Tankmate Suggestions Pls

[Hunterprey]

Hey can use some suggestions on fish to add. I just recently purchased a 120g tank 60" X 18" X 26"(height) Current inhabitants are 4" Silver Datnoid, 4" RTBS, 4" Blood Parrot Cichlid, two 6" synos, 4" midnight catfish, 5.5 inch Albino Senegal, 6" Retropinnis bichir and 3.5" BN pleco.

Been fishkeeping for two years and my fish have been together for 10 months. Would like some top/mid dweller thats quite active and not nocturnal. and preferably not aggressive. Im interested in fish like African Butterfly fish, Gangetic leaf fish (Nandus Nandus), Leopard Ctenopoma, Blue Acara. Will any of these fish be a good addition to my tank? Any other suggestions are welcome Thnx

 

[botiaboy]

I think that when all your inhabitants are full grown that tank will be overstocked.... dats and bichers get to over a foot long. Im not positive but that seems a bit much for a 120 IMO. In any case, if you want a schooling fish to fil up the middle and top that wont get eaten, congo tetras are great... I have them in my 150, they are a big deep bodied tetra and they prettymuch fill up the center of my tank, I have a doxen of them.

 

[Wills]

First of all BRILLIANT choice of fish I am actually drooling at the thought of some of them!! And also amazing on the Silver Dat! I had always thought they all got to like 2 foot but just found out the Silvers max out at 12 inches which is a pretty manageable size really may have to do some more reading on them

What kind of Synos are they? I love the Decorus Synos atm they are great!

For additions the butterfly fish might work but could get pestered, the Leaf fish is often hard to get off live food. The Ctenopoma would work though.

With the Blue Acara I would possibly go up a level and possibly go for a Green Terror? In a predator tank like that I think it would fit in pretty well, though you might have to watch that the GT does not push the polys around too much.

I am quite biased with cichlids and would suggest Severums to anyone with a tank over 300 liters And I reckon a pair of Rotkiels would look stunning in that tank.

Wills

 

[Hunterprey]

Thanks a lot for the responses!

@botiaboy
I added all theyre max length and it comes to 70-75 inches which still leaves some more room for other fish I think. Silver Dat max at 12" albino senegal normally max at 9-10 inches n rarely reach 12"(from what I heard) Retropinnis max at 14" I believe. Thnx for the suggestion, I like the unique tail fin of the congo tetras, will check them out at my LFS

@ Wills
Thnx Wills, Im quite surprised how they all get on fine, only aggression is mainly during feeding time. Silver Dats have quite some personality. Good eyesight too, I wave from a distance and is the only one among my fish to turn around, greet me n approach the front of the tank they seem to be more active on dim lighting. I recommend it.

I have multipunctatus X featherfin syno hybrids.

I should have grabbed the 3.5" Ctenopoma when I saw it, prolly gone now. I'll see if I can work something out with the butterfly n leaf fish. If not then I'll just look for something else instead.

I like the Green Terror, just afraid it might terrorize my polys, thats why i thought of adding the less aggressive Blue Acara. Will check out the Severums n Rokteils. I think I saw some red spotted severums at my LFS. Thnx for all the suggestions

Im not really in a rush to add some new tankmates, will have to think long and hard, just learning from past experiences right now I like all the swimming spaces that they enjoy.

Heres a vid of some my fish btw, when they were still in the 50g

 

[Davo86]

Hey can use some suggestions on fish to add. I just recently purchased a 120g tank 60" X 18" X 26"(height) Current inhabitants are 4" Silver Datnoid, 4" RTBS, 4" Blood Parrot Cichlid, two 6" synos, 4" midnight catfish, 5.5 inch Albino Senegal, 6" Retropinnis bichir and 3.5" BN pleco.

