Can I add another Catfish?

[MarlonnekeW]

Hi everybody,

I have a 80cm/125L aquarium with a female L144 and 14 Corydoras panda. (I never planned to keep so many, but I had a problem in my other aquarium containing my baby cory's, so the only solution was to put a few very little ones in this aquarium. Because they were very young, the chance that they would all survive was very slim, but they miraculously did. So I ended up with 14. Because they are a tight group now, I decided that they could all stay together and I will just have to adjust the rest of the population.)

At the moment, I'm considering possible tank mates. I could add a schooling fish, but I could also add a pair or harem and leave room for another small L-number, for example a L201 or L104/162/panaque maccus. Because I'm not really a schooling fish person and really like my L144, the latter could be the better option for me.
Because I've never had L-numbers before, I find it hard to determine if this is a good idea or not, so I hope you can help me with this.

Do I have too many cory's to add another L-number, or will this be no problem? My L144 is very friendly towards the cory's; they eat side-by-side and share the same hiding spots. What L-number would be suitable? I don't want to add another Ancistrus, because there's always a chance this will be a male and I'll end up with a lot of babies (which I don't want).

Thank you very much for your help!

Cheers Marlonneke

[Thomas]

You don't have too many panda's in it but don't add 1 extra
Imo, Panaque Maccus suits perfect !

Thomas

[bekateen]

You don't have too many panda's in it but don't add 1 extra
Imo, Panaque Maccus suits perfect !

I want to know more about your tank before recommending a specific fish. I'm operating under the assumption that your bristlenose and pandas are happy and healthy, so issues of water condition/quality shouldn't be a problem. What are the decorations (substrate, driftwood, plants, etc.)?

All other factors being okay, I agree with Thomas:

Panaqolus maccus

would go well in your tank. Just be aware it's a wood eater, so provide some driftwood for it to munch on. Also, you should know that if you get only one (or even 2 or 3), in my experience that means you will almost never see these fish. They prefer to hide in the daytime and they are very easily startled; if they are moving around the tank and you come close, they will quickly swim to a safe hiding place.

I suppose I would alter my advice in this way: If you want to have fish that you will see often, don't buy P. maccus.

Cheers, Eric

[MarlonnekeW]

Thanks for the quick answers.

I was typing a description of my aquarium, but I guess a photo is easier ;).


The substrate is sand. The Echinodorus on the right has grown a lot, so the leaves are providing extra hiding spots and the Pogostemon helferi in front I just taken out today because it was almost completely gone. Next to it is a little cave/bridge made of slate. On the left is a big piece of spiderwood, shaped like a sort of cave, with a lot of free bottom space but also a lot of cover. The breeding tunnel in the middle is still vacant; my L144 never uses it. The little red and orange creatures are shrimp.
My plan is to buy at least one additional peace of wood in the form of a branch, that I can put vertically at the back of the aquarium.

I looked at the Panaqolus maccus because it doesn't need high temperatures. The temperature now is around 24°C, in the summer 25°C. Are there other species that are a similar size and will do fine around 24-25°C?

[MarlonnekeW]

The situation has changed a bit.
At the moment, my L144/Ancistrus sp4 has the bottom space all to herself. I decided to sell all my juvenile Corydoras panda and not keep them myself. Because in short, (in my opinion) there was a big chance that they would start breeding and that baby cory's would survive in the aquarium. I don't have the space for more panda's, I don't have enough room for a big enough separate breeding tank and I don't want to disturb my aquarium every few weeks/months because I have to catch/take out the baby panda's so I can sell them.

In this new situation, is it a good idea to add one (or more) L-numbers and if I do, are there species that will be active/visible? Or will the other fish be hardly visible, because there's an active Ancistrus in the aquarium?

I've changed the aquarium a bit by adding another piece of spiderwood and placing a cave/tunnel under each piece of wood.

Edit: I was at my Local Fish store today to pick up a new schooling fish, and they recommended the Peckoltia vittata/L015 as a possible tankmate for my Ancistrus. Would that be possible in a 80cm/32inch, 125L/33G aquarium or is that a bad idea?