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Any suggestions for plants?

10K views 65 replies 9 participants last post by  LasColinasCichlids 
#1 ·
Hey, I'm still in the process of setting up my new 28 gallon aquarium. I picked put my decorations and theme, its not as natural as a lot I'm seeing.. but I thought the Asian sortof theme was fun. I know I want to get a couple of the good luck moss balls to put in the front, but honestly I'm at a loss on what to do for plants. I don't want too many bright green plants to where it over powers the "bonzai".. I've been going with dark colored plants mostly so far, so they can benefit the tank but not stand out too much.

Any ideas on plants for the background? Or should I just scrap the whole idea I have going on now?

(By the way, the circle that's in front of the internal filter in the back is a reflection of the tv. Also, I'll be getting rid of that filter. I have a new one installed and I'm running both to help the bacterial growth.

I'd appreciate some help on designing the planted back part of the tank so can avoid spending money on plants I end up hating lol.
 
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#29 ·
Ok, that's a relief. Is there a different test I should get so I can still monitor the ph at that low of a level? And is there something I should do if it goes much further below that?

And does this mean I should be acclimating fish for a longer time frame when I bring them home?
 
#30 ·
Ok, that's a relief. Is there a different test I should get so I can still monitor the ph at that low of a level? And is there something I should do if it goes much further below that?

And does this mean I should be acclimating fish for a longer time frame when I bring them home?
I have the Tetra low-pH test, it goes down to 5, I use this now and then on some tanks. As it usually reads the lowest (5), I'vbe no idea how much lower it might actually be. I have not come across one that goes below 5. I don't bother about it, because I have almost all wild-caught fish from soft acidic water. Some of my tanks drop like this, some stay around 6.2, so certain fish might be in the one but not the other according to their source and preferences. This would be an issue is if the fish are tank raised in harder water, some acclimation would be needed.

As for fish from the store, find out their pH and hardness. Presumably local stores will have your type of water, but some stores do harden their water closer to neutral pH and medium hardness because they have differing fish and keeping their water near-neutral is more economical for them. Some may have different systems to accommodate different fishes, that's the sign of a good store. Anyway, find out what they keep the fish in, and then acclimate accordingly. Some species are more sensitive to this than others. It also helps to know the source of the fish, thinking here of wild caught or tank raised, as well as the store conditions.

Byron.
 
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#31 · (Edited)
Ok, so I rearranged it..

:) Rearranged everything now, again.. Looks better now IMO.. I still want to add another big plant in the back right corner behind the dragon, but I haven't decided if I should do another big bunch of the grass, or get a big amazon sword (the plants already back there are baby amazon swords) - or maybe something else? I thought I'd get a reddish colored plant to grow directly behind the dragon and in front of whatever big green plant goes in the corner.
Also want to add some more crypt crypt wendtii to put around the back of the bonsai tree. I still haven't decided if I want to do some sort of grass or if that will over power everything - what do you guys think? AND finally, I'm looking at some sort of floating plant to go over the right side of the tank, away from the filter.. I haven't decided which yet, but based on what seems to be available here, probably hornwort or wisteria. And I'll be adding a few more rocks to make it more symmetrical.



For stocking, I've now been toying with the idea of a betta? I really want at least two schools of lil fish. I have my 5 harlequin rasboras already in the tank, and I've really fallen in love with rummynosed tetras (although, I don't have any yet so I'm open to other suggestions). I'd like to get one "show" fish, which is why I was considering an angel, but it seems like my tank will barely meet the minimums to keep an angel happy so I'm trying to look at other options for a 'focal' fish. Bettas are (obviously) gorgeous, but could a betta get along with my rasboras, rummys and my two ADF? I'm trying to read online and getting mixed opinions - I'd have the 5 rasboras, probably 6-7 rummys, two frogs, and one betta - that wouldn't be overstocked, right? And shoals that big, would they be very fin nippy?
 
#32 · (Edited)
Sorry to post again, the betta was a bit of a whim when I was posting this, so I've been doing a bit more research. Right now, with my ph the way it is, I'm thinking rummynoses may just be out of the picture.
So, what about a couple more rasboras to keep them company, 3-4 (ideally panda) corys, a betta, and my frogs?

arghhh.. I can't decide on anything, haha.
 
#33 ·
Sorry to post again, the betta was a bit of a whim when I was posting this, so I've been doing a bit more research. Right now, with my ph the way it is, I'm thinking rummynoses may just be out of the picture.
So, what about a couple more rasboras to keep them company, 3-4 (ideally panda) corys, a betta, and my frogs?

arghhh.. I can't decide on anything, haha.
I expect the pH will lower, but aside from that, it is the hardness that is more significant with soft water fish. And if our surmise on what you have is correct, that shouldn't be an issue for rummys. Rasbora are much the same in that. The only thing is, rummys need larger groups, 12 is often the recommended minimum, I have 20 and it makes a difference. I would not get a Betta, that immediately limits things, but maybe you've already figured that out.

