picky eater 75g

Rafini · Mar 20, 2015

I'm playing around with an idea in my head, we have all kept species that can be difficult to feed and may suffer from being kept with more aggressive feeders, i'm talking about some bichirs, Eels, Mormyrids etc

so I'm thinking of setting up a predatory tank for just fish like that and I was wondering if anyone could suggest some interesting stockings of fish that would co exist nicely, It will be a 75g but potentially I could upgrade or just switch them into my 120 at some point and downsize on my geos into a breeding pair or small group.
I was thinking of providing live food often, trying to wean the fish onto pieces of fish meat or seafood possibly massivore.
Iin terms of stocking I came up with a few suggestions of oddball predators that don't tend to act aggressively towards their tankmates

Xenentodon cancila (needlenose gar), Hujeta gar - top level predators
Peters Elephantnose, baby whale, Mormyrid - Mid swimmers
appropriately sized spiny eels species, senegal or delhezi Bichir, Black ghost knife possiblt although I hear they can be aggressive - bottom dwellers

Any cool ideas?

kno4te · Mar 20, 2015

Rafini said:
I'm playing around with an idea in my head, we have all kept species that can be difficult to feed and may suffer from being kept with more aggressive feeders, i'm talking about some bichirs, Eels, Mormyrids etc

so I'm thinking of setting up a predatory tank for just fish like that and I was wondering if anyone could suggest some interesting stockings of fish that would co exist nicely, It will be a 75g but potentially I could upgrade or just switch them into my 120 at some point and downsize on my geos into a breeding pair or small group.
I was thinking of providing live food often, trying to wean the fish onto pieces of fish meat or seafood possibly massivore.
Iin terms of stocking I came up with a few suggestions of oddball predators that don't tend to act aggressively towards their tankmates

Xenentodon cancila (needlenose gar), Hujeta gar - top level predators
Peters Elephantnose, baby whale, Mormyrid - Mid swimmers
appropriately sized spiny eels species, senegal or delhezi Bichir, Black ghost knife possiblt although I hear they can be aggressive - bottom dwellers

Any cool ideas?

You probably can get away with African butterfly fish and hujetas for the top. Can get a couple of mormyrids (6). No black ghost knife as they will not get along with the elephant nose. Can get a African knife fish as it won't get big enough to mess with the elephant nose. It's one or the other. Ropefish and delhezi will be fine. Maybe a drift wood cat for the bottom. Like tatia species. Will need a sandy substrate.

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Rafini · Mar 21, 2015

kno4te said:
You probably can get away with African butterfly fish and hujetas for the top. Can get a couple of mormyrids (6). No black ghost knife as they will not get along with the elephant nose. Can get a African knife fish as it won't get big enough to mess with the elephant nose. It's one or the other. Ropefish and delhezi will be fine. Maybe a drift wood cat for the bottom. Like tatia species. Will need a sandy substrate.

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No needlenose? they only get 10" on average and most information sources cite 70g as their preferred tank size. I thought it would be cool to have one as a feature fish as they would eat the same food as polys. Hujeta gars are supposedly hard to wean onto pellets but I had one for years that lived with cichlids and he would eat pellets like there`s no tomorrow.

I had a feeling that the elephant nose wouldn`t mix with the BGK, i read that they have a conflicting electronic signature that can cause discomfort to them.

So the mormyrids would be the open water swimmers, and they aren`t very competitive for food, but they will be the only fish within that area so it should give them plenty of time to get to the blood worms and other frozen foods. The rest of the fish will probably have feeders every week or biweekly just to make sure they get growing. I`ll get the bichirs onto massivore asap and then thats 3 different feeding zones for picky eaters. in theory all 3 groups of fish should be able to get plenty of food without too much competition

kno4te · Mar 21, 2015

Rafini said:
No needlenose? they only get 10" on average and most information sources cite 70g as their preferred tank size. I thought it would be cool to have one as a feature fish as they would eat the same food as polys. Hujeta gars are supposedly hard to wean onto pellets but I had one for years that lived with cichlids and he would eat pellets like there`s no tomorrow.

