Piscivore (sp?) For A 10 Gallon

[Sean_Buckley]

I need a piscivore that can live in a 10-20 gallon to eat at least some of my over-abundance of Convict cichlid fry. It needs to live its entire life comfortably in a 10-20 gallon tank, and be an aggressive piscivore, as well as readily available with the trade in Canada. Any suggestions? Thanks!
Sean

 

[Sean_Buckley]

Nobody?

 

[phoenixfire]

im pretty sure that your not going to find anytype of meat eating fish that will only live in a 10-20 gallon tank its whole life...even if one could live in it for there whole life they are probably a schooling fish using the paranah as an example...also freshwater fish that are fish eaters are extremely limited to what is legal and what isnt...mainly because if people were to throw them in a lake think about the devistation if they bred. Maybe try another type of chiclid... If u go salt u are more likely to find something...otherwise i have no idea....sorry i couldnt be of more help

Jared

 

[anvil63]

Would a butterfly work? maybe not in a 10 but I think they're alright in a 20

 

[Sean_Buckley]

I've got a SW tank, but I've got stocking plans, and not sure that an aggressive piscivore would get along with them. I might just have to start culling as many as I possibly can, and the eggs too, before they hatch. I thought about a butterfly fish, but the only one I've ever seen around here was listed for $120. No, it wasn't a saltwater one.
Sean

 

[anvil63]

They are sold on liveaquaria.com for $13.99 under misc. fish. Shipping is prohibitive though unless you make a big order.

You might check aquabid.com as well if interested

Carl

 

[OohFeeshy]

Chaca chaca, frogmouth catfish. Look on the profile listy thingy, its on there. It doesn't eat them that fast, but don't forget any fish will eat anything it can fit in its mouth.

 

[CFC]

Am i right in thinking this will be a seperate tank or will the fish be housed with the covict Cichlids?

If its a seperate species tank then there are a lot of options for a solitary micro predator but there is no fish that could survive being kept with convicts.

 

[Ben]

neon tetras
love the taste of new borns

DD

 

[Sean_Buckley]

I live in Canada, so LiveAquaria.com and Aquabid.com are both kind of out of the question. I'll check out the frogmouth catfish, but will it live comfortably in a 10-20 gallon tank? I can always boost it up to maybe 29 gallons max, probably no larger though. CFC, yes, this will be a separate tank from the convicts. Don't worry, I know their viciousness. My big male has made me bleed before when I was cleaning to close to his fry. Usually before I discover the fry, they are already about half the size of Neon tetras, so, I don't think they're a possibility. CFC, could you give me some ideas for some micro-predators? Thanks!
Sean

 

[yvez9]

leaf fish maybe?
i saw them at Big Al's here, they usually have a few in stock

 

[Fruitbat]

The leaf fish (probably Monocirrhus polyacanthus would certainly make short work of tasty Convict fry and one or two of them could be housed in a 20 gallon tank. The only problem with the leaf fish is that they'll usually ONLY eat live food so if you were to run out of baby Convicts you would have to either start buying appropriately-sized feeder fish or watch your leaf fish starve to death.

Another option for a 20 gallon aquarium would be a Leopard Bush Fish (Ctenopoma acutirostre). They will happily devour smaller fish and have the added benefit of being willing to eat non-living food as well (like frozen bloodworms, frozen brine shrimp and even flake food). They are also quite attractive (I've included a picture of one of mine below). In the U.S., PetsMart occasionally sells these fish as "Spotted African Leaf Fish". A 10 gallon tank is too small for a fully grown C. acutirostre but a 20 gallon would work (though a 29 would be even better).

-Joe

 

[Sean_Buckley]

I'll find out how much it would cost to get some leaf fish or Leopard Bush Fish in, and research them. Then I'll work on my "please" speech to get my parents to let me get another 20 gallon. Which would better, a regular 20 gallon or a 20 gallon long? I'd like to try the 20 gallon long, as I like the dimensions, but I'll get another 20H gallon if I need to.
Sean

 

[Dwarfs]

20g long is the better choice, the larger a tanks footprint, the better IMO

 

[Sean_Buckley]

Alright, I was hoping (and thinking) that would be the logical choice. I need to find out the availability and price of these fish first before I even think about getting another tank or anything.
Sean