How would you handle this?

[Tanked]

 

I have a 65 and a 75 gallon tank.
The 65 was my large community, but is down to: 2 Silver Dollars, 2 SAEs and a marbled Angel.
The 75 is my single species tank with 4 TFBs.  They are the smaller variety and won’t exceed 8”.  If I can find them I will  add two more.

The goal: a large planted community tank. 

Problem #1:  Both tanks are devoid of plants except for whatever survives behind a protective fence.  The TFBs have somehow managed to uproot and drag whole stem and floating plants through the grate.  The Silver Dollars will also eat any plant or algae in the tank, but they don't seem to have a problem with the other fish.

Problem #2:  Due to its height, the 75 would be the better choice for plants, but I really like the empty look, with the schooling TFBs.

Problem #3:  The TFBs are normally very peaceful.  The smallest fish is a bit of a problem child, and I don’t know if it is just an occasional bully or exhibiting mating behavior.  It is interesting to watch them swim side by side a fins length apart.

Problem #4:  In the past I have seen one of the TFBs swimming with a small Bala shark protruding from its mouth.  The small shark might have already been carrion.  For that reason, I’m not positive that the barbs will leave the SAEs or the Angelfish alone, but the SAEs can easily swim pass the fence for now.

Problem #5: This is the real problem.  These are supposed to be peaceful community fish.  I previously tried to move the SDs into the barb tank, and it did not go well.  There are no hiding places in the barb tank.  The SDs were attacked, and had to be removed within the hour.  
All of the fish are mature.  So I am wondering if I should risk returning the SDs to the 75 and hope that they adjust to each other, or should I move the TFBs to the 65 and let the TFBs adjust to their new environment?  
 

[Guppysnail]

Were you able to find a solution? 

[NOLANANO]

I am also interested. I keep Nano fish so I have no advice but am interested in how this turned out or how its going.

[gabdewulf]

Tin Foil Barbs will dig. Silver dollars will eat any plant it can fit into it's mouth. The 75 gallon isn't great unless you invest in lights strong enough to reach the bottom of the tank.

 

Maybe build a cage with some pond stuff to get the plants up higher and caged out the fish?

[Tanked]

On 4/23/2024 at 12:16 PM, gabdewulf said:

Tin Foil Barbs will dig. Silver dollars will eat any plant it can fit into it's mouth. The 75 gallon isn't great unless you invest in lights strong enough to reach the bottom of the tank.

 

Maybe build a cage with some pond stuff to get the plants up higher and caged out the fish?

There is a fish fence(ceiling light grate) in the both tanks. The barbs will also eat any plant they can reach.  They actively patrol along the fence hoping to snag a leaf.  For now, The stock light is growing a tiny anubia and a small sword.  The Wisteria grows there as well, but they dragged the whole plant through the grate again.  Hornwort suffered the same fate.  I'm looking into getting some lava rock boulders to add to one or both tanks. 

@Guppysnail@NOLANANO

There hasn't been any changes.  This is a long running problem and my brain scrambles every time I think about it.  One possibility is to return to an early version of the 65 and put all of the plastic plants back in.  The small fish seemed to enjoy chilling out behind the fish with the live plants.  Another possibility is to throw the SDs in with the barbs, add some hiding places, and hope they adjust.  On the bright side, the SDs are not as aggressive about hunting down plants that grow to close to the fence. The Hornwort seems to be safe, and that long running Duckweed experiment might finally be showing results.

There is another option:  move the Nano fish and plants from the planted 29 and put the SDs there.

[Guppysnail]

On 4/23/2024 at 1:05 PM, Tanked said:

One possibility is to return to an early version of the 65 and put all of the plastic plants back in. 

Branches can take the place of plastic plants for structure to make fish feel safe and take up less tank room than rock.