Flagfish in community tank

[AnotherHumanPerson]

My lfs recently got in a batch of florida flagfish, and I instantly fell in love with them! This, of course, lead to the thought of using them as a centerpiece in my 29 community tank. 

Of course, pupfish, they are extremely aggressive, so I wanted to get y’all’s opinions on this.

The current stock is:

8 gertudae rainbowfish (3 male, 5 female)

3 guppies (1 male, 2 female) 

3 amano shrimp

The first main no-no I found with flagfish is not to keep them with fish with long fins. However, I’m not too concerned about this. my male guppy already has short fins, (only being a tiny bit longer than the females), and (I would imagine) my male rainbowfish would be able to outspeed the flagfish. Any thoughts on this?

Because most of the articles that I read mainly emphasized the males as being agressive and territorial, I am wondering if just getting a small(2-3) group of females would help with agression. 

[Colu]

@Fish Folkkeeps flag fish maybe he will have some good information on keeping them in a community tank

[Fish Folk]

I kept Flagfish with my Rainbow Shiners for awhile, but once my male Flagfish reached spawning age, he began abusing tank mates. Females are calm and docile by comparison.

Look at this photo: The female (left) has a black dot on the back base of her dorsal fin. The male (right) does not.

Males can become unbelievably beautiful . . . 

Here is my pair. The dot is the giveaway. If you just want females, look closely at this picture, and be sure to only buy ones with the black dot on the bottom back of the dorsal fin...

[AnotherHumanPerson]

On 12/6/2022 at 2:14 PM, Fish Folk said:

Females are calm and docile by comparison.

I thought that might be the case!

On 12/6/2022 at 2:14 PM, Fish Folk said:

Here is my pair. The dot is the giveaway. If you just want females, look closely at this picture, and be sure to only buy ones with the black dot on the bottom back of the dorsal fin...

Good to know, and thanks for all the info!

[Pepere]

I have American Flag Fish in 2, 29 gallon display tanks. 
 

1 tank has 1 male and three females and 4 killifish currently,

 

the other tank has 1 male, and 4 females, 12 green neon tetras, 4 killifish, 5 emerald Green Cories, 3 kuhli loaches, and a Neon Blue Dwarf Gourami.

 

I have seen some preliminary Spawning behavior in both tanks with a female doing their backward dance and the Male responding and both of them cavorting in the moss.  
 

i have not been able to discern any eggs being deposited,

I have also not noted any aggression by the male Flag Fish at all, and they have both colored up nicely.

 

the Dwarf Gourami is the tank boss and the Flag Fish retreats from him.

I have not seen the Flag Fish be aggressive to any of the inhabitants to speak of.

 

I have seen them eradicate nearly all hair algae.  Gone from the Wisteria,scalet temple, val, and Sag.  A tiny bit remaining on edges of some Anubias leaves…

 

I have been a big fan of them since adding them.

Edited December 6, 2022 by Pepere

[AnotherHumanPerson]

@PepereThanks for the input!

On 12/6/2022 at 4:34 PM, Pepere said:

I have also not noted any aggression by the male Flag Fish at all, and they have both colored up nicely.

 

Huh, that’s interesting… every source I’ve seen says the opposite…

Could it possibly be due to the high m:f ratio? How densely planted are your tanks?

 

[Pepere]

They are both pretty heavily planted.

 

I guess my batch never read the fish guides.  I kept a close eye on them early on.  I have three display tanks so I figured I would be able to juggle inhabitants to make something work out.

in the tank with the dwarf gourami, I have noticed them staying in the vegetation tonight and not venturing out much.  Usually I do see them more.

my second tank is much newer and only has the flag fish and some killis.  The flag fish are always centr stage in this tank.

 

 

Edited December 7, 2022 by Pepere

[Pepere]

close ups of the males.. at least as good as they will allow me….

[KittenFishMom]

Every flagfish I have had has been female. I really enjoy them. They are very very busy fish, but not aggressive, that I have seen. They are always checking everything out. 

When I was switching fish around, I put the deli container of sand I had set up for the kuhli loaches in the quarantine to have it out of the way. They adult corys use to hang out in it, but the kuhli loach were not impressed.  I didn't think about it when I put the 6 new flagfish in the quarantine tank and they love the sand cup. There are usually 2 or 3 in the deli cup. It is half filled with sand. I leaned an ACO Easy Planter against it to provide a hide out. I tuck cubes of frozen baby brine shrimp under the raised end of the plant er to keep the eggs from drifting around the tank. Some end up on the sand, others end up on the pebbles. I am sure the Flagfish are eating all of them, but they really like getting the ones on the sand first.  It is strange to watch them hop in and out of the container. they often sort of greet each other through the side of the container, then both swim to the top edge.  There is a lot of sand in Florida, so it must remind them of home.

I'll get a photo tomorrow when the tank lights are on.

[AnotherHumanPerson]

 @KittenFishMom Thanks for the response!

They definitely seem like they have a lot of personality! Maybe a few caves & basins like this would be beneficial in my setup.

 

[Pepere]

I have hollow rock caves in all my tanks.   I so seldom ever see anybody inside them…

 

I am however intrigued about putting in some sand containers….

[AnotherHumanPerson]

On 12/8/2022 at 8:49 AM, Pepere said:

I am however intrigued about putting in some sand containers….

Me too! It seems like an interesting way to add some variation to the terrain.

[KittenFishMom]

I put the sand container in to tank to give the kuhli loaches a place to dig and hide and frolic. They would just ignore the sand from the empty heater guard.

The corys liked poking their nose in up to they eyes looking for tidbits and resting their big egg filled bellies on the soft sand. I caught the first cory to move to the big tank by slowly lowering my hand over the container and lifting it by the edge with my finger tips. The cory just quietly hide in the shadow of my hand until the container was in the big tank. The second one was upset that she was the only cory in the tank, so she would not bask on the sand in the open. I did have to quietly net her.

The flagfish really like it. I think it would also help keep the sand from accidently scratching the glass during cleanings. you can just lift it out before vacuuming or cleaning the glass.

cup of sand with planter leaning on it. I put cubes of frozen food under the bottom lip of the planter to hold it in place as it melts

Here you can see one flagfish in the cup, and one in the background outside of the cup, but at fish eye level(ignore water spot)

Edited December 8, 2022 by KittenFishMom

[KittenFishMom]

I think a container of sand in a display tank could be easily hidden with rocks or driftwood or plants. It doesn't have to look like a deli cup of sand. You could glue the tank's normal substrate to the sides to help it blend in.

Edited December 8, 2022 by KittenFishMom

[AnotherHumanPerson]

@KittenFishMomThanks for the suggestions! What sand did you use, and how do you suggest going about sanitizing the container?

[KittenFishMom]

It is pool filter sand. I washed and really raised the container well before adding sand. Then added tank water to the cup to almost to top edge so the dry sand would not fly around the tank when lowered into the tank. I haven't had reason to sanitize the sand yet. I think I would dump it in a bowl with peroxide, stir and let it sit for awhile, then rise well. Or just replace it. Sand is cheap. The old sand could be used on plants or tossed in the lawn. Never put it down the drain !!!!