Binkles Posted January 13, 2004 Report Share Posted January 13, 2004 Wifey and I have picked up an Aqua One 4 foot tank and we're going to take it slower than we did the 2 foot (rest of the fish are ok - no more deaths in the family). So far in the tank we have the filter - lots of pretty stones, a few rocks, plants and a piece of wood with plenty of holes in it We have the heater - and a filter and 3 lights working as well. So as you can tell, not a lot there. We've been talking about what fish we want to put in it (not all at once) and these are what we would like - and because there are people who are smarter than us - we thought we would ask whether you think these would be ok. Pictus Catfish Red Tail Sharks Black Ghost Knifefish Clown Loach Oto (half the alphabet) catfish (suckers) Ornate Bichir Any idea whether these fellows would be ok together? We are thinking either the oto (half the alphabet) catfish or the clown loach (3) to start the tank cycling. Our biggest concern is whether the loachs would be ok in that unruly mob Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cat Posted January 13, 2004 Report Share Posted January 13, 2004 Hi I myself wouldnt use any of those fish to start cycling the tank. These fish can be costly so too much money to have the chance of losing. I would start of with things like the poor good old guppies or mollies etc then slowly add other fish in a few weeks time or even a month. I am not smart enough to tell you exactly what fish go with what but you seem to want a lot of fish that just dwell on the bottom. I am not a fan of red tailed sharks but others reckon they are great. I must of had a nasty one! Here's hoping that you get all the information you want and have a great tank in no time. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rob Posted January 13, 2004 Report Share Posted January 13, 2004 I have to agree with Cat that I personally wouldn't use any of those fish to cycle the tank. Not only a cost thing but also the sensitivity of those fish - otos can be sensitive to conditions at the best of times, while the scaleless nature of the clown loaches means that they're often more succeptable to chemicals. I wouldn't want to include the otos in that mix of fish anyway - they'll end up as fodder for one of the others. I'd opt for one of the larger algae eaters: bristlenose, common pleco or redspot/sailfin pleco - yeah the common pleco and redspot pleco can grow big but then your bichir is going to get 1.5-2 foot long. Do you actually have access to an ornate bichir or is something that you'd like to have? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joze Posted January 13, 2004 Report Share Posted January 13, 2004 ah to have the money to have a knife fish to be rich enough to afford the rest Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Doc Holiday Posted January 14, 2004 Report Share Posted January 14, 2004 I'd go for a fishless cycle myself, there are many posts and information on this forum about it. I think it is just plain cruel to use fish to cycle the tank. It causes them huge stress and shortens thier life span or death with is the usaul case. But if you do decide to use fish to cycle the tank, go out and buy a couple of cheapos for just that purpose. :-? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Doc Holiday Posted January 14, 2004 Report Share Posted January 14, 2004 Try reading the forums on www.aquahobby.com there is heaps of information on fishless cycling. If you know someone with a mature setup try using some of thier filter media to get started, shortens the cycle period quite considerably! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
paddy_whack Posted January 14, 2004 Report Share Posted January 14, 2004 I agree with the doctor, i used SERA nitrivec to cycle my tank and it woked fine, who'd want to cycle with guppies? That'll mean you might have to live with them in your tank! (ewwwww) , but then again i cant fgure out ammonia test kits :oops: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ajbroome Posted January 14, 2004 Report Share Posted January 14, 2004 paddy_whack said... > ... who'd want to cycle with guppies? That'll mean you might > have to live with them in your tank! (ewwwww) ... That shouldn't be a problem if there's going to be a knifefish and a bichir in there. I've never cycled a tank without fish. If done slowly it generally works fine and doesn't do any long term harm to the fish used. I wouldn't pick any of the fish in the initial list though... Andrew. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
paddy_whack Posted January 14, 2004 Report Share Posted January 14, 2004 LOL that'll be a good revenge for the guppie haters :evil: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Binkles Posted January 14, 2004 Author Report Share Posted January 14, 2004 So if we get the guppies - they're pretty much going to be lunch once we get something like the knife. If the bichir grows to two feet we might give that one a miss. We saw them at Redwood, but unlike Animates they don't have information about the fish, and I hadn't looked them up, but I think Wifey did. As to the sucker, thanks for the info - and there are valid points about the amount of ground fish. If we do get guppies for example and later get the clowns - will the clowns likely be lunch to those others? As to the price - yeah, in a way that's good we don't have the money to stock them all at once Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rob Posted January 14, 2004 Report Share Posted January 14, 2004 I don't think your clowns would have too many problems with the other fish that you've got listed (now that the bichir as been eliminated) - does depend on the relative sizes of the fish that your getting - clowns can defend themselves if required - they've got little switch-blades just below their eyes. My personal preference (if having to start a tank from scratch) is to cycle with common bottom feeder such as a bristlenose or common type of cory (bronze or peppered). People may disagree - my reasoning is that these two are both pretty hardy in my experience and I don't need to worry about uneaten food on the bottom of the tank (a possible problem if you have a mid-water swimmer as your cycle fish - not a problem with lifebearers though since they'll happily eat of the bottom). I guess it also ties into my general philosopy of having what I call the 'maintenance crew' (ie something that will at least keep the algae down and something that scavenges along the bottom for food) established in the tank first. Glad to see that you intend to get (at some stage) a group of clown loaches rather than a single or pair - they do like to be in a group. From what I've seen of pictus cats you'd probably want to get two of those as well since they do interact with each other - can look like agression - but I've never seen any damage done to each other. As you've mentioned your list does appear to be only bottom dwellers. You could consider some of the larger tetras (congos, african long fin, bleeding hearts), a group of barbs (tiger, arulius etc), rainbowfish (depending on how rich you feel) as mid-water swimmers. Some of the more placid cichlids may be an option as well - blue acaras perhaps? Just suggestions - come the end of the day it's what's compatible and what you want to see in the tank. