What fish for tank with current?

soilmapper

Considering many options for setting my 55 gal back up. Among them, putting a Maxijet 400 PH at one end for an UGF, and pointing outflow down the length. This would create quite a current. What fish would be good for those conditions? Bottom dwellers, mid-swimmers, toppers? Should PH be at top?

Thanks in advance!

thekoimaiden

Hillstream Loach is one fish that comes to mind. I don't think we have a profile on them so you can check out more about them here: Loaches Online

ETA: well it turns out we do have a profile for them. There are other hillstream loaches you can check out here: Sucker-bodied Hillstreams

Byron

Not that many of our aquarium fish actually require strong currents, so you do have to be careful with stocking. Fish that are forced into fighting a current will be stressed and wear out fast.

The Hillstream Loaches are strong-current fish. Some of the other loaches are too, and several (but certainly not all) pleco and catfish, such as those from the Rio Xingu. But these are few and far between.

Another issue is temp; Hillstream are cool water, some of these others are warm. Fast water fish are usually--but again not always--cooler water species.

This could be a nice aquascape though, if fish can be found for it. A substrate of gravel, rounded river rock to simulate boulders, and a couple bits of bogwood.

Byron.

soilmapper

Hmmm, the cold/warm tolerance issue made me think that I could possibly try some native stream fish. Some of the sunfish native to Tennessee are current swimmers, and with properly placed rocks/decor for eddies...
I think, though, that it would lend itself better to a long low tank, rather than a standard 55.

So the thought process continues...

thekoimaiden

You're in TN? You have a great amount of fish you can get! Darters are what come to mine first. Most are current swimmers (some are found in the pools, too), and they're beautiful. You could also get a nice school of some of the shiners and dace. Mountain Redbelly Dace and Crescent Shiners being my favorites. Just be careful what you collect as some species are illegal to keep.

redchigh

I read somewhere that some rainbow fish like current... Might look into them.

Catfish (plecos, cories, Glass Catfish) like current... Byron, doesn't your whiptail park itself in the filter outflow?

soilmapper

I am in western tennessee, far from most of the prettier darters and daces, but I am familiar with them. We do have a few over this way. I was thinking more along the lines of Redeyes, or rock bass, etc.

Tazman

Just another thought. I have 2 maxijet 1200's in my 75G Lake Malawi cichlid tank and they love the current.

Flow helps keep the substrate (sand in my case) absolutely free of detritus.

Byron

No, he basically avoids it. My trio of the red lizard whiptails spend a lot of time at that end of the tank, but this may be related as much to feeding as current, since that is where the sinking foods are dropped.

On the corys, most actually do not prefer significant flow. My 30+ remain well out of the flow from the filter, again except when feeding. Some species occur in moving streams, but these are not raging torrents. And they may remain in the side shallows more where the flow is less than in the main channel.

Interestingly, my Farlowella have spawned dozens of times over the past 2 years, and they always use the glass below the spray bar. This is rather interesting, since all three of them tend to avoid this area otherwise, remaining at the opposite end or the centre.