Future Oddball Fish Stocking Options, Suggestions?

[Tokis-Phoenix]

Later this year, probably in the summertime or whenever its warm enough, i will finally have all of my goldfish moved out into my pond. When this is the case the only fish left in the tank will be my common pleco (and a few clown plecos, although i could easily move them to any one of my other tanks). The tank is 5ft long by 2ft high and 18inches wide (its 100gallons). I've always been interested in a lot of oddball fish (like bichirs for example), and are very tempted to have some in the tank once the goldfish are moved out. More info on the situation;

Common pleco is about 10inches+ long and is a permanent resident in the tank.
Fish must get along with the pleco
Tank is very well filtered, currently has about 650litres worth of filtration, and can always add more.
Tank isn't currently heated as it always stays at a stable 23-24degrees. Can add heating though.
Fish much not bite/sting/electrocute me.
Fish must not be completely dependent on live food, as i don't have any reliable access to any- can get a decent variety of frozen fish foods though (edit: i can grow snails).
Would prefer hardy fish which are simple to look after.

Taking these factors into consideration, what fish would you personally have in the tank? All suggestions are welcome, thanks for your time .

 

[beblondie]

Sorry can't think of any I'd recomend for a tank with a common pleco in it.Its really not a case of the new fish bothering the pleco,its a case of the pleco bothering the new fish-Anne

 

[simonas]

maybe not common plecos but for interest in the tank I would get a acouple of oscars?

 

[pica_nuttalli]

maybe a sleeper goby?

 

[shroob]

The tank is 5ft long by 2ft high and 18inches high (its 100gallons).

Think someone got abit confused there .

How would you feel about a datnoid, they're a pretty oddball fish.

 

[veil92]

Think someone got abit confused there .

How would you feel about a datnoid, they're a pretty oddball fish.

Not meaning to hijack a thread, but how is your Dat doing Shroob?

 

[shroob]

Think someone got abit confused there .

How would you feel about a datnoid, they're a pretty oddball fish.

Not meaning to hijack a thread, but how is your Dat doing Shroob?

Havn't got one anymore I'm afraid, woke up one morning and I found out it had died, was a fair few months ago now. I still don't know what caused it, I remember feeding it some worms the night before and everything was fine. Then in the morning I found it pale with what I can only describe as a series of deep scratches down its flank (only tankmates were hujeta which are peaceful and I wouldn't think capable of making such marks). Everything else in the tank was fine and water checked out good. I was kicking myself for ages. The only possibility I could think of is that something had spooked it and it had shot into a big piece of slate I had repositioned, doesn't sound likely but I got nothing else.

They are great fish though, especially as they get bigger and more bold. They are also one of the best looking fish when stable, very striking with the spikey dorsal fin.

 

[kewskills]

.

 

[FishySarah]

I've had both Oscars and a Bicher with a common pleco and they all did fine together. I really wish I could do it again, I loved that tank, best one I ever had.

Just wanted to add- snakeheads are illegal in America. Too many cases of them getting loose in lakes and ponds and wreaking havoc on the local wildlife. Problem was with irresponsible fish owners with small tanks letting them loose when they got too big. Sadly, ruined it for all of us.

I would recommend a bichir, they are cool fish.

 

[Ficious]

a datnoid would be sweet...what about puffers??? you have room for 6 or so.

what about a lungfish?? the problem is you want something that takes pellets and such...all of my oddballs only take live or frozen...or can you feed frozen

 

[8inary]

Im not too sure what the issue is with some oddballs and plecs, ive got 4 plecs in my large tank: common, albino, gold nugget, another L plec.
I have various fish/oddballs in my tank, 24" fire eel, 13" tyre track, few spinney eels, 4 large clown loaches, corys, heart shaped flowerhorn, green terror, jack dempsey, blue jack dempsey, 4 large silver dollars, and many other fishes, all get on very well.

link to my tank...

