Semi Aggressive Fish From Asia, Any Ideas?

[Shovelman]

Welp after seeing my archers terrorize a few mollies (would stalk them but not attack since they were to large to eat yet it doesn't stop their piscivorous behavior) need to find some good decent sized tank mates. i know ive been throwing around alot of ideas but I want to get a final idea down since my awesome lfs is having a 25% off deal and i have gift certificates there it would be a perfect time to get a few friends. So im looking for some hardy, Asian or around the region fish that could hold their own against a pack of these growing archers. Would have to be larger than 4"

I was thinking a red tailed black shark since they certainly can bite back so Ive heard... but also am fond of some of the gourami species but don't know if they would cause a feud with the archers.... or any sort of barbs that would be more than fine to hold there own? Although on the small side I was thinking of tiger barbs because of their active and not so shy behaviors...but dont know if they would tremble in fear of the archers....

The tank needs a little motion as besides feeding time the archer just kinda roam around...

Ideas welcomed! Need to get going with the choosing since the sale ends soon!

PS:going lowend brackish is still an option, however not as fond of it anymore since all my lfs can get in are 1 inch figure eight puffers which would easily be archer food unlike if anyone sold full grown specimens.. So i guess ill stick to harder to basic water semi aggressive fish..

 

[thereverendturtle]

Gouramis would be a bad idea, to many territorial disputes. I think the tiger barbs would work well, since they are deep bodied. Instead of a shark though, I would go with a group of botia. They will fight back if need be and have little, very sharp spines under each eye that they can use.

 

[Biulu]

What about giant danios? I was going to suggest a datnoid, but your archerfish are too agressive, right?

 

[Shovelman]

What about giant danios? I was going to suggest a datnoid, but your archerfish are too agressive, right?

nah more so not a large enough tank for one of those beasts! Datnoids do get rather large right? im not just making up the image?

Will look into the loaches as i do want something on the lower half bottom level

 

[kylealastairlove]

dont know if this will help you, just thought id post it for you

http/www.ecologyasia.com/verts/fishes.htm

it helped me out a bit as ive gone for an asian theme with my tank so it helped me narrow down the stocking choices

 

[N0body Of The Goat]

A couple of possibilities that come to mind are...

Humphead Glassfish (Parambassis pulcinella)
Indian Glassfish (Chanda ranga)


The Indian Glassfish will better suit the water requirements of your Archers, coming from hard alkaline (possibly even low end brackish) water and I've seen a few intresting adverts on Aquarist Classified for these at good prices with delivery options.

My group of six Humpheads adapted to Southampton's hard water without problem, even though their natural Myanmar waters are quite soft. However, Humpheads are hard to source and after what happened with my group over time, I would strongly suggest a group bigger than six with a male:female ratio of 1:2 or above. My alpha male picked off his male rivals one by one and as the group got smaller he got increasingly aggressive, to the point where the last female and submissive male were chased to one corner of the tank.

 

[Shovelman]

A couple of possibilities that come to mind are...

Humphead Glassfish (Parambassis pulcinella)
Indian Glassfish (Chanda ranga)


The Indian Glassfish will better suit the water requirements of your Archers, coming from hard alkaline (possibly even low end brackish) water and I've seen a few intresting adverts on Aquarist Classified for these at good prices with delivery options.

My group of six Humpheads adapted to Southampton's hard water without problem, even though their natural Myanmar waters are quite soft. However, Humpheads are hard to source and after what happened with my group over time, I would strongly suggest a group bigger than six with a male:female ratio of 1:2 or above. My alpha male picked off his male rivals one by one and as the group got smaller he got increasingly aggressive, to the point where the last female and submissive male were chased to one corner of the tank.

Thanks NObody Of The Goat!
Yes my lfs does sell Indian glass fish...but at 2inch max and the almost inch length they get them in at, the would be gone in an instant...unless im getting their eventual growth size wrong...

 

[Shovelman]

always have liked glass fish, interesting yet misunderstood fish...

 

[N0body Of The Goat]

Hmm, I thought Indian Glassfish reached just over 7cm? Wouldn't their deepened body shape prevent them from being "live lunch", just like Tiger Barbs? Maybe they are another species that does not reach wild caught sizes in the hobby (just like SAPs; Rosy Barbs; Distichodus etc.).

How about...
Congo Tetra, Phenacogrammus interruptus
Blind Cave tetra
Filament Barbs
If the tank is big enough, the Asian Upside Down Catfish?

WetWebMedia has posts that suggest both Tiger Barbs and Shark Minnow variations should be fine with T. microlepis, I'd hate to add something too boisterous and nippy that will attack the Archers.

 

[Shovelman]

Hmm, I thought Indian Glassfish reached just over 7cm? Wouldn't their deepened body shape prevent them from being "live lunch", just like Tiger Barbs? Maybe they are another species that does not reach wild caught sizes in the hobby (just like SAPs; Rosy Barbs; Distichodus etc.).

How about...
Congo Tetra, Phenacogrammus interruptus
Blind Cave tetra
Filament Barbs
If the tank is big enough, the Asian Upside Down Catfish?

WetWebMedia has posts that suggest both Tiger Barbs and Shark Minnow variations should be fine with T. microlepis, I'd hate to add something too boisterous and nippy that will attack the Archers.

its a 65 gallon tank but looks exactly like a 75g, just not as tall, and the archers typically stay by the shaded side, with the exception of my smaller archer who is always begging for food when im at the computer, but when food is out they sure do get boisterous. Also they might be the reason why my old Rainbowfish died, as i saw them chase it out of their little corner, hence why im looking for something that holds its own.. (soinal bacterium was also a suspect in the rainbows death)

Funny enought the posts about the tiger barbs and the sharks were me lol Love the crew there as they always answer fast and with great info and knowledge!

Whats this species of asian upside down cat your talking about?

 

[N0body Of The Goat]

http/www.planetcatfish.com/catelog/species.php?species_id=21

 

[Shovelman]

http/www.planetcatfish.com/catelog/species.php?species_id=21

yeah.. i think 11" is a tad too large lol...

Maybe ill stick with a Congo set up with the exception of the archers... still have my African knife fish anyways so maybe a group of congos, and possibly one more thing... like say and african butterfly fish? OR any bottom dweller instead?

 

[thereverendturtle]

Get a rope fish.

 

[Shovelman]

Get a rope fish.

While they are cool I'd rather try and find some Typhlonectes natans ...which so far is proving impossible..

What im thinking about today is
7x Congotetras
1x african butterfyfish
3x kribs for the bottom (one male and one female for now...)