Community Tank, Compatability

jason26 · Apr 6, 2008

I have a 240 litre tank, with some live plants using external filter fluval 304.
Have been reseaching and have made a list of fish to keep, just looking for a bit of feed back as to what you all think.

6x Juvenile Angelfish
8x Black ruby barbs (best alternative to tiger barbs i found)
2x Kribs.
2x Flying fox or sae
6x Corys

Was also thinking about clown loach but dont want to overstock my tank.

Colin_T · Apr 6, 2008

the list seems pretty good.
Clown loaches live in groups so unless you buy a group you are probably better off leaving it out. You could add a small species of suckermouth catfish to the tank as well. Perhaps a Peckoltia or whiptail catfish.

jason26 · Apr 6, 2008

Colin_T said:
the list seems pretty good.
Clown loaches live in groups so unless you buy a group you are probably better off leaving it out. You could add a small species of suckermouth catfish to the tank as well. Perhaps a Peckoltia or whiptail catfish.

Thanks! Is there any pleco that could be added that would not eat plants.

Colin_T · Apr 6, 2008

Virtually all suckermouth catfish eat plants but you can offer them pumpkin and zuchinni among other things and this will reduce the amount of aquarium plants they eat.

jason26 · Apr 6, 2008

Colin_T said:
Virtually all suckermouth catfish eat plants but you can offer them pumpkin and zuchinni among other things and this will reduce the amount of aquarium plants they eat.

Does every aquarium need a suckermouth catfish or would other fish eat algae and help keep the tank clean.

Colin_T · Apr 6, 2008

Not every aquarium needs a suckermouth catfish. If the tank doesn't get much light or has lots of plants in and there is not much algae, you are better off avoiding algae eating fishes like the suckermouth catfish. However, a lot of people keep them for their curiosity value. They are interesting and behave differently to most mid and surface dwelling fishes. Some of the smaller species are quite easy to breed as well.
Flying foxes, rainbow or ruby sharks, otocinclus catfish and the common or Chinese algae eater will all graze on algae. The Chinese algae eater can become a problem when bigger so you are better off using the others for algae control.
And if you only get a little bit of algae then just wipe it off the glass with a clean sponge.

paul_219 · Apr 6, 2008

I guess some more kribs will be better.

jason26 · Apr 6, 2008

paul_219 said:
I guess some more kribs will be better.

Ideally how many Kribs do you thing i could keep with the other fish

Ace Of Spades · Apr 6, 2008

I think there is a type of Apple Snail that dosent eat plants, it has a different shell to the others its more flat then rounded I THINK

Colin_T · Apr 6, 2008

only keep 1pr of kribensis per tank otherwise they argue. In a really huge tank you can have more than 1pr but just have the 1pr in your tank.

jason26 · Apr 7, 2008

Colin_T said:
only keep 1pr of kribensis per tank otherwise they argue. In a really huge tank you can have more than 1pr but just have the 1pr in your tank.

Thanks for the advise

SouthernCross · Apr 7, 2008

I have a BN plec, they are nice little plecs and good at keeping the glass clean - but I did find he has a taste for SOME plants - but others he won't touch. So it was a case of trial and error with plants, and now I have a happy plec and nice plants still. I give him lots of zucchini too which he loves, which helps to stop him treating the tank like a salad bar.

I do love him lots, he has loads of personality, if anything a bit of a pig and a brute at dinnertime, lol.

pirate monkey · Apr 9, 2008

there are some species of plec which don't eat plants - clown plec eats bogwood mainly. I have a blue phantom plec and he eats bloodworms, cockles and algae wafers as well as veg that I put in, he doesn't even go near the plants!

if you fancy a plec then just look at some different species, there are plenty of carnivore plecs and omnivores too, just make sure you choose one which won't outgrow your tank.

The clown plecs are a nice addition IMO, a group of 3 or 4 and they get about 6", not expensive either!

If you want something to eat algae try shrimps, although I'd beware the size of the kribs, if they are juvies it shouldn't be a problem. I have 3 amano shrimps with a pair of adult kribs. The day after I got the shrimps my tank was sparkling!