Guess it's time for the Cichlid (enthusiast) Master to pipe in........Yep ya'll knew it was coming right
I have a deep respect and passion for ALL fish!! In the past I just didn't keep them. I have my favorites and my not so favorites.
Since expanding my stock list to include tropicals I have come to enjoy a variety of different species.....cories to be one of them.
I still have 20 or so of the C. julii in stock and may decide to keep them for myself. I also just brought in 50 Pimelodus angelicus. FANTASTIC little cats. Always active and when food hits the tank....well reminiscent of the movie "JAWS"!!
They twist their bodies in all sorts of ways to catch a piece of flake or frozen bloodworm that may be passing them by.
I will probably never bring in live bearers (much to the disappointment of Les
), because, although there is a market here I cannot compete with the bigger wholesalers in price!!
I am curious as to the cichlid society you refer to...not to start a war, but because I know most of the reputable ones and they are fish lovers first and foremost and would never bad mouth another species of fish.
As to the original question of stocking yes all fish are to be considered when figuring the total bioload of the tank.
A very easy way to think of it is this......a pleco by some is considered a scavenger (although with the L# being anything but. These are very specialized feeders)would not be calculated in the total bioload, but when you look at it realistically a pleco is probably one of the MESSIEST fish there are!! I would even go so far as to say a 12" pleco can out poo a 10" oscar and believe me I know!!
Those 10.5" goldy plecos I brought in....well I have one in a 70 gallon tank and this thing makes a daily mess of it!!
Nuff said!!!
CM
