Setups for having riverine/rheophilic and still water fish in the same tank?

  • We are currently upgrading MFK. thanks! -neo
M

MultipleTankSyndrome

Giant Snakehead
MFK Member
Sep 25, 2021
1,937
2,016
149
Loachaholica
I asked this question in the thread about my tank setup which has this, but didn't get many answers so I made this thread.
Anyone have tank setups with a mix of flowing and still water to mix riverine/rheophilic fish and still water fish? And what are the stats of your setup (eg: tank size, fish, turnover rate of pumps and such)? Ever since I began setting up my tank with this goal in mind, the principle has greatly intrigued me and I'd love to hear just what anyone else is doing.

My tank setup like this is a 473 liter with 3 Sicce pumps (2 Voyager 4's and an XStream 8000) which make a 20,000 l/hr turnover or a bit more than 42 times/hr.
They're all positioned right at the top of the tank (so the mid-bottom area can be a low-current area) at a slightly upward angle (to further concentrate flow on the upper part of the tank and to churn the surface for good oxygenation).
This lets me have Botia loaches+some sharks and barbs that like flowing water in the same tank as more still-water kuhli loaches.
 
I honestly don't believe it's reasonable to keep multiple species with differing requirements together in a single tank. One of the most basic precepts of proper aquarium care is to ensure that all the fish in one tank require similar water conditions; this is usually referring to pH, temperature, hardness, etc. but it could be interpreted as meaning such things as flow, oxygen levels, type of substrate and a host of other conditions.

You can't realistically expect to create two such completely different sets of conditions in a tank as small as the one you are attempting. You are going to lengths to create an ideal environment for one group of fish...and now are trying to replicate quite different conditions mere inches away, for another group. What you will end up with is a tank with conditions which are a compromise for all species being kept...or, in other words, a typical grab-bag community aquarium.

Nothing wrong with that...but it really flies in the face of all your plans for a specialized riverine tank. Pick one biotope...river, swamp, lake, sewer, whatever...and concentrate on that. With fish as with people...you can't make all the fish happy all the time. Pick your choose.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Wideglide04 and Fallen_Leaves16
I thought in my case it would have worked fine? After all the riverine fish do need a place to rest (as discussed in the thread about this tank), which is an ideal place for non-riverine fish to live if it's sufficiently big .
Duanes, an expert on biotopes, also believes this is a reasonable principle if the tank is large enough for the fish:

180 gallon Stocking

Hi, I am looking for some insights into stocking my new 180 Gallon 6x2x2 that is on the way. I have done A LOT of homework on this and thought I would ask the experts here to get a proper consensus on stocking. Currently I have a Juwel Rio 240 with 3x Clown loaches (approx 3-4 inches), 3x...
www.monsterfishkeepers.com www.monsterfishkeepers.com

Are Powerheads necessary?

Hi everyone, i’ve been experimenting with everything in my tank. And now that i have an African arowana and Flagtail turning up the sand and cleaning everything in the tank. I’m wondering do we actually need powerheads/wave makers if we have active fish and high turnover?
www.monsterfishkeepers.com www.monsterfishkeepers.com
And as biotopes go, I trust them just about the most of anyone on the site.
 
Your question had me smiling. A couple of years ago a non hobbyist mate of mine came up to the house and was admiring my fish and he said, "your fish are great but marine fish are way more colourful, can you not somehow do a mix in the same tank?" Lol.

Different pH/temps requirements etc for certain fish are old hat really. We're constantly told fish will adapt. Now whether that's just simply the go to excuse to justify putting any old fish together is another story. Will they be 100% happy adapting to conditions out of their comfort zone? Maybe not, but they'll live, if not a little stressed at times.

The problem you have in your scenario is that you'd need a public aquarium sized set up! River currents at one end and stillwater at the other end? That is some ask in a run of the mill hobbyists set up.

And even then, in a huge huge tank, you'd probably need an area cordoned off with big rocks etc to prevent the flow of the high flow area stirring up your stillwater area.


And an even bigger connundrum for you, how will you stop your riverine fish from swimming out of their "zone", and likewise, how would you stop your stillwater fish from going for some exercise in the river bit?

It just seems a bit daft to me and not really workable.
 
  • Like
  • Love
Reactions: Dégatdeau, Fallen_Leaves16 and jjohnwm
For esoxlucius, this was going off as mentioned, the only opinions on it I had seen from someone prior to this thread. Midwater's and duanes'.

Thanks for your input regardless.

Edit: Just for context, Midwater has described these waterways as predominantly slow-moving or even still, with the occassional tract of fast-moving water. I do agree with them that this does match my requirements.
 
Last edited:
You yourself said it best: "Overall, in the big picture, there is a compromise if keeping them together, with neither being best served." At the time, you were talking about mixing cichlids and loaches, but the idea holds true.

Can you keep cichlids and loaches together? Sure...but it isn't perfect for either.

Can you mix fast-water and still-water species together? Sure...but it isn't perfect for either.

Honestly, when Esox mentioned mixing marines in with freshwater fish, I almost laughed out loud; that was exactly the exaggerated extension of this idea that had occurred to me when I read this. You, more than most people on here, are frequently talking about "happiness" in fish, "enrichment" and "toys" for your fish...didn't you actually comment recently about a group of fish being "dissatisfied" with some element in the room in which their tank was located?

We keep fish in tiny little puddles of water...relative to the vast areas they inhabit in nature. When we put fish together in even the largest aquarium, they are still being jammed into an unnaturally small environment, with no control over the stocking density or the species makeup of that environment. And, because of the adaptability to which Esox alluded, they can often, even usually, survive and perhaps even thrive. But we are deluding ourselves if we actually believe that we can really do justice to even one "biotope" in the tiny confines of an aquarium...let alone two.

Do it...put them together in one small aquarium...it's not as if they have any choice in the matter. Agonize over which way this pump points, or exactly how high a turnover rate you have, or how deep that substrate is in the corner, or what angle that rock needs to be to redirect the flow. The simple fact remains that the more different elements you try to incorporate in one aquarium...the poorer the overall execution of any one of those will be.

Edited to add: Try to remember that in those natural environments, with slack and fast water interspersed...that your entire aquarium would fit, many times over, into one of the fast flow areas, or into one of the slack zones.
 
Last edited:
  • Like
Reactions: Dégatdeau, Fallen_Leaves16, GolemGolem and 3 others
Let me put it another way. The idea of having fast flowing water and slow flowing water in the same tank is doable, fact. How can I be so sure it works? Because I'm doing it right now!

When my powerheads are on at certain times of the day my tanks are like rivers, and certain species love it, especially my clown loach. My GG on the other hand isn't too keen.

When my powerheads are off the water is like very slow moving pond water. My GG loves it, my other fish probably can't wait for them to come back on, lol.

That's how I achieve high and low flow, at different times within the same tank. I believe you are looking to achieve high and low flow in the same tank simultaneously! That is the part which I believe is unrealistic in a puddle of water.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Fallen_Leaves16 and Midwater
You must log in or register to reply here.
MonsterFishKeepers.com
Top Bottom