http/www.youtube.com/watch?v=DLGa8d9L1SY...re=channel_page

 

[beblondie]

SLIMECOAT
Is a mucous created by the continual replacement of glandular cells know in the fishes skin hat produce a glycoprotein which is called mucin.Areas of the amazon where a number of plecos exist there is little in the line of protein based foods.Plecs are very adaptable to feeding on availiable food sources and one is the mucus coating of other fish,There is good evidence of these fish doing this in the wild and plenty of evidence of these fish doing this in captivity.There It really would not be a suprise to find that mucus feeding is a common feeding method in many Loricariidae catfishes.These fish are really not obligate herbivores.

This does not mean all will develop this habit but once its started its extremely rare for it to end also the damage caused by the rasping teeth
can be done quickly leaving the attacked fish open to a number of severe infections-Anne

 

[Ficious]

yea i forgot about eels, hah. ive got a starry night and peacock eel...both have a lot of personality

 

[paw-paw]

yeah..but if it has lived with goldfish for that long than I would think he would suck on them too if he was inclined too...
i also have a pleco with goldies and never get a problem with them sticking on fish or such. You just have to feed them right - just as you would feed any other fish. You give them meaty foods also and they leave other fish alone...It is like when pigs are not given any meat they become canibalistic or kill chicken and stuff...(sorry I know pigs are not he best to compare with fish but well, you get the point...)

 

[Tokis-Phoenix]

Hi everyone, sorry for the late reply, just been a little busy recently- thanks for all the replies so far .

maybe not common plecos but for interest in the tank I would get a acouple of oscars?

They are a fish i am considering at the moment, although i'm not sure on them as i think they would limit fish stocking options a lot when it comes to other fish? (this might not be much of a problem though as i'm only getting a few fish for the tank, will probably keep it relatively understocked if i can).

maybe a sleeper goby?

Aren't there many different types of sleeper gobies? I always associated gobies with being brackish or marine fish?

I've had both Oscars and a Bicher with a common pleco and they all did fine together. I really wish I could do it again, I loved that tank, best one I ever had.

Just wanted to add- snakeheads are illegal in America. Too many cases of them getting loose in lakes and ponds and wreaking havoc on the local wildlife. Problem was with irresponsible fish owners with small tanks letting them loose when they got too big. Sadly, ruined it for all of us.

I would recommend a bichir, they are cool fish.

Ah i live in England so hopefully that shouldn't be a problem, but wouldn't most snakehead fish get too large for the tank?

If its possible to keep a bichir in the tank then that would be really awesome as i would really like to keep one of those fish.

a datnoid would be sweet...what about puffers??? you have room for 6 or so.

what about a lungfish?? the problem is you want something that takes pellets and such...all of my oddballs only take live or frozen...or can you feed frozen

Getting frozen food isn't a problem, its only live food like feeder fish which i have problem accessing. I'm probably going to avoid fish with can potentially grow to over a foot long unless they have an eel-like body, as i'd rather the fish have loads of space in the tank rather than only just enough .

yeah..but if it has lived with goldfish for that long than I would think he would suck on them too if he was inclined too...
i also have a pleco with goldies and never get a problem with them sticking on fish or such. You just have to feed them right - just as you would feed any other fish. You give them meaty foods also and they leave other fish alone...It is like when pigs are not given any meat they become canibalistic or kill chicken and stuff...(sorry I know pigs are not he best to compare with fish but well, you get the point...)

My plec is fine around the goldfish, the only time he gets grumpy with them is when they try to eat his algae wafers (one of the goldfish has grown so large that it can swallow extra large algae wafers whole), but i sorted the problem out by mostly feeding him large foods like cucumbers and large prawns which the goldfish can't nick from him.
He's never hurt any of the goldfish nor tried to latch onto them, and he lives very happily with the clown pleco's (like my other two large plec's he won't tolerate living with other large pleco's though, which is why i ended up with 3 large tanks).