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Binkles Posted January 14, 2004 Author Report Share Posted January 14, 2004 Thanks Rob - you've given us some good insight there (as has everyone else). We were told that you would really want a minimum of 3 clowns - but in the shop they look like schooling so wouldn't mind getting 5~6. We'll do some looking at the other fish you've mentioned and see what we can come up with. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
paddy_whack Posted January 14, 2004 Report Share Posted January 14, 2004 im not actually entirely sure i gave you any good insight Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Binkles Posted January 14, 2004 Author Report Share Posted January 14, 2004 paddy, I wouldn't say that either. We will probably go for the fish cycle, it looks rather silly a tank of water with nothing swimming around. I even considered buying a plastic fish to put in there until we get a real one Joys of being inpatient. Having said that, our 2 foot tank looks amazing since we put a spray bar on the Fluval filter. Now if only my fish didn't leave their trash laying around..... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pegasus Posted January 14, 2004 Report Share Posted January 14, 2004 From Binkles, I even considered buying a plastic fish to put in there until we get a real one I'm surprised that nobody has invented a plastic fish that dispells ammonia as it moves around in the current (Have I just given away a million dollar idea..? ) Huggies are working hard to produce nappies for tropicals, but are having probs with the colour scheme :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Binkles Posted January 14, 2004 Author Report Share Posted January 14, 2004 Now that is a cunning idea Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Caryl Posted January 15, 2004 Report Share Posted January 15, 2004 I think I know the birchir you saw at Redwoods and can understand your desire for one! :lol: It attracted my attention too but I have no intention of buying one. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Doc Holiday Posted January 15, 2004 Report Share Posted January 15, 2004 By birchir do you mean Osteoglossum bicirrhosum commonly knowen as the silver arowana? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ajbroome Posted January 15, 2004 Report Share Posted January 15, 2004 Doc Holiday said... > By birchir do you mean Osteoglossum bicirrhosum ... I was assuming Polypterus spp... Andrew. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Binkles Posted January 16, 2004 Author Report Share Posted January 16, 2004 According to wifey (I forgot to introduce her btw - her real name is Tina) it's a Ornate bichir - and Caryl was correct in where we saw the wee blighters We just got back from getting our water tested to and we have too high a pH to be introduce any fishies into the swimming pool. I never realised how beautiful guppies were - we went to Animates in Moorhouse (we have had awesome service from both them and Papanui - one person from each shop is really really good) and had a perusal and realised to fit everything we want - we're going to have to line our entire garage, bedrooms, lounge and possibly the toilet. Are glass catfish (easily broken - hehhehehe) night timers? I turned on the light and they were all out partying on a rock, but once the light came on they crawled under it Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Doc Holiday Posted January 16, 2004 Report Share Posted January 16, 2004 Thank you for clearing that up, I'm heading out to Redwood Aquatics this weekend so I will take a look then!! Have you been into Organisms on the corner of clyde and ilam roads? great service awesome healthy fish.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rob Posted January 16, 2004 Report Share Posted January 16, 2004 Glass cats are mid water swimmers and will normally hang out in a group (it's recomended that you get at least 4 or 5). Generally they're active during the day - but it's often just hovering in place with the odd tail flick to keep them in position. My ones feed well - normally by intercepting flake food while it's drifting its way to the bottom of the tank. Healthy ones should be pretty well transparent except for the sack with their innards jsut behind the head. If the body starts going cloudy then their starting to get stressed/sick. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
herefishiefishie Posted January 16, 2004 Report Share Posted January 16, 2004 I agree with Rob, loaches can handle themselves, catch a loach & see the blades for yourself, I have mine in with Festaes & the like. They do well. Frenchy keep loaches as a single or group, if 2 or 3 they pick on each other. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Binkles Posted January 16, 2004 Author Report Share Posted January 16, 2004 Our Glassies generally sit lower in the water - but they are certainly not getting cloudy - if anything more transparent - you ever tried to count the bloody things? We do have them in a group of six and they use to a lot of time swimming around - but after the siamese episode they've started staying at the bottom hiding behind things. Do you think that's it because they are stressed? They haven't changed colour or anything. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Doc Holiday Posted January 20, 2004 Report Share Posted January 20, 2004 Went to Redwood in the weekend and had a look, the ornate bichir is a pretty awesome looking fish. So was the red Oscar that I just couldn't leave behind. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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