I have a 70 litre tank with 2 fancy goldfish and one sucker type fish I yet to identify (I'll post a picture in case anyone can identify the little guy for me)

Originally I had just one fantail but when the tank cycled fully I added a friend for him (a black moor). Unfortunately the fantail seems to be bullying him quite a lot, is there anyway of stopping this or should I just put them in separate tanks?

Attach file:

---

  IMAG0008.jpg (591.31 KB)

mm sounds a bit like my problems with Mikey (a fantail) who pestered my other two fancies relentlessly. It turned out that all three were male and that Mikey was mistaking the rounded bodies of the fancies for egg laden females. In the end the kindest thing was to rehome him. The others have been much happier since. They can bully one another for other reasons but male goldies can be pests when they are in the mood

JON

Its hard to tell from that photo, but that will likely be an Ancistrus http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ancistrus

there are many varieties, but they are usually tropical, and Ideally you'd want to be keeping them in slightly warmer conditions than perhaps you would for goldfish.

Providing some cover in the tank, such as caves, or plants are going to allow them to have some space for each other, which would prevent them from bullying him.

Is 70 litres big enough for 2 goldfish?

Your little sucker type fish is a Hillstream Loach. They are coldwater fish which are often put in tanks with goldfish, but unfortunately their requirements are very different and they are best kept in an evironment designed to meet their needs specifically.

JON

Is it a hillstream loach?

its pretty hard to tell from that angle, it looks like it could be some type of small plec there

Actually yup, looking at the tailfin jasper is correct, looks like a hillstream loach :

http://www.fishlore.com/aquariummagaz ... pt08/hillstream-loach.htm

mmm it is difficult to see clearly, to be honest I didn't think that it was likely to be a tropical fish as it's being kept in cold water, but you never know!

JON

Doesn't look like a catfish to me. I think that's a hillstream loach. Have a look at this article from Loaches.com for more information. They need well oxygenated water with a fast flow- something fancy goldfish won't like at all. They do best with a "river manifold" setup as described in the article. Smaller species only get to 2" or so, so if that's what you have they might be OK in the 70 litre, though the caresheet here recommends 90L.

The goldfish I'm afraid will need rehousing. 70L is nowhere near big enough. You need twice that for a single fancy as a permanent home and about 180-200L for two. That'll give them space to swim around in. Even then that's the bare minimum.

It does look like that Hillstream Loach. The fish shop is pretty good, they seem well clued up. They were in the same tank as the fantails and the Black Moor :)

They also said they would be ok together

Thanks for the fast replies guys!

@DaveGodfrey
The tank we have at the minute definitely wasn't intended as permanent, both fish are quite small at the moment and we'll be getting a much bigger tank in a few months but I do appreciate your advice.

After some googling I think it is a Hillstream Loach, he was in the same tank as the fancies in the fish.

Yep fish shops often have them in the same tanks as goldies, but they shouldn't be kept with them long term. I had a couple before I found this site and neither lasted more than a few weeks

JON