Restocking my 300, ideas?

[lloyd378]

I know you loved your bichirs , but I also remember you getting bored of them. I love catfish too, but I would have a hard time dedicating 300g to one catfish.

I have a hard enough time dedicating my 220g to my Dovii / jag hybrid which is a beautiful fish that stalks you across the glass as it’s only about 13.5-14” and he won’t allow anything else to live with it.

 

[DMD123]

I absolutely love my group of albino hoplo cats but want something bigger for the 300 if I decided on a catfish. My all time favorite are the giraffe cats but these get way too big for my tank. I know the vulture cats have a potential of getting really big too but most seem to stay in a range that I think would work. Plus I love the patterns on the adult cats.

As to the bichirs... they really got pretty boring after a while. They were really cool when they decided to go swimming around during the day otherwise they were just tank decor, a type of driftwood of sorts, lol. The only real redeeming thing about them was that they displayed no aggression towards any other fish.

 

[DMD123]

I ended up getting a fish for the 300 from Wet Spot

Got home late so no in tank pics. It will need to grow out a bit before it goes into the big tank but they did have a larger one in one of their display tanks... Its a future giant

 

[DMD123]

New little guy in the tank this afternoon

 

[DMD123]

New RTGG (Red Tail Giant Gourami) is doing very well in the 90g community tank. It has settled in nicely and all its fins have healed up. This is one of the primary focus fish I want in the 300. I am not sure about the pearsei or oscar in that tank or even the silver dollars for that matter. Really looking for a mellow and calm tank, and so far a giant gourami fits the ideas the best.

 

[lloyd378]

New RTGG (Red Tail Giant Gourami) is doing very well in the 90g community tank. It has settled in nicely and all its fins have healed up. This is one of the primary focus fish I want in the 300. I am not sure about the pearsei or oscar in that tank or even the silver dollars for that matter. Really looking for a mellow and calm tank, and so far a giant gourami fits the ideas the best.

I didn’t think you had the pearsei or Oscar anymore?!? I thought you put them down because of an infection or something a while ago…..

 

[DMD123]

I didn’t think you had the pearsei or Oscar anymore?!? I thought you put them down because of an infection or something a while ago…..

Nope I still have them. The Oscar has it on his nose and its left a large white scar. The pearsei has pot marks all over its head. It eats well and is typical pearsei friendly but it looks like it never stopped eating away despite multiple attempts to treat it.

 

[DMD123]

 

[DMD123]

The giant gourami is doing well with no issues with tankmates, yet…lol. They can get bad as “teenagers” and tankmates may get difficult to keep with them. From gathering the red tails like what I have, are the best for community settings and the most easy going. I am still looking for future tankmates, maybe a catfish still. Was thinking a Syno type like a featherfin. Only about 9” max and fairly active. I dont know for sure, still trying to figure out a tank based on the gourami.

 

[DMD123]

Revisiting a catfish Ive always liked but never acted upon… the moustache catfish. Been thinking this might make a good tankmate for the giant gourami. A slightly bigger fish at about 14”, but said to be very peaceful. Likely better choice than a featherfin. just cant find anyone with them in stock.

Hemisynodontis Membranaceus is the one Im looking for.

 

[DMD123]

Still on the hunt for my moustache catfish…. Cant find it but I can get ahold of Synodontis batensoda which look pretty similar just without the cool stash.

 

[lloyd378]

Have you contacted eurofish aquatics? He has the ability to source some pretty unique fish

 

[lloyd378]

Or maybe even moonlight aquatics. I’ve heard both get rare fish in for the hobby.

 

[DMD123]

@lloyd378, Thanks for the text earlier. I found a vendor back east who has two. A bit pricey at $149 each, but also a little bigger at 7”. I think I will email them a couple questions and then make my decision.

 

[DMD123]

With new vendors I always do a "test" of sorts. I will email and ask questions and see how quickly and thoroughly of a response I get. The company that has the moustache catfish said to text them or call with questions so I texted asking about the picture they had up of the fish.

This could be an older pic and not a representation of the current stock but for $149 and the shipping cost on this, I want to know what I'm getting. Part of me wonders if they would snap off a couple pics and send them.... will see how it goes.

 

[DMD123]

I had not received anything back via the texting the vendor after about 2 1/2 hrs so I was looking at the info on the 'shipping info & Faq' and was a little concerned there was no email address in this section and there really is not a clear DOA policy in writing. I found an email on another section of their website and emailed them to ask my questions. I did see that they had a lot of good reviews for their physical store itself with the owner looking like he responded to both positive and negative reviews politely and professionally. There was like two online order reviews there too that seemed positive. Ive seen some nightmare reviews on other forums about different vendors and thankfully Ive never had that issue yet, but I also dont want to experience any problems by asking the questions upfront and to get everything in writing.

 

[DMD123]

Thats interesting.... After my text and email to them I went back to the saved link and now it has a "404 Page Not Found" on the webpage. Was this fish priced at $149 that hot of an item that 2 fish "in stock" would have sold out that quickly? Who knows? Still curious if they will contact me back at this point.

 

[DMD123]

I did get an email response back. The vendor thanked me for bringing to his attention the lack of the DOA info on their website and that they put the info in the box when they ship but that it should also be on the site itself. Apologized that the fish were out of stock and said the fish came in from a private seller out of a group and they were a little beat up as they were fighting for dominance. I guess I wait until I can source another fish or I get a different type.

 

[DMD123]

Well the process of change has begun. I put the silver dollars up for sale here and will likely post online elsewhere to be able to rehome them. Im still looking for my bottom dwelling fish and have been considering maybe loaches instead of a catfish. As much as I feel clown loaches are so commonplace, they are colorful, interesting behaviorally, and have longevity. A group of these would likely bring a lot of color and life into the 300 and likely pair up well with the giant gourami. Then I am thinking of a large group of roseline sharks to up above. Ive kept these in the past and absolutely loved them but lost my group when I forgot to add dechlorinator after a water change. Would also consider a large group of Australian rainbows which Im currently keeping and love too.

As to clown loaches or loaches in general Im not very familiar with them. The only experience I had was with a free one from somebody's tank that was nothing but an Ich prone fish. I couldnt deal with its multiple outbreaks and it ended up dying. Other loach varieties are also something I would consider, so any advice on loaches welcome.

 

[DMD123]

@Madness, any loach advice?