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I have read a ton of books from the library and done dozens of hours of research on the net, and I am getting ready to set in stone what I want for my aquarium setup. There are some questions I have, that I can find no answers to. Some of these are not catfish specific, but I feel this is a forum with knowledgeable people so I hope I can get some answers. I would cut this up into multiple threads but I don't want to spam.

I've decided on a 125 or 120 gal tank if not a little larger, I think tihs would be large enough for what I intend to keep but if not I'd like to be told that.

I'm planning to keep live plants so if theres a certain kind of plant I should consider due to a species, I would like to know about that. Also I am looking for suggestions of substrate.

I'm looking at keeping the following species in approximate quantity specified. I need to know if any of these species will disturb each other or have bad reputations I should be aware of. I'll be including notes beside some species with questions, I really need answers to these too.

Australian Rainbowfish (melanotaenia maccullochi/fluviatillis?) - ??3 to 5?? **** are these social/schooling fish? This is sort of important to know before saying how many to keep!

Zebra Danio (Brachydanio Rerio) - 10

Giant Danio (Danio Aequipnnatus) - 5 to 7

Plecostomus (Hypostomus Plecostomus) - 2 or 3? ***** Plecostomus eats algae, most sources say I should feed additional algae wafers since 'there wont be enough to eat in the tank'. If I have a 120+ gallon tank, could a small number of them survive JUST off the algae?

Bala Shark (Balantiochellus Melanopterus) 3-4

Featherfin Syno (Synodontis Eupterus) - Suggestion on how many to have? ***** I have heard this species is a 'digger' I wonder if they dig for caves for protection or what? How should this affect the substrate I give them to work with? Do they enjoy company?

Silver Dollar (Metynnis Argenteus) - 5

Marble Angelfish (Pterophyllum Scalare ssp.) I don't know how many to have? ***** I can't find information if this is a schooling/social fish or not. This is important to know.

Clown Loach (Botia Macracanthuu) - 3 to 5 ***** Loaches apparantly love snails. I am going to be keeping a small quarantine tank which I hope will not be very busy. Would I be able to grow snails in here easily to feed the loaches as a treat? It sounds like many tanks have run into snail problems they can't stop so it sounds like they'd be a no-brainer to grow? Would they need fish in there to grow (do they feed on fish waste?) Is this a stupid idea, setting mysef up for a snail infestation in my large tank?

Pim Pictus (Pimelodus Pictus) - 5 ***** when I see pim pictus at the LFS they are very very active and almost 'manic' it seems. Is this because tehy are stressed and freaked out from not having a place to hide during the daytime; or is this their behavior? In other words, is this a fish I will only see at night?

Lastly are there any things I should be aware of? This is my first aquarium. I've learned all about the nitrogen cycle, don't have a problem buying proper equipment and quarantine and doing things right, and am interested in learning and preparing 100% for this.

I think that about covers it, thanks in advance for people taking the time to read this and respond.

Robert

the idea sounds very cool to me! as im also very new to cats, i cant tell u anything about most species tho. the pimpictus ( im gonna take this fish too). ive seen them in several aquaria and they were always firmly swimming during daytime. this active swimming is not stress, its the species. but as all cats, it shud mainly be night active (so ive read).

rcl wrote:Australian Rainbowfish (melanotaenia maccullochi/fluviatillis?) - ??3 to 5?? **** are these social/schooling fish? This is sort of important to know before saying how many to keep!

They are a shoaling fish, I would go for 7 or more

rcl wrote:Zebra Danio (Brachydanio Rerio) - 10
Giant Danio (Danio Aequipnnatus) - 5 to 7

I would change the Zebra danios for something like Scissortail Rasboras

rcl wrote:pl*costomus (Hypostomus pl*costomus) - 2 or 3? ***** pl*costomus eats algae, most sources say I should feed additional algae wafers since 'there wont be enough to eat in the tank'. If I have a 120+ gallon tank, could a small number of them survive JUST off the algae?

What you want are Ancistrus, as even if you can get Hypostomus instead of the more usually sold Liposarcus/Pterygoplichthys/Glyptopoterichthys they will get big.
Even Ancistrus will potentially damage plants though.

rcl wrote:Bala Shark (Balantiochellus Melanopterus) 3-4

Rule these out completely. As adults they can reach 18" and require a huge aquarium to be correctly housed. Save up and get some Denisoni Barbs! Take a look at Hemiodus/Hemiodopsis as a superb alternative, about 5 would be great.

rcl wrote:Silver Dollar (Metynnis Argenteus) - 5

Guaranteed to destroy any plants.

rcl wrote:Marble Angelfish (Pterophyllum Scalare ssp.) I don't know how many to have? ***** I can't find information if this is a schooling/social fish or not. This is important to know.

