Krib Tank

[Shadow_Africa]

Im going to make my 55 gallon tank into a Mostly African tank or maybe all.

How does this sound in heavily planted with alot of caves.

6 Upside down Catfish
2 Kribs
1 African Butterfly fish
8 Congo tetras or other small african schooling fish

Would that take care of the space? Or would I be able to add a Ram, Keyhole or some type of shell/mouthbrooder since I love them type of fish and would love to add a pair of them.

 

[James From Cali]

I would watch out for the kribs with the UDC(Upside Down Catfish).

 

[JustOneMore20]

Your list looks great to me. It will be a very nice tank! I think the USD cats will get big enough to either get out of the Kribs way or defend themselves. I think they swim all over tank and don't just hang out on the bottom. Anyways, in a 4 foot tank, the Kribs should have enough room to stake out a territory when they breed, so the other fish should be fine with them.

Show us some pictures when you get the tank setup and stocked! Congo tetras are gorgeous fish...so keep them on your stocking list.

 

[James From Cali]

Just try to get the UDC at a reasonable size!

 

[Shadow_Africa]

As for the tank would this be good?
temp: 77 Degress
PH:6.5-7.2
Heavily planted with a few open areas
some floating plants
caves/pipes all STURDY
some bogwood??

Also I have a 350 Penguin Bio-wheel with cabon would that be good enough with all the fish and plants, or should I add another one?

Also would I be able to do 2 African Butterfly fish and maybe 8 Congo Tetras and 8 debawi catfish? Or would that over stock my tank?

 

[f8fan]

I don't know much about planted tanks but carbon isn't necessary. Just a lot of good floss/pads, etc. that you can rinse and reuse for bacteria population.

I have two adult kribs and about 10 six month old krib juveniles in my 55 gallon (non planted). As long as you have a lot of caves for territory you will be fine. I have one African Butterfly Fish and they ALWAYS stay at the top, so there is no aggression at all. I don't know about having two ABF's, tho. They do tend to cling to the floating plants, so maybe it would work.

 

[JustOneMore20]

Sorry, I missed the part about the carbon. Nope, you don't need it in a planted tank. If you dose any fertilizers, the carbon will take them out of the water, so its best not to use it.

I don't know about those catfish, I've never heard of them. Maybe someone on here can help ya with that question.