Ever been tempted to "bend the rules" a little?

[Snagrio]

You know, add fish that don't fit compatibility-wise one way or another and generally isn't a good idea but you want to throw caution to the wind for once anyway.

I'm feeling that way with discus. Kind of want to just get one or two and put them in my 125 gallon community. Except there's a chance they'd eventually snack on the neon/black neon tetras. And the water temperatures are incompatible with the corydoras preferring cooler mid 70's compared to the discus' low 80's. And the bristlenose plecos might suck on their sides (unless it's only larger plecos that do that?).

In other words, tons of reasons NOT to attempt such a thing but you wanna do it all the same.

 

[PheonixKingZ]

Definitely, but managed to restrain myself.

I wanted to get an Elephant Nose for my 29g, but I learned they need a larger tank. So wanted to get it, but didn’t.

It’s happened so many times with so many fish. (But TFF really helps me stay in check. )

 

[Barry Tetra]

I have 6 discus in 53 gal tank, 20 cardinal tetras in 15 gal and 6 sailfin mollies in 20 gal, you know “bend the rule a little”

 

[Cydeth]

I'm always a little tempted to bend the rules, but in most cases I've been successful in keeping my cash in my wallet. There have been a number of cases where forces outside of my control have lead me to some questionable stocking combinations, and of course when I started out in the hobby in the mid 90's I had a tank full of fish just because I liked how they looked at the time.

 

[kribensis12]

One time, as a teenager, I tried to "bend the rules" a little bit and put 4 black convicts in a 20g (2 pairs).

One pair de-scaled the male of the other pair in a matter of hours. When I say de-scale, I mean the fish was black when I put it in there and pink when I pulled it out.

 

[dsch132]

My entire early childhood of fish keeping, except I didn't know I was bending (outright breaking) the rules. I made all of the classic mistakes- overstocking, keeping incompatible fish (both in terms of temperament and water parameters). I adored those fish but they suffered for my ignorance.

As a teenager, I upgraded the tank re homed the incompatible species. My father, however, made another impulse buy in an attempt to surprise me with a gift. He bought five rummy nose tetras with no warning and introduced them to the tank without telling me. My pictus catfish ate the lot immediately. Ever since, I've wanted to keep rummy nose tetras (in a proper environment).

*My rule with predator catfish- if there's the slightest chance they might be able to eat it, they will eventually try.

 

[SAChichlidLover]

Ahh multiple times! Did it a month ago and put firemouths in with south american cichlids and turned out fine in fact they bred last week lol so sometimes with enough space its possible.

When I was a kid I used to do all kinds of bending the rules in fish keeping and most of the time ended up in disaster but saying that I did have a few miracles aswell.. I guess it really boils down to every factor in a tank when it comes to compatibility as even the most aggressive fish can sometimes be the most docile and harmless but if we were focusing on the main factor? It would be space as tank space can turn a fishes compatibility around!

 

[PlasticGalaxy]

Many, many times. Desperately wanting a four-lined pimelodus and just hope I can manage to get a bigger tank before it outgrows this one, but I'm trying my hardest to stave off of it!
And... My dad is a true rule breaker. Just a "put whatever in" kind of guy, old fashioned.

 

[dsch132]

Many, many times. Desperately wanting a four-lined pimelodus and just hope I can manage to get a bigger tank before it outgrows this one, but I'm trying my hardest to stave off of it!
And... My dad is a true rule breaker. Just a "put whatever in" kind of guy, old fashioned.

Your father and my father should should never stock a tank together. Let's see how long it takes a baby redtail cat to eat a crap ton of neon tetras while I cry in a corner, refusing to look at the 40 gallons of solid fish.

 

[PlasticGalaxy]

Your father and my father should should never stock a tank together. Let's see how long it takes a baby redtail cat to eat a crap ton of neon tetras while I cry in a corner, refusing to look at the 40 gallons of solid fish.

Not if the two featherfins get there first. "Plecos only grow to the size of their tank" he says, requiring a plunger to push the common pleco into the 15L biOrb. Might put an oscar or two in for good measure as well.

 

[SAChichlidLover]

Not if the two featherfins get there first. "Plecos only grow to the size of their tank" he says, requiring a plunger to push the common pleco into the 15L biOrb. Might put an oscar or two in for good measure as well.

Cant forget a nice arapaima to even it out gonna have to use a buldozer to squeeze the big boy in though thats the only downside

 

[seangee]

The problem is things can change after a long period of peace and can change rapidly. I had a group of dwarf chain loach in a (otherwise) SA community tank. Everything was fine for 18 months and I thought I was out of the woods. One morning I got up and all my tetras fins were shredded and all the cories were in deep hiding. I really could not blame the loaches, they were just behaving naturally. I had to make an emergency trip to the LFS to buy a tank, set it up and rehome the fish all on the same day. Today they are fine and happily co-existing with compatable tank mates.

So if you want to try make sure you have a backup plan, and remember a lot can happen in a single night, or day.