Been fishkeeping for two years and my fish have been together for 10 months. Would like some top/mid dweller thats quite active and not nocturnal. and preferably not aggressive. Im interested in fish like African Butterfly fish, Gangetic leaf fish (Nandus Nandus), Leopard Ctenopoma, Blue Acara. Will any of these fish be a good addition to my tank? Any other suggestions are welcome Thnx

IMO Nandus Nandus could work in this setup, Watching your video of the dat reminds me so much of the Nandus both in body shape and movement, Personally I have never had a problem feeding mine, and have even got them fully acclimatized to eating Hikaris food sticks (once designed for arowanas etc)

Another suggestion maybe an eel type species that max's at around 12-18", something like a Peacock Eel or similar Spiny Eel

Personally wouldn't go for anything too aggressive though, as Dats can be quite timid IME and a dominant Gt for example could easily cause a young Dat to hide away

 

[Hunterprey]

Thnx Davo, it was actually after reading your article and looking up pics and videos of Nandus Nandus that really got me interested in this fish. I think theyre very nice looking n interesting fish. Ive never seen them at my LFS, but I'll try to learn more about them n hopefully they become available.

Theres a Spiny Eel that I like that might work in my tank, the Black spotted Spiny Eel, they seem hard to find and also Im looking for some fish to fill the middle n top, so im undecided about the Eel, as much as I want the Spiny Eel.

I agree w/ you about adding aggressive fish, I fear for my Dat n Polys, I like the peace in my tank at the moment, my most aggressive fish is the Blood Parrot, and shes not even that aggressive Im afraid my BN pleco might become a snack in the future, hopefully not, I might have to get Gold nugget pleco instead if I have to. Thnx for your input

 

[Hunterprey]

How about adding Firemouth Cichlids in my tank, will that be a good addition? There are some 4" Firemouths @ my LFS

 

[MBOU]

Nice choice of fish!! I adore Dats but im not allowed to get them in *sighs mournfully* not enough customers with big enough tanks!

I have a Nandus Nandus in one of my tanks (with me ex now ) called Mr Nandy lol. He is a gorgeous fish but epically boring though! They are *really* shy fish, they come out alright.... for food.... but mostly just hide behind wood and plants! Ctenopoma arent a huge ammount better, they hang around the edges, wont swim up and down and despite being anabantoids, they dont stay near the top much.

Your tanks a good size... im trying to think what would be big enough... panchax and hatchets would be food LOL, aros would get big and eat everything...

Anableps? Butterflys are a good idea though! An eel would look fantastic in there! Or a large knife fish, everyone has black ghosts knifefish and i fine them a bit boring now, i have a lovely African Knife Fish and he is much more active!

 

[Hunterprey]

Thnx MBOU

Maybe I shouldnt bother with the Nandus or Ctenopoma then, they look similar to my Dat, but it appears Dats are more active.

Yeah would be nice to have Panchax as top dwellers, but I think theyll just get eaten. Would love to have an Arowana someday tho. I might get a 150/180 gallon one day. Funny thing about upgrading tank size, it doesnt take long for them to look small, once u get used to them I was originally planning to upgrade to just a 75g, Im glad I went for a 120g instead, I think its a good size. The moving part wasnt fun tho

I looked up anableps, never heard of them b4. They have four eyes? They said theyre brackish tho from what I read, plus never seen them on my LFS. I might still get a Spiny Eel if a Black spotted Eel becomes available or a Delhezi. African Knifefish is usually available, I do like the way they swim. Im going to our LFS this weekend, so thnx to all suggested fish, I will check them out.

 

[Hunterprey]

Just got back from my LFS, there are some fish that I was interested. There are some Blue lyretail Emperor Tetras, Giant Danios, Red Jewel Cichlid, and Gold Spot Pleco.

Will any of these fish do well in my tank? Will a school of the said Tetras or Danios be big enough not to get eaten? Will the jewel cichlid grow big enough n not be over agressive? I think Im getting the Gold Spot Pleco to replace BN pleco n Midnight Catfish, cuz Im afraid theyll get eaten eventually. Thnx

 

[Davo86]

IMO the cats should be ok, an when you consider how big a gold spot will get (depending on what species it actually is (potential 15"-24") I'd stick to what you have or maybe add another medium sized pleco that gets to about 9" or so (Rusty Plec perhaps).

The tetras wouldn't last long with the dat and polys and in this instance I'd say the Giant Danios would be best left - at present I'm sure the setup is quite graceful and peaceful to watch but with the boisterous Danios whizzing around the whole dynamics of the tank would rapidly change IMO,

I'd still stick with the Nandus idea tbh, mine are full of character and when I am in the tank room they are always around the front of the tank,

IMO Reedfish, knifes, African Butterflys or maybe even a small group of adult Panchax could all work in this type of setup IMO

 

[Hunterprey]

First of all thanks to ur responses Davo, u've been very helpful.

