Marianne Posted July 29, 2008 Report Share Posted July 29, 2008 Can anyone suggest a good and peaceful bottom dweller for a 22 litre tank? I was thinking maybe a bristlenose or a small group of pygmy cories.. how would they go in a tank this size? Any other suggestions? It's not for cleaning purposes, it's just because I like bottom dwellers.. The tank currently has 5 nigerian killies in it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jaime Posted July 30, 2008 Report Share Posted July 30, 2008 Hey Marianne, I don't keep killies (though I'd love to give them a go!). I do have 2 young bristlenoses and 2 peppered corys in my 4 foot community tank. They are peaceful and the corys are a lot of fun. Cories enjoy being in groups so I don't know how many you could put in your size tank. ( I need a couple more myself) Another suggestion could be loaches like the kuhli loach (Acanthophthalmus kuhli) or the java loach (Acanthophthalmus Javanicus).You don't see much of them during the day (unless they're very hungry), but IMO they're great! I love to watch them eat. Price wise the BNs would be the most expensive. The loaches would be the cheapest (I got mine for $3.00 each at the LFS), but they can be a bit dearer. I'm sure there are other options but your tank size may be a bit restrictive. Questions to consider: Is your tank planted? Are there hiding places? Is it brightly lit? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marianne Posted July 30, 2008 Author Report Share Posted July 30, 2008 Thanks:) I have kuhlii loaches in my bigger tank, but I never see them so I'd rather not get those. I considered moving the ones I already have to the smaller tank, but I suspect the tank would have to be taken apart to find them.... I have a bristlenose in the other tank as well, and I really like it, so I have considered just getting another one of those.. Just not sure if the tank is big enough for it. I'm really tempted to get some very small cories, because I've never had them but I know a lot of people are completely in love with them.. A lot of them don't get very big either. I reckon my tank could accomodate about 4 or 5 of the small ones, but I've never had one so I'd like other people's opinions on that.. I was also told of a very small catfish called hara jerdoni (Asian stone catfish) but I don't even know if they are available in Aus.. Every heard of those? As for your questions: The tank has a few fast growing plants, it also has a fake log in it which is hollow and the killies like to hide in it, as well as in their spawning mop, and the tank has a hood with a light and sand substrate, so it's quite a bright tank. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jaime Posted July 30, 2008 Report Share Posted July 30, 2008 Marianne, I know what you mean about the kuhli loaches. You don't see much of them during the day. If you think your tank could accomodate 4 or 5 cories, it should easily house a couple of bristlenoses. From a visual standpoint though, the cories would be the way to go. I must say though, for a 22 litre planted tank you need to ensure you don't overcrowd it. More fish also means more food and more waste so water quality would have to be monitored more closely. What filtration are you using? Why not post a pic of the tank? I haven't heard or seen the catfish you mention. I looked it up and it looks quite exotic. Not sure how you'd go trying to source some. You can read about them here: http://www.seriouslyfish.com/profile.php?g...species=jerdoni Cheers... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marianne Posted July 30, 2008 Author Report Share Posted July 30, 2008 It's an Aqua One AR-126, and the filter is built into the hood. 400 l/h is what the powerhead says... Here's a photo: The water was a bit milky because I had just set it up, but that's fine now. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mythicbetta Posted July 30, 2008 Report Share Posted July 30, 2008 Hey Marianne, Nice looking tank - Here's a few ideas: If you like corys a trio or 4sum of C.Aeneas ( bronze/albino/) or peppers/panda/juli cory or 4-6 C.Pygmaeus (dwarf)would be good - you could possibly fit a few more pygmaeus in than 6 and they are just like full size corys and spawn fairly easily in the corrrect conditions. You could also try Otocinclus catfish, they are nocturnal feeders and prefer to be in schools of 4-6 average out at about 5cm fully grown and they like algae I don't know about killi needs/habbits, but another possibility is shrimp - and they are pretty active little souls Cheers Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marianne Posted July 31, 2008 Author Report Share Posted July 31, 2008 Ok, if you think a group of cories will be good, then that's what I'll go with. I just wasn't sure if my tank was big enough and I've never had cories so I don't know how active they are. Shrimp are not really an option with killies, they'd most likely nip their legs off... Thanks:) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
canary Posted July 31, 2008 Report Share Posted July 31, 2008 Hi Marianne, I've heard that C. pygmaeus actually tend to swim mid-water a lot. I'm hoping to get some soon so I might be able to tell you from experience then Mythic might be able to confirm this? Pepper corys will grow larger than others like C. panda and C. julii. A couple of other dwarf species that are available are C. hastatus and C. habrosus. Personally I have a soft spot for julii's as I love their markings. I don't know much about cichlids but there may be some small bottom dwellers that may be appropriate? Possibly some Central American ones? When are you going to have some killi babies available?... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ghengis Posted July 31, 2008 Report Share Posted July 31, 2008 I have a pair of Albino Cory's. They are such cool little fish, very, very active. They pretty much live side by side all day long, playing in the powerhead current, around mid-tank level. They do do a pretty good job of keeping the place clean, though. I understand these fish like to burrow into the substrate, looking for bits and pieces of food, so your sand base would likely be perfect for them. Just on your tank layout, I believe Killi's enjoy a fair amount of leaf cover and places just to hang out in the shadows, which could be why yours spend so much time in the spawn mop and fake log. I think it might be worth adding a tall-ish stem plant (or three) to the rear left side, just near the filter inlet. This would help balance the visual appearence of your tank, making it look a little less stark, as well as provide that extra shade for your Killi's. One further benifit of having lots of plants, is that they will help keep your water in better condition than any filter possibly could. Now, how bout a couple shots of these famous Killi's for us all to drool over?? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marianne Posted July 31, 2008 Author Report Share Posted July 31, 2008 Thanks for the advice, I've heard the pygmy cories are not entirely bottom dwelling too, so I might go with the salt and pepper cories which I find adorable:) I'm also considering ottos or pitbull plecos... The killies are not always in the mop or in the log, they swim around the front of the tank all the time, but they occasionally like to hide.. The plants in there are trimmings from another tank so they'll grow pretty big in time. Especially the one in the left corner. I bought the mother plant a few months ago and the thing just exploded and got huge, and when I redid my other tank a few days ago I actually just cut it into smaller pieces and it was enough to plant the whole tank... And one of the cutting went in the killi tank, so it'll get pretty big. I have some eggs which are incubating in a seperate tank, and they're going at it like rabbits, so I'll prolly be selling both some eggs and fry/adults pretty soon:) Here's the normal looking male: Here's a female and a weird looking male. Not only is he missing the bright bands on his fins, but he also has a yellow base colour. Looks very good in my tank, he does: And here's another female: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ghengis Posted July 31, 2008 Report Share Posted July 31, 2008 I WANT SOME KILLI'S!!!! Whaaaaaaa!!! Man, those are some cool looking fish. Maybe if I be real nice, I'll be allowed to set up another tank, with some Fp. Gardneri's.... The LFS even has a few in stock, atm.... Nice pics, btw :notsure: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marianne Posted July 31, 2008 Author Report Share Posted July 31, 2008 Yes, they are very cool fish:) They don't need much room either, a tiny tank will do:) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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