Compatability Recommendations Needed

[rmahrt]

Please offer me some of your thoughts:

I have a 36Gallon Bow freshwater Aquarium, recently finished its cycle with no casualties, did Amonnia, Nitrite and Ph tests daily throughout the cycle to confirm that a true cycle did indeed occur, referencing a daily log that I kept and shared with a local aquarium and fish retail owner for verification. The break in fish are 5 Black Tetras, 4 Zebras and 4 Blood Fin Tretras, totalling 13 fish, with a PH averaging 7.2
I am intending to introduce some new fish over the next two - three months. I would like to add some larger 'community fish' that will not dirupt the harmony the fish in the tank currently have, this is where I would like to hear some thoughts. Also, I am intending on adding 1 or 2 pleco's, thinking either a marble sailfin or gold nugget pleco?

Finally, any thoughts on crayfish. My son, has formed a friendship with a 'blue' crayfish at a local shop. I would like to understand if crayfish are a threat to the existing fish, fish that you may recommend to be added or the pleco's mentioned above.
I have heard that they have a tendancy to mess up live aquatic plants and will take advantage of an injured or unsuspecting small fish, but my tetras are extremely swift and not ones to bum around in any one spot...? I really would like to have a "ooohh ahhh fish' or 'centerpiece" fish but want to ensure that it fits within the existing conditions (i.e. a bala sharks are not practical

Thank you in advance

[oscarbartoni]

I cannot say about your choise of "plecos" because I have not had either one of them but they seem to be good. The only thing that I would have you do is to research the size of these fish as well as their requirments as to drift wood and wheather they are truely vegetarians or if they might need a meaty food in their diet.
As far as the Blue lobster they will get your fish as they are active at night when the smaller fish are not and will be at the botton or other place that the smaller fish can be caught by the blue lobster. :FS

[CrazieEddie]

Sailfin plecos get rather large (about 16") and the gold nugget is about 6". Since you have a 36gallong tank, the gold nugget is best. I think the gold nugget is rather beautiful. I saw one in my LFS the other day. It's rather expensive (about $40 USD) and is currently around 2.5". I'm thinking of purchasing one online, but haven't had any luck yet.

You can find more information on them at www.peteducation.com


BTW, let me know if you find a gold nugget online.

[ncdiscus]

One fish I have always found attractive and try to include in my community tanks is the harliquin Rasbora. I've even included them in my discus tank. They are gold with a blue triangle that takes up a bout 50% of their body. They school, so I like to have at least five.

Plecos can get rather large although they don't seem to bother my other fish. I have one that is abou four inches long, but routinely hides under the driftwood. They do make goo algae eaters.

Hope this helps.

ncdiscus

[CrazieEddie]

If you wanting cool looking pleco, checkout the Zebra Pleco (http://www.liveaquaria.com/product/prod_Display.cfm?siteid=21&pCatId=1136). It's small, about 3" and expensive, as you can see. If you have a tank with black substrate, it would look awesome. I'm thinking of getting one in the future. It's a toss up between the Zebra Pleco and the one I mentioned earlier, the Gold Nugget Pleco.


I have Harlequin aka Red Rasoboras and they're nice looking too. They're peaceful schoolers and don't eat much. They just eat their fill and just leave the rest alone.

[CrazieEddie]

One thing I forgot to mention is that you have about 26" of fish in your tank. It's best to have 1" per gallon, so you should have at the most, 36" of fish for your tank.

You can probably add one more larger fish or a gold nugget pleco or Zebra pleco.

[rmahrt]

Thank you for raising the point of fish capacity. This is something that I only recently have read up on and realized the importance of the topic. Initially I thought it had to do with limiting a fish's growth (common misconception), however, after ediucating myself I realized it was far more than that.

Is it safe to assume that the existing fish (refer to first posting) will only grow to a maximum of 2 inches (average)?

The zebra pleco's are amazing looking and I have a earthtone gravel mix (dark brown / light browns), which would contrast the zebra pleco's color. My local fish retailer quoted me approximately $120 for a 2" zebra pleco, is that the going rate? They also mentioned that there is no consistant supply, availability is often limited. I am hesitant to spend $100 plus on a single fish, while the gold nugget or queen arabesque would be my second choices. Thoughts?

[CrazieEddie]

www.liveaquaria.com (http://www.liveaquaria.com) sells the zebra pl*co just under $100 (USD). I, too, would be hesitant to spend that much on one fish. But if I did and I had something that expensive in my tank, I would make sure it was the most stable tank environment and set the water chemistry levels for it. Of course, out of 7 years of my tanks existence, I had only one pl*co death and that occurred just soon after I took it home.

The queen arabesque also looks like a beautiful selection. There seems to be a wide variety of exotic looking pl*cos. It's just when I saw the Gold nugget at my LFS, I just said WOW, but when I saw the price ($40 USD), I said OW. I know saltwater fish are just as expensive, but I didn't know freshwater fish could. But after doing research on the pl*cos and seeing the cost of the Zebra pl*co, I figured, that price wasn't that bad.

And yes, It is safe to say that your other fish will grow to a max of 2".

I really would like to have a "ooohh ahhh fish' or 'centerpiece" fish but want to ensure that it fits within the existing conditions (i.e. a bala sharks are not practicalI guess if you had a Zebra pl*co and you told everyone how much it costs you, it would definitely be the centerpiece and will get an oooh ahhh reaction. But you would probably get a similar reaction if you had a Gold Nugget or Queen Arabesque. :D


BTW, I have done research on the Gold nugget. There are some speciese that look similar, but can grow up to 12". I guess just make sure the LFS you purchase it from will indeed get the correct species.

[rmahrt]

Thanks for all the input and I will proceed cautiously knowing that some pleco species, can grow beyond the limits of my 'current' tank, but will give justification that I need to expand and include in my collection a larger more accomodating aquarium!

[CrazieEddie]

Glad to help. Have you decided on what to get?

Keep us posted on what you get and take pictures of your tank with your new stock.