When it comes to "show fish" I usually find that groups of shoaling fish look fine without this. The larger a single fish, the more it sticks out, literally. And shoaling fish may be small when you get them, but they grow and fill in the tank. And with all their activity, you won't have bare spots.:)
 
#34 · (Edited)
I've definitely considered just shoals of fishies, but I really wanted angels so its hard for me to pull myself away from the idea of a big pretty fish. :)

I've just been trying to review my options... btw, I did about a 10-15% pwc today and the ph went to 6.4, so if it was at 6.0, it must not have been much lower.


I guess if I really wanted to though, should I be able to do the 5 rasboras, like 7 rummynoses and a male betta? I realize it depends a bit on the betta, but is it plausible? Maybe I should add too that my lfs keeps the rasboras and rummys together in one tank (with angels) and they seem, to me at least, to school with eachother somewhat as well.
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#35 ·
I've definitely considered just shoals of fishies, but I really wanted angels so its hard for me to pull myself away from the idea of a big pretty fish. :)

I've just been trying to review my options... btw, I did about a 10-15% pwc today and the ph went to 6.4, so if it was at 6.0, it must not have been much lower.


I guess if I really wanted to though, should I be able to do the 5 rasboras, like 7 rummynoses and a male betta? I realize it depends a bit on the betta, but is it plausible? Maybe I should add too that my lfs keeps the rasboras and rummys together in one tank (with angels) and they seem, to me at least, to school with eachother somewhat as well.
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I really do not recommend Betta for community tanks. Two possible issues; characins will nip its fins, or the Betta will take a dislike to the characins. The smaller the space, the more likely characins are to nip when presented with the target.

Rasbora and rummys are fine together. A good match in that rummys will tend to remain in the lower half, rasbora in the upper. And both love plants.

What works in a store tank is not reliable. Fish in store tanks are under stress from various things. And, the activity around them outside the tank plays a big part. Bring them home to a nice environment, they settle in, and their natural behaviours emerge. An obvious example, a group of red tailed sharks in a store tank just dash around the tank. Put a couple of them in a good environment, and they start to tear each other to shreds because they are settled and their natural instincts take over.
 
#36 ·
True, but they also have whats pretty much a show tank.. I mean, you can buy the fish but the tank is at least a 75 gallon, probably bigger.. I honestly don't know the size of big tanks by looking at them at all, but the point is there are 5 HUGE wild caught angels in there, and then just a school of rasboras, a school of rummynoses and some nerite snails. They tank is completely planted and everything -it looks like a tank you'd have at home, and I noticed similar behaviour with the two schools.. though you're right, not as pronounced. But I definitely saw them hanging out together. The tank is gorgeous - I wish I had it. :)
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#37 ·
True, but they also have whats pretty much a show tank.. I mean, you can buy the fish but the tank is at least a 75 gallon, probably bigger.. I honestly don't know the size of big tanks by looking at them at all, but the point is there are 5 HUGE wild caught angels in there, and then just a school of rasboras, a school of rummynoses and some nerite snails. They tank is completely planted and everything -it looks like a tank you'd have at home, and I noticed similar behaviour with the two schools.. though you're right, not as pronounced. But I definitely saw them hanging out together. The tank is gorgeous - I wish I had it. :)
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That sounds perfect. A group of five angels is ideal, but only in a tank no less than 4 feet in length. And rasbora and rummys do well with angels, all three can tolerate higher temperatures. Angels can manage at normal (78F) temps if tank-raised, but wild angels must have warmth, and the rasbora and rummys do well at higher temps.
 
#38 ·
Betta in a community...

Okay, I am speaking from pure experience here, as I keep a male crowntail betta in a 15g tank with 10 kuhli loaches and 5 harlequin rasboras.

I do NOT recommend bettas as community fish, especially if you arent VERY familiar with bettas to the extreme. Many reasons this does and doesnt work out.

Every betta has their own personality, some can have tankmates, some can have a lot of tankmates, and others need to be completely solo. It takes a trained eye to pick out a betta that seems like it MIGHT be capable of getting along in a semi-community environment, then it takes trial and error finding out what if anything can be kept with the betta...of course this usually means something dies in which makes it a big risk on even trying. (Thankfully I have had no fish-loss to this, *knocks on wood*)

Bettas generally only prefer one small group of shoaling fish when in a community. My betta must be super special because he deals with not only the rasboras, but TEN loaches that love to constantly swim circles in the tank. (My betta actually seems like he prefers the loaches to the rasboras for whatever reasons.)

