PlanetCatfish.com

Hi,

The situation...
After the passing of my 9 yr old brown bristlenose, I have just other bristlenose female left (they were my sole fish for a while, a rogue bacterial infection came down hard a few months ago. The tank has been cleaned thoroughly and re-cycled, still I'm going to add a a uv light, which I'll turn on for just a couple hrs/day to prevent anything like that from happening again.) So, I'll need to quarantine some new fish and re-stock soon.

The setup...
The tank is a "55 G" with canister filtration (soon to have a hob Aquaclear 70 added for additional bio filtration and current, just because I have it sitting around anyway.) It will be planted, eventually (hopefully in just a few months.) Else wise, I have a in-line heater and am ordering a new digital thermometer in the same shipment with a simple surface skimmer to just polish the water and increase oxygen exchange.

The fish I'm considering...
Essentially it'll be a catfish tank. Since it'll be a planted tank (incl.crypts, anubias and ground cover,) I'm considering buying 6 otos. And I'd like a few fish for the upper strata that wouldn't be a biological burden, maybe 5 - 7 golden barbs (other alternatives could be bloodfin tetras or rummynose tetras, once the tank is planted and the water very stable since I've heard these two are sensitive anything but really prime water.) For the benthic zone, I'd like to eventually find a showy little male. I'd love a bristlenose male, but I don't want my diminished bristlenose girlie to possibly be overwhelmed with romantic requests (even though they're *amazing* cleaners!) My other thoughts are possibly a Medusa Pleco or a smaller Panaque (I'm a fool for bristles or odontodes!)

Any opinions on the fish I'm thinking about? Or on anything else?

Thanks! I really appreciate and value the imput

bunnybunny

I would have a large sandy area in the front of the tank and keep a breeding colony of corydoras such as sterbai and do a nice school of tetras or barbs as you suggested. Good luck.

agree with Michael. On left side and right side of tank, build it up with caves, wood and plants. Keep the middle free for swimming space and sandy bttom. Add the corys but of the same kind and a nice school of rummy nose or cardinals and your BNs. cheers jk

I have found rummys to be more of a mid level schooler, same with the cardinals, but mine were a bit crazy...lol. Honey gouramis, pearl danios, harlequin rasboras I think would look amazing. Just my 2 cents.

They may seem kind of "boring" since they're so common, but I like neon tetras and black neon tetras in that type of setup. I'm also a fan of emperor tetras (Nematobrycon palmeri), but they're much harder to get hold of (at least around here) and they can be a little more aggressive to each other than the smaller tetras. I have some of those in a planted community tank with cories and an old clown pleco, and they've all lived together pretty well.

We have a lone pearl gourami from a friend that had to take down his tank, and he adds a little color near the top of the tank.

I think that one of the species you should include (as suggested) would be rummy nosed tetras. I just love their schooling habits (especially around an airstone). They look almost delicate. They are quite beautiful fish and the way they move as a group adds something interesting,and beautiful to a tank. a word of caution though. I've seen them bullied by larger tetras, and catfish (like pictus cats sadly) can't wait to make a meal of them. also I like pristella tetras mixed with scissor-tail rasboras, because their similar visual cues unite them into schooling together. Also (as suggested before)black neons do seem to fit that setup as well. You really have so many good choices and I think any of these would be great for your tank along with others. I also find the corydoras idea to be good for your tank.

Thanks everybody

I picked up the first new additions--6 otos--a couple days ago and they're in QT. In a month or so it'll be time to bring home the next batch of fish for QT. I think you guys are right about having a shoal of tetras. I'm leaning toward rummys just for the visual effect, but I'm also keeping an open mind in case I can find a fish that's affectionate and has a lot of personality that would be a good fit. I just read an article about parrot cichlids which *wouldn't* be a great fit size-wise, but that's the kind of personality I'd love to find. Any ideas?