Fish List?

[xptweakerntn]

I was planning on some guppies, platys, mollies, and possibles some swordtails. Furthermore, I was probably going to get some clown loaches later on, maybes some (white cloud mountain minnows?), do all these sound good? My tank is a 55 gallon, wanting it to be a community tank. Any more suggestions welcome. Oh, and what would make a good algae eater? plecos are cool, but get big, any other good hardy algae eater that is friendly?

 

[gourami_fan]

Woah, thats a tank full of livebearers. You're going to get a lot of babies.

If you want a good algae eater, then I suggest getting siamese algae eaters. If you do choose on getting them, be careful not to get them mixed up with the flying foxes.

 

[xptweakerntn]

Hmmm... I've either heard that they get really big, or are really aggressive. I can't remember which one it was. So what is the info on this siamese algae eaters?

 

[chrisdoesntmiss]

probably better to get ottos rather than the siamese, less chance of a mess up with the chinese/siamese etc.

Make sure for ots of hiding places, that way you can sell the fry to your local fish shop.

 

[Azaezl]

As gourami fan said that's alot of livebeares, you'll end up with alot of fry, or are you getting males only? Also mollies benefit from a little salt so you might want to re-consider those as an option. Clown loaches need to be kept in a group as they are social fish.White clouds prefer cooler water so I wouldn't suggest them. Here's what I'd suggest;

guppies - males only
platys - males only
swordtails - males only
some sort of cory for the bottom as an alternative to the clown loaches.

otos are a good algae eater, they would be a good option(they need to be kept in groups as well). Not all plecs grow to huge proportions, 2 plecs you could consider are the bristlenose plec & the clown plec.

 

[xptweakerntn]

Well that's what I was wanting livebearers for, breeding. Hey Chris, will some lfs's actually buy fish like that from you? That would be cool, but then again I'm not going to get rich off of it. I could be wrong, but couldn't all of these fish that I listed live in a little salty water? I'm not talking about much, just a little salt added. Otos, aren't they supposed to be harder to keep. Then again, I'm up to the challenge. And how big do the bristlenose plec and clown plec get?

 

[chrisdoesntmiss]

Everybody says that ottos are difficult to care for but i have never had any trouble. Clown loaches are supposed to be in groups but i only have one, rescued him from a friend who moved and he is fine, he actually shoals with the discus (he is a right weirdo btw)

Indeed some shops will give you something for them, not much unless you have a huge amount granted.

As azaezl said corys are lovely to keep and very fun to watch. They spend there entire time looking for food, no matter what breeding territory they wander into.

Chris

 

[xptweakerntn]

The otos do look cool, I may try them. In my 55 gallon, could i fit about 3 or 4 clown loaches in with all the livebearers? And what about cory's? This the fish?
http/www.fishforums.net/content/Catfish/...ras-leucomelas/
http/www.fishforums.net/content/Catfish/...oras-Undulatus/

 

[rabbut]

Hi,
Mollys prefur salt in the water wherever safely possible, as they are a brackishwater fish. The salt may however caurse problems with the ottos, and will almost definately effect the clown loaches. You must also be careful with medications if you add either ottos or botias (clown loach-like species) as the copper in a lot of disease cures will caurse more harm than good to both species.
IMO, I would have to choose between the mollys and the clownloach, as both pf these species ideal conditions are the others adverce.
BTW, the links in your last post are both to corry species.
HTH
rabbut

 

[eschaton]

Clown Loaches will eventually outgrow a tank of that size I think, considering they can max out at up to 14 inches - though they usally only reach 7 to 10 inches. Plus, they might eat your livebearer fry. Personally I'd go with Corydoras of some sort instead.

Again, I can vouch for Otos. Maybe add some Cherry Shrimp too if you like breeding.

Don't mix Platy's and Swordtails if you like to breed, as they'll probably hybridize. of course, both are so cheap it hardly matters.

 

[Davo86]

And how big do the bristlenose plec and clown plec get?

They usually get to about 10cms (4inches) or occasionally a little bigger, the two mentioned above along with the bulldog (rubberlipped) pleco are fairly common but there are many more exotic species that would be suitable for our tank. just depends on how much you want to pay.

as for the mollys IMO they would be fine in freshwater, provided they have been tank bred in freshwater tanks

 

[xptweakerntn]

Ok, so how is this:
guppies
platy's
cory's
otos
clown plec's

 

[xptweakerntn]

OH, and I just looked at cherry shrimp, they look awesome! Hey, they aren't like little crabs are they? I mean, they don't need something to "bask" and breathe on, do they? Hey, where can I get these cherry shrimp? I don't think I've seen them at any lfs's. If you go and ask a lfs to special order you something, will they sometimes do it?

 

[rabbut]

OH, and I just looked at cherry shrimp, they look awesome! Hey, they aren't like little crabs are they? I mean, they don't need something to "bask" and breathe on, do they? Hey, where can I get these cherry shrimp? I don't think I've seen them at any lfs's. If you go and ask a lfs to special order you something, will they sometimes do it?

Most LFS's will order things specialy when asked. They do however need to feel that there is a demand for what you are asking for. Shrimp for example are available in numbers of 50+, therefore, if only you wanted them, and were taking 5, it would leave 45 for the shop to sell, and if there isn't a market for them, they will be sat there costing the shop money for a long time. Although this is fine for us, to a shop, it is unacceptable. The good news is that Cherrys sell very well, thus most shops will be happy to buy them in for you.

Shrimp are fully aquatics, and require no basking points

Where are you baced? Most branches of Maidenhead Aquatics carry shrimp in my area, and Paws For Thought on York Road had arround 25 left at the weekend. Cherry shrimp can also be bought online, and there are members here that breed them.

HTH
rabbut

 

[xptweakerntn]

Rabbut, I'm in TN. Hmmm....I'll check all local LFS's, (2 private, plus PETCO, but I doubt Petco will carry them). They other two my have them, but I'm sure that perhaps one won't mind ordering some. What about that? I've always wondered about http/www.drsfostersmith.com/ They offer fish/plants/etc. They gurantee them to live 14 days, but I've always wondered if it would be more trouble than it's worth. Currently, it's quite cold here, so buying ordering mail order fish wouldnt be smart, would it?