55 Krib Community Tank

[Shadow_Africa]

I have a nice 55gallon tank with 20 some plants but Im thinking of getting some more. I also currently have a 350 Penguin Bio-wheel but I plan on getting a glass top and then adding another filter, so that both halfs have a filter.

What type of filter is best. When ever I do the carbon filters, rinse them and then place them into the filter some of the carbon ends up in the tank. Is this normal?

What would be a good filter to get for my second one?

Now for the fish I have the temp at 78F. I have a nice piece of Bogwood in the tank as well as a rock cave I built, I plan to add some small ceramic pots. I have 1 dojo loach [yes I know I shouldn't], 3 Kuhli loaches, 5 otto cats [bought five and none ever died, I was surprised XD], 12 Pork/Lamb chop Rasboras, and what I hope is a pair of Kribs [not exactly sure, but looks like it.]

Would it be okay to add a few more Rasboras or other small top fish It still looks soo empty since the rasboras are on one side or another in a group and the rest is empty. What would be some other types and how many? I would like SMALLER Dither fish nothing over 2".

Also what are some good brands of food and variety for the Kribs that sink? I feed the rasboras micro wafer and anything that'll eat them shrimp pellets and algea wafers.

P.S. My family says my tank looks like a garden not a tank. And how I like the little fish with the plants X)

 

[jollysue]

Can't tell you a thing about kribs, except everything I read is that they can be very aggressive. Personally I would have reservations with mixing the community tropical fish with African Cichlids.

But you are the only other person, that I have run into that has pork chop Rasaboras. Love the little guys. Wish I had a local source.

If you are looking for another bio-wheel external hang on filter, by far the best is the Emporer 400, imo. It has several adjustments that the Penguin doesn't have, and I have found with the heavier waste fish like African Cichlids it doesn't get as bogged down. It is a more substantial filter. You will prefer it in time to the Penguin. Some do prefer the AquaClear, which I like too. I think it can be a little less expensive to do the filter media in, but it is probably more trouble to change the media than the 400 filter inserts. I watch for the sales on the internet and get filters and media relatively inexpensively. Try Drs. Foster and Smith. They run sales intermitantly on various filters. Another hang on is the Whisper filter. I don't recommend it for the larger fish. It is good with fish that like less current and less aggressive filtration.

Ultimately the canister and the wet dry sumps are the most adaptable. But they are also the most complex and expensive. I wouldn't recommend them to start.

If the filter inserts are rinsed thouroughly you should not get any or much carbon released into the tank.

 

[DarkEntity]

Kribs are perfectly fine in community tanks with fish of equal type or size. The only time when i would be concerned about the Kribs is if they started to breed, they will vigorously defend their territory and nest. Ive kept them with Rams/Firemouths and Convicts without problem, but i really dont think that little Khulis, Rasboras and Otos would last very long.

 

[cichlid-mad]

Kribs are community fish so yh there be ok with ur tetras but bear in mind u can get the odd male/female really agressive. good luck

 

[jollysue]

I would really be concerned about smaller Tetras and pork chop Rasaboras that are extremely peaceful and less than an inch with a pair of breeding Kibs, from what others have said!

 

[cichlid-mad]

The fish have to be 5 cm and no bigger than 15 cm good luck

 

[Shadow_Africa]

So what would be some good ditherfish to add that are about 2" and how many can I add.

So could I put a Bolvian ram in with a breeding pair of Kribs or would that work?

 

[cichlid-mad]

rams, gouramis, danios ... all things like that

 

[parker313]

I've got kribs in my community tank and have had them for just under a year. The top and middle dwellers are *fine* but unfortunately, I've never been able to introduce a bottom dweller that has survived when the kribs started breeding. I went from 12 cory cats to 0 in about 2 mos. I was also unsuccessful in introducing a geophagus and a pair of Bolivian rams.

 

[pica_nuttalli]

my kribs were serial guppy killers. until i finally gave in and rehomed the guppies, i would lose at least one per courtship season. i'm betting that itty-bitty fish such as your rasboras won't do too well.

a larger bodied tetra, such as red-eyes or emperors, should do ok. i kept a small school of red-eyes with my kribs and didn't really have any problems there. columbian blues might also do well. buenos aires tetras are a definite no-no since you have a lot of plants; i tried those and they actually uprooted things with their nibbling. tiger barbs might be a good alternative too; those are nice and scrappy.

as for adding rams or other bottom-dwellers, i'd wait and see how the kribs behave around the upper-level fish first. it does seem that some pairs are simply more aggressive than others. some people have no trouble keeping other breeding cichlids with their kribs, whereas others (like me) have kribs bound and determined to kill anything they can.

(FYI, jollysue, kribs are riverine African cichlids and while somewhat aggressive, resemble South American cichlids in their behavior more so than they resemble the Rift Lake cichlids.)

 

[jollysue]

Thanks, pn, Like I said I know nothing about Africans. Just learning with the Tanganyikan front tanks that are groooowiiiinnnng. Actually don't know much about the SA Cichlids either, but a little about oscars and convicts and some apistos. But I was concerned about the little guys and others like cories in a mixed community krib tank. I have actually seen some comments about kribs that concerned me. I'm grateful to you guys for information---is riverine a river cichlid?

 

[pica_nuttalli]

is riverine a river cichlid?

yup

 

[DarkEntity]

Bottom swimmers i only kept a shark, raphael cat and some larger cory.