How's mbu with others ?

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calgaryflames

Plecostomus
MFK Member
Nov 10, 2009
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calgary
Just wondering about keeping mbu with other fish species and stingrays. How well do they mix is it a great community fish ? Or does it depend on the fish in particular . I've seen so many in with very small fish how do they do in tanks with very large fish ?


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Mine has always done well with smaller, non-aggressive specioes. Rainbowfish, danios, etc. You want to avoid species which would nip or pester him. Also, I would avoid any fish that are not smart enough to stay out of the way at feeding time. For example, bichirs, slow catfish, lethargig or bottom dwelling fish he might "sample" out of curiosity, LOL. I keep Tan***ikan cichlids with mine.

I would definitiely not put a stingray in with an Mbu puffer. That would probably end very badly for the ray.
 
You can find a number of examples of them being kept together on youtube, but I personally wouldn't do it. I've heard of Mbus mistaking ray eyes for snails and plucking them out of the sand. All it takes is a test bite and the ray could be ruined. As friendly as Mbus are, I wouldn't keep them with anything as expensive as rays. Just my opinion.
 
bottles said:
You can find a number of examples of them being kept together on youtube, but I personally wouldn't do it. I've heard of Mbus mistaking ray eyes for snails and plucking them out of the sand. All it takes is a test bite and the ray could be ruined. As friendly as Mbus are, I wouldn't keep them with anything as expensive as rays. Just my opinion.
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Exactly, and also the potential for the ray to stab the mbu would be high seeing as they would both spend a lot of time near the bottom.
 
bottles said:
You can find a number of examples of them being kept together on youtube, but I personally wouldn't do it. I've heard of Mbus mistaking ray eyes for snails and plucking them out of the sand. All it takes is a test bite and the ray could be ruined. As friendly as Mbus are, I wouldn't keep them with anything as expensive as rays. Just my opinion.
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I doubt that it mistakes an eye for a snail . Most predatory fish are such picky eaters .


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calgaryflames said:
Large...
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LOL, what is "large" to you? I know, for example, that what my Mbu will do at 25" is different than what he would've tried at, say, 12".

calgaryflames said:
I doubt that it mistakes an eye for a snail...
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You're missing the point. It does not matter if the Mbu thinks it is food or not and has nothing to do with aggression. Mbu are curious ands "sample" anything in their environment which catches their attention and they do this by biting it. If that just happens to be part of another fish, oh well, LOL. My Mbu has bitten the nozzles off powerheads, any thermometer mounted inside the tank, as well as a suction-cup mounted grounding probe. Nothing is safe from a large Mbu unless it can physically swim out of the way. They will bite anything.

I'm not arguing with, just saying that I know exactly how it would end up for a stingray if one was ever in the presence of a large Mbu. The issue is that most people define "large Mbu" as anything near 12" and in my experience, they aren't even getting started at that age.

Just my 2-cents, accept or reject as you please.
 
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