Flagtail portholes

Zack · Post by **Zack** » 06 Apr 2003, 02:35

Well im in ohio right now, (My Grammas ill so we had to fly down, Shes doing much better now so im back to thinking of the fish) And i went to one of the lfs's around here and saw some flagtail hoplos and really liked them then i remembered that my lfs can get them. The fish at this shop were very active and seemed to like to school alot. Im thinking of calling home and having four or five ordered for me, but before i do want to know if my tanks suitable for them.

55 Gallon
Substrate= Sand
temp=72-75
decor= wood, some java moss (thanks silirus)
current inhabitants= 3 pictus,1 clown pleco,5 diamond tetras,1 chocolate raphael,1 small gibbi,1 small common, a 6 inch rusty pleco, two lonely s. nigriventris (they'll be getting two more buddys and moving to a different tank soon), 1 geophagus brasseinellis (spelling??), 1 small pike cichlid (max size about eight inches).

The upside downs will be getting a few more buddys and switching tanks,the diamonds may also be going. The regular and gibbi pleco were givin to me by a friend who had kept them in a ten gallon for a long time and as a result iv had them for over six months and they havent even grown roughly a half inch a piece.

now that i look at my list of fish maybe a smaller school of the flag tails would be more appropriate, or maybe there still wont be enough room?? If not i think the tetras,raphael,and clown plec could be moved to different tanks along with the upside downs. Sorry for rambling so much when i just needed to ask a few small questions but oh well. Thanks in advance for the responses.

Sid Guppy · Post by **Sid Guppy** » 06 Apr 2003, 12:02

I've kept both D urostriata and D longibarbis in the past, and they only do really well, if you have at least 4-5. They're true shoaling fish, if you keep only two or three, they will be very shy and rest on the sand a lot (mostly hiding).

IMO you'd better buy a group or forgo the whole plan.

Cory_lover · Post by **Cory_lover** » 06 Apr 2003, 14:13

i'm not an expert on Dianemas....but i don't think your range of catfish u currently have are really compatible for dianemas...well the first are the pictus, i'm not sure about the plecos..but i heard they can be really territorial...so maybe that might be a problem..and the pike cichlid...heard they eat lots of fish as well...

but then again...i don't keep pictus or plecos or pike cichlids...so i'm not 100% sure they won't go with danemas...my dianemas are really cool tho...they're with my hoplo and corys atm.

Sid Guppy · Post by **Sid Guppy** » 06 Apr 2003, 17:03

If I were you, I'd ditch the following fish:
-Both cichlids: Geophagus brasiliensis reaches 25-30 cm, and if that Crenicichla is one of those saxiatilis look-a-likes it gets even bigger. (up to 40 cm)
There aren't any 8" Crenicichla's; they grow to at least 30 cm or stay really small (urophtalmus, regina and compressiceps reach 3-4", but those are VERY RARE). He WILL eat the Tetra's in time...

-Both bigger Pleco-species. They are likely stunted, but once they're healthy, will grow again. Common Pleco's (Liposarcus pardalis) reach up to 45-50 cm at least, Gibby's (Glyptopterichthys gibbiceps) reach 25-35 cm, and are highbuilt too; WAY too big for your tank. And those 2 can and will fight each other for space and territory too.

Stick with the Rusty Plec (Cochliodon sp?), that one reaches 15-20 cm, a bit on the big size, but it can be kept in a 55. Him and the Clownpleco (Panaquolus maccus) will clean out the whole tank anyway. DON'T buy ANY other Pleco or Loricariid, it will cause food- and spaceproblems.

Keep the Pims too; Pimelodus pictus is lively and as pims go, very easygoing. They drag the shy Dianema's in the open. (if you keep only shy fishes, you won't see a thing IME). Pim pictus can even be kept with Corys with no problems, they should be fine with Dianema's.

The Dorad (Acanthodoras? those ruddy common names!....) can stay too; these reach 5" or so.
Get some (3-4) Synodontis nigriventris, but make sure you won't be foisted off with nigrita's or eupterus; or you'll be in trouble.

Let the Tetra's (Moenkhousia pittieri) stay; highbuilt Tetra's are safe with pictus; unlike Neons they're left alone. Pictus seems to 'know' what fits in the mouth. And free-swimming fish draw cats out, in general.

This way you end up with:
2 Pleco's (1 big & 1 small)
1 dorad
3 pims
5-6 dwarf Syno's
5 Tetra's
4-5 Dianema's
Nice list for a 55, not too many, but enough. This way your fish have room to move and grow and all the 'niches' are pretty even spaced out.

Zack · Post by **Zack** » 09 Apr 2003, 00:03

Yes i know these fish will get large, But they are all relatively small for now and will be fine until this summer when i can get them a bigger tank. The pike wont bother the portholes hes actualy a timid fish, the plecos are all active but not boisterous infact theyre all buddies and actualy seak each other out to hide together. My plans for this summer are to remove all the plecos except the clown,all the cichlids,the tetras, and the dorad to other tanks, buy two more clowns,4 portholes,3-4 rams, and one or two more pictus.

So the fish will be as follows
4-5 pictus
4-5 portholes
3 clowns
3-4 rams
and maybe some cories or some other small active cat. I think i'll keep the geophagus in there to since hes small now and a very neat fish so he can stay until he reaches about five inches.

Chrysichthys · Post by **Chrysichthys** » 09 Apr 2003, 16:21

See the other thread on Dianema in this section.

Sid Guppy · Post by **Sid Guppy** » 09 Apr 2003, 17:51

Zack, what happens to the Syno's? you can keep them too, with your mix.

Zack · Post by **Zack** » 11 Apr 2003, 01:40

I know theyd be alright but im gonna put them in my thirty five gallon planted tank since it already has a tri continental mix. Im gonna try and set the fifty five up as a s. american biotype, although it probably wont represent any specific biotype i just think a tank looks better with fish from the same continant. Well thanks for the help. With the list i suggested above how many other fish do you think i could keep??