My betta is use to community living and has been for many months (previously housed with ADFs, otos, neons, snails...). Just because he is use to it, doesnt mean I dont watch him very carefully, because at any moment he can get mad and change his mind on community living. The other day he started to get mad at one particular rasbora that was trying to hang out in a plant the betta was heading to...and the betta flared (gills and all). The 2nd time, he flared and chased the rasbora for a second. Thankfully the stubborn rasbora gave him his space and all was okay...but it could have ended in a dead rasbora!!! And odd as it is that my betta is housable with others, I had put a ghost shrimp in the tank a couple of weeks ago, and a big one too!! In 2 days my betta killed it, dragged it out of the java fern, and ate the body. (He flared at the dead body inbetween bites...he is funny.) My betta's name is Lassie by the way, as he hadnt had a name for the longest time, and then when I housed him with rasboras he decided to herd them like a dog, so I named him Lassie! LOL

But yeah, its always a gamble and a fish can and eventually will get hurt. I am always on constant alert watching for behavioral signs that things are going to go wrong so that I can take action and get the betta out into his own tank away from harming my other fish. Now, in the past, I have had bettas that you couldnt house with ANYTHING, they were just that mean. Thankfully my betta nor other fish in that tank are showing any kinds of stress due to tankmates.

Some of the fish species that have been mentioned...I would avoid the angels due to their desire for a group and tank size. Gourami, in your tank, you could do a blue gourami safely, or the gold or opaline version. I do recommend a female though, as before I got mine I did some research and some males are just too much of a bully. For cories, I have always avoided panda cories because I have heard they were way too sensitive to water parameters and it scared me away...after I got use to having less than common cory breeds (julli and habrosus) I know now that the pandas wouldnt be that big of an issue. However, I do feel they are shyer than most cories and would say 6 of them is a better grouping. With the softer water and lower pH, have you looked into sparkling gourami? They are beautiful, small, shoaling, and even though a group of them, they would still stand out as a group of "focal" fish.

I had gotten my gourami as a "focal" fish... I dont advice it as they are so shy, even with floating plants and all their needs met. I think my gourami, named Ginger, is BEAUTIFUL, but if I knew what I see now, I would not do it over again with it as my focal fish.

I think you could do a blue ram from what I have researched and been told in your tank with the rasbora. I plan on adding a blue ram to my 29g in the coming weeks. I think blue rams are much prettier than any angel, gourami, or betta if given the right water parameters and temps to show their true color potential!!! (Same for any fish really, most dont like cherry barbs, but in my shoal of 9 I have some amazing red males!!)

For floating plants... wisteria is a great option!!! (I am currently using blyxa as my floaters, just because they are a high light stem plant and werent getting enough planted...and wisteria looks amazing planted!!) Wisteria, if I recall correctly, needs more light if planted than if floated...which I guess makes floating it ideal!

Other plant options, do you have any java fern? Its a beautiful dark green color.

The baby tears would look great in your tank, I want them in mine, but I dont have a high enough light for them to thrive.

There are TONS of stocking options. The biggest issue with focal fish is that there isnt a whole lot of fish that dont need to be in a shoal that can get along with shoals or other fish that fit the tank size. But I know exactly where you are coming from with your wants for that!!!

And your tank looks AWESOME!!!! Great job on the aquascape and decor!! I love that you mixed naturals with theme!!!
 
#40 ·
Okay, I am speaking from pure experience here, as I keep a male crowntail betta in a 15g tank with 10 kuhli loaches and 5 harlequin rasboras.

I do NOT recommend bettas as community fish, especially if you arent VERY familiar with bettas to the extreme. Many reasons this does and doesnt work out.

Every betta has their own personality, some can have tankmates, some can have a lot of tankmates, and others need to be completely solo. It takes a trained eye to pick out a betta that seems like it MIGHT be capable of getting along in a semi-community environment, then it takes trial and error finding out what if anything can be kept with the betta...of course this usually means something dies in which makes it a big risk on even trying. (Thankfully I have had no fish-loss to this, *knocks on wood*)

Bettas generally only prefer one small group of shoaling fish when in a community. My betta must be super special because he deals with not only the rasboras, but TEN loaches that love to constantly swim circles in the tank. (My betta actually seems like he prefers the loaches to the rasboras for whatever reasons.)

My betta is use to community living and has been for many months (previously housed with ADFs, otos, neons, snails...). Just because he is use to it, doesnt mean I dont watch him very carefully, because at any moment he can get mad and change his mind on community living. The other day he started to get mad at one particular rasbora that was trying to hang out in a plant the betta was heading to...and the betta flared (gills and all). The 2nd time, he flared and chased the rasbora for a second. Thankfully the stubborn rasbora gave him his space and all was okay...but it could have ended in a dead rasbora!!! And odd as it is that my betta is housable with others, I had put a ghost shrimp in the tank a couple of weeks ago, and a big one too!! In 2 days my betta killed it, dragged it out of the java fern, and ate the body. (He flared at the dead body inbetween bites...he is funny.) My betta's name is Lassie by the way, as he hadnt had a name for the longest time, and then when I housed him with rasboras he decided to herd them like a dog, so I named him Lassie! LOL

But yeah, its always a gamble and a fish can and eventually will get hurt. I am always on constant alert watching for behavioral signs that things are going to go wrong so that I can take action and get the betta out into his own tank away from harming my other fish. Now, in the past, I have had bettas that you couldnt house with ANYTHING, they were just that mean. Thankfully my betta nor other fish in that tank are showing any kinds of stress due to tankmates.

