Tankmates Needed for Archer, Pleco, and Needlefish
- Thread starter xpmr5
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the archer is not going to do well in freshwater long term. they need salt as they mature.
I had mine in a saltwater tank, that started off brackish.
other than that, anything that will not fit in the mouth of the needle fish should be okay, assuming it is not aggressive.
you could add some barbs, blue or gold gouramis, or some rainbowfish.
I had mine in a saltwater tank, that started off brackish.
other than that, anything that will not fit in the mouth of the needle fish should be okay, assuming it is not aggressive.
you could add some barbs, blue or gold gouramis, or some rainbowfish.
if you've got a needlenose gar, it's going to grow to a foot and eat everything in the tank that will fit in its mouth. if you've got a common plecostomus, it's going to grow to over a foot and leave an incredible mess in your tank. these plecos seem to poop more than they eat. the archer fish grows to 10 inches or more.
this leaves you with two, foot long fish and a ten incher in a 55 gallon tank which frankly, is already far too much fish for the volume. you shouldn't add any more fish. moreover, archer fish are brackish and should not be maintained in freshwater with freshwater plecostomus and gar
this leaves you with two, foot long fish and a ten incher in a 55 gallon tank which frankly, is already far too much fish for the volume. you shouldn't add any more fish. moreover, archer fish are brackish and should not be maintained in freshwater with freshwater plecostomus and gar
I have a South American Needlefish, not a Needlenose Gar. It will grow to about a foot and can live in both BW and FW. The Archer will grow only to about 6" and can be kept in FW when it is young. The Hypostomus Plecostomus can be kept in slightly brackish conditions and will grow to be about a foot. I am going to convert the tank to be slightly brackish over time. Really, it's not as bad as it sounds.
Plecos can tolerate slightly brackish conditions on a temporary basis, and they can and will grow to over two feet in length. Really, it is at least as bad as it sounds.
they cannot be kept in any sort of brackish water long term. they will develop open sores on their body and their health will really start to suffer. they will also definetly ge more than a foot, 15" is the smallest adult common pleco i've seen.
what type of archer do you have specifically? most of the commmon ones can and will get to 10 inches or more.
if you need algae eaters, get a whole bunch of olive nerite snails. they will keep the tank spotless. they are far more effective than plecos.
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. yes, actually it is. your tank is too small for the mature size of the fish you already have. adding more will only compound the problem.
If I got rid of the Plecostomus and got something like a Columbian Cat, would that solve the space issue? If not, what kind of bottom-dwellers would? BTW it's a Toxotes Jaculatrix Archer which can get up to 10" but usually smaller. It's about 7" and has been staying steady at that length for awhile.
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no... i'd just keep the archer and the gar and that's it and then you'd probably be pushing it once they get big. i'd reccomend upgrading to maybe a 75-90 gallon tank. like I said if you want algae gone, go with olive nerite snails.
those do get to 10".