# Plant eating fish



## 55Range (Nov 2, 2010)

Hey








Having some issues in my planted tank. got loaches(clown, blue, weather, yoyo, striated), black ghosts, discus, kribensis, gouramis(dwarf, stripped), spotted talking catfish, upside down catfish, and "a small greyish slim body catfish".
Who do you think been nipping on my plants from the above list ?


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## DKRST (Jan 11, 2011)

I had a dwarf gourami that grazed on every fine-leaf plant in my tank.
What plants are being eaten or nibbled on?


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## 55Range (Nov 2, 2010)

Well most of my plants new shoots are been destroyed


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## KendraMc (Jul 20, 2011)

have you tried java fern or wisteria? those are the only two i've tried so far that my swordtails haven't devoured.


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## 55Range (Nov 2, 2010)

Well the thing is - i want to identify the culprit and send it to another tank. But must be sure of it. I want my plants  Therefore any advice/suggestions are welcome .


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## Byron (Mar 7, 2009)

Difficult to say, but you have some compatibility issues that could be causing abnormal behaviours. I've no idea how large this tank is, nor how many of each species you have. But just off the top, you have very warm water fish and some temperate water fish, and you cannot combine these as there is no "middle" ground and one or the other, or both, will suffer. Temperaments of individual species I will leave since I've no idea on the tank size and numbers.

Maintaining shoaling fish in too small a group, in the wrong water parameters (temp here, possibly more), too small a space (to the fish), or with non-compatible species will all cause stress. And this weakens the immune system, usually leads to a shortened lifespan on top of health issues that would not otherwise occur, and brings out aggressive or un-natural behaviours.

Byron.


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## 55Range (Nov 2, 2010)

Ok By warm you mean Discus and loaches I guess. Well its a 5 feet tank. With plants. caves, hiding places, and have had many of those fish some since 4 years and some as little as a month. 
What are you suggesting ?


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## Byron (Mar 7, 2009)

55Range said:


> Ok By warm you mean Discus and loaches I guess. Well its a 5 feet tank. With plants. caves, hiding places, and have had many of those fish some since 4 years and some as little as a month.
> What are you suggesting ?


Yes, the discus are warm water, 82F and above. Weather loach is temperate, mid-70's is the highest it should be kept. The other fish listed can manage with normal community temperatures around 77-79F, some will manage at the higher discus range, some at the lower. In general, it is usually best to maintain fish at the lower to mid-range of their preference since this will allow them to metabolise more easily with less effort. The higher the temp, the more the fish must work.

The knifefish is not a community fish, and it will require much larger quarters. At nearly 2 feet and being stiff-bodied, it cannot turn around in a tank that is not at least as wide as its length (2 feet at maturity). The dim lighting it needs (being nocturnal) will suite discus and loaches, though not your plants. You mention ghosts in the plural; this fish is electrogenetic, and thus should be kept one fish per tank to avoid stress.

I am an advocate of only mixing truly suitable fish species in an aquarium, regardless of the size. There is sufficient evidence nowdays to show that this is the best way to reduce stress on the fish, and that means healthier fish. Nothing is cast in stone, but at the same time the inherent traits of each species is a given by nature, and the effects of these things are not always easily seen by the aquarist. Discretion is the better part of valour, and similarly avoiding possible (even if not probable) problems is the safer and wiser course. We have fish profiles, second tab from the left in the blue bar across the top of the page, and each profile contains info on numbers for shoaling fish (of which many here are), compatibility, etc.


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## 55Range (Nov 2, 2010)

well informative post , thank you. Will separate some fishes, my main will be discus and loaches. Any idea on loaches eating plants ?


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## DKRST (Jan 11, 2011)

I think the only issue I have heard about with loaches and plants is their size and behavior. Their "rooting" around the bottom coupled with a pretty good size body form (clown loach) means they can uproot plants on a regular basis, particularly thin-stem plants lust by bumping around.


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## Byron (Mar 7, 2009)

Several months back we had a member post about some loaches nibbling holes in sword plants. Botia kubotai was the species; I have had a group of these for a couple years now, and they have not nibbled any of my plants, including 3 Echinodorus bleherae. Perhaps this occurs due to stress as I mentioned preivously? Just surmising. The digging as DKRST noted is the usual problem as the loach gets larger. Mine are fond of digging tunnels connecting their "homes" under chunks of bogwood and river rock; it is fascinating to watch them chasing one another, the first will disappear down beside a boulder and come up several inches away. Sometimes the chaser figures this out, and "waits" at the other end.:lol:


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## 55Range (Nov 2, 2010)

Ok...
So Byron, what fish do you think I need to remove ?
Considering my 6 discus are my favorites and and kind of love the loaches too, 5 clown, 5 yoyo, 1 striated and the 1 weather Loach.


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## Byron (Mar 7, 2009)

55Range said:


> Ok...
> So Byron, what fish do you think I need to remove ?
> Considering my 6 discus are my favorites and and kind of love the loaches too, 5 clown, 5 yoyo, 1 striated and the 1 weather Loach.


Remove the Weather loach, is not not suitable due to temp. Increase the Botia striata to at least 5 [assume this is the "striated" species, check our profile]. In a well-planted tank, subdued lighting, this will work fine. You could add some shoaling fish too for added interest upper water, not necessary but possible. The Botia almorhae (YoYo) can sometimes be a bit "playful" or feisty, but are generally quite compatible with other loaches.

On the lighting, by subdued I mean as minimal as necessary for the plants. Floating plants help here, as they provide some shade cover for the fish. Discus and all loaches are not fond of bright light. I can almost guarantee discus will be more colourful with a cover of floating plants. Fish sensitivity to light is not well understood by many aquarists. They have light receptors in their skin cells as well as via their eyes.

Here's what I mean by discus in shady habitats; this is a video of discus in their natural habitat. Note the very murky water [= little light penetration] and floating vegetation and branches.





 
Byron.


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## 55Range (Nov 2, 2010)

Thxs . Will do
As for lightning I have 2 T5 lights. Planning on adding another 2 . Aqua full of lights. My discus seem to like the light.
have some floating plants on extremities, ofc, black ghosts spot 
weather loach will be removed tomorrow.
And, do you know of any fish, not aggressive, and that becomes of decent size that will do well with discus ?


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## Byron (Mar 7, 2009)

55Range said:


> Thxs . Will do
> As for lightning I have 2 T5 lights. Planning on adding another 2 . Aqua full of lights. My discus seem to like the light.
> have some floating plants on extremities, ofc, black ghosts spot
> weather loach will be removed tomorrow.
> And, do you know of any fish, not aggressive, and that becomes of decent size that will do well with discus ?


T5 probably means HO tubes, and two of these assuming they are 48-inches over a 5-foot tank is more than enough. I wouldn't have that much. My 5-foot 115g has two T8 48-inch tubes, with floating plants. I tried a dual T5 when my old fixture gave out, but it was far too bright. I expected the fish to be asking me for sunglasses. After a week, it went back for a T8. A knifefish will find this highly stressful. As for the discus, how can we tell they "like" this or that? We can't. We give them the best environment we can, replicating their natural habitat, and can then be satisfied they will be healthier. Fish suitable for discus are in the profiles.


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