Compatibility of chiclids and loaches???

[Sancho87]

Hello i have a 20 gallon with the following fish
1 blood parrot chichlid. (ya know the odd hybrid cichlids)
1 Convict Chichlid.
1 Orange Finned Loach.

The fish are getting along fine but i wouldnt mind adding one more fish. The orange finned loach is nocternal so id like to make my aquarium a shade more interesting to have a third fish swimming around at day besides my two chichlids (which i have no complaints about ive had both for over a year and im quite fond of them). I was thinking the clown loach, a friend of mine keeps them with chichlids and i also know that my cichlids have compatibility with loaches since they have gotten along fine with the orange finned one who has been in the aquarium since day one. of course i know that they say the clown loach gets a foot long but i also know that that is their size in the wild and captive fishes wont get that big. well please tell me your opinions on this or by all means if you could drop any ideas on another fish that would work that would be great. THANKS

[harles2000]

first - the blood parrot you have is too large for a 20 gal tank.
second- what is an 'orange-finned' loach??
third - a convict cichlid is a tricky tank mate in such a small space.

I really dont think you have room for another fish.

[Sancho87]

Orange finned loaches are also called blue botias they look like a clown loach but blue with orange fins. Also if a blood parrots max size is 8 " and convicts 4" and the loach being 3 " (well technically 12" is what they list yet my fish is 2yrs old im sure its an adult by now) thats 15 inches of fish i always went by the rule an inch per gallon. also i suspect one of the blood parents parents must have been a convict because the two fish are the best of friends and often dig holes together (i assume they are building nests) yet no eggs ever come, probably because since the parrot is a hybrid its most likely sterile.

[Sully]

take the one inch per gallon rule and throw it out with the water from your next pwc. unless of course you are dealing with neon tetras. it is a perfect example of erroneous information being repeated often enough that it becomes the "truth".

You need to factor in body mass.

You need to factor in the territory size required by a given species.

you need to factor in compatability,

you need to factor in decor and diet required for a given species.

you need to factor in sufficient space to allow a specimen to develop properly (a bala shark while growing only to 12" as an average will never reach that length in a 20 gallon tank, it would stunt. it would end up with internal and external physical deformities that would most likely result in an early and untimely death).

There is a whole lot of stuff that goes into stocking atank--the 1" per gallon "rule is not one of them.

the blue botia will never develop properly in that tank. it is a timid loach--not sure you want it with the other fish. unless it has plenty of space to hide out in. which by definition in a 20 gallon will not be possible.

the parrot--nothing but deformed--but requiring more space than a 20 gallon provides.

a pair of convicts. they actually fit in your tank.

i think you ought to consider rehoming or returning the parrot and the loach. then get species more suited to the small confines you have to offer.

[Sancho87]

these three fish have lived in happily this aquarium for the last year the loach has been there for almost two. Yet apparently you want me to engage in the task of rehoming which involves moving the fish out of an environment they have adapted to and subject them to the extremely stressfull task of netting them and exposing them to a completely new environment in which there chance of survival is miniscule. cmon now and your saying im ignoring variables. yes perhaps i did over stock a bit but im not gonna kill my fish to be politcally correct. although i did buy another pump to exclusively run another air stone to get some more disolved oxygen. and yes blood parrots are deformed but so are most varieties of oriental goldfish and hell even fancy dog breeds are natural abominations people like their wierd man made animals

[Sancho87]

also the loach is anything but timid yes i did say it was nocternal but put food in there and he is out and about and almost all day he has his head poking out of the plastic cave he lives in

[Gourami Power]

these three fish have lived in happily this aquarium for the last year the loach has been there for almost two. Yet apparently you want me to engage in the task of rehoming which involves moving the fish out of an environment they have adapted to and subject them to the extremely stressfull task of netting them and exposing them to a completely new environment in which there chance of survival is miniscule. cmon now and your saying im ignoring variables. yes perhaps i did over stock a bit but im not gonna kill my fish to be politcally correct. although i did buy another pump to exclusively run another air stone to get some more disolved oxygen. and yes blood parrots are deformed but so are most varieties of oriental goldfish and hell even fancy dog breeds are natural abominations people like their wierd man made animals

Sully is just looking out for your fish. But to be honest I think a Blood Parrot should have 20g's to him/her self. Maybe if you have another 40-50g tank you could move the parrot and the convict to that and add peaceful fish with your Loach

[Sully]

sancho,
sorry you did not like my answer. you came. you asked a question. you got an honest answer. i can't do anything more than that. sorry it upset you. but, the fish don't fit the tank.

i noticed in a thread somewhere on this board the other day that an individual had a black ghost knife in a 29 gallon tank. the fish grows to 2' TL. I had one in a 225 gallon tank. when it hit 18" i netted it and rehomed it to a 1000 gallon tank that was not mine. why? because my tank was inadequate for the fish. it is hard to get your arms around that equation sometimes. but, for the proper treatment of fish you need to.

[Gourami Power]

Its hard to let go of fish you had or just recently bought but the truth is that it is better for them. It was hard for me when I had to give up my Oscar(still young though) after I had it in a 10g. Sometimes you need to think about the fish and not yourself, sorry to say.

[YoFishboy]

The best thing is to research the needs of your fish prior to purchase...take into account their adult size...and find the coolest fish that are apprpriate for the tank that you have, don't fill it with fish who's growth will be stunted in it.....good luck!