Some of the fish species that have been mentioned...I would avoid the angels due to their desire for a group and tank size. Gourami, in your tank, you could do a blue gourami safely, or the gold or opaline version. I do recommend a female though, as before I got mine I did some research and some males are just too much of a bully. For cories, I have always avoided panda cories because I have heard they were way too sensitive to water parameters and it scared me away...after I got use to having less than common cory breeds (julli and habrosus) I know now that the pandas wouldnt be that big of an issue. However, I do feel they are shyer than most cories and would say 6 of them is a better grouping. With the softer water and lower pH, have you looked into sparkling gourami? They are beautiful, small, shoaling, and even though a group of them, they would still stand out as a group of "focal" fish.

I had gotten my gourami as a "focal" fish... I dont advice it as they are so shy, even with floating plants and all their needs met. I think my gourami, named Ginger, is BEAUTIFUL, but if I knew what I see now, I would not do it over again with it as my focal fish.

I think you could do a blue ram from what I have researched and been told in your tank with the rasbora. I plan on adding a blue ram to my 29g in the coming weeks. I think blue rams are much prettier than any angel, gourami, or betta if given the right water parameters and temps to show their true color potential!!! (Same for any fish really, most dont like cherry barbs, but in my shoal of 9 I have some amazing red males!!)

For floating plants... wisteria is a great option!!! (I am currently using blyxa as my floaters, just because they are a high light stem plant and werent getting enough planted...and wisteria looks amazing planted!!) Wisteria, if I recall correctly, needs more light if planted than if floated...which I guess makes floating it ideal!

Other plant options, do you have any java fern? Its a beautiful dark green color.

The baby tears would look great in your tank, I want them in mine, but I dont have a high enough light for them to thrive.

There are TONS of stocking options. The biggest issue with focal fish is that there isnt a whole lot of fish that dont need to be in a shoal that can get along with shoals or other fish that fit the tank size. But I know exactly where you are coming from with your wants for that!!!

And your tank looks AWESOME!!!! Great job on the aquascape and decor!! I love that you mixed naturals with theme!!!
when loaches swim in constant circles it is a easy sign to read that they are stressed
 
#50 ·
You would think it is overstocked, as it does seem like a lot. (I JUST realized that you commented to me regarding this, or I would have responded sooner.)

Not that it is the ruler of tank stocking or anything, but according to aqadvisor I am in the low 90's on stocking percents.

It helps that the tank is fully planted, there are hiding spots and all environment needs are met as well as stable water parameters.

Other than some pouch/pond snails, its the betta, 7 rasboras, and the 10 loaches.

The fish are happy, so I am happy.
 
#41 ·
Hmm, I thought I'd replied to this thread a couple days ago, but I see that's apparently not the case. Strange. Anywhoo, thank you LasColinas for the compliment. I think I probably will go with German blue rams, or Bolivian rams if I can find them, but I haven't been able to find those yet. I've decided against a betta, because I don't really want to baby sit the fish constantly (as far as making sure they're not trying to attack and kill each other). Unlss of course you want to send me your betta, since it's so friendly lol. Only kidding! :)

I've decided for now to just get more rasboras instead of rummynosed tetras. I'd rather have a bigger school of happier fish, and I feel I'll be worrying less about fin nipping if I leave out the tetras. And like I said, I'll probably get some blue rams once the tank has settled in. Maybe add another ADF?
 
#43 ·
I've heard that it it is and I also have experienced it... I have normal kuhlis
 
#45 ·
okay
 
#46 ·
I guess a bit of an update..

I've been given some fish. Someone had a juvie angel that was being picked on by its other tank mates, so I've now have a lone angelfish. I was finally talking myself out of the angelfish, but my friend didn't have another option other than the pet store - but all the poor angels they have there are missing most of their fins and have bright red gills and such. They looked miserable.

I was thinking about getting a couple more angels to see if they would pair off or not (and then I'd have to rehome my rasboras), but tonight I was given some free baby danios because someone needed to make some room in their tank now that the fry are growing up. So now in my tank I've got 7 baby danio, 5 harlequin rasboras, and 1 juvie angelfish (the body, not including the fins, is slightly bigger than a quarter).

I do have a 5 gallon tank, should I maybe move all of them to the smaller tank for a few weeks? There's no filter in it - only some plants, heater, and my one ADF. Most of the danio are about the length of my rasbora (which were trying to spawn so I'm assuming they're close to full grown), but they're definitely not as "fat" as the rasbora. I'm worried that the angel might eat them, it was looking at them like they were prey at first, but it's been exploring other parts of the tank now. The danios are very fast swimmers, and I haven't really seen the angelfish able to get very close to them yet.

