Darters & Sunfish

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Anyone have some good experience with these guys? I have a 46 gallon tank right now. Fine substrate, holey rock, a few plants, one powerhead,a bubble aerator, and a canister filter. It is currently stocked with a 7" peacock eel, 5 scissortail raspboras, a spotted cory cat, one large buenos aires tetra(he hung in there while the others croaked), and a 5" hi-fin pleco. I was interested in adding some vibrant color to my tank, but am bored with the usual community fish. I can't find much info on keeping other darters or smaller varieties of sunfish with tetras etc. Can anyone tell me what might be okay to group with them? Or whether it is just a bad idea to try? Thanks in advance.

 

[attibones]

I believe sunfish require larger tanks. However, I would work on your present stock before adding anything else. I'm seeing several problems which need addressing. First is the pleco which needs a huge tank, way bigger than you've got. You need to rehome it. You need to add at least five more corydoras of the same species. You need more rasboras too. Six is the minimum but you could add at least five more. I believe the peacock eel needs more space, particularly if you finish the school of Cory cats. With the pleco in there, your lower level will be very crowded. With the tetra, you either need more or you should rehome it if you don't want to keep a school of them again.

 

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Thanks for your reply. I understand the pleco will grow into a monster soon enough, and will rehome once needed. But, as of now I feel he has plenty of room. If I do introduce more cats, it makes sense losing him sooner than later. I just went through a horrible crash months ago. Bought the tank off somone online who took two weeks before he let me pick it up. Only to find it covered in brown algae, and still full of about six inches of water. Only once home, did I find there were 7 cichlids in there! Poor things had cloudy eyes, and it took a lot of work to get them healthy enough to rehome (months actually). After a lot of continuous cycling to clean substrate and get everything balanced, I introduced new fish. The tank went wild again. So, I lost several raspboras then. I didn't realize cats like schools. I guess after years of keeping tanks (20+ years), I just took for granted what the pet store said. Lol. Total naive mistake on my part. I've seen smaller sunfish varietes that grow between 2-6 inches. Was thinking of introducing maybe only 2. Most darters are also mostly bottom dwellers, so once I get more cats that would be out. Any other suggestions on nice bright fish? I like calmer tanks and plants, which is why I let go of the cichlids. And breeders will become a hassle since I dont have anyone near that will take them off my hands often enough. Lol. I just feel stumped this time. It's making me really miss my love of brakish puffer tanks again. Once more, thanks.