Which fish would YOU add

[Beastije]

I know, I am here again, I just cant decide

I lost my last sewellia, which concludes my sewellia keeping experiment, since I obviously do something wrong. Even though the tank was made for them, looks perfect for them, one would expect them to thrive, they do not. I am done debating why, I expect it is food related or conditions in the tank however it is all a guess work. This however means I do not want these fish or any similar type of fish that could have the same issue (hara jerdoni, Gastromyzon, borneo suckers,...)

The tank is missing something in my eye. I have few options:

1. some sort of pleco/loricaria just to fill in the bottom of the tank void
2. another shoaling fish (odessa barb, some danio like choprae or even a different choice)
3. some loach - rosy loaches, Yunnanilus cruciatus (zebra/stripped/hovering loach) or Yunnanilus brevis (inle loach) are available. I do not know much about them, I do not have the sandy substrate but small pebbles and the sand underneath, not sure what the like

110x40x45cm, temp max 26C, lowest 19C, some degree of flow. I cant remember to make a picture at night, so a quick glare filled snapshot during the day it is
40 white cloud mountain minnows, 7 panda garra, hundreds of shrimp, one brotia pagodula snail

Please tell me what would you add. I know I keep asking, I am looking for the perfect fit and nothing is coming up in my mind

 

[Colin_T]

What is the GH (general hardness), KH (carbonate hardness) and pH of your water supply?
This information can usually be obtained from your water supply company's website (Water Analysis Report) or by telephoning them. If they can't help you, take a glass full of tap water to the local pet shop and get them to test it for you. Write the results down (in numbers) when they do the tests. And ask them what the results are in (eg: ppm, dGH, or something else).

 

[GaryE]

Add nothing.

If you're unsure what you want, you'll just be jamming up space for when you discover what you'd really like to keep in there. There's nothing worse than being overstocked with fish you've put in on other people's advice when you find something you don't know about now, but that really interests you when the possibility opens up.

There's no rush, and lots of time to explore.

 

[Beastije]

What is the GH (general hardness), KH (carbonate hardness) and pH of your water supply?
This information can usually be obtained from your water supply company's website (Water Analysis Report) or by telephoning them. If they can't help you, take a glass full of tap water to the local pet shop and get them to test it for you. Write the results down (in numbers) when they do the tests. And ask them what the results are in (eg: ppm, dGH, or something else).

My water supplier says the following:
pH is 7,6 but whenever I tested I got closer to 7, in my tank filled with wood I get under 7
GH 1,06 mmol/l, Calcium is 29 mg/l and no iron. It doesnt show me the KH, conductivity is super soft, 32,7 mS/m

 

[Beastije]

Add nothing.

If you're unsure what you want, you'll just be jamming up space for when you discover what you'd really like to keep in there. There's nothing worse than being overstocked with fish you've put in on other people's advice when you find something you don't know about now, but that really interests you when the possibility opens up.

There's no rush, and lots of time to explore.

So agreed! The tank has been running for a year and eight months, and even if I decide on something, it wont be purchased until August. However I have been feeling like it has been missing something for a while, I added the other batch of normal colored minnows to make a color difference last september, I added shrimp in december, I lost the last sewellia which I tried for the last time and purchased in october. I am in no way going to rush a decision, but I am even unsure which way to lean right now. I was always against another shoaling fish, since I assumed there isnt enough space, but what if that would work really well?

 

[Magnum Man]

Nice looking tank... I love my Hillstreams... & while I had Pandas in there as well, I don't have any plecos in that tank, as all the fish are Asian... lots of things to consider, as the problem, & some may be something you can't do anything about... Water... yup, needs to be "right" not just low ammonia, & the normal tank parameters, but must also be highly oxygenated... I see some filter hoses, but no "spillway" that would add oxygen at the surface... I have 2 Tidal 75's on my tank of similar size... I don't personally feel the filter itself matters, as long as it's adequate for the tank, & bio load... besides having those two filters, I have 2-10 inch air bars under the gravel along the back of the tank ( bubble waterfalls ), & at any given time, you can see at least 50% of the Hillstreams somewhere in the bubble stream... they love the water movement and oxygenation... food??? assume you tried feeding some Repashi Soilient Green... that stuff is made for fish like that... I even add a shaker bottle of Bacter AE to supplement the biofilm that grows in my tank...
... and then there is a very good possibility that they could suffer from the same lack of gut bacteria as Oto's do, as they basically eat the same thing, & have been handled the same from suppliers & wholesalers...

you could maybe try something else in the loach family... a group of Coolies maybe??? maybe a Goby of some kind???

 

[Beastije]

I added an airstone that ran 7am to 10pm (was too noisy to run at night) in October when I added the last batch of sewellia. I dose bacter AE for the shrimplets and for the growth every other week or so, repashy green once every two weeks, spirulina tablets, fed at nighttime few times a week, some flake food, live food (bbs, microworms), vegetables,... I never had a sewellia last for me for more than 6 months. BTW mine never did sit in the bubbles, they would graze on stones, sit on stones, on the glass, in the open, not shy, would even fight the garras for food and I would take care to feed the bloodworms and so in a way they could eat it too, given how gluttonous the minnows are.

I have kuhli loaches in my other tank, also very boisterous and I will be increasing their numbers since half didnt survive quarantine (ich, fungus, you name it, never had such loses except otos), since the other tank has sand and this one doesnt. But I am looking at the rosy/inle/stripped loaches, just dont think they will like the stones/flow either, doing more research