I need opinions

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Rtc/tsn

Redtail Catfish
MFK Member
Apr 22, 2021
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I’m wanting to add 2 more fish to my 75g Flowerhorn tank, I already have one spotted Raphael catfish that I’ve had for months and is now maybe 2-2.5”. I’m interested in getting a marbled thorny catfish and another species that I can’t remember but will look up after I post this and will comment the species. My idea to make this possible with my Flowerhorn is to get more pvc and make an area on one side of the tank into a pvc cave, I already have done this for my first spotted Raphael and it’s worked amazingly. What I have in mind is to get a pvc basin with the dimensions closest to 16”x6”x6” and drill a hole into so that they can leave if they want to but also a hole in the top with a tube leading out of the tank so that I can easily feed them. I’ve been planning to get more fish for a while now and I already know that it’s going to a decent effect on the bioload and I’m also prepared to buy and set up a canister filter along with 2x weekly water changes. Does this sound like it could work? Any other opinions on what I could do?
 
IMO, your best course of action is to move the Raphael to another tank, or rehome the flowerhorn for more fish.

Anything you put in with the flowerhorn is likely to be very stressed in a constantly fearful existence.
I can tell you from firsthand experience that even when fish evade attack or similar from tank mates, it is very stressful to be in the tank. For example, my black kuhli loaches were constantly hiding because my clown loaches were trying to eat them, and this changed when I moved them to another tank.

Good luck, if it were me I'd rehome the flowerhorn and go for a nice mix.
 
I’d leave it as is. You got lucky with the raph, as it’s basically 50/50 for if flowerhorns attack cats. Another may upset the balance and cause him to kill both.
 
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