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too many bottom feeders?

7K views 16 replies 5 participants last post by  robinc 
#1 ·
In my 75g I have one albino pleco and a dozen ghost shrimp. I would like to add 1 green phantom pleco and 9 Sterbai corys.

3/4 of the tanks is flourite and 1/4 is black sand and the tank is planted.

Is this too many bottom feeders for a 4ft tank?
 
#2 · (Edited)
Albino common place or BN? What all do you feed the tank, as in , these fish and what do you feed other fish that might end up on the bottom. Also, how long has the tank been set up?
Also do you have any driftwood?
 
#3 ·
There is still plenty of room for bottom feeders (assuming the whole ground space isn't taken up by relatively low-lying plants, decor, hardscape, etc.).

Depending if the albino plec is a bristlenose (reaching 5" max) or a common (reaching +24") would determine if the tank is an appropriate size to house the pleco entirely.

A green phantom would surely fit. Although it must be noted that plecos usually have little scuffles, even with enough shelter. They can tolerate the fights, but in my eyes it just seems its best to keep one alone (unless you have a mated pair or a whole colony) as it evidently looks less stressful. If kept together the fights can get pushy and they might knock around things, fins will get split and the losing plec might hide more often.
 
#4 ·
The albino is a bn. There is lots of Mopani wood in the tank. I feed flakes to the fish, Hikari sinking algae wafers every couple of days and I'm setting up a blackworm tank this afternoon which with any luck will also fed to these fish, probably once a week. The tank has only been set up a month but this is a long range project and I would leave the rest of the bottom feeders for last. The only reason the albino bn is in there is because I had him and I found out the 30 gal hex wasn't really big enough for him so I got him out at the earliest date. He's doing very well in this big tank.

Ultimately my plan is

1 albino bn pleco
1 green phantom pleco
6 cherry barbs (in the tank now)
6 pearl danios (4 in quarantine until the end of the month)
15 rummy nose tetra
9 sterbai corydoras

I will so this a bit at a time, with each group going into quarantine for a month before they are added to the 75g and so it would probably be at least four months before I get to the corys. I may have to take possession of phantom in March but he still won't go in until April.

The fighting thing makes me nervous as the bn is almost 3" long and the phantom that is coming to me is a Juvenal.
 
#5 ·
I think with how it sounds like your tank is wood and plant wise it should be fine. Ime bns are very peaceful . would love to see pics. Sounds like you have a great plan of action with it.
 
#7 ·
I take terrible pictures and as I said the tank is young so the plants haven't really got going yet but here's the one I took 2 days ago.

Bump:
I would see no problem at all in a 75. Fighting among bottom feeders is not something I see. Only when some of my cichlids get too pushy is when I see my bottom folks get after them. I feel they do deserve it!
This is an almost total bottom feeder 20 that was not planned but just evolved as different fish showed up in trades, etc. There were more of the common platy/ swordfish group but they were not as entertaining so were not replaced. My daughter and family really like the bumbling, stumbling clowns of the bottom feeders and they all get along well. At some point the clown loaches will get too big but that is a future question and we enjoy them for now. A hollow log like this is great as they often all go there to sleep.

Love the hollow log. That's neat. I really love a tank with lots of plants and wood.
 

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#6 ·
I would see no problem at all in a 75. Fighting among bottom feeders is not something I see. Only when some of my cichlids get too pushy is when I see my bottom folks get after them. I feel they do deserve it!
This is an almost total bottom feeder 20 that was not planned but just evolved as different fish showed up in trades, etc. There were more of the common platy/ swordfish group but they were not as entertaining so were not replaced. My daughter and family really like the bumbling, stumbling clowns of the bottom feeders and they all get along well. At some point the clown loaches will get too big but that is a future question and we enjoy them for now. A hollow log like this is great as they often all go there to sleep.

 
#9 ·
I think the forum does that so you can't post consecutive posts between responses..
like when I made a tank journal.. but was trying to make separate posts form earlier dates.. it wouldn't let me it just kept putting "bump" and combining.
 
