Jack CO

Thanks for the input, I will be getting 2 in the future.

Would you recommend keeping them in groups or would a single one be ok? I was originally only going to keep one but I’ve seen a lot of places saying they prefer to be in groups. I’d be willing to get 2 of them because I think it would be ok to have the 2 in my 60. Either way I’m not getting them in the near future because I want my petricolas to grow a little bigger so I’m certain they won’t get eaten or hunted.

I’ve been doing lots of research on the ropefish because I would really like to get one for my 60 gallon which currently has 4 African Butterfly Fish and some petricola catfish. I’ve come across some conflicting information regarding how much space they really need. I’ve seen everything from only a 40 gallon to a 110 for just one ropefish. Is my 60 gallon (4 foot) big enough to keep a single one? Thanks for the input, Jack

Many have already given you great advice, but I figure it wouldn’t hurt to share my personal experience. I have a 2,000 gallon outdoor pond (Colorado) with 9 common goldfish, 5 koi, a few green eared sunfish and a Chinese high fin banded shark. We feed pretty heavily in the pond, but none of the fish have experienced health issues nor are overweight. It is fairly common for them to get multiple large feedings throughout the day because many family members will feed them. These feedings are typically multiple handfuls of pond pellets. My fish definitely always beg for food at the water’s edge, so much so that they always follow you around the pond. The goldfish, in my experience, will eat one or two bites and then stop eating per feeding. I have never seen them gorge themselves even with the abundance of pellets available to them. My koi will definitely eat constantly without stop, but they are nowhere near full grown (only like 20 inches) and are still in perfect health. I suppose I should also mention that the goldfish spawn really hard for weeks so the extra food definitely helps.

I’m considering getting Congo tetras for my 60 gallon aquarium (4ft). They seem to be very peaceful community fish as long as they are in a large group, of which I was considering 12. My only worry is that they will become fin nippers, even though I’ve heard that they can live with guppies and gouramis. I am asking this because the reason I got the large tank was so that I could house multiple African butterfly fish and a ropefish. I know that the Congo tetras will work well with the ropefish due to their large size, but I worry they may nip at the long ventral fins of the ABF. Based on my research it seems that they mostly nip among their own species, but I want to see if that’s the case in other people’s experience. The other planned fish are 6 or 7 Denison barbs and a group of 10 petricola catfish. The tank is still cycling so I figure there isn’t a more opportune time than now to get your input. Thanks, Jack

I was thinking about those, but I was worried they would act like the red lizards. Glad to hear they do eat algae. I’ll probably end up getting a few once algae starts growing in the tank so I don’t have to feed as heavily with algae wafers.

I didn’t realize that they were primarily carnivorous. I do plan to keep the tank warm, around 79-80 Fahrenheit, which is why I specifically want the reticulated hillstreams because I know Cory has had success keeping them in much warmer water. I do like the whiptails but seeing as how they aren’t very good algae eaters I’ll stay away from them. I don’t keep fish just to clean algae, but I like that as an added benefit. Perhaps farlowella would work better for the tank since they grow larger and based on my research eat algae and such. In regards to compatibility, what I’ve found regarding ropefish is that they are friendly to most fish except those small enough to be eaten, so I assume the hillstreams would be ok because they get rather wide bodied. Petricolas are very peaceful so they shouldn’t bother anyone and get large enough to avoid predation from the ropefish.

Thanks for letting me know, I didn’t realize they weren’t compatible. I’m not a fan of the look of rainbow sharks, so that shouldn’t be an issue. As far as clean up crew goes, I was thinking about a small group of reticulated hillstream loaches and some lizard whiptail catfish. I love the look of them and I think they’d fit in well to my oddball theme I’ll have going. Appreciate all of the knowledge.

That is the exact predicament I’ve found myself in. Luckily I just need to find one that is big enough to avoid predation from the butterfly because the rope fish available at my lfs are only about 6 inches and a little thicker than a pencil. I think that Eric seemingly found the solution with Denison barbs. They are usually a decent size when young, so they won’t be a target for the butterflies and they can easily evade the rope fish.

Just looked into those and I think I might go with a group of 6 once I have my tank cycled and running well. The flow isn’t gonna be a ton but it should be good enough with 2 sponge filters. Beautiful fish and I love that they get decent size so I won’t need a ton for them to be eye catching in a 4 foot tank. Thanks for the recommendation.

I’ve recently become more active in these forums and have really been appreciating everyone’s feedback, so I figured I could get some thoughts for my tank stocking. I’m currently setting up a 60 gallon aquarium (48.5x18.5x16 in) and I am unsure of what fish would go well with my planned stocking. I know for sure that I will be getting a group of African butterfly fish, as well as a ropefish and petricola catfish. I have spent a long time trying to determine a good active fish that would work well with the butterflies. I know that the fish need to be big enough to not be eaten and also need to peaceful fish that won’t nip fins since the butterfly has lots of large finnage. This really limits my options because it seems that every species I research can become fin nippers. I’d really appreciate recommendations for what type of fish would work well with my planned fish. Thanks, Jack

Sounds good. I have some spare pea gravel I could put at the bottom before adding the sand. I’m going to go for a rocky look with my main plants being for the butterfly fish, so mostly focused at the surface. I’ll probably go with that and root tabs. I’ve been talking with one of my buddies who has planted tanks and they have mostly recommended easy green, so I’ll probably do that. Thanks for the help

I’ve watched most of his videos, and I was thinking about doing something similar to him. I have considered doing the pond compost method he does but I can’t find a brand for that in the US. I should also say that my current stocking plans are some African butterfly fish, petricola catfish, and a ropefish. The plants I currently think I want are Brazilian penny wort, some crypts, floating plants(I grow these fine), probably some val, and then other easy to grow plants. I’d appreciate any plant recommendations for ones that are easy to grow without co2 and limited fertilizer.

I just picked up a 60 gallon aquarium (48.5x18.5x16in) today that I’m planning on planting, just not super heavily planted. My budget isn’t super high but I want to get a substrate that can grow plants well. My current thought is that I could put aquasoil in areas I want to plant and use sand for the rest. I’m just wondering what other people have done while still being able to grow plants well.

I’m planning on setting up a new aquarium in the coming weeks, either a 40 or 55 gallon depending on the size of stand I can find at a good price. My planned stocking for the aquarium is going to be 3 African butterfly fish, a group of 6 petricola catfish (possibly more in the future) and a rope fish. I want to get the sponge filters to limit the flow because I know the butterfly fish prefer water that has little to no movement and I can easily put something at the surface to stop the ripples caused by the sponge filter. I’m just wondering if 1 large ACO sponge filter will suffice or if I should get multiple. I’ve seen people do it both ways and I’m just wondering what you guys would recommend. Thanks, Jack

Wow the purple fins are beautiful. There’s plenty of algae on the back and side glass that he grazes on. Not the best algae cleaner in the world, my pest snails do a better job, but I got him because I like hillstreams, the algae cleaning is just a benefit. Waters about 74 with a HOB, so the flow isn’t crazy but good enough for my bamboo shrimp.

After stopping by petco today to pick up some fry food for my ricefish I noticed that they had reticulated hillstreams in stock, which got me thinking about the hillstream I own. I bought him a few months back as a reticulated, but it has become quite clear as he’s grown that he is not one. After seeing them today I did a little research and I believe that I have a Pseudogastromyzon myersi. I’m just wondering if anyone has experience with keeping them or can confirm what species he is. He’s been thriving in my 29 gallon since I’ve gotten him.