Hey all.
After watching some goldfish and minnows school in my pond, I thought it would be neat to have a breeding population of something to liven the place up a bit.
The pond:
~50"x50" footprint, 31" high.
-Sand/Aragonite substrate.
-Sparsely decorated; dense plants in one corner (live/fake mix), floating driftwood to one side (won't sink, too big to boil).
The wardens:
~18" long florida gar
~16" long longnose gar
~20" TSN cat
Everybody eats pellets and I throw tilapia in when it's on sale, so the food source doesn't need to be their only source. I threw 100 rosies in last week, and I still have ~50 kicking around. I want a fish that would thrive in the slow water and rocky substrate. I know minnows are more river fish, so I was thinking more cichlid/live-bearer. Crays/shrimp are out of the question. I don't really want something that'll fight back, if you know what I mean.
I've read convict cichlids breed like crazy, but they get rather large and they're quite aggressive. If somebody survives for a few months, I don't want them to get too big to be eaten, and turn into a harassing tankmate. Looking at the final size of mollies, I think they'd be perfect, but can they live without any salt? I've never kept them, and know very little about them.
I'm taking suggestions. I haven't looked at smaller fish in years. I tried starting something with 100 comets, but they schooled in the exact center of the pond and stayed well clear of the planted corner. I think I would need something with more than two braincells to rub together.
Once I have a better idea of species, I can look into specific care and start filling out the hiding spots to suit them.
So... ideas? Experiences?
After watching some goldfish and minnows school in my pond, I thought it would be neat to have a breeding population of something to liven the place up a bit.
The pond:
~50"x50" footprint, 31" high.
-Sand/Aragonite substrate.
-Sparsely decorated; dense plants in one corner (live/fake mix), floating driftwood to one side (won't sink, too big to boil).
The wardens:
~18" long florida gar
~16" long longnose gar
~20" TSN cat
Everybody eats pellets and I throw tilapia in when it's on sale, so the food source doesn't need to be their only source. I threw 100 rosies in last week, and I still have ~50 kicking around. I want a fish that would thrive in the slow water and rocky substrate. I know minnows are more river fish, so I was thinking more cichlid/live-bearer. Crays/shrimp are out of the question. I don't really want something that'll fight back, if you know what I mean.
I've read convict cichlids breed like crazy, but they get rather large and they're quite aggressive. If somebody survives for a few months, I don't want them to get too big to be eaten, and turn into a harassing tankmate. Looking at the final size of mollies, I think they'd be perfect, but can they live without any salt? I've never kept them, and know very little about them.
I'm taking suggestions. I haven't looked at smaller fish in years. I tried starting something with 100 comets, but they schooled in the exact center of the pond and stayed well clear of the planted corner. I think I would need something with more than two braincells to rub together.
Once I have a better idea of species, I can look into specific care and start filling out the hiding spots to suit them.
So... ideas? Experiences?