I got some wisteria to put at the top of the tank because that's all I could find locally as far as a 'floating' plant, and I figured it'd be best to have something for the babies to hide in, but they're out and about in the tank (except the tiny one) - even swimming 4-5" down into the tank instead of only hanging out at the top. A question about the wisteria - I've read that if you plant it, it'll grow to about a foot tall and then break apart into a bunch of baby floating plants that seem to grow a bit better shaped for floating at the top of the tank. I've got like four stems of wisteria, should I plant one of them in the gravel in hopes of it reproducing? The rest are just find floating, from when I've read.

Even as I'm writing this, the danio seem to be getting more and more comfortable in their new home. Even the tiny one that was hiding behind the filter! I guess there's hope.


A question: Eventually I was to add a couple more fish. I don't know if I should add a couple more harlequin rasbora, or 4-5 corys. According to AqAdvisor, it'd be fine to have the 7 striped danio, 5 harlequin rasbora, 1 angelfish, and 5 panda corys - would that work? Or would it be better to forget about adding another type of fish and adding some more harlequins to make them happy - with 7 danio, they look kinda sparse now.

Or should I leave it as is? I'm not sure that all the baby danio will survive - I know that not all fry obviously survive, but I don't know at what age that stops being a factor. I was thinking about adding corys to help clean the bottom of the tank, but the angelfish does look around the bottom of the tank for fallen food, so maybe it'll do the job by itself.
 
#47 ·
I apologize, i forget the size of your tank. To try and approach some of your questions... most fish reach sexual maturity around 4 months, which is not full grown size wise for a fish, but they can reproduce prior to reaching their expected size.
I have harlequin rasboras, they react best in a group of 7 than in a group of 5 as I use to have them (originally had 6, one died...eventually added 2 more of the black version).
Wisteria can be planted, yes. It requires a bit more light if planted, but it looks so lovely that way. Floated it works great too. Moneywort & pennywort are good floating plants as well, and they also look lovely planted, almost looks like a forest of bamboo stalks when they are planted. Just about any stem plant can be used as a floating plant...water sprite too, which I hope to find around here soon.
As for the angel, its when they get bigger that the concern for your other small fish become an issue. I dont think there will be any issue with the rasboras with them though, as angels like calmer fish around and rasboras fit that bill. The danios, ehh, they should be fine too. As for bottom dwellers, cories or loaches would work...dont do kuhli loaches though as they are really active when happy and could easily stress out or irritate an angel. You might want to consider a more hardier species of cories than the pandas though. Pandas are known to be extremely sensitive to changes in water parameters. And with an angel, you would want to avoid any of the dwarf cory species.
And I would not add the danio fry to the ADF's tank.... unless you want to feed the ADF the fry, as ADFs would happily accept live food of that size, and most ADFs relish the taste of danios for some reason. lol
Hope this helps a little bit. Keep us posted.
 
#48 ·
Thanks for the reply! They've been in the "big" tank all together and no one's been eaten. The danio are now swimming around all parts of the tank. The rasbora and nice and colorful. The angel is still exploring around in the planted parts of the tank. I didn't know they'd be at sexual maturity at 4 months. I guess I figured they were at least older because at the lfs where I bought them they had them in two tanks, for sale in two of them. One's a bit of a "show" rank, fully planted with 5 HUGE wild caught angels for sale, and they're kept with some harlequin rasboras and rummynosed tetras that both look a tiny bit larger than in the other tanks. They also had a tank of rasboras similar to their size for sale in another tank, and a third tank with some that were about half the size that I bought, and not really as fat yet. Were those the same fish? They were labelled as so, and I just thought they were younger versions of what I bought. Maybe they're wrong. Oh well! Doesn't matter either way I suppose.

I guess based on what you said, I should probably get two more rasboras, which will be about it for the tank. I love my rasboras and wanted to get more anyways. It sortof looks crowded already with the danio so I may end up giving them away, but I do like them. I love the yellow coloring in them, and they're very active. The ones I got are part long finned and part 'normal', so they do have pretty flowing fins. But evereyone's swimming around the same area of the tank now. Would it be better now to just donate the danio to someone, get some more rasboras (so I had maybe 9-11 of them) and 5-6 cories for the bottom? Would that be more likely to make the fish happy?


Also, the only reason I had been looking at anything dwarf as far as cories was to limit the size of fish in the tank so as not to overcrowd. Even though the others only get an inch or two bigger, with a school of them I know it'll add up! I'll avoid them though if they'll be angel food. I guess I was thinking they may be too fat for an angel to eat, but I guess not!

Two of the danio are much smaller than the rest, and although I don't know much about baby fish, I wonder if their survival rate is lower still at this point. I took 7 thinking they were much smaller and that they may not all survive. But the 5 bigger ones, I would say are about the size of neon tetras at the pet stores.. the other two are about 3/4th or even half the size. I probably should've only taken 5 off his hands.

