Hillstream / butterfly loach and white cloud mountain minnows community coldwater aquarium 25 gal? HELP?

Question

i have hillstream loaches and white cloud mountainminnows in the tank and would like a peaceful solitary coldwater fish to add to complete a community setup, preferably in size range of 15 to 20 cm approx.
thanks for any suggestions (and no my tank is not already overstocked, many aquarists whove seen it and shops have told me it isnt so there is plenty room for the extra fish so no offense no advice please on cycling or overstocking etc
thank Nick
p.s ok then 2 hillstream loaches (may buy 1 more) on driftwwod fed algae wafers, (2inches and 2.5 inches) and 8 mountain minnows.(may buy 4/5,more) the tank is aerated with a airr pump for the loaches and a filter which is OVER filtration so as to ensure filtration is more than required. there is good water flow over the loaches patch and it is a good setup for them.

i cant find iany info on japanese rice fish so can you please tell meother names they are called, thanks alot

Answer 1

Thanks for adding the additional information regarding the number of minnows and loaches! Here's my answer as originally posted:

I would not tell you that your tank IS overstocked, however, I would tell you that it is quite near being "maxed out". I'm not sure what shops you visit, but many are only focused upon selling you more fish and very few shops staff knowledgeable employees.

Not all aquarists provide great advice on all tank set-ups. Many don't even give good advice on the set-ups they own as they have been incorrectly advised by ill-informed shop staff.

You don't give the number of loaches or white clouds, so you leave very little room for any one to advise you appropriately.

The only reasonable suggestions I can offer based upon what information you have provided is that you should avoid adding many, if any more fish.

There are a few coldwater killifish that might work well in your tank. Japanese rice fish would be a possibility but they only get to be about 4 or 5 cm in length. (pH tolerance is neutral to 8.0)

*** Edit ***: I would add 4-6 of the japanese rice fish. I'm not in favor of adding the additional loach, and I'd get the rice fish instead of the extra minnows simply to add more diversity to the tank. They'll be comfortable in the middle of your tank, but will school all over. They're very peaceful and will get along with your other fish well. One "fun fact" about these fish is that will glow under blacklights.

Good luck with the tank!!

Answer 2

Look into Bloodfin and Buenos Aires Tetras. They would make a great addition to the middle area of your tank (Minnows stick to the surface, and the Loaches will usually be around the bottom). Small, peaceful Barbs like Rosy or Gold Barbs would also do well in that tank. I wouldn't try keeping more than 10 Minnows in there, but you could try it (you probably shouldn't)....

Soop Nazi

EDIT: Your tank doesn't have room for a 15-20 cm fish... the largest fish you should even CONSIDER puting in there would be about 10 cm...

Answer 3

In the tank with my goldfish in, i keep a few freshwater mussels in there. They really do help to keep the water and the gravel clean and you dont need to do anything with them except buy them in the first place :P

Sorry its not fish, but other than goldfish i only deal with tropical fish :P

Those fish sound a bit big to me if you want them like half a foot long :P

I think ill stick to my smaller fish and bettas :)

Answer 4

depending on what temp it keeps you could try zebra danios or perhaps guppies depending on flow