Compatibility questions.

[BobGrill]

New to keeping fish. I have a 20 gal tank which I will be using for my freshwater aquarium. I had a few questions regarding compatibility of a few species. I have read that for the most part, cichlids can really only be kept with other cichlids. Also I know that most puffers can be aggressive towards other fish. Is this true or are there any exceptions? Here's a few general groups of fish I have considered looking into:

. Loaches- general
. Bunocephalus coracoideus- Banjo Catfish
. Panaque maccus- clown plecostomus
. Dwarf Puffer
. tetras- general

I'm not saying I plan on putting all of these together, I'd just like to know if there are any good combinations someone can come up with with the fish I have listed so far.

 

[Wadew]

Within your list above. All would reside together with the exception of the puffer!

-Wade

 

[ShredderEmp]

Cichlids really have an attitude in my experience. I kept one in a 20 gallon with guppies and a crayfish. The cichlid messed up a male guppy. He tried attacking my crayfish, and he took off an antennae, but he lost an eye to the pinchers. I would advise the cichlids in a cichlid only tank with lots of hides.

Puffers are a hazard as of their spines and temper.

The rest would go along fine, and I would seriously look at crayfish. Crayfish are super cool and super fun. I love them.

 

[Beardo]

Depends on what cichlids you're talking about.....there are hundreds of species out there, and each one is different. Could you specify a bit more?

 

[BobGrill]

I've heard all cichlids are to be kept only with their own kind. Also, shame about the puffers. Some of them are so cool looking.

 

[ShredderEmp]

Depends on what cichlids you're talking about.....there are hundreds of species out there, and each one is different. Could you specify a bit more?

The cichlids from Lake Malawi ime are very feisty. It was a big blue one that did the damage. Even beat up on a smaller orage one, but not too much.

 

[Entomancer]

Fish are great.

If I had to give advice to a new fishkeeper without turning it into an essay, here's what I'd say.

1) Don't get goldfish, loaches, "plecostomus" catfish, or any catfish from the family Bagridae that exceeds 3-4 inches. (some exceptions exist with the loaches and plecos)

2) Plants are awesome. Make your first tank a planted tank; I almost guarantee that any fish loss will be lower and you fish will be more at ease, which will make them exhibit more natural tendencies. Buy an LED light and a glass hood of the proper size; this hood setup is more expensive, but looks very nice, and the LED light should last for ~5 years without any servicing, whereas a flourescent tube bulb will need to be changed in 6 months or so. Within a year, the LED hood setup will literally pay for itself (and it consumes less electricity, to boot). The other thing you need is the right substrate. If you have extra cash to spare, buy a bag of the amazon substrate. It's really the best there is. If you'd rather save some dough, Flora-max is another good brand. I like to mix the floramax with pea gravel and playsand for a more natural appearance. Finally, pick easy plants. I could write a book on plants, but for now, try Cryptocoryne sp., Anubias sp., Anacharis, Taxiphyllum sp (java moss), Microsorum sp. (Java fern; a few different cultivars are available), Echinodorus sp. (very diverse genus...try to look up the ones that won't get gigantic; some smaller ones also exist that look kind of like grass). Also, avoid bamboo, and if you see a plant at store that you want, try to look up as much info about it as you can before plunking down the cash (or passing on it. I missed out on a somewhat rare plant once because I thought it was something else). Another note; the Anubias, Java Fern, and Java moss are epiphytic. They need to be anchored to a rough stone or a piece of wood (terra cotta works well too) with some kite string or a rubber band and left alone for a few weeks to a month, after which they will attach themselves with new roots. It helps to cut off some of the existing roots first; this way the plant will be stimulated to grow more new roots.

3) Don't use colored gravel, or polished gravel, if you can help it. Also stick to "pea gravel" and avoid those stupid glass bead things. The beneficial bacteria that you *need* in your tank to break down chemical waste will grow best in a pea gravel substrate at a depth of about 2 inches, and the polished gravel and smooth stones are so smooth that the bacteria have trouble hanging onto the stones. Playsand is great too, and is better for catfish in the genus Corydoras and loaches pretty much need it for health reasons. It's also very cheap; the only downside is that it needs to be rinsed thoroughly to remove silt that could become suspended in your tank and make it look "muddy".

4) Pick your fish based on where they are from, and design the aquarium accordingly. The more diverse your fish are in origin (say, Africa, Asia, South America versus just South America or just Asia), the more likely things will go wrong. Some fish from different locales will do fine, but mixing locales is something that should be left for a more experienced aquarist, and most people don't do it because (at least for a community tank) it usually fails or winds up being stressful to the fish. Locale also depends on the fish; african cichlids from lake Tanganyika should not be mixed with the "Mbuna" african cichlids from lake Malawi, but tetras from Mexico should be fine with pencilfish from Bolivia and/or Corydoras sp. from Peru. Tetras, Corydoras sp. catfish, tetras, and marbeled hatchetfish would be an example of a good south american community, and chocolate gouramis, kuhli loaches, rasboras (the smaller ones), and some shrimp or snails would be a good asian community setup.

5) Stick with natural hardscaping materials. Avoid resin, plastic, and other fake products. They're a big waste of money; fish do much, much better with things like wood and rocks. Mopani wood and manzanita roots are great, and rocks from just about anywhere are fine, although they should be cleaned and rinsed well before putting them in the tank. Just avoid limestone, as it will raise the pH quite a bit (great for a rift lake tank, but I wouldn't recommend that type of tank to a beginner). Dead leaves are also a great edition for certain kinds of tanks, but they will turn the water slightly brown (so will mopani wood; your filter and water changes will keep the brown-ness down, and eventually it will stop. The color comes from the tannin pigment in the leaves and wood.) and reduce the pH. Some fish, especially those from the "blackwater" swamp habitats of southeast Asia, actually prefer these settings, and a tank simulating this biotope would make for interesting observation.

