Oddball Suggestions

[onidrase]

I feel like something is missing in my 37 gallon, and I'm thinking I could use some sort of interesting fish

It's a 37 gallon, pH around 7.4, temperature around 78 F, and houses a few semi aggressive, so something that can tolerate occasional aggression or ability to stand up for itself is helpful

I'd also like for it to get around 4-6 inches max, and preferably no live food needs

this seems incredibly specific, so if you stretch the guidelines a bit that's fine, as long as it's compatible with the 37 gallons size and pH

Thanks much <3

 

[N0body Of The Goat]

Care to elaborate on "houses a few semi aggressive" fish?

 

[Far2lively]

Which other fish will it be housed with???

 

[DerpPH]

I feel like something is missing in my 37 gallon, and I'm thinking I could use some sort of interesting fish

It's a 37 gallon, pH around 7.4, temperature around 78 F, and houses a few semi aggressive, so something that can tolerate occasional aggression or ability to stand up for itself is helpful

I'd also like for it to get around 4-6 inches max, and preferably no live food needs

this seems incredibly specific, so if you stretch the guidelines a bit that's fine, as long as it's compatible with the 37 gallons size and pH

Thanks much <3

So What semi aggresive fish are they?

 

[stanleo]

African butterfly fish. They do need live foods but are the coolest fish I have seen in the hobby. they get about 4 inches and stay up at the surface of the water. They will eat anything that fits in their mouth so be careful you don't have anything too small. That's the only reason I haven't gotten one. I have neon tetras that I don't want to get eaten.

 

[N0body Of The Goat]

African butterfly fish. They do need live foods but are the coolest fish I have seen in the hobby. they get about 4 inches and stay up at the surface of the water. They will eat anything that fits in their mouth so be careful you don't have anything too small. That's the only reason I haven't gotten one. I have neon tetras that I don't want to get eaten.

Pantodon buchholzi do not need live food, I've had "Mrs Butterfly" for nearly three years and she will eat any floating dried prepared food that I offer her (Tetra Prima; Hikari Cichlid Gold; Doromin; Cichlid XL; New Era Tropical Flake etc.). During this time she has grown from ~5cm SL (body excluding tail) to ~7cm SL.
 
She lives with 4 ~10cm SL Ctenopoma (acutirostre and I suspect an C. occelatum), a young ~7cm SL Chrisichthys ornatus (who will join my ~22cm SL Synodontis notata in my 5/6-foot as "he" gets too big to trust with small tankmates, already has a mouth the size of my bushfish!) and a new wonderfully outgoing ~12cm Xenomystus nigri.

 

[aether.ed]

Im afarid your tank is a bit on the small side for the commonly available oddballs apart from the butterfly fish. They certainly look interesting but they dont do an awful lot, they just sit there right at the surface waiting for any food to float by.
 
Knives, ctenopoma, catfish and mormyrids and so on will grow far too big for your tank. Mr goat, is Chrisichthys ornatus an african species? cant seem to find an awful lot about them.

 

[N0body Of The Goat]

Mr goat, is Chrisichthys ornatus an african species? cant seem to find an awful lot about them.

 
Indeed they are, originating from around Malebo Pool. The major issue though is these catfish get decently sized (about the size of my not quite fully grown Synodontis notata) and they are predatory with a gaping mouth, I could already possibly squeeze my middle finger into its mouth at ~7cm SL!
http/www.planetcatfish.com/common/species.php?species_id=520

 

[Aviici]

You could get away with one Rainbow Snakehead, they don't get much more than 6 inches in the home aquarium, and despite the snakehead reputation, they are quite placid. I've seen people keep them in semi-aggressive communities with tiger barbs etc.

 

[DerpPH]

how about some elephant nose? It can work but he needs a bigger tank...