's why the rocks are in there weighing them down.

After they are I will be redoing it all and adding whats needed.

 

[Reykur]

I hope the rescape goes well, unfortunately I just don't know enough about this to give you any good advice. I would only be able to recommend researching what kind of fish you want to use, just basing it off of a search for popular feed fish. After that you have to invent an enclosure for them. Happy fish keeping!