I'm not sure what to do I guess. They're only going to be getting 1-2" bigger, and especially if I add a couple rasboras it's only going to look more crowded. Would giving away the danio be my best option at this point..? The more I think about it, the more it seems like I probably should. I'd be adding more rasboras, but that'll only make them happier. And the cories will stay at the bottom, providing more room up top. I don't think I want loaches though - they eat snails, don't they?
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#49 ·
Not all loaches eat snails, at least my black kuhli loaches dont, I know clown loaches do.
Sexual maturity is much different from physical maturity for a fish. They can spawn and reproduce in most cases well before they are "grown". I know 4 months is the time for livebearers as well as some of the smaller community tropical fish... its an estimate though.

Now I will mention that Angels are social and do best in a group of 5 or more, which of course requires a very large tank. Angels are always advised against being housed with any fish under two inches, such as any dwarf cory, fry, and neon tetras due to the fact that they can and will eat them when they are bigger. At the current quarter size of your angel, its highly unlikely that she/he will be able to fit anything larger than some fry in her mouth to eat.

Again, I forgot the size of your tank, so I cant really advice on the amount of fish. Danios are a faster swimmer and will probably aggravate the angel as they prefer slower swimming fish, such as rasboras. It's up to you whether or not to re-home the danios, but it wouldnt be a bad idea to just keep the solo angel with a larger group of rasboras, and maybe a handful of smaller specied cory at the bottom.

As for cories... there are many species of cories that only go to 2-2.5 inches at full grown. Corydora Julii for instance, they stay around 2 inches, as do pandas I believe (if you go with pandas you have to make sure you have stable water parameters that never fluctuate, as I have had many people lose interest in cories due to them having pandas that died off due to slight water changes). There are plenty of cory species available that would fit your size needs (not dwarf, and not too big). Actually, if you scan through the tropical fish profiles here, under catfish there are a lot of cory species, which by far is not all the species as there are hundreds upon hundreds into the thousands of discovered and undiscovered cory species. So, you might want to take a look at the profiles, find which ones are pretty hardy, and in your desired size range and look for them or similar at your LFS.

The Harlequin Rasbora will get to about 2 inches or so full grown, which the way their bodies are shaped make them look much larger than a 2" Neon Tetra. They are a great fish, they can truly be enjoyed in a planted tank with having them in a larger school. I love my little guys and find them very entertaining.
 
#54 · (Edited)
Could I get a whiptail catfish instead of corys..? Some sites say 10 gallons are enough, some sites say a bit more than that.. I've got a 28 gallon though so that should be fine.
And I'm seeing maximum size at anywhere from 4-6". According to the profile on this forum I think I could keep one.. I just would need to add some driftwood, which would be no problem. I also have the little building in my tank which serves as a cave.. and it can hide out in the plants.


Or maybe a small eel like the zebra eel? I'm trying to look at other bottom feeders that can be kept alone. Just looking at options. :)
 
#55 ·
The whiptail catfish is a really good choice... been considering adding one to one or both of my tanks. They usually stay under 5 inches and are really peaceful, but you tend to see them out more that you would say a small pleco. And they not only eat algae, they also will pick up other stuff. If you are concerned with stocking levels, and the sensitivity of the pandas, the whiptail is a great option.

Just a small tip on driftwood... I had been wanting some, but I am super frugal and didnt want to pay $10 for a small piece of driftwood... 2 weeks ago at Petsmart I happened to decide to look closely at the hermit crab section just for no apparent reason, and found a 3 pack of small grape driftwood, and for only $1.49!!! There was only one left, and the sales lady said that some of the smaller stores werent going to carry it any longer... so I grabbed it... boiled them, soaked them for 24 hours in a bucket of de-chlorinated water, and put 2 in my 29g and one in my 15g. No issues at all and they look great... and less than $2!!!

MTS are AWESOME!! Do you have a sand substrate? I do, and my MTS (I have a dozen, hope they reproduce and give me more...just got my dozen 2 wks ago) they stay in my sand all the time, except once in a while at night I will see one or two on the wall eating algae or whatever. They are cute too!! I actually like the random pond snails, and have a few in my 29g, had a couple more but I transferred them to my 15g to do their work. lol. I have one lone Ramshorm too, in the 29g, that guy has some serious personality!!! I dont have any nerites, but I hear great things about them. I just recently got into snails...my first being my ivory mystery snail "Speedy", who is GIANT now...seriously, I will attach a pic comparing her to my hand in a few minutes. But if you have sand substrate, I'd see if your LFS would give you 12 or so MTS, mine gave them to me for free. 12 MTS only takes up like 1-2% of your stocking level in a tank your size or mine.

Not familiar with the eels, and although they are mostly bottom dwellers, I dont know if they eat leftovers and such like a traditional thought of bottom dweller does.

Rasbora question... yes, there are slight variations of the harlequin rasbora species that can shoal together happily. Actually, two of my 7 arent traditional harlequins, they are called black versions of the scientific name of harlequins. They look the same except the black mark by the gills isnt there, and the black pork chop looking mark on the back is more like a big navy blue smudge spot. So basically they are like a rasbora hybrid. They fit in great with mine, and all school together happily. And I found these black rasboras at my local Petsmart. I had seen them there before, and finally decided to get them when they only had two left.