#11 ·
Plecos roughing each other up is common. I've kept many plecos of varying species and they all do it. The tank set up does vary how often they get into a domination match, but they still do it every so often, even if you have a ton of caves, low stocking and large tank. Although in pleco tanks, containing bunches of plecos, they don't fight much.

The fighting doesn't stress out the fish too much nor do they fight to the death, but they can bump each other around and end up uprooting plants/substrate, knocking over decor/hardscape and causing other fish to flee the area to get out of their way. Their colors can fade and often end up with split fins, but nothing much more than that before one of tem retreats. They don't stress too much over it, no real rapid breathing or anything like that, but they can end up staying in their shelter more often to avoid another scuffle, but I can imagine if they had a choice, living alone able to move freely around the tank without the need to get into a tussle would be preferred and less stressful.

I really don't like my fish fighting so I'm always picky about that stuff. The plecos would mainly just fight amongst plecos. They do defend themselves against bullies (larger fish). They are peaceful with other fish, even the bottom dwellers, although some have plecos that are food hogs, so they do fend off other fish from the food until they get their fill (some people, most don't have this issue and the pleco happily and gently feeds along side other fish, even nano fish).

If the attached thumbnail above is your tank, plecos want caves, places that provide shade so they can get out of the light. From the looks of it, there isn't really any cave. You may end up with a pleco digging under some driftwood to form a cave.


Oh, just reread one of your post above. In my experience, juvenile plecs are usually left alone or don't pursue fighting at least. Well at least until they get more mature, then it will start challenging the other plec. Adding the juvi into the tank with the larger BN should be just fine, like I said, they don't kill each other.

You can try it out if you want. If you did wan't to keep more than one, I would suggest just sticking with a mated pair (M/F of same species). Look into Green Dragon BN if you want, sort of a mid point between the two haha (BN and green, although not as nice of a green as the phantom)
 
#13 ·
the cave thing is driving me crazy. My albino hides in the nooks and cranny's of the big piece of wood but I know I need more. I just can't find anything I like that will work. If worse comes to worst I'll cut up a terra cotta pot and glue some moss to it. I've done that before but I wanted something that would blend into the landscape better and I really don't want moss in this tank unless there isn't any alternative. It's just to much of a PIA to keep trimming ect.
 
#14 ·
What size tank?


To the OP, you could make DIY caves out of coconut halves, they look more "natural" color, although they are fairly small. There is a DIY using PVC pipes and you coat them in whatever you want (substrate, rocks, paint) so they look blend in better. You could get cichlid stones, the ones that look like realistic rocks. You could make slate caves. Or if really handy, you could make artificial decor out of fiberglass/epoxy/styrofoam or whatever the DIY people use to make anything and paint them to look real, even a 3D background with built in caves, could make a fake tree stump/log with cut out holes/caves. There are those decor that look like wood, sort of, you can tell they are fake.

Sierra Fish and Pets down in Renton sells the Universal Rocks, sort of like a 90* fake rock (one of the more realistic looking), that is meant to be used to cover/hide pipes/heaters, but I you could lay it on the substrate to form a cave. Pretty pricey for that piece though ($17-22).

Yeah, but pretty hard to find one that fits a aquascape. But the realistic cichlid stones and DIY fiberglass/sytrofoam/epoxy molds with paint would look the most realistic. But caves can be pretty large and make things look odd.
 
#16 · (Edited)
A trip out to the coast should show lots of good wood with a bit of walking. Olympic Island has a ton of it and I would expect a lot to be blown around other places. Then I would go searching for the hollow log. If you want to conserve space, sawing the log in half lengthwise gets the "cave" idea without it sticking up very much to be seen--if you want to hide it? To make even more options for more folks to hide, adding a divider in the center of the log makes it work for two. Something as simple as a right-sized rock can be very handy for the divider as it can also work to hold the wood down.

A trip to that coast is a bit too much for a day trip for me but how about you? :wink2:
 
#17 ·
hhhmmm not a bad idea. In fact I have part of the week off.....Have to give it some thought. In years past we've taken day trips to Ocean Shores and along the coast....I don't remember a lot of drift wood but it's probably not something I was looking for at the time.

If I found something that would work, what would I have to do to it to make it tank ready? Would I have to boil it or something to get the salt out of it?
 
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