My "African" tank: feat., Ctenopoma, Synodontis, Congo tetras, and Gouramis 

+protopigeon ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-MhdJG2-kX-0.html

My Ctenopoma is huge now.

Thanks!

+Sławek Wiśniewski Thanks! You should see him now! (He's in my 125 now)

thanks!

They don't even seem to avoid the stronger currents, even though they easily can.

I probably did about 50% every 10 days or so. It's been a long time since this tank was set up like this.

I don't know. I've thought about it, but I think if I catch it, I'll probably sell it for store credit. (another one I'll never buy again)

lol that would be a good plan XD

They got eaten eventually.

oj, it's pity ;/

If not what other kind of piscivore can I have in this size?

No, it would outgrow that tank in a year or less. And I really don't know what other fish you could find that's small enough to fit in there.

+Debus Debus I wouldn't. Too small. I'm moving mine into a much larger tank soon. I'd say minimum of 100 gallons for two of them.

+Dan Hiteshew i keep 4 in 600 liter .

sonicsun1 nice. They're cool fish. Is your tank heavily planted?

+Dan Hiteshew 50% planted . 2 female 2 male .

www.badmanstropicalfish.com/profiles/profile132.html

+M. Jay (dogatemymanuscript) First off, harder water is alkaline, while softer water is acidic. If you've got Discus in the tank and they can stand the water changes like that (I'm surprised they can) then that wouldn't be the issue with the Ctenopoma. However, Ctenopoma are African fish that need at least a few degrees hardness and can tolerate neutral water, but not acidic. By the nature of the sudden death with no outward signs of distress, I'd say the water is too soft for it. There's no way a Ctenopoma and Discus should be in the same tank.

It was not my intention to house the bush fish the way I did. I was horribly miss informed when I bought it and so it was miss set up from the get go due to this and I was unable to correct the issue quickly enough. Oddly enough my water tests soft but with a slightly basic/alkaline pH. The ram cichlid guy you refereed me too said it's rare but possible depending on the natural buffers in the water. The tank is certainly a SA cichlid community tank, which is why if I get another bush fish in the future I will be sure to set it up an appropriate new tank. How would you suggest getting the right water parameters for a bush fish tank and what are appropriate tank mates? The water changer is a new piece of equipment for me. According to simply discus it's the ammonia, nitrite, nitrate, and water hardness that's of the most concern with discus and other things can be with stood short term. I use a conditioner I'm very familiar with dosing with so I over condition so chlorine is neutralized in seconds of touching my tank's water (I was advised to use no other additives and leave my tap water natural beyond the conditioner so there's nothing I have to equalize in new water before adding it). Everyone's perked up after this most recent water change, which was over due, but I will keep an eye on things with this new water change method. Dan Hiteshew

M. Jay​ I actually have fairly soft water, but with a 7.3 pH. This is due to additional sodium ions in my water. They account for buffering, but not hardness. So there are certain conditions where soft water can be slight alkaline. Tank mates for a Ctenopoma would not include any fish it could fit in its mouth, or any fish that is delicate. 

Dan Hiteshew How can I harden my water for Ctenopoma?

M. Jay you can use limestone or crushed coral as a substrate. Texas hokey rock wod work. First check your water. Don't start adjusting things until you know what you're adjusting. I'm just guessing about the softness based on what you told me. There's so many variables that it's difficult to give specific advice without writing a book.

I think you'll probably be ok. the Pictus for sure. My Ctenopoma does chase my Congo Tetras, but it seems more like habit than hunting. I've never fed him live food so he dies get a taste for it. tank size would be my concern. I'm moving mine into a 55 or 75 gallon tank.

I just did an update on hom, by the way. he's not about a year old, and already 6 inches. I am a heavy feeder, but he's huge! check out a more recent video.

+Dan Hiteshew I do have a 55gal, guess it would've been helped if I told you that, and I'm trying to not overstock it. So my final stock once everything is bought is: 3 ram cichlid trios for 9 rams total but may do only 7 total (German blue ram, golden rams, electric blue rams), 1 bush fish (not feeding live ever either so sinking shrimp pellets, frozen krill, frozen blood worms, and 2 types of floating foods), my 2 pictus catfish,1 African butterfly fish as I have no top swimmers (no concerns about this one getting along with everyone & vice versa), and a small school of something 3+ inches (Conga tetras, Torpedo barbs, black skirt tetra). I favor the Red Line Sharks/Torpedo Barbs at the moment and I wanted Leopard Danios, but that's certainly out since I got the bush fish since the general rule I heard is that they can eat anything 1/3 their size so nothing under 2in (ie. the size of a large adult female guppy) should be housed with a 6in adult. I'm considering a ghost knife fish and a pair of dwarf groumies in addition to or in place of something mentioned (like only if I go with 7 rams over 9 or something like that), but I must research more on those and the tank was started to be a ram cichlid tank with my childhood dream of owning catfish. The bush fish is the only one that concerns me with the mix as I've heard mixed things about them. That they're shy, won't put up with being picked on but generally peaceful, adults can get aggressive, and they won't bother anything larger than an adult guppy but some people have had them kill adult cory catfish trying to eat them. Guess I don't know until I try it since I already have it anyway. If he kills a ram when he's bigger I donate him to a shop to be re-homed and replace the ram and that's it, though I hate to have that mentality. I should also mention that I do have a good mix of cave sizes so there's places that only the smaller fish can get into to that the larger fish can't (just like in nature) in the event an issue arises. I have tons of caves all creating over hangs as well and I even have caves suction cupped to my walls to maximize hiding space. I do have a few plants though they haven't grown in yet but there will be some plant cover when everything's matured (I have a Rosette sword, Narrow leaf Anubias, and a Crinum Calastratum that isn't doing so well and may need to be replace by a tall slender crypt species). So far I've seen the little bush fish (he's the smallest) hanging out around my rams and neither has chased or nipped at the other so I don't think the rams will instigate an aggressive response from the bush fish when he's bigger. I'm only worried about him thinking they look like a meal later on as I've only seen bush fish kept with 4+ inch fish such as in your tank. Rams are certainly wide fish so imagine that would make them look less appetizing than something slender line a minnow in shape and you know I think I have seen dwarf groumies mixed with regular groumies and kept with bush fish.

+Dan Hiteshew It's amazing how fast some can grow. I don't feed heavy (only twice a week or my catfish hogs would have some swim bladder issues or literally explode). My fish in the past tend to grow at a modest rate but not as fast as others do.

+M. Jay (dogatemymanuscript) my only concern would be mixing harder water African fish with extremely Softwater fish like GBRs. The Ctenopoma and Butterflyfish can do neutral pH, but the beed at least a few degrees of harness.

Yes, he's huge now!

It is an anabatid, so it very closely related, but it's not a true gourami. (one common name for it is "leopard gourami")

Dan Hiteshew im looking for this fish..but very difficult get in my cauntry..how big this can grow?

Probably. I have a fairly large Raphael in a 55, although it's about at the limit.

@@DanHiteshew-oneandonly Anything else with your Raphael?

@@bw5020 I've got a bunch of stuff in there. Look at my "Gourami Tank" playlist.

dogglet1234 Easy to keep, don't know where they were.

So they can be kept wit bichirs?

dogglet1234 I wouldn't. I said they're easy to keep, I didn't say other fish won't eat them!

Oh i thought they can hold their ground

dogglet1234 not really. It's just a little frog. They only get fat about an inch and a half long. (No usable claws)

I really don't know. I have no experience with Oscars. Sorry.

@@DanHiteshew-oneandonly thank you ☺️