cory cats?!? please help.

[stratusfearrr]

So here it goes. i have read many of these posts, and it seems that having a small group, four or five, of cory cats is better than having two. This is my current stock in my 46 bowfrnt, medium planted.
5 kuhlii loaches.
1 zig zag yellow tail eel (about 6 inches)
4 neon tetras
2 bala sharks
2 angel fish (relatively small)
1 golden gourami
1 reg. plecostamus
1 dojo loach
2 cory cats

i will soon be replacing the two bala sharks (which grow big, i know) with ten rummynose tetras.
so heres my question. is it better to have five cory cats, or is that too many for my medium sized tank. there is plenty to eat and alot of plants and driftwood for hiding places.

Thankss:help2:

[Lexi_D]

5 kuhlii loaches.
1 zig zag yellow tail eel (about 6 inches)
4 neon tetras
2 bala sharks
2 angel fish (relatively small)
1 golden gourami
1 reg. plecostamus
1 dojo loach
2 cory cats
Well I think you seem to have a stocking problem as-is (even with removing the balas)- if by regular pleco you mean common pleco you will need atleast a 90g tank for them, the get to be 24" and are poo factories.... I'm pretty sure dojo loaches like groups too, so if you got rid of the pleco and the balas you could add the cory cats and some more loaches. I'm not sure about the eel but that may also grow to large (I'll wait for some one more experienced on that to chime in here). You might want to add a few more neons as well.

[SilverDollarMan]

angel and a gourami in the same tank is a fight waiting to happen

and the Angels will eventually eat all of the neons when they get big enough.

and like Lexi said above, that pleco will get way to big for your tank, I suggest you get a BN Pleco which only grow to about 4 inches or so and do a great job of eating all the algae but you will need to feed them algae wafers to make sure they are getting enough food.

[stratusfearrr]

angel and a gourami in the same tank is a fight waiting to happen

and the Angels will eventually eat all of the neons when they get big enough.

and like Lexi said above, that pleco will get way to big for your tank, I suggest you get a BN Pleco which only grow to about 4 inches or so and do a great job of eating all the algae but you will need to feed them algae wafers to make sure they are getting enough food.


he gets an algae wafer once or twice a week. he gaurds it all the time. haha.

i was told they get only that long in ten yeears.

[inkyjenn]

thats wrong. i dont have a common, i have a gibby whom we measured last night and is over 11" long. hes not 10 years old. moreover, keeping a fish that grows that large in too small a tank winds up stunting them. if you dont think stunting is a bad thing, think about a mastiff puppy growing up in a chihuahua cage. sounds bad? dont do it to the pleco either. you are also way underfeeding him. how would you like to go without food for days? or your cats or dogs?

please research what you have and make sure you are going to provide adequate care for them

[srikamaraja]

Mastacembelid Eel will eat your neon tetras.

[stratusfearrr]

angel and a gourami in the same tank is a fight waiting to happen

and the Angels will eventually eat all of the neons when they get big enough.

and like Lexi said above, that pleco will get way to big for your tank, I suggest you get a BN Pleco which only grow to about 4 inches or so and do a great job of eating all the algae but you will need to feed them algae wafers to make sure they are getting enough food.


welll. it seems as if some think there is a fighting problem between my angels and gourami. they keep to thier separate spaces, and the gourami chases ONLY after he eats, but he does not nip or touch. so it seems lik all he will do is chase. so it should b ok.

[stratusfearrr]

thats wrong. i dont have a common, i have a gibby whom we measured last night and is over 11" long. hes not 10 years old. moreover, keeping a fish that grows that large in too small a tank winds up stunting them. if you dont think stunting is a bad thing, think about a mastiff puppy growing up in a chihuahua cage. sounds bad? dont do it to the pleco either. you are also way underfeeding him. how would you like to go without food for days? or your cats or dogs?

please research what you have and make sure you are going to provide adequate care for them


ok. so it seems as if i am not feeding him properly. am i supposed to add one algae wafer a day. and if i get a small bushy nose, how do i feed him. i intend no harm to my fish, but as you can see im brand new to this. please help me if you know what to do, or can tell me what i'm doing wrong.

i will take him out soon, so i dnt stunt his growth. i DID NOT know that could happen.

[abcdefghi]

I think what I would do is:

5 kuhlii loaches.
1 zig zag yellow tail eel (about 6 inches) - Remove
4 neon tetras - Either remove, or add another 4, but also take note the angels may eat them as the angels grow (I have 2 neons who are ignored by a large angel though, so they may be fine, just FYI)
2 bala sharks - Remove
2 angel fish (relatively small) - Keep, but beware that they may start fighting as they grow.
1 golden gourami - Remove
1 reg. plecostamus - Remove
1 dojo loach - Remove
2 cory cats - Add another 5

I would then add a BN pleco only if you really wanted a pleco, just make sure that you buy it because you want a pleco, not an algae scraper. If you do get a BN just feed him a variety of food, vegetables (mine loves cucumber and zucchini) sinking pellets, wafers, the pleco will be happy as long as you feed him a variety of food. Just make sure he gets some, with 7 cories and 5 loaches he will probably have some competition for food.