So yes, there are some rasboras that you can mix in, but I wouldnt mix a species that is too far off from the harlequins even if they still come from the rasbora family. Including the black hybrid one, there is 4 versions...3 mentioned on the TFK fish profiles.
 
#57 ·
I have tried and tried responding to you post on my phone but it never seems to want to actually post it. :p

First off - wow! That's a huge snail! :p I had two of those but I ended up rehoming my snails because they actually starting eating on my wendtii. I think they doubled within the month that I had them! Very interesting snails, I will say that. My nerite snails aren't very fun, but they've got a purpose so I'll keep em around. ;)

I'm in luck, my LFS said they do have some Whiptail Catfish, so I'll probably pick one up this weekend. :D I still need to get rid of the danio. I was hoping someone might trade my for a few more rasboras, but I haven't had luck so far. Danio multiply too much apparently, haha. I actually went floating down the Edisto River, which apparently is the largest undammed black water river in North America. I didn't know there was any sort of black water river any where near me, haha. I guess that's ignorance on my part, BUT - while I was floating down the river (and walking, since most of it was only about 2-3 feet) I managed to scoop up some driftwood from the river bottom that I'm hoping I can put in my tank. I'll have the boil it and such before I put it in the tank, so I've been researching that tonight. I guess I've probably got to be careful not to turn my tank into a black water tank, because I don't think that my plants would appreciate it. I may just cave in and buy some driftwood instead. I'll have to see how it looks when I boil it. :) I hadn't seen the grape driftwood you mentioned, but I'll have to check again.

I do have sand substrate, which is one main reason I did want to get some MTS - to keep things moving around under the substrate. I always see a ton of them in the plant tank at my LFS (why only that one decided to come home with me, I guess I'll never know..) so I'll have to ask them for a couple.

I'll keep an eye out for the different rasboras, but I have a feeling I won't have any luck finding them locally. I'm not going to ship them.. that's just too much for a few rasboras. Oh well, I love my rasboras anyway, so I wouldn't mind just having more of them. :D
 
#58 ·
It is a common misconception that mystery snails are eating plants... they actually are eating the algae and stuff off of the plant, and in some cases eating the dead plant pieces. This is also common of a lot of snails, such as the common pond snail.
My mystery snail is too big to stay on a leaf, she tries, but the leaf drops to the bottom and the snail gets off like she was on a ride, lol. She likes to ride the top of plants. She will climb up a tank wall, jump onto the top of the wisteria, and then just let the plant fling her down. Its very funny to watch.
I only got her like 4 months ago, and she was little when I got her.

Getting driftwood from nature... something my bestie and I have attempted... we dont live exactly close to lakes and such, at least not without a 30 minute drive to a lake that you can get into. But that is a good idea!! Yes, boil it, and then I like to let my sit in a bucket of hot water with de-chlorinated water for 24-48+ hours... to help ensure my water wont be discolored... which the boiling helps with too, but the main purpose of that is too kill anything that can harm my tank.

You have got me to think about the whiptail catfish. And now I think I want one for my tanks. I am trying to find homes for my loaches, like you with your danios. I am going to contact my LFS and see if they will take them for store credit... have you asked yours too see if they will?? Or if you just really want them to take them off your hands, I have even managed to get petsmart to take fish i had to get rid of... like 4 years ago, I got them to take a huge ACF I had that was eating all my fish! LOL Sometimes you can also scan through the employees and see if anyone wants some danios for their personally home tank.
 
#59 ·
No, they were eating it.. just on that ONE plant though. It was a brand new plant though, no algae on it. There were little chew marks on the leaves every time the snail would leave the leaf.. But it was honestly only that one color of wendtii, so I'd still recommend them to anyone, just not if you have Florida Sunset wendtii - I guess they knew it was the expensive wendtii and that's why they left the green alone? lol

Yeah, I live near Charleston, SC, so we have the beach, but I also live far enough inland that we've got large lakes and rivers and marshes.. and alligators and snakes, lol. I stayed on my float the whole time unless I could see in the water! Which isn't easy with black water, but it was oddly clear at the same time.. compared to other bodies of water around here.

Do you think the catfish will be OK for a little while with no driftwood in the tank? That's the only problem is I'm not sure if it'll be ready over the weekend, but I'd like to scoop up the fish while I know they have it.

Yeah, I talked to my LFS and was asking them if they'd take 7 danio for 4 rasboras, but they said they're overstocked on danio so they won't trade or give me store credit. Last I checked, they seemed overstocked on rasboras too so I thought they might just let me trade since I'd be lessening the amount of rasboras and giving them extra danio. But that was a no go. I know that PETCO has rasboras, but also has a full tank of danio, and petsmart doesn't have any rasboras. I guess I could see if petsmart would give me credit for them, but I'm doubting that.

