[bigbadjon]

I'm setting up another tank and I'm looking to try something different. This one is going to be a riverine tank. Not really fast current and temperate but not cold water. I am thinking to pull the trigger on filament barbs or mascara barbs (if my wife doesn't protest too much). I was mainly looking to change up my bottom feeders. It is going to be a gravel bottom and I don't want to use a dojo loach, which is my old standby. Anybody have good experiences with other temperate loaches, or other interesting 5 inchish bottom feeders?

Bump: Oh. The tank water is running about 69f. I am also looking for ideas in the aquascaping forum if you want to chime in there.

 

[NotCousteau]

Mascara barbs -- wow! I've never heard of them until now.

I have a garra rufa in my stream tank, and I like him a lot. He moves well in a stream setting. I have large rocks, crevices and decent flow, and he really moves in and out of that really well. It's hard to explain, but his movements amplify/show/illustrate stream movement in my mind. I have the gray type, but I know there are more-interesting colored gray/gold ones.

 

[Betta132]

Hillstream loaches! Weird flat guitar-shaped wiggles. Highish flow and coolish water are great for them. A nice flat rock or two would be a good addition. Garra of various types also work well in that sort of tank, and I don't think they'll fight each other if they have enough space.

 

[bigbadjon]

Hmmm... Panda garras maybe. I hadn't considered them...

 

[psych]

Hmmm... Panda garras maybe. I hadn't considered them...

Ugh. Lovely fish. Hard to get a hold of right now for anything under $11 per fish, it seems. If you find any be sure to let me know!

 

[bigbadjon]

Most of the Florida fish farms are charging $7 a head. You would have to ship them though so it may be a wash. Anybody tried botia striata or botia almorhae? They live in temperate waters in nature but I rarely see them in unheated aquariums.

 

[bigbadjon]

Alright. This tank is coming along. I broke up a boulder into more manageable pieces and knocked off the harsh edges. I built an undergravel jet the aerate the bottom a bit. Just need to get timers for my hardware and aquascape before I start cycling. I haven't decided on fish so will appreciate any further feedback.

 

[NotCousteau]

They aren't bottom feeders, but they are bottom dwellers. Let me recommend native North American darters, which you can buy online or collect locally, depending on your state laws.

Rainbow (blue and red), fantail (brown w/black spots/stripes) and banded (green) darters:

 

[Diana]

Filament barbs destroy plants. I have them in a 125 gallon with Senegal Bichers and a mystery catfish that has the longest 'whiskers' I have ever seen. Room temperature.

 

[roadmaster]

Black ruby barb's,Yo Yo loaches, would make for very active tank. IME

 

[bigbadjon]

This isn't going to be a planted tank, its simulating a river so plant eating fish are ok. I may to have have some tough anubias or fern growing close to the surface to simulate the shoreline but if it doesn't work out its no big deal.
I actually have a school of black ruby barbs in my main aquarium. I certainly recommend those to everyone.
I am leaning toward panda garras as those a relatively easy for me to source in Florida. I am still working on my wife for mascara barbs but its a hard sell...

 

[Betta132]

Is she just really not a fan of barbs or something?

 

[bigbadjon]

She's not a fan of 20 bucks a pop. Plus it will probably be 2 years before they look as good as the pictures. I may have to settle for filament barbs or arulius barbs. Before I got married dropping a couple hundred bucks on fish was a non issue. But my wife isn't a fish person so I have to compromise... or lie about what I paid.

 

[Betta132]

Aquabid might be worth a go. Sometimes you can get fish a lot cheaper than anywhere else.

 

[bigbadjon]

Only Wetspot has them on aquabid lately. $90 for 5 and probably $80 to ship. Not too expensive considering they probably live for 10 years, but thats a fishkeepers opinion.