I have a 29g Biocube that I'm converting over to freshwater for a few reasons, and I want to keep some oddball fish. Nothing too large, this isn't a terribly large tank, but I have a couple of fish in mind.
I absolutely love South American leaf-fish, but the whole matter of them being ultra-picky eaters, messy fish, and rather delicate takes them off my list. If I do eventually get ahold of one that eats frozen, it's going into a bigger tank than this one.
My potential stock is:
1 African butterflyfish
1 small ctenopoma or other leaffish-like critter
1 farlowella catfish, one the tank is established enough for algae (probably a twig)
8-10 schooling fish
I'm thinking of a mottled bushfish for my leafy, if I can get ahold of one. Anyone know much about availability? Any other suggestions? I'd like something as close to a SA leafy as possible. Striped/ornate ctenopomas seem to be a bit more common, but they aren't quite weird enough- though they are pretty.
For my schooling fish, I know I'll need something a bit on the chunky side so the leafy and the butterfly can't swallow them. I'm thinking of either diamond tetras or Indian glassfish (un-dyed), as both are fairly chunky and definitely to my liking. Does either one of them need more space than this, though? Seriouslyfish.com lists them both as being OK in a 20g, but I'm not certain how accurate that is. They're usually pretty accurate.
The tank will be moderately planted, with one or two nice pieces of driftwood for some hard cover that the leafy can lurk behind. We're near Lake Travis, and all the rain a few months ago means that a bunch of stuff was submerged and is now being washed up as some really nice driftwood. I'll have some sort of floating plant at the surface for the butterfly to hang out under, or some sort of driftwood positioned partially at the surface if I can find the right piece. Given the shape of the tank, I should be able to provide a good few bottom-level hiding spots for the leaf, a couple of places for the butterfly to hang out, and a good bit of open space for the schoolers to move.
Also, there will be a good bit of leaf litter in the tank to provide a dark substrate, tiny bugs for snacking, and tannin-tinted water. I suspect that will help whatever leafy I choose come out more often.
Anyone have any general input? Do I have any potential problems in here? I'm aware that putting under-grown schoolers with a leafy will result in me having quite a few less schoolers, so I'll most definitely be avoiding that. I don't think the butterfly will be too much of a threat to anything, they stay right up at the surface and I doubt one can engulf a diamond tetra or an Indian glassfish anyway.
I absolutely love South American leaf-fish, but the whole matter of them being ultra-picky eaters, messy fish, and rather delicate takes them off my list. If I do eventually get ahold of one that eats frozen, it's going into a bigger tank than this one.
My potential stock is:
1 African butterflyfish
1 small ctenopoma or other leaffish-like critter
1 farlowella catfish, one the tank is established enough for algae (probably a twig)
8-10 schooling fish
I'm thinking of a mottled bushfish for my leafy, if I can get ahold of one. Anyone know much about availability? Any other suggestions? I'd like something as close to a SA leafy as possible. Striped/ornate ctenopomas seem to be a bit more common, but they aren't quite weird enough- though they are pretty.
For my schooling fish, I know I'll need something a bit on the chunky side so the leafy and the butterfly can't swallow them. I'm thinking of either diamond tetras or Indian glassfish (un-dyed), as both are fairly chunky and definitely to my liking. Does either one of them need more space than this, though? Seriouslyfish.com lists them both as being OK in a 20g, but I'm not certain how accurate that is. They're usually pretty accurate.
The tank will be moderately planted, with one or two nice pieces of driftwood for some hard cover that the leafy can lurk behind. We're near Lake Travis, and all the rain a few months ago means that a bunch of stuff was submerged and is now being washed up as some really nice driftwood. I'll have some sort of floating plant at the surface for the butterfly to hang out under, or some sort of driftwood positioned partially at the surface if I can find the right piece. Given the shape of the tank, I should be able to provide a good few bottom-level hiding spots for the leaf, a couple of places for the butterfly to hang out, and a good bit of open space for the schoolers to move.
Also, there will be a good bit of leaf litter in the tank to provide a dark substrate, tiny bugs for snacking, and tannin-tinted water. I suspect that will help whatever leafy I choose come out more often.
Anyone have any general input? Do I have any potential problems in here? I'm aware that putting under-grown schoolers with a leafy will result in me having quite a few less schoolers, so I'll most definitely be avoiding that. I don't think the butterfly will be too much of a threat to anything, they stay right up at the surface and I doubt one can engulf a diamond tetra or an Indian glassfish anyway.
lol.