Heck, I'd take a 10% discount for giving them the fish.. haha. I should probably get rid of those before I put the catfish in. Not that it's really too overstocked because the angel is still small as are the danio.. but it'll look crowded!
 
#60 ·
The whiptail should be okay for a while without the driftwood, as they dont rasp on it like some species of plecos do making them need it as a part of its diet. The driftwood for the whiptail is, from my understanding, mostly needed for coverage and to eat algae off of.

Petsmart doesnt take fish to re-sale unless they come from a supplier... one of their rules. Dont know about Petco. Sometimes, it helps if you just have a few, to bag them up, take them to the store, and be like... "Please take these guys... I cant house them anymore and I dont want to have to flush them!" Generally it works on their heart strings and they will put them in a special tank they usually have in the back, or the employee will get a co-worker to take them home. This works on some LFS too. Its easier to get them to take them when they are already bagged, as they know the fish have been stressed and its more pressing of an issue, if that makes sense. If you have a smaller tank, you could consider putting the danios in it... if its a new set up, a piece of filter media from your established tank and maybe some floating stem plants would make fine for a temp set up until you find them a home or for a permanent home. I forget how many you have... but even in a 10g you could have like 6 of them. (I dont think I would do a 5g with danios, unless fry, due to their high swim level.)

Just ideas.

But yes, the whiptail should be fine. :)
 
#61 ·
I've only got a 5 gallon, but they are fry..ish. they're the size of neon tetras right now. But I've got my adf in that tank right now. The little ones may be eaten!

My local lfs said that they'd take the danio, but they can't give me anything for them. I didn't really expect store credit, but I had hopes for trading or for a discount. :( that was a no go.

Good to know about the whiptail. I've got a fake tree in there so that should be ok until the driftwood is ready.I've also got a few other decorations, and the live plants to hang out in.
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#62 ·
For a lot of the very common and overly produced fish species, like the danio, its seldom that a store is in need of them. If you want to get rid of them, your best shot is letting them take them with no exchange for anything. Not many places or people will be willing to pay for, or trade for, a fish that is 'a dime a dozen', so to speak.
 
#63 ·
Hey, I just wanted to let you know that I decided to go with the Julii (or what were sold as Julii at least, lol) corys instead of the other options I'd asked about. I'm also giving away the danio because they're just too hyper for the angel and the rasboras seem much happier now that they've got their tank back. The danio just seemed to make the tank feel crowded. The rasboras had been spawning previously, and they're back at it again after the danio being gone for only a few hours! :p

So, for right now I've got my 1 angel, 5 harlequin rasboras, and 5 julii corys. Hopefully the corys will be happy with only five - I bought all they had in stock. I was thinking of doing 3 juliis and 3 of another type, but none of the ones in stock stayed about the same size (something I prefer) and I also didn't want to leave the other two behind! They ended up giving me a discount anyways and I pretty much got the fifth one free! I'll be adding 4-6 more rasboras and that'll be it for the tank. I need to add a bit more as far as the plants, but I'm pretty well stocked to where I want to be.

Your advise (as well as others) has been much appreciated! I almost went with some kuhli loaches (they were in the tank right next to the corys so I really kept flip flopping between the two..) but with plants and snails, I just didn't want to risk it! They were pretty darn cute though, I can see why you like em!
 
#64 ·
Good deal!!
You actually did the best thing with julii cories. I recently had one (Wednesday re-did my tanks to what you see today in my signature), and I had one lone julii with albinos, emeralds, and a habrosus. I noticed the julii is very particular in which species of cory it bonds with. The only other cory she would associate with was the habrosus, most likely similar patterning. So five of them is great! If the julii were from Petsmart, its more likely they are the Leopard Cory, similar to the julii, same applies... mine was a Leopard, but sold as a julii.
Yeah, the black kuhli loaches are nifty. I was set on selling them to my LFS with my opaline gourami and my cories, but when it came time to do it, I backed out, decided to keep them and just switch which tank they were in. Everyone who visits always loves my loaches, they are a great conversational piece, and they are low maintenance.
Congrats on getting your tank where you want it!
 
#65 ·
:) I'm still very happy with the corys, they're so fun to watch. I'm not sure if they are julii or not, I put up a picture in another thread, and the one person who replied said they think they are. I did not get them from petsmart, I got them from my LFS, which seems to be on the right track for the most part. There's a few employees there who don't know everything they're talking about, but when they're stumped they grab someone else who has more expertise. I know the owner's been in the fish business for 30 some years, and when I have had a chance to talk to him he's given excellent advise. Every other fish I've been able to identify has actually been correct, and I always listen up to the answers they're giving to other customers and as far as I know it's good advise. Maybe they sold me the right fish.. I don't think they're lying about it at least. And they had some leopard corys there too in a separate tank. Maybe I got legit juliis, haha.

I stopped by the LFS again today and looked at the kuhli loaches again. They're still super cute, but I'm still happy with my corys. They both have such character!

Thanks again!!
 
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