Would Spotted Climbing Perch Fit In My Community Tank?

[mattlee]

i bought 2 of these a couple of months ago 1 died and 1 is doing fine. when i bought him i was told it was a leopard gourami not climbing perch by lfs, fell in love with them and got 2. anyway, the 1 survivor is in a tank in the garage thats got a few fish im trying to pass on but i really want to keep him, i know these fish are predators and get to 5/6 inch but the fish itself is only about an inch max at the minute. my smallest fish in my com tank are 9 dwarf neon rainbows that grow to about 2 inch but then grow deep so nothing like a neon tetra etc. if the perch went into my com tank he would be the smallest fish in there until he grows, there are lots of hiding places and plants (plastic/silk) and my only aggressive fish are my angels but they are normally relaxed and only defend a corner when spawning etc.
my stocking is in my sig, im slightly overstocked on the inch per gallon but have 2 externals running so nothing major. i have read they are better in groups but honestly dont have enough room for 2/3 of these at full size...
pH 7.4
nitrates 10 - 20
quite hard water
stats are the same as tank in garage too and he seems fine in there, will he be ok or will he eat my rainbows when fully grown?

 

[indigoj]

Sorry, I missed this. I keep my 4 with neon rainbows (for over a year now), glass cats and reedfish with no problems. Your shrimp could end up as dinner though.

Mine are about 4" now and their growth rate has significantly slowed down. 1 alone should be fine but may hide more that 2 or more would. I have 3 very visible ones and 1 that I keep thinking is dead as I rarely see him!

 

[mattlee]

Sorry, I missed this. I keep my 4 with neon rainbows (for over a year now), glass cats and reedfish with no problems. Your shrimp could end up as dinner though.

Mine are about 4" now and their growth rate has significantly slowed down. 1 alone should be fine but may hide more that 2 or more would. I have 3 very visible ones and 1 that I keep thinking is dead as I rarely see him!

thanks mate, i have added him in this week and he is fine nd out quite a bit my only problem is feeding him as he doesnt seem to get to any food before the others.... i bought a turkey baster to direct food straight at him so fingers crossed it will work...!

 

[indigoj]

As he grows feeding will get easier. Glad it's going well now he's in the bigger tank

 

[mattlee]

i think he has become my favorite fish, such a beauty

 

[Lucky5tar5]

My first SCP were exactly the same. Two together, one picked on the other occasionally, but nothing crazy. The e-bay bought turkey baster works great with dried bloodworm. If there were less fish around, and you added live food you would notice them stalking their prey in a very strange fashion. Pretty funny to watch. Still, hopefully they have learnt turkey baster = feeding time by now. I fed mine that way until they were big enough to take river shrimp, and from then on it was plain sailing. A lot of character to this fish, and also my current favourite! =)

 

[dave_oddballs]

my leopard ctenomoma is about 6" now and stopped growing i think. if you just have normal platy's then they would be your smallest fish at max size, my praecox rainbows are about 3" and fully grown, not many platy's will reach 3". your rainbows would be fine, they are quick and often used as dither fish for this reason. the shrimp will go, one day, i'd be cautious of the platy's too, mine will defend its self against anything, big or small, so as shy as it is at a young age, it will soon grow to be more than capable of holding its own. my bush fish fights off an 8" platinum snakehead and used to bully a group of 3 6" geophagus brasiliensis. most of the time he is well behaved but i certainly 2wouldn't add anything to the tank he is in that was under about 3". he eats whole prawn, whole lancefish, krill and bloodworm etc.

Dave

 

[Raveston]

These guys aren't very aggressive but watch out, they have a REALLY big mouth. Like you would be surprised. Watch the tank for a while, if he yawns, you will see what I am talking about! The tetras might become lunch, who knows?

As for the PH, I was under the assumption that they liked a slightly more acidic water condition, between 6.5 and 7.2. Not an expert though..

He should be fine in the tank with the other fishes!

Make sure he has a cave big enough to hide in, if another fish takes up residence and he is homeless, put another in. Once they have a cave to call their home, they seem pretty happy, and protect it fiercely! They do leave their shelter more when there are others of the same kind of fish in the tank.

That sucks to hear one died =( I had the same thing happen to me when I first got mine.

Glad I got them though, I currently have four and they are still my favorite fish!

Perhaps my advice came a bit late, but I just love talking about them!

 

[mattlee]

my scp seems very happy still in the com tank but isnt growing much still, ive had him a good 3 months now and he is still under 2 inches... he shows no signs of illness but just doesnt seem to get much bigger! i use the baster when i can find him to direct food to him but he seems really slow at eating and before he has finished a mouthfull the other fish have spotted the food and eaten it, could he be growing slower due to this?
i was told they grow really fast to begin with

 

[Raveston]

Yeah someone had mentioned that to me once. But I think it was dependent on tank conditions and feeding habits.
I dunno

 

[indigoj]

What are you feeding him? Mine reached 3" quickly and then slowed down a bit. Now they do seem to be growing still but slowly.

They get a mixed pellet (bloodworm, mussell and shrimp), bloodworm, prawn and prima and the odd pea.

I'd consider doing a few extra water changes (never hurts)and keep target feeding.

 

[mattlee]

What are you feeding him? Mine reached 3" quickly and then slowed down a bit. Now they do seem to be growing still but slowly.

They get a mixed pellet (bloodworm, mussell and shrimp), bloodworm, prawn and prima and the odd pea.

I'd consider doing a few extra water changes (never hurts)and keep target feeding.

i feed him on prima with frozen bloodworms, daphnia etc once or twice a week. i also add flake for the rainbows so he may get some of this too.. he does come and grab a pea when they are added also. i know you dont really notice fish growth when you see them every day but he doesnt seem to have grown much at all.......

 

[Lisa1981]

Was just searching for some info on these fish when I came over this thread, thought I'd just add too it instead of making a new post. My SCP is currently around 3". I feed him blood worm and daphnia however have discovered that he loves Hikari's Cichlid Gold. How much should I feed him though? Its the mini pellets that I feed and he would honestly continue eating until he burst. How many is enough though?