Question: looking for community fish

[Aldric]

hi Ive recently got a new 50 gal tank, it was second hand so has had to have a good cleaning ( the person that sold it couldnt have ever cleaned his filter cos it was full of sludge)
anyway its all set up now and im wondering which fish to put in there
im going to be adding the bristlenose from the old and smaller tank i have ( 3 of them) and i was thinking about a few other bottom dwellers ( not sure which ) and i was going to put a few male guppies in there
the tank has ornaments ( cave like )and a few live plants so there wil be hideing places for the bottom dwellers ive also used sand instead of gravel
the typ of comunity fish i would like are colourfull ( hence the male guppies)

I was looking in my LFS and saw a few oscers and was wondering if they made good comunity fish

the pic ive included shows the size and some of the things im putting in it tho since the pic was taken ive added the sand and plants and a few other things plus i have a nice peice of bogwood im currently boiling that has a nice hideing place under it

[AlyeskaGirl]

Hello, nice tank! A single Oscar requires a minimum of 55 gals. They get huge and will eat smaller fish.

I recommend not to put your Bristlenose in until there is algae available and of course feeding algae wafers and blanched fresh veggies.

Do you want small schooling fish like Tetras? For the bottom you could do 3-5 Kuhlii Loachs and 3-5 Corys. You have sand so those fish would be great in your tank! The Corys are active, always lurkin around looking for food.

http://www.elmersaquarium.com/c106community2.htm

[gunner13]

Hello m8. Clown loaches are cool bottom dwelling schooling fish and are non aggresive as well as colourfull, but they can get quite big. 3 or 4 are usually good together. Also a couple of pictus catfish are fun too have in a tank and in my previous experience they are also non aggressive.

[Aldric]

how big do clown loaches grow to ?

[bolivianbaby]

My research says 8.5-10.5", but you may want to wait for someone with clown loach experience to give you a more accurate idea. A lot of fish grow larger than what is shown in profiles because they're in better homes.

[jdhef]

The profile on this site says they grow to 12"

[Aldric]

ok crosses clown loach off his list.
are there any small loaches? or other small species like the loach and bristlenose that are bottom dwellers?

[kloseo]

what about yo yos they get to about 4 inches and are pretty cool looking

[peacemaker92]

Hi Aldric! Guppies should do fine with a school of Cory's! I think the other members have good advice above. Good luck!

[Aldric]

the only loaches i can seem to find r the clown ones

[Aldric]

well ive got my tank all ready and thought i would post a update pic of it

I hope you like

[bolivianbaby]

NICE! I like it. It's pretty Good job.

[Lucy]

It looks great. Love the volcano. lol

[Aldric]

hehehe

[btate617]

Your tank looks nice!

Good thing you went away from the clown loaches, they have the potential to get up to 16" , although this take a long time to achieve, and prefer to be in groups so a large tank is needed.
YoYo's are cool and only get up to about 5" or so I believe.
Google different types of freshwater loaches, there are a lot more out there than you may think.

Brian

[Aldric]

true there arew lots of diff loaches but it comes down to what i can get. ebay only has the clown loaches my lfs only has clown loaches so i may have to think of a diff bottom dweller like say a cory cat or something like that as long as they also dont grow to big

[redlessi]

I have 5 cories and they dont get too big maybe around 2-3 inc a piece. The keep the bottom of the tank clean and have great personalities.............

[CDA]

You're tank is awesome, the volcano is great too. Good luck with it.

[Borisbbadd]

Nice looking tank.

Corys are cool,
good little cleaners, that stay small, and are alot of fun to watch.

[Aldric]

ok thats the bottom of the tank sorted just need some fish for the rest of the tank to go with 5 male guppies

[Borisbbadd]

Harliquins are nice,

They are pretty, and school really well together........

[Aldric]

what sort of size do they get to?

[Borisbbadd]

About 1 3/4 inches.

[aquarium dunce]

I just got some cardinal tetras... they are very colorful and pretty.