So how strict are you at keeping a biotope?

[David R]

Right now I'm facing the moral dilemma of possibly "ruining" my Amazon-themed tank by adding a group of clown loaches. In an ideal world I'd give them their own tank and keep a more "geographically correct" mix of fish in each tank, but the reality is they're one of my favourite fish and I chose the option of one big tank over several smaller ones, so if I want them I'm going to have to mix-and-match with my SA fish. My tank isn't a true biotope correct to one particular river, but I do prefer keeping fish of similar habitats from the same continent together. In terms of water they're completely compatible, they all prefer warm, soft water with good flow, but something in my brain keeps saying it's not right to mix the different nationalities. Guess that makes me a wee bit racist?!

 

[aclockworkorange]

I just tell people (in my case) they're super rare Guatemalan clown loaches. I hear the amazon strain is the rarest.


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[virgil2090]

If you think it will bother you, then you can always sell them later.I try to keep close to biotope, but I understand why that is not always possible for everybody.if the mix works with no damage and mostly happy fish then go for it.

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[UnstoppableJayD]

I try to keep it pretty tight, with general exception being clown loaches.. they go everywhere.

 

[lix.ma14]

Africans with south american? yes!!!

 

[petspoiler]

THIS will be an interesting thread.
I've been debating this issue too!
Thing is, I already limit myself to only keeping fish that can live with my tap water parameters, and also to only keeping a manageable number of tanks.
TBH, recently I'm leaning more toward "As long as the stock can get along, why not mix them?" because I want more variety.
However, I admit it's Not real easy.
:-/

 

[David R]

If you think it will bother you, then you can always sell them later.

That would be easy enough, if only catching them wouldn't require the complete destruction of my tank and most likely two of us getting in there to try catch them!

I'm not specifically seeking comments on my particular situation, was just using it as an example. Just curious to see how the community feels about mixing up fish as I know some who are very specific, and others who couldn't care less.

 

[RampageRR]

I think there are certain fish that kind of go with all kinds of setups. Clown loaches and silver dollars come to mind. I'd love a school of clown loaches in with my ATF.

 

[cjdesmit]

I've always liked biotope themed tanks so I at least try to keep it within the same continent -- CA, SA, and so forth.. However, I always tend to cheat when it comes to the bottom feeders such as catfish and loaches. Mostly due to the fact that there really aren't any Central American catfish that stay a reasonable size, nor that are really even found in the hobby. With that said, if I had a SA themed tank I'd be pretty hesitant to add any type of loach simply due to the overabundance of South American catfish choices.

 

[petspoiler]

IMO, this forum has a higher ratio of members who would fit the Arian brotherhood/racial stigmas of Who's "in the neighborhood" mindset ;-)
So even if people are willing to mix it up at home, not gonna find so many who feel comfortable with that in public.