Ram-Ashwin@cs.yale.edu (Ashwin Ram) (01/19/88)
I have a 10-gallon fresh-water community tank with two medium angelfish, two
albino corydoras, a smallish chinese algae-eater, two platies and six neons
tetras. That's pretty much the limit, I know; to complete my quota, I would
like to add one or two small "non-fish", i.e., crabs, frogs, eels, loaches,
...anything that isn't your prototypical fish.
Anyone have any suggestions (either positive and negative)?
Thanks in advance.
-- Ashwin Ram --
ARPA: Ram-Ashwin@cs.yale.edu
UUCP: {decvax,ucbvax,harvard,...}!yale!Ram-Ashwin
BITNET: Ram@yalecsbuyno@voder.UUCP (Matthew Buynoski) (01/19/88)
In article <21568@yale-celray.yale.UUCP>, Ram-Ashwin@cs.yale.edu (Ashwin Ram) writes: > I have a 10-gallon fresh-water community tank with two medium angelfish, two > albino corydoras, a smallish chinese algae-eater, two platies and six neons > tetras. That's pretty much the limit, I know; to complete my quota, I would > like to add one or two small "non-fish", i.e., crabs, frogs, eels, loaches, You are already overcrowded for a 10-gallon tank. I suggest that you geta bigger tank, like 40 gallons, for the crowd you have and additions. Most of the fish in that tank are pretty mellow (except the algae eater, which become very aggressive when large) so you'll need to stick to gentle fish. I suggest you get some loaches, although these are pretty common, really. If you are willing to feed live food, the African "spiney eels" (really a fish, not an eel) are nice. Some of the gentler cichlids (Pelvicachromis, Apistogramma, even Cichlasoma Festivum (a bit large) or Discus (delicate) might also work.
dalka@ihlpg.ATT.COM (Ken Dalka) (01/20/88)
> > > I have a 10-gallon fresh-water community tank with two medium angelfish, two > albino corydoras, a smallish chinese algae-eater, two platies and six neons > tetras. That's pretty much the limit, I know; to complete my quota, I would > like to add one or two small "non-fish", i.e., crabs, frogs, eels, loaches, > ...anything that isn't your prototypical fish. I would stay away from the frogs. Ive had them and they are neat at first but they can get quite large. (5 inches from head to toes) Once they are big enough they will also eat you fish swallowing them whole. You won't see it. You'll just notice your population dwindle slowly. Maybe a fish a week or so. Crabs can be fun. The problem with crabs though is that they can climb much better than you might expect. They will crawl up heater cords or wedge themselves between the heater and the glass to climb up. This is OK if you have the top completely sealed but if you dont youll find them in your outside filter, or on the floor dead. I would say try it though, theyre fun to watch. -- Ken Dalka (Bell Labs) ihnp4!ihlpg!dalka IE 2F-518 (312) 416-7437
rck@ihuxv.ATT.COM (R. C. Kukuk) (01/22/88)
In article <4669@ihlpg.ATT.COM>, dalka@ihlpg.ATT.COM (Ken Dalka) writes: > > Crabs can be fun. The problem with crabs though is that they can climb > much better than you might expect. They will crawl up heater cords or > wedge themselves between the heater and the glass to climb up. This is > OK if you have the top completely sealed but if you dont youll find > them in your outside filter, or on the floor dead. I would say try it > though, theyre fun to watch. > -- > > Ken Dalka (Bell Labs) > ihnp4!ihlpg!dalka > IE 2F-518 (312) 416-7437 I agree with Ken on this one. I added several fiddler crabs to my tank and then sevaral days later, I found one walking (sideways) across the floor in front of the tank. Well, he got scooped up in a cup and dumped back in the tank. I used duct tape to seal the heater and hose openings and I made a flap for food hole in the tank cover. Now those crabs stay put. Ron Kukuk AT&T Bell Labs P.S.: Does anyone know the breeding habits of fiddler crabs? I've found a couple of baby male crabs in the tank, but then the female died shortly after that. Female fiddlers don't seem to live long with the males.