Rope Fish or Peacock Eel? (Or neither)

[brandon_rss18]

Most of the synodontis are voracious eaters and I might be wary with ropefish in the tank. There is a good chance they could outcompete them for food (they can be greedy little piglets, lol). With a limited amount it could be doable. I recently saw some microsynodontis spp. up at Fish Gallery and thought they could be effective in a tank set up similar to this. They stay smaller and would be less prone to being vacuum cleaners.

Loricards (plecos and their relatives) are entirely found in South and Central America, so there are no native Africans in that family. With a densely planted tank I might consider some giant Otocinclus or even dismissing a loricard completely. With proper light management and supplementation algae is often times better controlled by the aquarist and relying upon a pleco is difficult. Have you considered using larger amano shrimp? They are not actually native to Africa, but their are a myriad of native shrimp and with their subdued coloration their behavior and appearance would not be too far out of the norm for something akin to their native shrimps. They can be fairly effective cleaners and at a decent size would be difficult for most of your inhabitants to eat whole.

Thanks so much for all of the great info you posted. I was doing some reading on the Amano Shrimp and they sound like something I should check into!

[brandon_rss18]

Here is a picture of the tank so far. This is what I have done with it since last Wednesday. Still wanting to put more driftwood in it, and a few more plants.

[mnemenoi]

Is that Holey rock and Amazon swords? Anubias would be a great choice and requires little attention at all and is from Africa. Vals are another great choice and are another native. I like the look of it thus far. Have you attempted to move the lower wood on the left side to obscure your intake?

[brandon_rss18]

Is that Holey rock and Amazon swords? Anubias would be a great choice and requires little attention at all and is from Africa. Vals are another great choice and are another native. I like the look of it thus far. Have you attempted to move the lower wood on the left side to obscure your intake?

Thanks! It is actually Fossil rock and some type of sword. I got them at Fish Gallery Saturday and they didnt even know what type they were. They got them in a mixed order and I got them for a pretty good price. I just liked the look of them. I thought about it, but I am planning to buy some more driftwood this weekend, then I will get creative! lol Anubias is the next plant I plan on purchasing!

[brandon_rss18]

Actually getting some Val this Friday from a fellow member!

[mnemenoi]

Good to hear!! I have Anubias and Val in my tanganyikan tank and both have done terrificly. I like the driftwood and I'm sure a few more pieces will certainly fill out the scape well. I wish there was a bit more access to manzanita here in Houston as that would really work well with ropefish. I was tossing around a tentacled snake tank using it and think it would be perfect.

[brandon_rss18]

Good to hear!! I have Anubias and Val in my tanganyikan tank and both have done terrificly. I like the driftwood and I'm sure a few more pieces will certainly fill out the scape well. I wish there was a bit more access to manzanita here in Houston as that would really work well with ropefish. I was tossing around a tentacled snake tank using it and think it would be perfect.

Manzanita branches are awesome! I was looking at this site the other day, and their prices arnt that bad.

http://www.bloomsandbranches.com/SearchResults.asp?Cat=1820

[mnemenoi]

It does look decent, I just need to finish all the other tanks first lol. Only 4 more in line before my next free tank idea...

[brandon_rss18]

Do you think any of the fish I am looking at doing would mess with a Viper Shrimp? I see they are from Africa and are pretty neat looking.

[mnemenoi]

I don't see anything that would mess with them, Vampire shrimp are fairly large and are filter feeders usually, but I have read they can eat food far better then the Asian fan shrimp. Those and Amanos are both far larger then ghost shrimp and the neo/caridinas. Macrobranchium can also be an option, but stick with the smaller varieties like the Red Claw.... Sunkenmetal has some for sale occasionally and they sound fairly well behaved.

[brandon_rss18]

I don't see anything that would mess with them, Vampire shrimp are fairly large and are filter feeders usually, but I have read they can eat food far better then the Asian fan shrimp. Those and Amanos are both far larger then ghost shrimp and the neo/caridinas. Macrobranchium can also be an option, but stick with the smaller varieties like the Red Claw.... Sunkenmetal has some for sale occasionally and they sound fairly well behaved.

Awesome ideas! Keep them coming! I remembered what fish I was going to ask you about, an Elephant Nose! Do you think one of these would be possible in this tank?

[mnemenoi]

Hmm, Mormyrids are certainly a possibility. There is quite a bit to consider when deciding upon any morymid (actually an extensive family).
1.Water quality is and will be an issue. There is no getting around it, water changes are mandatory to keep these healthy. Bad parameters usually account for most deaths and this is even considering that exp. aquarists fail regularly with this family. Water quality plants use these fish as barometers to measure their water parameters.
2. Numbers. Usually its recommended either one or six. They are an electric fish and seem to be gregarious in nature, but smaller groups develop a heirarchy and weaker members are often the target of the strongest. With a large enough school you can diffuse that aggression, but in smaller numbers it seems inevitable that the weaker members will be bullied and stressed. Also be wary of using any other electric fish (knifefish usually) in the tank as it seems to provoke reactions and interferes with their evolved hunting technique.
3. Substrate. Sand is preferred, as they utilize their lower jaw to locate food and root around in the substrate in nature. Sharp or heavy substrate will eitehr injure or could stress the fish.
4. Size/species. Know what species you are looking for and its adult size. Some are huge aquatic predators, while others are detritus sifting omnivores.
5. Feeding. Many only take certain foods and are difficult if not impossible to wean onto something else. Try many different foods to vary their diet, but ask the clerk what they have been feeding on. Most of mine never ate anything except frozen bloodworms at night.
6. Toys - It is one of the only known species of fish that appears to 'play'. Many aquarists have mentioned that their fish will chase and push a small ball of foil around in the tank and will come to recognize and appear immediately when their owner offers it. Perhaps it exercises their electric sensations and organs, but it something I have regularly seen amongst keepers.

Look over the species available, there are a lot from Baby whales, to elephantnose, to doubletruncks, to dolphins. Let their latin name be your guide as their common names appear to shift and are hard to determine species.

Here is a decent guide to keeping Mormyrids