One of my tanks is now stocked for the most part with:
5x clown loaches (2")
3x silver dollars (3")
2x Amur catfish (3.5")
6x black neon tetras (1")
I am planning to add another school of tetras and two other fish. I searched through some lfs's today and have my mind on this list in particular for the two other fish. I am wondering which of these could be most compatible with my current stock:
Green Severum
Fire mouth cichlid
Leopard ctenopma
Super red dragon cichlid
Geophagos tapajos
If none of the above, similar suggestions?
I also need to know about feeding these fish. I am currently feeding bloodworms to everything but the tetras, who are eating flakes. I do not have any small pellets left so I need to order some new pellets and I would like to know what pellets, or other good would be good to accommodate as many of my fish as possible.
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I'm honestly shocked you haven't had people jumping down your throat for these. I'm not one to judge because sometimes certain things people gasp about aren't as bad as they act.
Anyways:
Green Severum- supposedly a peaceful cichlid, but this is a cichlid. Cichlids are rebels and do not always play by the rules. They take that rule book and throw it out the window. Severum CAN be aggressive and with the stock list you have, there isn't really much room for error. If these were larger fish and you ended up with a rebel severum, they'd be gone instantly. The other thing is; severum get large. Large enough to eat your tetra.
Firemouth-This is a wildcard species. They can either be wonderful in communities or the nastiest fish in there which can get them into trouble. These fish would definitely eat your tetra when full grown, though they are a slow grower.
Leopard bush fish-This is the biggest issue I'm seeing with your tank. By adding this fish you are basically intending to use your tetra as a feeder. Not only do these fish get 6" and a thick beefy 6", but their mouths expand to almost the size of a quarter. These fish are considered "species only" do to their predatory nature and can get aggressive (though usually shy)but I think that's a bit too extreme. They do perfectly find with my cichlid, but this is NOT a community fish.
Super Red Dragon-This is a flowerhorn. Flowerhorns are not only questionable with other large, aggressive species but this would never work with ANY of the fish listed in your tank. This fish can sometimes work long term with other large fish, but usually they end up becoming a solo fish as they get older.
Geo-these can be quite peaceful for a cichlid, but unless you have a fairly large tank they will be competing with your other fish for territory. They aren't super predatory, but yes, they will eat your tetra if they had the chance.
How large is your tank? Clown loach can get fairly large despite the how cute they are as babies, your group size is ok though. Your SD however, should be in a larger school in order for them to feel secure. Without a group, they get super jumpy and stress out. They are a perfect target fish for cichlid though.
As for feeding. Bloodworms are ok, but aren't good for a staple diet. Sure you can live off hot dogs and mcdonalds and I'm sure you may prefer it to brown rice and veggies, but it's not very good nutritionally. BW can bind up your fish and cause constipation and other issues if fed regularly. Variety is the key with feeding but since you have different fish with different needs you'll need to do a mixture of a few things in order to accommodate. A good quality flake for the tetra is fine but I'd recommend a high quality flake or pellet like hikari or NLS (if you do pellets make sure to get multiple sizes for your fish) an all around food is hikari gold, for more veggie eaters hikari excell (or something similar) is acceptable, hikari carnivore are also loved by fish. mixing it up with some bloodworms, shrimp, krill, etc will also give variety, but helps boost color and size. Spirulina is a good thing to add in for color as well. NLS is a great food, but they don't have as many specific type foods, but they do add garlic which helps attract fish and helps with parasites.