[inkyjenn]

hon, there is a whole board here about plecos. there are other boards as well. before buying any kind of fish, sit down here, search the name and learn. then decide whether or not you want to get them.

plecos in general need more than just wafers to keep them healthy. a variety of foods are necessary ranging from meaty to fresh vegetables. this does vary from pleco species to pleco species. there is a sticky about this in the plecos forum. there is also planetcatfish.com that can offer you a good guide to species, sizes and care based on a specific type of pleco.

the point isnt to just take what other people suggest and get it. its on you as a fish keeper to thoroughly find out what is necessary to care for them. if you get confused, then its a good idea to jump on the board and ask a question. i dont care what anyone says, there is no such thing as a stupid question. it can be kind of repetitive, but if you research first, then ask you will be able to articulate a good question AND you will understand more what people are talking about when they respond

[Flying_Diamond]

bristlenose plecos love fresh, shortly micro'd zuchini/cucumbers. they also love algae wafers. make sure you're feeding them something everyday.

[stratusfearrr]

hon, there is a whole board here about plecos. there are other boards as well. before buying any kind of fish, sit down here, search the name and learn. then decide whether or not you want to get them.

plecos in general need more than just wafers to keep them healthy. a variety of foods are necessary ranging from meaty to fresh vegetables. this does vary from pleco species to pleco species. there is a sticky about this in the plecos forum. there is also planetcatfish.com that can offer you a good guide to species, sizes and care based on a specific type of pleco.

the point isnt to just take what other people suggest and get it. its on you as a fish keeper to thoroughly find out what is necessary to care for them. if you get confused, then its a good idea to jump on the board and ask a question. i dont care what anyone says, there is no such thing as a stupid question. it can be kind of repetitive, but if you research first, then ask you will be able to articulate a good question AND you will understand more what people are talking about when they respond


so i looked around and researched a little. i took back the 2 bala sharks and the reg pleco, and got two baby mollies, one baby paradise gourami, and one clown pleco.
the clown pleco grows barely to four inches, so we are all good.

[stratusfearrr]

anyone know what to feed my clown pleco(question mark)

thanks,.

[Flying_Diamond]

zuchini, cucumber, carrots, algae wafers, algae, and maybe shrimp pellets? are all good ideas.

[dundadundun]

you can also add kale, green beens (cooked and halved without seeds), peas (cooked and squished out of the shell) and spinach (my bottom feeders LOVE spinach from a can)... just remember if it's canned it's best to rinse it thoroughly before storing/feeding to wash off salt and anything used for canning.

make sure the clown was labeled correctly (one slip of the marker and a 24" monster will be sold to you as a 5" cutie)

a side note: not sure how necessary it is for a clown, but i find most plecos do much better with wood to rasp on for roughage (especially the smaller ones).

i also think abcdefghi hit it right on the head and you may still have stocking/aggression issues that will come out later. a good amount of research and/or experience is necessary to put that many species in a tank and a 46 seems borderline size wise unless you are very careful.

another note: i know a lot of people are big advocates for nuking/boiling their veggies. i know it makes them sink and that really helps. i have nuked, boiled, poached or whatever in r/o, tap and tank water and my guys just don't seem to go for it. my guys like it fresh (zuchini, squash, cucumbers, etc.) so what i do is i take the smallest squash i can find (the thinner it is the less seeds). i use the slice head on my food processor to slice it up. then i lay it on some wax paper and put it in the freezer. once it is frozen i quickly stuff them all into ziploc bags and toss them into the freezer. this keeps them from sticking together and i can just open the bag, grab a slice and drop it in the tank. everyone gets excited and within a minute or 2 it's sunken and everyone's eating. my slices are thin, so they never last through the night and foul up my water and if i see aggression it's no biggie to add another slice.

my guys also will not eat frozen or fresh spinach that's why i do canned. i rinse and bag, then freeze. after about 2 days i take them out and break it up using a meat tenderizer to make chunks smaller in circumference than a dime (or about). when i need some same deal... open freezer, open bag, grab a chunk, close bag and freezer and just toss. sometimes i even put the chunk in my filter flow and let it drop. this way my guppies and shrimp don't have to fight my other fish for the first little bit that breaks off in the flow.

good luck and don't stop learning... your fish will love you for it, but not like a puppy :).

[stratusfearrr]

ok. thanks. thats alot of help.
and im not planning on adding anymore species, well just a few rummynose tetra's, and thats that.

thanks again.