Choosing the right bottom dweller.

[Dai Sakana]

Hello everyone,

I'm planning on a roughly 260 gal tank with a pair of oscars (after they pair up, 6 at start) and a shoal of silver dollars, now those are the fish that swim mid to top section. I would like to get some cool bottom dwellers, but i do not know what to pick. Bottom will be sand, I will have rocks and driftwood in the tank too, no plants, maybe some that float (if they survive).

It has to be big enough/shaped so the adult oscars don't feast on it, it can't be too big.. the fish I would really like to have is megalodoras uranoscopus http://rybicky.net/obr/ryby/max/7897.jpg .. but this can grow Very large, which is not what I'm looking for.
Plecos are messy, they create a lot of waste so i guess some sort of catfish? Also fish that requires feeding only live food is not good either (gf can't stand it :/ .. if not for that little family issue I would go for arowana tank and feed it crickets all day long )

So ideal bottom dweller/s would be 10 inches when adult, shaped so adult oscars don't try to eat them, don't require live feeding and lastly don't produce enormous amounts of waste.

Help me out if you can guys!

Thanks

 

[fishnatics]

Pimelodus blochii gets be around 10" or a Pimelodus ornatus around 12" would be my pick. If you want something alittle bigger go for a vulture cat.

 

[Ihsnshaik]

I would say stingrays!

 

[smokeythebair]

Feather fin

 

[Justin David]

Fetherfin

 

[Dai Sakana]

Pimelodus blochii gets be around 10" or a Pimelodus ornatus around 12" would be my pick. If you want something alittle bigger go for a vulture cat.

Hi, I could only find Pimelodus Pictus here in my country and it's not big enough :/ vulture cat is also not available here. I'm from Europe, most of the cool fish that I have seen here are hard to get in my country xD

Feather fin

Fetherfin

According to my website it grows up to 8 inches, eats variety, likes to hide, but also comes out sometimes during the day, What do you guys think about compatibility with oscars/silver dollars? Will they nip T The fin ? Any idea how long does it take to grow to the larger size?

How many feathear fins would you suggest i get.. 2? Any other fish like that?

Thanks guys

I would say stingrays!

I really did think abou rays, but my tank will be a little short on volume and size for a pair of adult rays and i cannot upgrade anymore.. i'm building the maximum my house can take, + they require live feed/ feeding with fish and are quite expensive here.. leo ray is around 600 $, with the average income in the country of about 900$/month it's a lot for a fish

 

[monkeybike]

Hoplo cats work really well with my big cichlids. I have pool filter sand in my 180. They keep it stirred up so the mechanical filters pull the majority of debris out. Hoplo cats are pretty much always moving and searching the substrate. They come to the surface to be hand fed as well, mine love Tubifex and earthworms.

 

[Dai Sakana]

Hoplo cats work really well with my big cichlids. I have pool filter sand in my 180. They keep it stirred up so the mechanical filters pull the majority of debris out. Hoplo cats are pretty much always moving and searching the substrate. They come to the surface to be hand fed as well, mine love Tubifex and earthworms.

Hello,
do you mean Megalechis thoracata ? I do know of those and their behaviorr, only question is.. do they get big enough not to get eaten by an adult Oscar as far as I've been told, Oscars will eat anything that fits in the mouth.
Yes pool filter sand is what I'm going for. Not sure how thick it should be tho 2 inches 4 inches? I would not want it to rot.

I was looking for more catfish and I found Synodontis angelicus, which seems to be also a good choice.

 

[monkeybike]

Hello,
do you mean Megalechis thoracata ?

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hoplosternum_littorale

Mine are probably 5-6" total length, and can hang with my big Flowerhorn and Midas. The are bony plated and have rigid pectoral fins, they take all the abuse my fish throw at them.

 

[Dai Sakana]

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hoplosternum_littorale

Mine are probably 5-6" total length, and can hang with my big Flowerhorn and Midas. The are bony plated and have rigid pectoral fins, they take all the abuse my fish throw at them.

Hoplosternum thoracatum they are the same fish, they just call them thoracatum in my country and "hoplo catfish" in yours anyway it's not about them being able to take the abuse.. all of these bottomdwellers have some sort of defensive mechanism, either fins or hard scales or thorns etc. the thing is fish will be fish and even if it may or will kill them, they will try (or there is a chance they will) to eat the bottom dweller if they can fit them in the mouth.. that's why I'm trying to find bottom dweller that will have 8-10 inches when adult as to prevent this.. I would not be happy to find one of these halfway eaten by an 14" ish oscar (can be bigger up to 16") the bottom dweller will probably live, but the oscar would die.