compatibility and feeding?

[smilla4]

I remember reading up on compatible fish when starting my tank, it seems that compatibility is expressed in terms of temperament and temperture, but not feeding. Or maybe I missed that bit in my research...

 

[madasafish]

Sometimes by feeding, but you're right... aggression and temp are usually the determinants.

Sometimes this is an issue. For example, Gnathonemus and Momyrus species (elephant noses from Africa) need live food and are slow eaters, and will not survive with other fish that can outcompete them for food. The best bet is usually to combine fish that fill different niches... such as plecos, loaches and tetras. Plecos will eat algae, loaches will scrounge around the bottom, and tetras will eat near the surface.

The other obvious example is Malawi Cichlids. M'buna Malawis are algae-eaters and will develop bloat if they have an animal-protein rich diet, whereas Malawi so-called "Haplochromids" are protein eaters. Combining the two can be disastrous, as the M'bunas may eat the protein-rich food and bloat...

But you know this. Diet is only really mentioned when there are special circumstances (like these 2). It would be tough to make a chart for this!

 

[flipz]

My LFS categorizes every fish by their temperment, temperature, and what they eat. Makes it real easy for picking out fish.

-brent

 

[madasafish]

Good for your LFS. That's admirable!

 

[Eoin]

I wish mine did that. They just display the temperaments of the fish, and the sizes they grow to. Some of the staff are quite knowledgeable though, so as long you don’t mind asking questions, you’re fine. Of course, there are a few of them who don’t really know their stuff. I have on more than one occasion, walked into the store, saw who was working that shift, and walked right back out.