# can i add an eel or catfish?



## allaboutfish (Jul 16, 2012)

I would like to add an eel or cat to my 120 high if I can. The stocking is as follows:
1-blood parrot
1-kirin parrot
1-green severum
1-jack Dempsey
1-cutterI cichlid
8-12-rainbow fish
1-common pleco
I have 2 canisters and plenty of rock work.
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## Marbellohsdad (Jun 4, 2013)

probably not. your tank sounds plenty stocked. sorry- a high tank is also going to cut down on surface areas for oxigen/water extchange.


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## allaboutfish (Jul 16, 2012)

Here's the dimensions 48 1/2 x 24 1/4 x 25 1/2. I also have plants so idk about the whole oxygen exchange thing.
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## 1077 (Apr 16, 2008)

Were it me, and the pleco you have is commom pleco,then I would find new home for it and this would free up room for say Raphael catfish.
Common pleco's are often purchased as clean up fish, but if you consider the waste cretaed by these large fish,,then they provide no benefit to trying to maintain water quality.


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## allaboutfish (Jul 16, 2012)

I rescued the fish from a 29 gallon. I'm not rehoming him BC that's practically impossible.
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## allaboutfish (Jul 16, 2012)

Would a peacock eel or black ghost knife work? I really like both of these.
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## Sanguinefox (Nov 29, 2011)

You will have a difficult time getting the eel to be fed without the other fish getting in the way or eating all it's food. I'd avoid putting eels in this tank period.


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## allaboutfish (Jul 16, 2012)

I do large algae wafers that sink and feed at night. That's how I feed my pleco.
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## allaboutfish (Jul 16, 2012)

I could also put some brine shrimp in aquarium water and get it broken up and then pour it in.
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## allaboutfish (Jul 16, 2012)

Would the knife work I really want one?
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## Sanguinefox (Nov 29, 2011)

allaboutfish said:


> I do large algae wafers that sink and feed at night. That's how I feed my pleco.
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Eels do not eat algae wafers. They are shy eaters and it is very likely you will have quite the difficulty making sure it is fed with your current stock. It would be different if you could rear the eel from young, in a separate tank and train it to eat from your hand. Unless you have a tank and the patience to do this and then place the eel in the main tank, I strongly maintain you do not do not get an eel.


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## allaboutfish (Jul 16, 2012)

I could keep it in my 20 for a while.
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## allaboutfish (Jul 16, 2012)

Would that work?
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## allaboutfish (Jul 16, 2012)

Or would the knife work?
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## jaysee (Dec 9, 2009)

You;ll have the same issue with the BGK. You will have to do one of two things with either the eel or the BGK. Either convert it to pellet food so that it can eat with the other fish, or you will have to train it to be hand fed, that way you can target feed it. Making sure that the fish can eat well is of the utmost importance before you go adding it to a tank full of fish.


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## allaboutfish (Jul 16, 2012)

So could I teach it to hand feed in the 20 and then add it to the 120? Would either work space and bioload wise?
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## allaboutfish (Jul 16, 2012)

So could I teach it to hand feed in the 20 and then add it to the 120? Would either work space and bioload wise?
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## jaysee (Dec 9, 2009)

I think I would try the eel before a BGK, if I were to try one at all. Yes, you can try to teach it to be hand fed in the 20. I would try to convert it to pellets first though - hand feeding would be a last resort for me.

I think what you are asking is not something that many people have all that much experience with. I'm certainly no expert on either eels or BGK, or some of the cichlids you have, so I really don't know if it's likely to turn out.


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## allaboutfish (Jul 16, 2012)

I'm very confident I'd be able to get food to them. The main thing I need was to see which would be OK bioload and size wise. I have the time and patience to pellet or hand train the fish if needed. I would rather have the bgk so I'll try to find some more info on them before diving in.
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## allaboutfish (Jul 16, 2012)

So I think the bgk would be fine with the size of the tank and the tank mates. There plenty of room for him since the cichlids hang out in the middle. Nobody harrasses the pleco so I don't think anything would harrass him. And I do have 2 canisters and some plants so I think I'm gonna go for the bgk. I'll pellet train him in the 20 and maybe hand train him in the 20.
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## jaysee (Dec 9, 2009)

Good luck. I am trying to train my BGK to eat pellets....


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## allaboutfish (Jul 16, 2012)

What are you gonna keep yours with?
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## jaysee (Dec 9, 2009)

I'm not entirely sure yet. Big fish ;-)


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## allaboutfish (Jul 16, 2012)

Haha.
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## allaboutfish (Jul 16, 2012)

Jaysee do you think the bgk would overstock me? I'm not in the position to upgrade any time soon but adding filtration I could do.
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## jaysee (Dec 9, 2009)

From a bioload perspective, probably not. However, from a compatibility point of view, I dont know - I don't know enough about some of your cichlids.


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## Sanguinefox (Nov 29, 2011)

Sorry to break your enthusiasm here but your 120 gallon tank is not big enough for a BGK. These guys need wider tanks and if yours is a tall, than turning around as an adult is going to be an issue. They do not have very flexible spines.

You are better off getting an eel (if one at all)as it won't be a bioload issue, and the peacock will be very comfortable in the size tank you have. Although...compatibility wise I'm not convinced ins a good idea to put it in with potentially aggressive cichlids. Peacock eels are not aggressive fish. They are shy, and very very peaceful. If you could comfortably go with a larger sized eel that probably would be better as it is more capable of putting up a fight for itself. I don't know if any of the larger species will suit your tank as it's not an area I am well versed in yet. Some of those larger species are more aggressive and as such may be better suited.


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## jaysee (Dec 9, 2009)

Sanguinefox said:


> Sorry to break your enthusiasm here but your 120 gallon tank is not big enough for a BGK. These guys need wider tanks and if yours is a tall, than turning around as an adult is going to be an issue. They do not have very flexible spines.


I agree, I think the tank is a bit short in length. But it's wide. I also agree that an eel would be a better choice.

As far as inflexible spines - my BGK is about 12 inches long and when it was netted, the fish almost folded in half. It was also able to turn around in the bag. Both things I did not expect, after hearing about how inflexible they are.


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## allaboutfish (Jul 16, 2012)

The tank is 48in long 24in wide and I think its like 26in tall or something around that. I don't see the cichlids posing a threat. The blood parrot can't do anything. The kirin and severum are big babies they aren't even aggressive towards other cichlids and the jd doesn't really mess with anybody. The jd is the most aggressive by profile but its a female and not very aggressive from what I've seen. I have plenty of flat round rocks for him to hide in and an amazon sword. I've been trying to get the tank more planted but plants aren't doing that well. They're living but not growing much. I'll do the eel if it would be better. I just really like the bgk. I would have a backup 55 by the time I get him so I could move out problem fish.
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## allaboutfish (Jul 16, 2012)

Would 3 rope fish be too much for the tank? Maybe they'd be a better choice?
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