help w/ bottom dweller situation

[latazyo]

hi, I currently have a 75g tank with one 1.5" oscar and one 3": jack dempsey, I also have a 5" pleco and 4 kuhli loaches

I am wanting to have a small group of say, 3 or 4 Corydoras aenus

since the cories will be too big for the jack or the oscar to eat, I am hoping that they will get used to their presence and not bother them when they get bigger

my main concern is this, do you think I have too many bottom dwellers for this tank?

the bottom DEFINITELY gets enough food with how the oscar, jack, and danios eat, so there will be no shortage of food, I am just wondering if cories, plecos, and loaches get along alright

any suggestions?

 

[OrionGirl]

They will get along okay, but that tank will be seriously overtocked when the cichlids and the pleco reach their adult sizes. The oscar and jack may harrass the cories as well.

 

[Lynsey]

I don't think that the Oscar would be used to the cories. They Oscar will grow very fast and eventually eat the cories, and the loaches for sure. I had an Oscar in with a pair of bristlenose plecos (4-5" each), and I had to remove them because he was even trying to eat them. He was also in the tank with some congo tetras and giant danios that were about 4-5" also (the oscar was only 2"). He eventually grew up and ate them. I would suggest just keeping the pleco as a bottom feeder. You might want to add some dither fish instead, because I think that your JD might pick on your O when they are larger. In my experience tanks that have two aggressive cichlids usually don't work out in the long run (unless they are a pair, even then they sometimes must be seperated).

If you really want another bottom feeder, you could try a synodontis catfish. Your tank will be pretty stocked when your fish are full grown, so make sure you keep up on the water changes.