Nirvanaquatics Posted June 29, 2021 Share Posted June 29, 2021 Yes, they pulled a lot of the moss apart, as well, but they picked the staghorn algae clean off of the whole tank, leaving plants intact. It took them less than 24 hours to eat every speck of staghorn, which is usually too tough and fibrous for other algae eaters to want to bother with. The moss will grow back, and quite honestly I have more than enough to replace what was eaten or pulled off the wood. People like to say that flagfish are nippy and aggressive, but that is only the case with the males. A group of 3 female flagfish makes an excellent algae management system and they are not territorial like the males are. A group of them will hang out together and they won't usually bother other fish. They're nothing fancy, just a plain little brown and green fish, but they are very active swimmers and they are fun to watch. I wish I had more pictures of the whole tank before I put them in, there was staghorn all over the place... Now it's sparkling clean! 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
xXInkedPhoenixX Posted June 29, 2021 Share Posted June 29, 2021 They did a VERY nice pruning job!! Looks great! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
xXInkedPhoenixX Posted June 29, 2021 Share Posted June 29, 2021 ...now where's a pic with your girls in it?! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nirvanaquatics Posted June 29, 2021 Author Share Posted June 29, 2021 On 6/28/2021 at 9:10 PM, xXInkedPhoenixX said: ...now where's a pic with your girls in it?! They run from my phone because they're scared of it 😂 here's a really bad picture because I had to zoom in a bunch: 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
xXInkedPhoenixX Posted June 29, 2021 Share Posted June 29, 2021 They're very pretty!! 😍 I like that they're lurking, lol. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Patrick_G Posted June 29, 2021 Share Posted June 29, 2021 I agree, they look great. It’s like having a school of little Bluegill in your tank! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nirvanaquatics Posted June 29, 2021 Author Share Posted June 29, 2021 On 6/28/2021 at 9:33 PM, xXInkedPhoenixX said: They're very pretty!! 😍 I like that they're lurking, lol. Yeah I honestly love flagfish, I think they're cute and they're very beneficial 😊 For anyone wishing to keep them: if they don't have algae to eat, they enjoy repashy Soilent Green gel food. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nirvanaquatics Posted June 29, 2021 Author Share Posted June 29, 2021 On 6/28/2021 at 9:38 PM, Patrick_G said: I agree, they look great. It’s like having a school of little Bluegill in your tank! Yes! And they are so versatile! They will tolerate just about any water parameters and a huge range of temperatures, too. They aren't prone to diseases, either. Keep them with goldfish, keep them with discus, they'll be happy in both places. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
xXInkedPhoenixX Posted June 29, 2021 Share Posted June 29, 2021 How big do they get? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nirvanaquatics Posted June 29, 2021 Author Share Posted June 29, 2021 On 6/28/2021 at 10:18 PM, xXInkedPhoenixX said: How big do they get? My girls are basically full grown at 1.5" so they stay pretty small. Think about the size of an adult platy. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
xXInkedPhoenixX Posted June 29, 2021 Share Posted June 29, 2021 Awww. I guess I didn't realize they were so small. What a cool fish! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nirvanaquatics Posted June 29, 2021 Author Share Posted June 29, 2021 On 6/28/2021 at 11:12 PM, xXInkedPhoenixX said: Awww. I guess I didn't realize they were so small. What a cool fish! Yeah the males get larger, sometimes up to 2.5" or so, but still a pretty small fish. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DannyBWell Posted June 29, 2021 Share Posted June 29, 2021 I need to find some now 2 of my tanks have staghorn algae and I can't seem to get rid of it Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ARMYVET Posted June 29, 2021 Share Posted June 29, 2021 (edited) The flagfish...aka Florida flagfish....Im in Florida and I have never seen them for sale ever in any store I have ever went to. Great fish but cannot find it even where it is in the wild locally. Photo taken from the world wide web. Edited June 29, 2021 by ARMYVET Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nirvanaquatics Posted June 29, 2021 Author Share Posted June 29, 2021 On 6/29/2021 at 6:12 AM, ARMYVET said: The flagfish...aka Florida flagfish....Im in Florida and I have never seen them for sale ever in any store I have ever went to. Great fish but cannot find it even where it is in the wild locally. Photo taken from the world wide web. That's so strange, they are cheap and super common here in Texas. We carry them at the store I work at. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ARMYVET Posted June 29, 2021 Share Posted June 29, 2021 On 6/29/2021 at 9:06 AM, Nirvanaquatics said: That's so strange, they are cheap and super common here in Texas. We carry them at the store I work at. Lucky for you and your customers. I cannot for the life of me tell you why it is that way but it is. They are a beautiful fish...wonder how hard they are to breed....hmmm @Fish Folkcan you look into that for me please...🤣 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nirvanaquatics Posted June 29, 2021 Author Share Posted June 29, 2021 On 6/29/2021 at 9:36 AM, ARMYVET said: Lucky for you and your customers. I cannot for the life of me tell you why it is that way but it is. They are a beautiful fish...wonder how hard they are to breed....hmmm @Fish Folkcan you look into that for me please...🤣 Well they're breeding like rabbits in my outdoor pond right now, so I'm guessing they're pretty easy lol 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ARMYVET Posted June 29, 2021 Share Posted June 29, 2021 On 6/29/2021 at 10:52 AM, Nirvanaquatics said: Well they're breeding like rabbits in my outdoor pond right now, so I'm guessing they're pretty easy lol Send me a bunch...LOL Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fish Folk Posted June 29, 2021 Share Posted June 29, 2021 On 6/29/2021 at 10:36 AM, ARMYVET said: Lucky for you and your customers. I cannot for the life of me tell you why it is that way but it is. They are a beautiful fish...wonder how hard they are to breed....hmmm @Fish Folkcan you look into that for me please...🤣 My LFS has a tank full for sale right now. They are reported to eat certain kinds of algae. I think that they do not sell so well in the hobby because the males become STINKERS when spawning age. Here’s ours. Unfortunately, he’s begun abusing the Rainbow Shiners. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nirvanaquatics Posted June 29, 2021 Author Share Posted June 29, 2021 @Fish Folk yes my male is in the pond for a reason lol. His entire purpose is to make more babies - ideally female babies. The males do have the benefit of being able to hold their own against cichlids of certain types, though. @ARMYVET if I have some extra fry from this batch I'll let you know! I already have a list of people who want pond hardy females, mostly my coworkers lol. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now