Certainly social, but not really shoaling other than when young or unsettled.
What method of filtration are you planning to use?
On the Synos, I'd be more tempted to go for a group of true Upside-Down Cats. They really are delightful, and stay a manageable size.

coelacanth wrote:

rcl wrote:Zebra Danio (Brachydanio Rerio) - 10
Giant Danio (Danio Aequipnnatus) - 5 to 7

I would change the Zebra danios for something like Scissortail Rasboras

Why? Is it personal preference or is there something I should watch out for with Zebra danios?

coelacanth wrote:

rcl wrote:pl*costomus (Hypostomus pl*costomus) - 2 or 3? ***** pl*costomus eats algae, most sources say I should feed additional algae wafers since 'there wont be enough to eat in the tank'. If I have a 120+ gallon tank, could a small number of them survive JUST off the algae?

What you want are Ancistrus, as even if you can get Hypostomus instead of the more usually sold Liposarcus/Pterygoplichthys/Glyptopoterichthys they will get big.
Even Ancistrus will potentially damage plants though.

I don't understand what species you are referring to here. Can you be more specific? Nothing in the cat-elog matches up. I knew initially that the hypostomus get large, but I figure if I have 1 or 2 big ones it wouldn't really be a big deal; as I don't think these guys really need space to move around and all that. Maybe I'm completely wrong, correct me if I am.

coelacanth wrote:

rcl wrote:Bala Shark (Balantiochellus Melanopterus) 3-4

Rule these out completely. As adults they can reach 18" and require a huge aquarium to be correctly housed. Save up and get some Denisoni Barbs! Take a look at Hemiodus/Hemiodopsis as a superb alternative, about 5 would be great.

I can't find anything on the net about Denisoni Barbs. These hemidus/hemiodopsis look really cool - but it seems like they could be rare and/or expensive. I'll have to check out a new LFS I've been meaning to go to, and see if I can't find them there.

coelacanth wrote:

rcl wrote:Silver Dollar (Metynnis Argenteus) - 5

Guaranteed to destroy any plants.

Are there any plants I could try that aren't good tasting to the fish maybe? I'm very interested in keeping these, they look so cool! Since I have picked no plants so far, I could definitely make the plants flexible if it meant being able to keep these.

coelacanth wrote:What method of filtration are you planning to use?

I want to get a powerful external filter, but I still need to hear one of these running. My 2 possible tank locations are directly beside my bed and 2 feet away from the foot of my bed. A gentle hum is no big deal for me, but if it sounds like a diesel generator in my room I may rethink things!!


Another question I forgot about is approximately how much should I be expecting to pay to feed these fish every week? I figure I will do flake and possibly will have to get sinking catfish pellets too. Other than that I don't have any problems preparing beef heart chips and peas/vegetables to supplement; along with worms. Am I looking at more like $3 or 4 a week, or more like $15-20?

Robert

rcl wrote:

coelacanth wrote:

rcl wrote:pl*costomus (Hypostomus pl*costomus) - 2 or 3? ***** pl*costomus eats algae, most sources say I should feed additional algae wafers since 'there wont be enough to eat in the tank'. If I have a 120+ gallon tank, could a small number of them survive JUST off the algae?

What you want are Ancistrus, as even if you can get Hypostomus instead of the more usually sold Liposarcus/Pterygoplichthys/Glyptopoterichthys they will get big.
Even Ancistrus will potentially damage plants though.

I don't understand what species you are referring to here. Can you be more specific? Nothing in the cat-elog matches up. I knew initially that the hypostomus get large, but I figure if I have 1 or 2 big ones it wouldn't really be a big deal; as I don't think these guys really need space to move around and all that. Maybe I'm completely wrong, correct me if I am.

Bristlenose (bushy nosed) plecostomus.

Sounds nice! Here are some advice from me:

Myself, I love these Silverdollars (Methynnis argenteus). But, they eat plants (ref A. Baensch aquarium lexicon, Mergus verlag), and this is the only reason why they are not in my tank (they eat everything! ). I have searched for similar silvery species, and if you can get Tetragonopterus argenteus this is almost similar shape, but smaller (8cm/2inches).

Proposed plants for such a large tank:
Vallisneria americana, V. subulata or V. spiralis (in a corner, building dense grass, where fishes love to hide). Different forms might vary in height. My V. spiralis gets nearly 1m/3ft long!

