Are there any peaceful oddballs...

[OohFeeshy]

I'm looking for a 'centerpiece' fish for my new tank when its cycled. I would quite like something a little different. So....
Are there any odd species that can go in my tank and still leave room for some corys or UD cats and a platy like fish without eating them? And preferably something fairly easily available in the UK.
Demanding I know but

 

[Jezah]

Killifish are usually good additons, as well as most Gobies. Killifish are peaceful, and Gobies are too small to do any damage.

 

[Dwarfs]

Peacock gudgeons are nice, so are badis badis Do a search on google

 

[OohFeeshy]

I was thinking killifish, I will take a look when I go to get sand to see if they do them or can find anything else nice.

 

[Fish00]

Caricteristics,
intelagance,
memory,
cute,
intresting,
has a personality(unlike neons controled by 1 brin floating in sace)












South american puffers
SAP's
Colomesus asellus puffers
www.trimar.co.uk(bottom page tropical stock list)

 

[Puffer_freak]

Not suitable with a community tank!



Some say they are, but I wouldn't risk it!

 

[Fish00]

I have 3 in with 4 plecs 1 catfish 1 fire mouth 2 silver dollars 5dp's & 3 sap's
nipping i8s practicly non-existant.

 

[jflowers]

practicly non-existant.

Non existent would be ok. While SAP's are considered the most peaceful puffer they do still nip IME. Dwarfs are known nippers and if you keep that mix of fish, you are very lucky. Plecs should be ok, the catfish maybe, depending on species and the SD's maybe ok if they are big and intimidate the puffers (not likely, mine were avoided by everything regardless of size). I had two SAP's in a community and they thought nothing of nipping my keyholes who were four times thier size at the time. They now live alone.

[EDIT: Forgot the origional question ) Peacock gobies!!!]

Jon

 

[SirMinion]

Peaceful puffers or not, they're still puffers.

American Aligators are the least aggressive of all the crocodillian family, but would you get in a pool with them?

Also of course, 15g is far too small for any puffer apart from dwarfs.

 

[pica_nuttalli]

you could keep ONE colomesus asellus in a 15 g.

but i wouldn't keep it with anything you wouldn't mind it eating. i've only got confidence in mine because it completely ignores the guppies i have spawning for it.

the thing about oddballs is that mostly they're considered odd because of their size, difficulty in keeping, day-night cycle, or feeding habits. probably the size issue will have the biggest effect on your choices.

many of the oddballs that will be suited for a 15g will be either sedentary, nocturnal, or rather plain-looking. these aren't all necessarily bad things, per se, but don't make for a great "show piece".

Some things you could try (and their disadvantages):

--Bristlenose Plecos (pretty much nocturnal, may turn territorial)

--Bumblebee Gobies (difficult to feed those tiny mouths, territorial)

--Cockatoo Chiclid (could only keep one, condition sensitive)

--German Ram Chiclid (could only keep one, condition sensitive)

--Peacock Spiney Eel (escape prone, if mis-labled it could quickly outgrow tank)

--S.A. Puffer (may or may not slaughter your fish, WILL NEED teeth-trimming)

--Dwarf Puffer (WILL FIN-NIP, may slaughter)

--Killiefish (i think i heard they have VERY short lifespans)

--Rainbow Fish (schoolers, can get quite large)

--Hatchet Fish (about as sturdy as neons, schoolers, prone to jump)

--Betta (a common "show piece", may or may not attack other fish, prone to jump)

--Dwarf Gourami (a bit prosaic, can only keep one really)

--African Butterfly (sedentary, prone to jump, HUGE mouth)

I reccommend that what you do is swing by the shops and see what you like. Ask the LFS:

--What do you feed them and do they eat it? (Can I see?)
--When did you get these?
--Do you get them in often?
--Do you know if they're wild caught?
--Would they be compatible with X, Y, or Z?
--How many should I get if I have a 15 gallon tank?

Take the answers and tell us what they told you. You should probably just get the compatible fish you like best from the shop that told you the least amount of bull. Oh, and they get BONUS points for honestly saying they don't know and not making crap up. EXTRA BONUS points if they offer to look up the info for you.

if you just can't wait for feedback, a bristlenose pleco or one german ram or a few hatchet fish should be perfectly alright.

if you fall in love with a S. American Puffer (Colomesus Assellus), check how it's tankmates look and what they are. because that particular puffer has such quickly growing teeth, sometimes they just can't get a good bite in and that will spare your fish. but you will have to trim them eventually and then watch out!

i'd really like to hear how this works out for you.

 

[Jezah]

Killiefish do not have short lifespans...I dont know where you got that info. Bumblebee gobies are also not hard to feed, as long as you feed frozen. They just dont like flake food...can you blame them? My care sheet on Bumblebee Gobies will be posted soon in the fish index, and on there I specifically mention they hate processed food. No flakes or pellets for Bumblebees, or really most gobies for that matter. Killifish however are great additions to a tank and are as brightly colored as most saltwater fish, I personally love them.

 

[Erised]

I think he meant they're mostly difficult to feed in a community setup. They just do not compete for food at all and chances of being underfed when not kept in a species only tank are high. Unless you wanna overfeed your other fish ofcourse

 

[pica_nuttalli]

sorry, it was late and i forgot how to google things apparently...

http/articles.gpasi.org/beginners_killies.html

the quick and easy:

Warm (78 ish) water temperature usually results in a half year of growth to maturity and an adult lifespan in the realm of an additional 2 to 3 years. Cooler water killies (i.e., 70 ish temperatures) gain another half year to maturity and another year to lifespan

regarding the "annuals"

A significant division is made between those killies that live in permanent bodies of water and those that live in temporary bodies of water and thus have evolved to develop a short life span. Killies in this latter group are known as “annual killifish.”

so there you have it. so most killiefish live for about as long as a quality guppy or betta. it still doesn't seem very long to those of us with 5 to 10 year fish. but then again, a brief span of just a couple of years could be beneficial if you think you'd be bored with the tank then...

but i stand by what i say on the difficulty of feeding bumblebees. frozen food is not readily available to everyone and even with that, bumblebees are sometimes horned out by larger tankmates. compared to the vast majority of other fish, bumbleebee gobies are difficult to feed. they have tiny mouths, little to no interest in food that doesn't move, and are also very easy to overfeed in the effort to get them to eat ANYTHING. i had a friend kill way too many in just a few months, and not just through improper feeding.

 

[noelberg]

Killies can have short life spans ... but many with short lifespans are easily bred. Most of the nothobranchius species are annuals.

A good rule of thumb is the larger the adult size, the longer the life span.


You might be able to get away with dwarf pencilfish, but that could get overcrowded (I consider them oddballs since I only see them once in a blue moon).

 

[Mr Miagi]

What about some small bumble bee gobies. They are cute, full of character and although theynlive in brackish water, are generally easy to maintain.

With all those posts and ideas im sure your just even more confused!!