Still Looking for a small Carnivore/Omnivore

[SwampeastMike]

My new 160-gallon tank is fully cycled and I'm ready to introduce some new residents. It present it has five adult blood red parrots, one firemouth, a 12"+ pleco and heaven knows how many fancy guppies as to my amazement the fry are being completely ignored.

While not yet introduced I intend to add 50+ neon tetras.

What I want is something to pick off the vast majority of the baby guppies to keep their population in reasonable check.

Previously a male pearl gourami and/or Boesemani rainbow. Both seem possible for the use but the Boesemani's prefer to school and I'm looking more for specimens. Do believe I'll try a pearl gourami and even if he just hides among the plants and many hiding holes save to come up and breathe it won't bother me.

But still searching for other options.

What about a dwarf African frog? The few I've ever had always hopped out but this big tank has a highly fitted cover and canister filter so there's almost no way for one to get out.

Are the dwarf African frogs quick enough to catch fry?

 

[charliebankston]

I don't have any froggers, but I do have 2 pearl gourami in 2 different tanks. They always swim around and are front and center when I'm watching. They are always first in line to eat, haha! I find them to have lots of personality and not be skittish at all

 

[charliebankston]

I stand corrected, sorry. My wife informs me that we have 2 opaline gourami. My bad

 

[tlindsey]

The Dwarf African Clawed frog has poor eyesight and rely on smell so fry would have to be right by the frogs mouth lol.

 

[Laser]

I would bet that an Angelfish would not ignore the fry. My Angelfish tries to kill air bubbles.

 

[charliebankston]

I would bet that an Angelfish would not ignore the fry. My Angelfish tries to kill air bubbles.

Attacks bubbles and wins every time! Lol!

 

[Laser]

Attacks bubbles and wins every time! Lol!

I've never had an angelfish that jumped, but I've heard her smack into the tank lid a few times trying to get those bubbles. I had two Bolivian Rams with her, but she made their lives miserable so they had to go somewhere else.

 

[SwampeastMike]

The Dwarf African Clawed frog has poor eyesight and rely on smell so fry would have to be right by the frogs mouth lol.

Thanks. I remember that now. Am still searching

 

[charliebankston]

I've never had an angelfish that jumped, but I've heard her smack into the tank lid a few times trying to get those bubbles. I had two Bolivian Rams with her, but she made their lives miserable so they had to go somewhere else.

Haha! That's great

 

[SwampeastMike]

I would bet that an Angelfish would not ignore the fry. My Angelfish tries to kill air bubbles.

While I love angelfish and successfully bred them in the past I will NOT put them in this community tank.

I am determined to have a large number of neon tetras to enjoy their natural schooling behavior in such a large tank. I know from numerous past attempts that angels and tetras are completely incompatible except perhaps for a short time when you introduce very small angels to a tank will full-grown neons. Once the angels grow much at all they'll begin nipping at the neons and before long they'll all "disappear".

For that matter I've found that angels aren't even compatible with each other unless it's one male and one female or ALL female. I always got my mated pairs by putting six or eight juveniles into a tank and waiting about a year until only two remained. Those two always became an actively mating pair.

 

[charliebankston]

Yeah, I have 7 males in a 105g, they fight non stop. No damage. But always at each other. 1 gold severum in there too, they steer clear of him tho. He just swims around like the boss minding his own business

 

[Laser]

While I love angelfish and successfully bred them in the past I will NOT put them in this community tank.

I am determined to have a large number of neon tetras to enjoy their natural schooling behavior in such a large tank. I know from numerous past attempts that angels and tetras are completely incompatible except perhaps for a short time when you introduce very small angels to a tank will full-grown neons. Once the angels grow much at all they'll begin nipping at the neons and before long they'll all "disappear".

For that matter I've found that angels aren't even compatible with each other unless it's one male and one female or ALL female. I always got my mated pairs by putting six or eight juveniles into a tank and waiting about a year until only two remained. Those two always became an actively mating pair.

I completely agree with everything you said about Angelfish. I know some people have had success keeping them with neons, and I have had one Angel ignore them in the past but that usually is not the case.

 

[SwampeastMike]

An update:

Now that I'm responsible for feeding the fish (read not overfeeding as they were in their previous tanks) the guppy population is completely under control with only the rare and elusive fry surviving.

Still the original inhabitants in the tank and all are thriving.

 

[charliebankston]

An update:

Now that I'm responsible for feeding the fish (read not overfeeding as they were in their previous tanks) the guppy population is completely under control with only the rare and elusive fry surviving.

Still the original inhabitants in the tank and all are thriving.

What thinned out the guppy fry?

 

[SwampeastMike]

What thinned out the guppy fry?

I really don't know.

 

[charliebankston]

Oh OK, just curious

 

[SwampeastMike]

I'm really wondering if the big (12" or so) pleco is eating the fry. Can such actually catch them?

The pleco was very happy in the previous overfeeding/near complete lack of maintenance condition and I suspect it's rather hungry now. Frankly I almost wish it would starve.

 

[charliebankston]

Haha! It might be the pleco. The bigger they get the more carnivorous they become. It is a catfish after all. Mine eats floating pellets from the surface. It's really weird to watch, he's almost upside down doing it

 

[SwampeastMike]

Haha! It might be the pleco. The bigger they get the more carnivorous they become. It is a catfish after all. Mine eats floating pellets from the surface. It's really weird to watch, he's almost upside down doing it

The cichlid's staple diet is floating pellets but I've never seen the pleco go after them. It spends nearly of its time now attached to the back glass basking in the "bubble wall" I constructed all the way across.