Red or green tiger Lotus (Nymphaea lotus). Takes a lot of space, but are nice.
Cryptocoryne species. Many species, high and low, which grows steady. Often nice in the foreground. They favour a little loam/clay in the substrate, and there are grey clayballs to put into the soil for this purpose.
Echinodorus are great solitary plants. Another fantastic solitary plant are Aponogeton ulvaceus but that one might not thrive if the temperature is above 25celsius/77Fahrenheit all year.
Sagittaria graminea or similar low varieties are nice foreground plants.
Crinum thaianum (some planted in group) make nice bands/thick grass, eventually floating up to the surface! Nice!

The Melanotaenia are scooling fishes. I would at least keep 8-10. I keep 10 M. bosemani in a tank, and they love showing their colors, competing for the females, and so on. Be sure to get fishes of both sexes, as some only sell the more colorful males, and keeping females for getting more offspring to sell. Only males will only rivalize all the time..

In my 50 gallon tank, two Ple.cos grow well without special care, (they dont touch the wafers), but eat algae and hoover for the food I give the other fishes. Then there are lots of plecos and similar (L-numbers!). If you get for example Panaque species, they will feed on treeroots as well! (slowly). Put in some roots, and they have a small supply...

The Synodontis Eupterus like places to hide (caves, roots etc), but I do not think they dig to hide. More to find food maybe? But I'm no Syno expert.

Pterophyllum scalare likes company, and you should keep a group of 3-5 maybe. They do not need large scools, and thrive in small groups. They just love the Vallisneria/Sagittaria grass! (Their stripes give them camouflage among plants).

On snails, opinions vary, but personally I will not re-introduce snails in my tank, after that my Botia lohachatas terminated the snails there. They can be a host for certain parasites, and come out of control. Dead snails do not help the water quality either. But, some digging species help giving the substrate air. But that will many catfishes do as well!

Regarding the nitrate cycle, an advise is to avoid changing half your water; do two thirds or one third (or less) (a smaller risk of getting ammoniac poisonings in the tank).
First change water, then a week after eventually clean filter. Both things on the same time will help destabilizing the bacteria helping the process.

If you choose the right outer filter, it will be no problem with sound/noise! I use Eheim, that a aqua-magazine I read recently named as almost silent if buying the right model. Try the Eheim classic or Ecco series. I use both and sleep well! The Eheim professional I/II series makes a little bit more sound due to specialized processes/fluctuations in the filter, and if having the tank near the bed avoid these. Try http://www.eheim.de You will find a link to the US pages there.

I've answered the questions I had an answer for. Good luck with your tank!

Hi,

coelacanth wrote:
rcl wrote:
pl*costomus (Hypostomus pl*costomus) - 2 or 3? ***** pl*costomus eats algae, most sources say I should feed additional algae wafers since 'there wont be enough to eat in the tank'. If I have a 120+ gallon tank, could a small number of them survive JUST off the algae?

What you want are Ancistrus, as even if you can get Hypostomus instead of the more usually sold Liposarcus/Pterygoplichthys/Glyptopoterichthys they will get big.
Even Ancistrus will potentially damage plants though.


I don't understand what species you are referring to here. Can you be more specific? Nothing in the cat-elog matches up. I knew initially that the hypostomus get large, but I figure if I have 1 or 2 big ones it wouldn't really be a big deal; as I don't think these guys really need space to move around and all that. Maybe I'm completely wrong, correct me if I am.

He is refering to the ''common plecos''.In the trade as common pleco you will find Liposarcus or pterygoplichthys sp. which get very big.Its a bit difficult to find hypostomus sp.and even these grow large.

as I don't think these guys really need space to move around and all that.

These guys need a lot of space to move around because they are very active even during the day.
Also they will probably damage plants by uprooting them or by eating the broad leaved plants.

I would love to have a 120 gallon tank. You realize that you could buy a couple 55 gallon for a lot less money and still have 110 gallons of fish space.

good luck!

I have clown loaches and they are great for eliminating my snail problems. I now grow my own snails to give them a treat once in awhile. I also go to the LFS and get some snails from them.

One thing to keep in mind is if you intend to have clown loaches, is that they are shy, nervous fish. Fast moving fish, such as danios, will make them nervous. I use to have danios in my tank and my loaches were always hiding. After I removed them, my loaches were out and about. Also, it has been reported that zebra danios may nip at fins of angels and betas, though I never had that problem in my tank with angels.