Kuhli Loaches? Now Changed My Mind!

[GlidergirlUK]

I am desperatley looking for some kind of bottom dweller that will eat the bits of food my Green spotted puffer fish leave behind. Now before anyone says anything YES I know that my GSP's will need to go into brackish conditions soon BUT at the moment they are in tropical conditions.

My thinking is this - I would get say 3-4 kuhli loaches to put in with the puffers (they hide a lot and are very fast so think they may not get eaten) .....when my puffers get to the stage where they start needing salt to be brackish I will move my puffers to a much larger tank (without the loaches!) and then move all my inhabitants of my other tropical tank into the one with the loaches in.

So basically
a - will they be ok with puffers to begin with?
b - will they then be ok with....
1 peppered cory
1 unidentified cory
1 oto
3 rummy nose tetra
3 neon tetra
1 spotted stonesucker (hillstream loach, unidentified)
1 red throat goby (I plan on getting another so this will be 2 by then)
1 male guppy
2 platy



phew...sorry for all the questions!

 

[GSD]

To be honest i wouldnt put anything with puffers other than puffers. Now im no expert but im sure any puffer is capable of killing a khuli. Khulis are naturally shy, however after dark will come out and swim around the tank etc, and will become targets of agression.

If you have alot of left over food its probable your overfeeding.

With regards to your second question, khulis would be fine with the community fish, however need groups of around 6 or more to be happy.

 

[GlidergirlUK]

hmmm...thats what I was thinking too.

I have heard of some people successfully keeping GSP's with other fish, usually from a young age so they tolerate each other a bit more. Although I know thei can change drastically as they grow but I will be moving them at this stage anyway.

The problem with puffer fish is they are SOOOO messy they will eat all their food but munch it up and then drop bits everywhere from their mouths (like babies who get food all around their mouths) so unless I go around vacing every day I will get some bits left behind.

As for the after dark bit, I hadnt really considered this. I wonder is my puffers are active after dark....anyone have the answer I think they just sit on the bottom and rest.

 

[pippoodle]

If you read up on the gsp's you will see that they arent suitable to have any tank mates even from a young age due to their nippyness
they can also live 10 years plus and need daily tank cleaning and major over filtration as they are so messy thats why a lot of sites dont recommend them for home aquariums cos they are a lot of work
the tank will also have to be heavilly decorated but atill with lots of swimming room and caves else they'll get bored and start swimnming up and down the glass this is a sure sign the puffer isnt happy

[URL="http/www.fishforums.net/index.php?showtopic=86805"]http/www.fishforums.net/index.php?showtopic=86805[/URL]

what size tank have you got for them to go in and how many have you got as you'll need a large tank to keep 2 in together

 

[GlidergirlUK]

I have done tons of resarch about these guys so know how messy and tempermantal they can be. I currently have 4 (yes that was a mistake!) I am going to get a VERy large tank for them around the 400l mark!

Anyway since yesterday I have being doing some more research and loaches arent really the way to go. It seems that some kind of armoured catfish that hides during the day will be much more suitable.

I have plenty of time so will not be making any rushed decisions!

 

[Syphoniera]

Thought about Nerite snails?
They make a good clean-up crew and don't leave any 'bits' of themselves hanging out to be nipped or eaten, so should be OK unless your puffers are big enough to to eat them whole.

 

[GlidergirlUK]

Any snails I have added have become a quick snack! If the nail is too big to fit in their mouth they just wait until the snail starts to move ans literally suck it out of it shell.

Over on pufferforum loads of people keep many different things with them, all have varying success.

i tink Im going to find some type of catfish.

 

[Truck]

puffer fish should be kept on their own! if you are not prepared to set up a tank for puffers so they can be on their own. you shouldnt keep them

 

[GlidergirlUK]

I understand that BUT many people do keep them with other fish sucessfully! And many have had to remove the tank mate because the puffer is frightened of the added fish! When they go into their new tank which WIL be brackish they will more than likely be on their own.

people have had success in keeping many other marine fish even different types of clown fish! It really depends on the temperment of the fish!

Im sure many many people keep fish together succesfully but have been told they are not suitable tankmates.

I DO know I am taking a huge risk.....but at the moment its a risk I am willing to take while the puffers are so small.