Shoaling Oddballs

[Feral123]

does anyone know of any oddballs that can shoal and grow at least 6 inches???

if you do then please leave me their common name and scientific name

 

[clinton ><>]

i dont think here is any

 

[three-fingers]

Does Kryptopterus bicirrhis (glass catfish) count as an oddball? They reach 6 inches and look pretty cool.

 

[Feral123]

hmmmm. i think we can count it as one since it looks so different from other catfish

the reason i asked for a big one is because of this stokcing plan:

2x Senegal Bichir
2x Peacock Eel
1x African Brown Knifefish
1x Leopard Ctenopoma
1x Sailfin Pleco

right now i have the needlenose, pleco and bichir. they are in a 65 gallon right now but i found out that i will be able to get a 100 gallon sometime this year and so im thinking ahead. so if you can think of any others let me know. and ill be looking around too.

well actually, they dont really need to be just oddballs, but some type of bif shoaling fish of atleast 6 inches

 

[three-fingers]

How bout silver dollars? Spotted silver dollars look even better, with the spots and a little bit of red on their belly. The spotted ones get to 5" in diameter, but their shape means they would be safe anyway .

 

[severum boy]

First of all, you must define an oddball. Is it something odd in form, odd in behavior or rare and different?
Whatever you define as being an oddball will provide a different answer to what you want.

 

[Feral123]

sorry for not being direct severum boy

its ok, ill look on the web for a shoaler fish that will look

 

[§tudz]

sorry for not being direct severum boy

its ok, ill look on the web for a shoaler fish that will look

I would say 100gallon was too small for silver dollars, and they become ugly when older.

Glass catfish, are catfish not oddballs, and there are far more bizarre looking catfish than the Glass.

I would suggest maybe getting atleast a 150gallon tank, as you have a gibby, which could grow to over 2' and a 100gallon tank just wouldnt provide enough room for it to turn around.

You could look at some of the shark's such as apollo sharks, but these become very aggressive.

I would imagine that the polypterus will eat the Leopard Ctenopoma in time.

As for the 'needlenose' I gather you mean needle nose gars? these are very shy fish and tend to spook easily, so you need a lot of room for them to dart about in, or you could end up wth some damaged gar beaks, resulting in death.

Other fish to consider could be:

- Geophagus
- Clown loches


I had the same problem with my 120gallon tank, trying to find something for the top level of the tank, or shoaling fish.

for the top level I ended up with a flagtail prochilodus, 2 bala sharks. (I know they recommend minimum of 4)



Hope this helps you some what, and I wouldnt buy the fish until you have the tank, as things happen and you may not get the tank, and either end up with dead, or stunted fish, or having to cull them due to not being able to find homes for them, especially the gibby, a hard fish to rehome.

 

[Feral123]

lol, yeah it helps alot.

i bought the needles nose, pleco, and the bichir before i knew that i was going to one day get the 100 gallon tank.

im not going to buy anymore of the large fish until i have the tank cycled and everything.

so i guess ill have to do some rethinking about the stocking and since i like leopards i could probably put it in the 65 gallon and have it live there once i move out the bichir

Oh, and studz, whats a gibby, and yeah i ment needlenose gar

thanks for all your help studz

 

[§tudz]

lol, yeah it helps alot.

i bought the needles nose, pleco, and the bichir before i knew that i was going to one day get the 100 gallon tank.

im not going to buy anymore of the large fish until i have the tank cycled and everything.

so i guess ill have to do some rethinking about the stocking and since i like leopards i could probably put it in the 65 gallon and have it live there once i move out the bichir

Oh, and studz, whats a gibby, and yeah i ment needlenose gar

thanks for all your help studz

a gibby is also known as a Sailfin Plec or Gibbiceps Plec (Glyptoperichthys gibbiceps)

Glad to help

 

[Feral123]

ah, now the mystery is solved.

well i think that i can instead put the leopard, the needlenose gar and the two peacock eels in the 65 gallon. since after looking at my stocking plan i do realize that it might be a little cramped

and i looked at the clown loaches you suggested and if they grow to about a foot and need to be kept in groups, how many would fit in a 100 gallon? or would they be completely out of the quesion?

and also, is it still too crowded if the stocking of 2 senegals, 1 african brown knifefish, and one sailfin (unless i am somehow able to rehome him)?

 

[§tudz]

I have 4 Clownloachs in my 120gallon, they take around 30yrs to grow to there full size of around 14-16".

I would say the tank isnt big enough for the gibby though.

if you get a proper list of what you want to house in there we can see what would and wouldnt fit in

 

[Feral123]

ok, well the sailfin is still only like 2 inches so i can still take him back to the store

What im thinking of right now to get is this:

2x Senegal Bichirs
4x Clown Loaches
1x African Knifefish
3x Pictus Catfish

and so the needlenose gar, leopard ctenopoma, and the two peacock eels would be good in the 65 gallon???

 

[§tudz]

sounds good to me, you still have room for some other fish, maybe two P. delhezi?

 

[Feral123]

ooooooooo, i do, i would love another bichir. oh this is gonna be fun finding some more fish

now im gonna figure out what else i can put in the 65 gallon

and thank you so much for all your help studz, youve been a great help