TBH I really like to get the Nandus, theyre beautiful fish, and the African butterfly fish, just kinda worried about the Butterfly might not work. I'll put lots of floating plants if I have to. I'll save room for these 2 fish in my tank.

I thought the Gold Spot pleco L001, L022 only gets to like 11inches, I saw a 6" @ my LFS, if it gets to 15" or more then i wont get it. Looked up Rusty pleco, theyre nice! Thnx, another option Im thinking is Rhino pleco.

It seems the Nandus have the same behaviour as my Dat, usually in front of the tank n lots of character. All my fish finally adjusted to their new home and been swimming n exploring the tank more, took them almost 2 weeks.

It would be nice to get Panchax to fill the top level of my tank, hopefully my Dat n Polys be nice to them, or theyll be dinner Im really trying to decide carefully cuz I kinda hate returning fish All the responses n suggestions are much appreciated. Thnx!

I'll post a quick video tomorrow maybe.

 

[Hunterprey]

I was debating between Black Ghost or African Gray knife fish. I decided im gonna get an African gray knife fish instead. Thnx for the suggestion, I chose the African since theyre less shy, plus they stay a bit smaller. I was looking for Rotkeils too but we never really get them said the store manager.

I saw this Madagascar starry night Cichlid @ LFS paratilapia polleni/bleekeri not sure which. Stunning fish, from what I read theyre pretty peaceful for a cichlid. Anybody had experience with this fish? I might get a female since they stay smaller. Female around 6 inches and male around 11 inches.

I was thinking, if its not pushing it, maybe add an Oscar eventually when all my fish reach a good size, cuz Oscars grows really fast. What potential problems could I encounter in the future adding this fish? I never owned one before, but i heard theyre like the dogs of the aquarium it sounds interesting. Which one of my tank inhabitants would I risk losing/stressing if I add an Oscar? I heard theyre not very aggressive for a cichlid. If its too risky i might just forget it then. Thnx.

Heres video of my tank BTW so far
kinda full shot view.

A bit closer view

 

[Davo86]

They are two very nice synos I must say, and should i dare ask what happened to the clown barbs (i think thats what they are?)

I think the polleni would be a great addition, they're not overly aggressive for a fish of that size and should fit well with your other tankmates,

Not too sure on the oscar if i'm honest, you have the space and it may work well, but if it were me I'd go for something more along the lines of a Gold/Red spot Severum or a Chocolate cichlid or maybe even another Dat species such as a Microlepsis

 

[Hunterprey]

Thnx. There are 2 Arulius barbs, I grabbed 2 and was planning on adding 2 more 2 weeks after. Unfortunately 1 of them was swimming sideways when I got them and my Midnight Catfish ate him Im just returning the other one. It wasnt big enough yet for my tank. Theres an adult Arulius @ my LFS but it was on their display tank, not for sale.

The Synos are very active and pretty much swim all day, it seemed like they paired up. Its great to hear that the Polleni would work, they always stare right at me when I pass by their tank @ my LFS stunning fish. I'll grab a 3" one this weekend.

Funny that u mentioned Red Severum. Cause theres juvenile Red spot Severums and Oscars @ my LFS and debating on which one to get. Just heard Oscars have quite a personality, which interest me. Or even might just add a Microlepis, I'll look them up. Im afraid that Oscar might eat my RTBS or Synos when he gets older, if I get one, or even constantly fight with my parrot cichlid or polleni. How are Severums for personality?

For now Im gonna grab the Polleni n Fluval FX5 this weekend to run with my Rena XP3 so that would give me around 1300 gph water turnover. I'll give my Midnight Cat n BN pleco to my LFS so I'll be left with:

Silver Dat, Blood Parrot, RTBS, 2 Synos, Albino Senegal, Retropinnis Bichir, Polleni (this weekend), African knife (getting 1 in 2 weeks), Medium sized pleco(still looking)

Possibly add a Red spot Severum, Oscar, Microlepis or maybe just dont add anything anymore. I can see myself upgrading to 150/180 gallon in the future. I was originally just gonna upgrade to a 75g n thought that would be the biggest tank I'll get, I ended up with a 120g Thnx for all the help Davo, u've been much more than a great help.

Cheers!