As for your tank and what has been suggested....

1) Cichlids are not aggressive. If they were "aggressive", they would jump out of the tank and try to attack you just for the sake of causing harm. Cichlids *are* territorial, especially the species residing in the rift lakes, and so they will defend their territory from any fish that registers as an invader to them. Cichlids are also territorial regarding mating rights, and the males of some species will keep any other fish away from his female at any cost. Some are also defensive, and will defend themselves from perceived attacks with threatening displays and bites. That said, there are "dwarf" cichlid species that do very well in community tanks. Mikrogeophagus ramirezi and Mikrogeophagus altispinosus don't get much longer than 3 inches and 4-5 inches respectively, and are very peaceful. The only case in which this will cease is if two males are confined to a small aquarium (A 55-gallon would be needed for two), at which point they may kill each other out of territorial disputes. I had this happen to me, because someone gave me a young M. altispinosus that turned out to be male. It vanished within 2 weeks, and I never found the body. M. ramirezi is a very beautiful fish and the more peaceful of the two, and it is also easily bred in captivity.

2) Catfish....I really love catfish, but many are unsuitable for community tanks. I looked up the "Banjo Catfish", and it does seem to be of an appropriate size, but it also seems to really need very clean water conditions, and it's an ambush predator that won't pass up the chance to gulp down a tetra or rasbora foolish enough to approach its striking range. This could backfire quite badly with a loach or a loricariid catifsh, since they have retractable spines. The catfish might swallow the loach or catfish, and then it would become lodged in its throat or stomach, where the spines could damage the gills (which would be fatal), or the swallowed fish could die and leach ammonia into the catfish's throat, which would also kill it. Long story short, if you want something that might eat other fish, it narrows down your choices of tankmates. The fish gets about 4 inches long, too, which means you have approximately "15 inches of fish" left in terms of stocking room, and that still pushing it. If you want bottom dwellers that would work well, try Corydoras sp. catfish, Otocinclus sp. catfish, or some of the smaller "plecostomus" catfish (although navigating Loricariid catfish taxa can be a nightmare if you're trying to find a specific one). If you want some bigger catfish, build a 20 gal community tank, and then move up to a bigger tank that can house them; a 55-60 gallon tank would be a good size for some larger fish, and you could really make something spectacular if you had a 90 gal asian river community tank with some larger fish.

3) Freshwater puffers do not have spines. All fish in the family tetraodontidae have sharp, strong beaks instead of teeth, and they use them to eat molluscs and crustaceans. They also tend to be rather territorial, and will not hesitate to use that beak to rip a chunk of flesh from another fish. They should be kept in tanks designed just for them, and they do not have many suitable tankmates, if any. My local fish store has a huge Nile puffer on display, and there's a sign on the tank that says "Keep your fingers away, or I will eat them", because puffers are very inquisitive about food and usually try out potential food items by biting them.

4) Crustaceans and fish don't always go well together. Crayfish will not hesitate to capture and kill a fish for food, and they will damage plants and dishevel rocks. They're very entertaining and tons of fun (I'm raising a young one in a 5 gal myself), but they do better alone or in a spacious tank with their own kind. The best crustaceans to keep with fish are shrimp, and there are many different kinds available. The best for a medium to small community tank are probably the "dwarf" shrimp such as cherry shrimp, and also amano shrimp and ghost shrimp. Avoid wood shrimp and other larger shrimp, as they may attack smaller fish, and avoid Bamboo shrimp; Bamboo shrimp are rheophilic shrimp (current loving) and are highly adapted to strain food particles out of swift currents. They need cool, well-oxygenated water and a swift current to really thrive in an aquarium. There are other fish, mainly loaches and gobies, who also need this type of setup (most loaches really need the fast, cool water as well), and you could make a really unique, interesting tank for rheophiles and stock it with these animals.

Whew. So much for not turning it into an essay. Hope this helps you out; the world of fishkeeping is far more vast than other animal-keeping hobbies.

 

[BobGrill]

I appreciate the advice, but I am aware of the difference between aggressive and defensive and territorial.

 

[Shrike]

New to keeping fish. I have a 20 gal tank which I will be using for my freshwater aquarium. I had a few questions regarding compatibility of a few species. I have read that for the most part, cichlids can really only be kept with other cichlids. Also I know that most puffers can be aggressive towards other fish. Is this true or are there any exceptions? Here's a few general groups of fish I have considered looking into:

. Loaches- general
. Bunocephalus coracoideus- Banjo Catfish
. Panaque maccus- clown plecostomus
. Dwarf Puffer
. tetras- general

I'm not saying I plan on putting all of these together, I'd just like to know if there are any good combinations someone can come up with with the fish I have listed so far.

All that list is missing is an arowana or six

 

[BobGrill]

I didn't feel like starting a whole new thread for this question. If you are using a screen top lid, do you just put the light on top of the screen, or would you be better off using an underwater light? Pretty dumb question I know, but I can't think of a better way to word it. I would just get a hood so I can just put the light inside of it, but that adds like another $30 to $50 onto the total cost.

 

[Entomancer]

You'd really be better off with a hood.

Hoods are almost universally used because they trap the moist air above the water, drastically cutting down on water loss from evaporation. There aren't really any underwater lighting systems that would work very well for a 20 gallon, either, and your fish would probably be confused by the direction of the light. The other thing about screen tops for aquariums is that they eventually will have issues with rust. It's not a huge issue, but there are *some* very sensitive fish (quite a few catfish and most loaches, plus many shrimp and snail genera) who might not tolerate the sudden increase in iron content very well and get sick.