Compatibility and Probability

[MOA]

Hello,

I have been working on another spreadsheet (go figure, right?) and have been a little disappointed by how hard it is to account for some things on a theoretic nature. So far, my theory stands like this:

1. Compatible fish must have compatible temperature requirements.
2. The biomasses of the fish must not be too divergent or the big fish will eat the smaller fish.
3. The aggression level of the fish should be relatively similar.
4. A particular stocking arrangement will work better if the fish occupy separate zones in the aquarium, rather than competing for the same space.

These tenants seem kinda basic (and they are), but they have yielded a couple odd results. Please take a look at the compatibility spreadsheet and see how it stacks up for your own aquariums. I grant that it is not exhaustive, but I would appreciate your support in this venture. What I really need are obvious contradictions.

Compatibility1.xls

Thanks,
MOA

 

[MOA]

No Feedback?

Hmmm...Guess its back to the drawing board.

MOA

 

[Jayhawk]

You do have some odd results in there.

I think you're missing one other factor that really makes a difference - pH range (this is nearly synonymous with hardness range as well). Keeping hardwater fish together should make for a happier tank than mixing blackwater species with Tanganyikan species.

Your other groupings are good - size/biomass, temp requirement, aggressiveness, tank zone...add in pH range and those are the criteria I use to stock my tanks.

Granted, there are a heck of a lot of rules that are broken by experience...for example, I've done well with skunk loaches in 30 gallon tanks provided the tankmates don't have long flowing fins (those get shredded by skunk loaches).

N. brevis can be kept with any hard water loving species...even a breeding pair only defends about a 6" territory and they're by far the least aggressive shelly (they work well with white clouds or livebearers).

Wider fish can be shorter and still be less likely to be eaten than longer fish that are really skinny and noodle-like.

Species only tanks really change the rules of the game...a single figure 8 puffer in your 30 gallon tank is a perfect tank...as long as you have lots of snails to feed.

However, the examples above are exceptions based upon years of fish keeping. Your general rules are heading in the right direction and should be helpful to many.

Good luck,

Eric

 

[SidtheMonkey]

I didnt read it but fish are also individuals. In some cases, like male bettas, temperments can differ widely.

 

[KarlTh]

Hardness range is all you need. pH will follow naturally, and fish really don't care about it much anyway.

 

[tyler79durdan]

Hardness range is all you need. pH will follow naturally, and fish really don't care about it much anyway.

+1

 

[MOA]

Hmm,

I edited it a bit to eliminate a major error (the fish were self-measuring), but adding the hardness thing might be prudent. However, I've breed Neon Tetras in water with a pH of 8.2 and hardness of about 320ppm, so...Hmm, that might take some doing, but it's feasible. Have to add pH/Hardness.

MOA

 

[fishfood420]

Cool but, i could not get it to work. It stayed green even when i put crazy species together. I like the idea though. Why 0% for some species? Does that mean no one has ever had that species live in captivity for a good portion of its life time? Its cool though. I'm gonna keep playing with it.

 

[MOA]

Thanks for the feedback.

The 0% means that the probability that that species will work with the ones in the drop-down lists is so small that it most likely will never work. Also, what were some of the combinations that you tried that didn't show properly? Just trying to fix it.

MOA

 

[jpappy789]

common + scientific names would be a nice feature for a future upgrade.

It would be interesting to know how exactly the percentages are calculated.

no plecos?

Also, why does it give an 83% success rate with one species selected?