PlanetCatfish.com

Hi All,

Just found this site while researching Cats and it's an awesome place!

I've just been given a 55Gal (240L) tank and in short time have caught the fish bug...again.

So now I'm planning away, and probably in need of good advice or temperment of my expectations. My experience is with 25gal tanks, and that was a few years back.

Being an old fan of Loricarridae, I'd like to add some flavors when water matures and I get some biomass, so here goes my wish-list, please comment if you see any problems/suggestions with community as a whole:


- 1-2 Gold Nugget's (Baryancistrus sp. L-81)
- 1-2 King Tiger's (Hypancistrus sp. L-66)
- 1 Royal (Panaque Nigrolineatus L-190)
- 1-2 Mega Snowball (Baryancistrus sp L-248)
- 1-2 Leopard Frog (Peckoltia sp. L-134)
- 1 Spotted Gibber (Ptoperichthys Gibbiceps L-196)

- 2-4 Firemouth's (Cichlisoma Meeki)
- 2-4 [Eartheater]Demon's (Geophagus Jurupari)

- 4-6 Zebra Danio's (Brachydanio rerio)
- 4-6 Neon/Rainbow Tetra's (Paracheirodon innesi/axelrodi)

- Live vegetation (haven't researched appropriate species)

- Plenty of wood
- Plenty of rocks, pvc pipe's, clay pots, etc. for shelters
- Combo fine sand/gravel and larger gravel
- UG filter with appropriate powerheads
- Outside filter with dual bio wheels (350-400+)

I'll pick above species very young (except for the Danio's/Tetra's) and ideally (fantasy land), after sexing, could end up with one pair of Firemouth's and one pair of Jurupari's, along with one or two pairs of loricarrid's (small one's) and a few solo's. The Royal Panaque and Spotted Gibber will probably have to go once they grow up, but that takes some time and I can easily find a good home when the time comes.

So what do you think? Is it overkill, too many cat's, or an all out rumble waiting to explode? Of course, water quality will need to be continually monitored, but I plan to way over filter the tank.

I'd appreciate any advice you have to offer.

Thank you!
-Jack

marops wrote:- 1 Royal (Panaque Nigrolineatus L-190)
...
- 1 Spotted Gibber (Ptoperichthys Gibbiceps L-196)

Not only will these get very large (in the gibby's case quite quickly), you can forget about live plants if you don't want them turning into a tasty treat. Royals also tend to go through wood very quickly, producing a lot of shavings and waste. It doesn't really hit water quality, but will choke filters easily. Cleaning filters will be required frequently, often only going for a few days before the need to take it apart arises.

marops wrote:- Combo fine sand/gravel and larger gravel

Not a good idea. Use one or the other, or else you will find that the larger stuff will sort to the top, compacting the finer grains underneath, which may lead to problems. IMO, go with fine gravel.

Rusty

Thanks, Rusty!

I like the fine gravel too; just never used it before. The Jurupari's sift that stuff all day long, and I'm reading some other posts regarding Loricariids enjoying the same...so fine gravel throughout it is...

As I'm digging deeper into the archive's here, I see that the Royal's do enjoy eating up the plants, so maybe dropping that from the list may be smart. But they're so damn cool looking...I'll dig around and see if there's any plants worth installing that they don't chew to pieces.

My last Gibby took about a year to reach 6" or so. I wouldn't mind one big Pleco, if it'd fit, and I'm trying to keep the other species on the small side (4-6")

Thanks again, Rusty.
-Jack

- 2-4 [Eartheater]Demon's (Geophagus Jurupari)

more than likely eat:

- 4-6 Zebra Danio's (Brachydanio rerio)
- 4-6 Neon/Rainbow Tetra's (Paracheirodon innesi/axelrodi)

- 2-4 Firemouth's (Cichlisoma Meeki)

Would prefere a harder water set up compared with your other choices, they will compromise but still i would stick to one pair, as there is not that much territory in a 55gallon

heh, and in the royal's case will very likely be a nasty fish too, my luck with cleaning up after him has been better, the sawdust tends to stay in the compacted sawdust logs he leaves behind... but you need to siphon them out all the time

Thanks, Magnum.

I had the 2xFiremouth/2xJurupari combo a few years back in a 29 Gal tank and they seemed to get along well. The Firemouth's were breeding, although the Jurupari's never got around to it. However, they were all only about 4" long. I was hoping to do the same with the 55. It's the only tank I got, so I'll need to start with a few fish from each species until I'm able to sex them.

Jurupari's seemed to be pretty mellow, but since I'll get them small, it'll take a while for them to grow up enough to eat the dithers. Guess I'll cross that bridge when I get to it.

-J

So the Royal's are a handfull, eh?

How abuot the number of Pleco's I have in mind? Is it too ambitious?

'Course it all sounds fun on paper...but once I go searching for the species, and end up with a similar looking but potentially large growing breed, things'll get interesting...

I have been studying alot of cat info for future tanks and found that Gold Nuggets tend not to play well with other nuggets and not real well with other bottom dwellers. I woud say to go with the small Pl*cos than a couple of the monsters if you want the blend. Just my 1 cent worth cuz it may not be worth 2 cents...lol.

- Live vegetation (haven't researched appropriate species)

this should get you started:
http://www.tropica.com/default.asp