I had a feeling that the elephant nose wouldn`t mix with the BGK, i read that they have a conflicting electronic signature that can cause discomfort to them.

So the mormyrids would be the open water swimmers, and they aren`t very competitive for food, but they will be the only fish within that area so it should give them plenty of time to get to the blood worms and other frozen foods. The rest of the fish will probably have feeders every week or biweekly just to make sure they get growing. I`ll get the bichirs onto massivore asap and then thats 3 different feeding zones for picky eaters. in theory all 3 groups of fish should be able to get plenty of food without too much competition

You can do needle nose gars. Just make sure there is nothing for a bichir to sit and pick them off like an elbow of a filter/piping. The hujeta gars are a preference for me as they are just upper zone fish. So not an issue. The mormyrids can be done but usually need a pack. They can become aggressive to other fish when solo. Also they will hide a lot if solo. The bichirs shouldn't be an issue for feeding. Neither will the gar, whichever you pick. The mormyrids can be a bit tricky. Not too many have kept them long term. Need very pristine water as they lack the same scales as other fish. Sensitive to meds and water changes. Still worth all the effort if can work. Good luck.

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Rafini · Mar 22, 2015

kno4te said:
You can do needle nose gars. Just make sure there is nothing for a bichir to sit and pick them off like an elbow of a filter/piping. The hujeta gars are a preference for me as they are just upper zone fish. So not an issue. The mormyrids can be done but usually need a pack. They can become aggressive to other fish when solo. Also they will hide a lot if solo. The bichirs shouldn't be an issue for feeding. Neither will the gar, whichever you pick. The mormyrids can be a bit tricky. Not too many have kept them long term. Need very pristine water as they lack the same scales as other fish. Sensitive to meds and water changes. Still worth all the effort if can work. Good luck.

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Thanks, I plan on using a 175g rated filter because lets be honest, a moderately stocked 120g would benefit more from the tech than the tank the specifications are aimed at, after all the manufacturers use that as a minimum. so this tank will definately be over filtered thats not an issue.

I would preferably like to keep senegalus and delhezi, its not just a size thing, but the fact that in my experience they seem to be a lot more active. I completely aggree about the gar possibly taking out polys that are on some kind of a perch in his region. I am thinking that the best way to combat that would be
1. no areas for them to perch near the surface immobile
2. floating plants (or fake ones) Bichirs love to rest in these
3. keep the gar well fed
4. make sure the gar is as small as the bichirs, that way they will grow together. Bichirs have very tough scales so unless they were much much smaller than the gar I can`t really imagine they would get picked off.

Can anyone suggest any alternative fish species, ive tried doing some research but I need fish that would not feed aggressively

tlindsey · Mar 22, 2015

The floating plants would also benefit the African Butterfly Fish, btw totally agree with kno4te.

Rafini · Mar 22, 2015

Yeah Kno4te has been extremely helpful with my questions haha

I have some hornwort growing in my 120 that is a huge mass by now, I could just seed some of that into this set up. rereading what Kno4te said, hes saying that with Mormyrids, either have a group or none? So if I couldn`t get hold of a group what is another hard to feed middle dwelling fish ?

kno4te · Mar 23, 2015

Sorry guys...not sure if I was clear or not. Group of morymrids would be great because the aggression will be minuscule and evenly distributed cause of the pack. If you get one or two or three then you may get one fish bullied and will die. You can get one by itself but it'll hide a lot. Come out at night and feed (sand sifting). The group of 6 or more are more bold and our in the open more. It's a matter of what you want and what you are ok dealing with.

Can always try bush fish, nandus (adult), tetras, geos, and barbs.

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kno4te · Mar 23, 2015

Consider the nandus. They are like mini Nile perch, pretty interesting. Can keep a few together.

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Rafini · Mar 24, 2015

I never thought of that, I know that nandus have a reputation for being difficult if not impossible to wean onto dead food. To me they look like mini dats they are seriously cool fish.

I have geos in my 120 and believe me when I tell you they go crazy at feeding time. They would no doubt do great in this type of a set up, but I want to make feeding the hard to feed fish the priority.


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