Help With Stocking an African Tank

Hey guys,

First off, I am not new to the hobby but this is a pretty newbie question. I am looking for some help on finding the right tank mates. I want an African Tank but not looking for a biotope. I am considering 1x Senegal Bichir, 1x African Brown Knifefish, 5-7x Congo Tetras, 1x Leopard Ctenopoma, 1x Kribensis (Pulcher) and a few Nerite Snails (I heard they can't breed without salt). The tank is a standard 55 Gallon and I will have 2 Marineland Penguin 350GPH.

It seems that these fish should get along just fine but I am trying to be certain. The only problem that I can foresee arising is the Krib and Ctenopoma. Not sure though. Thanks for the help.

tanker said:

Only thing I cab think of is will the Brown Knife get enough to eat. It is mostly nocturnal, so may need night feeding.

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I have kept a brown knife and bichir together before. Pretty boring tank. From what I saw the knife adapted to my feeding schedule. It may just be a one off diurnal knife but still. I don't have a problem feeding him at night though so that's not much of a problem. My old bichir used to share his hiding spot with the knife too. Both were around 6" at the time.

FreshyFresh said:

I have not kept those particular fish, but have read of others keeping similar mixes w/out issue. I'd think provided you have adequate decor for the more territorial ones to set up shop and the milder ones to seek shelter, you'd be good to go. Unfortunately, a lot of it is trial and error. You can have two of the same make/model cichlids. One can be a peach and the other a real jerk. Never know. Welcome aboard by the way!

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Yeah, the only real fear I have is the Krib bullying the Ctenopoma. From what I have seen Kribs generally form a territory where the Ctemopoma just likes to drift through anywhere he can hide (generally in plants though) so if the two meet up I would expect the Krib to not be very happy. Eventually though the Ctenepoma should overgrow the Krib.

Do you think there should be any order to how they are introduced? I was thinking since the Knife can be the most timid, introducing him first. Allowing him to become comfortable and establish himself. Maybe throwing him in with the Bichir at the same time since they are the "centerpieces" and allowing them to establish the dominance?

I also want to start using real plants finally. I have never had the time or equipment to grow in the past but now that I have found some extra time would any plants grow off of a standard LED bar or should I explore more elaborate options such as the

Finnex FugeRay Planted+. I am only looking at the more simple plants, Java Fern, Java Moss, Amazon Sword, etc.

Thanks for the assists guys. Appreciate it. I'll throw some pictures up when it is up and running.