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Congo tetra tank size help

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Matt_Mitchell

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Hello,
I would like some help with possible stocking of an African themed tank. I have always wanted to keep congo tetras and was hoping that I would be able to in a 55gal (90x50x50cm) setup. However I have had lots of conflicting advice and would like an opinion from someone who's kept these before. My LFS for what it's worth have said yes and many websites back this up; however seriously fish recommend a 4ft tank as a minimum and I normally rate their advice.
I am open to suggestions for this tank; I have at the moment 4 very small mustard squeakers (synodontis abolineatus) and added a few minnows that i temporarily transferred in to give the filter something to do. I was thinking along the lines of a group of either African butterfly cichlids or ornate ctenopoma's and then a group of African tetras. (I have not kept any of these fish before).
I'm still adding plants and hardscape above the tank so not close to finishing yet, but a bit stumped on the possible stocking.
I have kept nano tanks for years and have often stalked this forum for information, but this is my first post. As it happens there are posts on here that discuss congo tetras in a tank this size without any negative comments and some posts that agree with seriously fish for a 4 foot minimum. My feelings are that it is probably too small for Congo's, but if I have a response here that says they will be fine then I will give them a go.
Other fish I have considered and not ruled out:
African banded barb
African Killifish - unsure of the jumping safety?
Blue eye tetra - slightly smaller than congo, but tank length still maybe an issue and expensive!
Yellow tail congo - slightly smaller than congo, but tank length still maybe an issue

Thanks in advance,
Matt
PXL_20240812_164020253[1].jpg
 
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Hello and welcome!

I think stocking is a mixture of being sensible and whether you have the environment to support it. As a result, you get conflicting views on the Internet. Congos are generally quite active and large (4-5 inches), so if you have 8 of them in a tank, then you also need some excellent filtration and space, like an Oase 850 or a Fluval FX Series type filter. You're also going to need some good aeration with 32 inches of fish in that 55-gallon tank.

My balanced view is that you need 6 to 8 to keep them happy. They will need some space, and you need good plants, filtration, and aeration. My personal view (and it does not have to be your view!) is that it looks like a tight order despite having 250 litres of water.
 
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Welcome fella,

My african tank remains my favourite tank I have ever kept as it was a proper fish first tank.
I would suggest a 90 tank is possible but they are pretty active and they thrive in large groups like most tetras. I think aquarium gardens had a few in a 90 for quite a while....

Just looking back at this makes me want another big tank with Congo tetras!!

Looks like a great start, do keep us updated 🙏

Thread 'African antics... NA120' African antics... NA120
 
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Thanks for the reply.

Swimming space is my worry. I probably should have added more about the tank, but it seemed like a long post already.
It's an old reef tank that I ran and it has a sump with another 20gal. I have made a refugium stocked with water sprite in the mid section about 10gal of it lit in inverse of the main display tank; so plenty of water. As far as plants go in the aquarium; I fancied just having the val rubra growing to the surface and letting it curl over a bit along the back and softening the corners, with some lilaeopsis (probably butchered the spelling) poking up around some of the rocks. I normally like a lot of plants, but for some reason fancied something a bit more minimal this time.
Even the maximum size for the fish varies online. I had them down for 4" max for the males and that worries me; if they get bigger than that it's definitely a no go.
Best I look for some alternatives.

Thanks,
 
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Thanks Iain,
The 'African antics' tank looks interesting. I notice it has the banded barbs and butterfly cichlids. Maybe I'll go with those; I'll have to leave the congo tetras on my bucket list I think as I don't want to have to move them on if they out grow it. I was originally thinking of 2 males and 4 females in there.

Thanks again
 
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Matt_Mitchell said:
Thanks Iain,
The 'African antics' tank looks interesting. I notice it has the banded barbs and butterfly cichlids. Maybe I'll go with those; I'll have to leave the congo tetras on my bucket list I think as I don't want to have to move them on if they out grow it. I was originally thinking of 2 males and 4 females in there.

Thanks again
Click to expand...
I would think 6 would be fine in there if it doesn't have heaps of hardscape. In a few years they might get to 3" , the fins make up an inch of that. 👍
 
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I have never kept congo's but the best I have ever seen them was in Lisbon at Amano's 'Forests Underwater'. That tank is 40m long and when I saw how mobile and active they are in the large space I realised that they are not suitable for smaller tanks - I would think that the Seriously Fish advice of 120cm minimum swimming space is on the extreme low side. They had Angelfish in the same aquarium and I would suggest that for a similarly sized group of Angels or Congo tetras, the tetras would need at least the same paddock size, if not larger, just for how active and fast they are, nothing to do with biomass or filtration..
 
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I think 4ft is the smallest I’d suggest too, They’re quite a large active fish.

The banded barbs you’ve mentioned would be a great choice. Also jelly bean tetras, Ladigesia roloffi, would be a good option if you could find them.
 
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Thanks for the replies.
I did think of the jelly bean tetra, but was worried about their small size (1") due to the adult size of the synos (4").
No comment on possible Killi's? My worry was that they might end up stuck on some of the emersed plants. The glass doors are quite a tight fit and the sides where the hinges are will be filled in, so they will not be able to leave the tank area. I have not finished planting from surface upwards and will probably add some anubias sp. plants for underwater after seeing Iain's tank. There are a lot of fantastic looking African Killifish out there, but again I have no experience with them.
Thanks again all
 
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Nice setup.
I've only ever kept Fundulopanchax gardneri nigerianus "Jos Plateau". They do jump but I wouldn't be concerned about the them getting stuck on plants, more if you have any deep recesses in the background/planting area that the could get trapped in.
Many of the killis migrate by jumping between pools so I'd imagine sometime on land is acceptable to them.
I'd add more line of sight breaks though as the males are pretty aggressive towards each other.
Also how much flow is there? Most of the killis will deal with some flow, especially if there's dense planting but they won't like battling against a torrent.
 
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Thanks; getting there slowly.
There is no flat or recessed land area. The tank only has about 1cm gap between it and the sides of the alcove, a bit more at the rear, but it is sloped. However it is mostly made up of roughed up cork insulation board or carbonised cork that is lumpy. I do however have some house plants growing from the surface that are held in place with filter sponge. This is about a couple of inches across including the plant which gives a virtual land area and that was my main worry. Sounds like might be ok as far as the jumping is concerned from what you've said.
I have tried reading up on the killis and some are recommended for groups and others just pairs or trios. It sounds as though you had a group. I'll have to think about sight breaks as you say or maybe only have the 1 male. As for the flow; I have placed a branch in front of the return inlet (back left corner) which has defused the flow. Hope that makes sense! So no direct torrent in fact I can only see gentle movement when I drop food in.
I have sadly just carried out a rough experiment to measure the flow. It's only turning over the tank volume twice an hour, which surprises me actually, for some reason I thought it might be more. I might now look into this and measure it more accurately during a water change.
Those gardneri look great, but would you recommend them as a fish to keep? My LFS has a juvenile pair of red chinned Panchax lurking in a corner and although not as pretty as some others I'm tempted to give them a try.

Thanks again,
Matt
 
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