Congo Tetra's

[Fawke]

Hi there,

My tank (35gal in sig) have predominantly medium-bottom feeders and i am after some upper/mid water "pretty" fishes.
I saw some really nice congo tetra's in my lfs today, and asked if 4-5 would be ok in my tank.
Needless to say he said yes, but before i buy them id like your opinion.....

Are they quick enough to avoid krib breeding time? Will 5 be ok stocking wise (tetras arent that messy right?), the only other addition i may add a male gourami... will i be overstocked with them all in there?
Will 5 upset the bio load to much to quickly, or will adding 3, and then 2 be better?

Any other info or experiences on these good looking fish would be much appreciated.....

Thanks again

 

[LadyMinion]

I don't see why having tetras should be a problem, although I *might* be concerned about the pictus finding they fit in his mouth at some point.

As for the gourami, I have four dwarfs in my 50 gallon and I think that's pushing it. I've never kept opalines so I may be wrong, but they are bigger. That said, if you keep the ratio of two females and a male you may be OK as intra-species aggression is a key factor in keeping gouramis.

 

[Fawke]

Thanks for that LM,

I am interested to hear more about your Gourami theories. I have had alot of probs with aggression with this species, resulting in taking fish back.
I thought it was down to individual fish, rather than it's surroundings. They don't seem to be terratorial at all, simply aggressive towards lower ranking fish....

How did you mean that 4 dwarf's in a 50 is pushing it? aggression wise?

Conga Tetras - these are around 2-2.5" each, so the pictus would have to be hungry although i wouldnt put it past those gannets

 

[Lateral Line]

I think your 35 is stocked up already, not overstocked, but "cosy" shall we say. Congo's grow to over 3"/75mm and should be kept in groups, the larger the group the better. 4-5 is a reasonable number, more better of course, but with 5 in that tank it is going to be well overstocked.

Congos are very active swimmers and like a lot of open water. I'd frankly be wary of putting them in something smaller then a 48" tank.

 

[Fawke]

Damn shame that, it doesnt look or feel overstocked (or cosy)..... the pictus are pretty much as big i think they'll get, they havnt grown for a good 5-6 months.
The plec hasnt grown for 5-6 months either......

Fry are moving out as soon as i setup a rearing tank.....

Perhaps i went for too many bottom feeders, hence why it looks a bit bear at times...

Thanks for the advice

 

[Nidge]

I think your 35 is stocked up already, not overstocked, but "cosy" shall we say. Congo's grow to over 3"/75mm and should be kept in groups, the larger the group the better. 4-5 is a reasonable number, more better of course, but with 5 in that tank it is going to be well overstocked.

Congos are very active swimmers and like a lot of open water. I'd frankly be wary of putting them in something smaller then a 48" tank.

I agree, Congo's need plenty of space to swim in as they love to dart around the tank. They need to be kept in groups of at leats four so saying that you would be over stocked.
Congo's are a great fish to keep and are very entertaining at feeing time and they show lovely colours. They can also be a expensive fish aswell.