Glass cats tankmates

Nicole29 · Post by **Nicole29** » 20 Jun 2006, 22:11

Has anyone had experience keeping Dwarf Neon Rainbowfish and Glass Cats (K.minor) together? Would they be compatible tankmates? If not, what would be better (it's a 33g tank)?

snowball · Post by **snowball** » 21 Jun 2006, 00:50

Those rainbows (praecox) should be fine, in fact I think even larger rainbows would not show any interest in the glass cats.

Fish to avoid would be the more boisterous barbs such as tigers, rosys etc, as they may try to nip at the glass cat's wiskers.

Nicole29 · Post by **Nicole29** » 21 Jun 2006, 03:46

ok..thanks for the reply
one more question...how many of glass cats should I keep??

Post by **Silurus** » 21 Jun 2006, 03:51

At least 6. The more the better, as they fare poorly in small numbers.

sidguppy · Post by **sidguppy** » 21 Jun 2006, 15:44

yup.
if your tank isn't too small and your wallet can take it, try 15-25 or so!
most people who know Glasscats are shoalers keep, say, 5-8 or so.
and then the cats still just hang around in the tank wobbling under a plantleaf or something. wich can be quite boring after a while.....

you put a fair bit of current in the tank and buy 20-25 Glasscats and it's a whole different ballgame!

Nicole29 · Post by **Nicole29** » 21 Jun 2006, 18:51

do you think this would be an ok setup:

1 male Betta
6 Glass cats
6 Neon Dwarf Rainbows
6 Corys

are those numbers ok? would I have room for more fish (say a group of tetras or a Ram or 2)?

if I end up overstocking a bit, that's ok as I plan to do large weekly water changes if necessary

any other stocking suggestions are welcome...thanks for the help so far

sidguppy · Post by **sidguppy** » 21 Jun 2006, 19:41

Skip that awful Betta.
male Betta's are notoriously bad tempered, they can and do nip and terrorize fragile tankmates when given the oppertunity.

for similar reasons: NO cichlids, not even Rams.
and less species and more fish per species is something I'd tried to explain.
forgo the third shoaler (tetra's or so) and add numbers to both praecox and glasscats.

33G...that would be close to 120 liters or so?
I'd do 5 Cory's, 10 glasscats and 10 praecox. might be a high number, but all fish are small (esp in biomass) and peaceful; you might think about adding 1 baby Bristlenose for algae-control.

and get yourself a nice, small Corydoras. C similis or C metae or something. no big fat aeneus.

Nicole29 · Post by **Nicole29** » 14 Jul 2006, 01:54

thanks for the suggestion...do you think this would work

-10 Glasscats
-6 Rainbow Praecox
-2 Bolivian Rams
-4 corys or 3 loaches

MatsP · Post by **MatsP** » 20 Jul 2006, 02:42

I think what Sidguppy was trying to say was to have a bigger group of a each species, rather than having more different fish.

Bolivian Rams are just as bad as the Blue/German Rams when it comes to nipping fins and such, and if you have a pair, they may well want territory to spawn and that will cause territorial aggresion towards other fish in the tank...

Loaches come in all sorts of sizes and temperament. Some are most likely fine with the rest of your fish, other will either be too aggressive or outgrow the size of your tank. So specify what loach you're after...

--
Mats

snowball · Post by **snowball** » 20 Jul 2006, 04:17

I think I may have been subconciously influenced by this thread...

A couple of weeks ago I moved all my corydoras out of the big display and into a four-footer that was intended to be a conditioning tank just for them. After moving them out of the busy and brightly lit tank (full of brochis and some big characins) where they would previously spend most of the day lined up along the front of the tank, in their new dimly lit tank they immediately became very shy and scattered as soon as anyone went near.

I did expect this would probably happen, but not to such an extent, so I added some dither fish - a dozen giant danios. They did help a bit, but because they spend most of their time in the upper few inches, I don't think the corys really knew they were there. So what could fill the gap and help reassure the corys? Why a dozen glass cats, of course! But the group spread themselves out rather thinly so another dozen is in order methinks. Sidguppy is right about their behaviour in large groups, the interaction between individuals is fascinating to watch.

Also finding its way into this tank is a small Black Lancer, adding to the Asian theme, and I am now considering moving the corys out and replacing them with my school of 15 Botia sidthimunki, which would complete the bio-type quite nicely imo.

evercl92 · Post by **evercl92** » 21 Jul 2006, 18:08

I have 7 glass cats and and 6 bosemani rainbows toghether in my 55 gal. I also have 3 yoyo loaches, 3 green corydoras, red tail shark and noone really messes with anyone else.

mokmu · Post by **mokmu** » 02 Aug 2006, 17:44

Be careful with that Black Lancer. You should always put them with really delicate fish. Don't put them with anything that darts around the tank. Even if the fish you are putting do not fin-nip or bite, it would be best to keep them away from the Lancer. It's like they have a heart attack or something. Extremely delicate.

That also goes the same for water quality. They are less tolerant of changes in water chemistry. Once there is an imbalance, all your other fish maybe okay but your Lancer will not be enjoying it.

Regards,
Mike D.