Africa,asia,south America

[IceH2O]

I have Clown Loaches(Asia) and Senegal Birchirs(Africa) going into a 75,or if I can sneek a 125,gallon tank.

Could I also add South American?

I was thinking one of the 3 species:

Keyhole Cichlid-4.75 inches..should be big enough to not be eaten by birchirs.Likes pH: 6.8 to 8.0
http/badmanstropicalfish.com/profiles/profile64.html

Festivums- 6 inches ..Water chemistry is not overly critical. This species lives in water that is of a wide pH range (6.0 to 8.0) and temperature (25-34 C.)
http/www.wetwebmedia.com/FWSubWebIndex/festivums.htm


Leaf Fish-about 4 inches http/www.thetropicaltank.co.uk/Fishindx/leaffish.htm

Only the Leaf Fish is predatory,the other 2 are peaceful.

Ok I doubt I could find the Leaf Fish anyway but how about the other 2.I would only get a pair.Or is there another pairing fish you would recommend?

Also what plants would you recommend for such a tank?

I'm assuming I'll be able to have 2 WPG once I'm set up.

What type driftwood would be best?

I think I'll be going with 1 inch of Flourite and 2 inches of Pool filter sand,sound good?

 

[nmonks]

Hello,

Mixing fish from different regions isn't, per se a problem. What is important is that things like water chemistry and social behaviour are compatible. Clown loaches and Senegal bichirs should get on fine: they're both fairly large, basically peaceful fish that need soft or neutral water conditions. Clown loaches do best in groups, so you want to keep three specimens if you can.

Adding a cichlid should be fine. In my opinion, a keyhole is a little small. Not because it'll get eaten (I've kept kribs with marbled bichirs without any mishaps) but because they are likely to be intimidated by the larger fish. Keyholes are very peaceful, rather shy cichlids. If you wanted a cichlid to go with these fish, I'd look at something like firemouths, blue acara, or the festivums you suggest. Any of these is large enough and sturdy enough to get along fine with clowns and the more peaceful bichirs.

Also consider climbing perch; species like Ctenopoma acutirostre make fine companions for bichirs. Leaf-fish should be good as well. The only thing is to make sure any fish you introduce are appropriately sized. Ct. acutirostre are very similar in form and habit, and usually much easier to obtain.

Consider sturdy plants: large Anubias, giant Vallisneria, Amazon swords, etc. There are some species of Cryptocoryne that would do well, too.

Type of bogwood doesn't, in my opinion, matter. Some people have strong opinions on them, e.g., which work best with wood-eating plecs, but I don't feel this is justified. None of these fish is going to care about bogwood tinting the water or reducing the pH to around 6.5, but I'd keep the pH from getting below that. Firemouths in particular prefer a more neutral or even slightly alkaline pH.

Cheers,

Neale

 

[lucky62]

Also consider climbing perch; species like Ctenopoma acutirostre make fine companions for bichirs. Leaf-fish should be good as well. The only thing is to make sure any fish you introduce are appropriately sized. Ct. acutirostre are very similar in form and habit, and usually much easier to obtain.

cheers,

Neale

and feed , we've had both , still the Ctenopoma acutirostre [ African ] , the leaf , or false leaf [ S.A] in our case would only eat live food , this proved to be difficult in the long run . Ctenos will eat most foods we give them , live , pellets , frozen , freeze dried , and are actually more active than the leaf was ...................how bout a Purple spotted gudgeon ........they're Australian ..........south American , a pimelodus or [ some species of ] Loricariidae catfish may do .

 

[spAcE mOnkEy]

Sounds all good except for the leaf fish. Best to keep them in a species tank. They are very sensitive and wouldnt be able to compete with food against the other fish. Its most likely they would be beaten up or die from the different water conditions. Leaf fish like acidic water rather then neutral. The climbing perch is a great alternative though, they look similiar. As lucky said, Purple spotted gudgeons are great fish, and one or maybe more then one would go very well with your tank.

 

[IceH2O]

Thanks for the ideas guys..keep them coming!

Type of bogwood doesn't, in my opinion, matter. Some people have strong opinions on them, e.g., which work best with wood-eating plecs, but I don't feel this is justified. None of these fish is going to care about bogwood tinting the water or reducing the pH to around 6.5, but I'd keep the pH from getting below that. Firemouths in particular prefer a more neutral or even slightly alkaline pH.

Cheers,

Neale

I was under the impression and correct me if I'm wrong but if I were to boil the bogwood it wouldn't tint the water or lower the PH as much.

 

[nmonks]

Possibly, but why bother? Just do water changes, and keep an eye on the pH. Unless you use a mass of wood and have really soft water, there shouldn't be a particularly pronounced change in pH. If you're running a soft/acidic aquarium, then monitoring pH on a weekly basis (at least) is essential. Even without the bogwood, pH tends to drift downwards. Once pH gets below 6, many community fish tend to suffer.

In a hard water area, bogwood doesn't seem to have much effect on pH, particularly if you're doing water changes once a week.

Cheers,

Neale

I was under the impression and correct me if I'm wrong but if I were to boil the bogwood it wouldn't tint the water or lower the PH as much.

 

[IceH2O]

Possibly, but why bother? Just do water changes, and keep an eye on the pH. Unless you use a mass of wood and have really soft water, there shouldn't be a particularly pronounced change in pH. If you're running a soft/acidic aquarium, then monitoring pH on a weekly basis (at least) is essential. Even without the bogwood, pH tends to drift downwards. Once pH gets below 6, many community fish tend to suffer.

In a hard water area, bogwood doesn't seem to have much effect on pH, particularly if you're doing water changes once a week.

Cheers,

Neale

PH 7 (neutral)
KH 5.6
GH 8.4 (medium hard?) closer to hard then soft

I do weekly water changes and test the water before each change and then again about midweek to keep an eye on the tank to be able to catch any wrong going ons before they get out of hand.

Only time my PH drops is if I need to do a major water change,as the PH from my tap is 6.I try to do 2@25% changes in that case so its not as stressful with a few hours between.It wouldn't hurt for my PH to drop .2,would only add to the CO2 in my tank for the plants.