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Okay, I know that this issue has been discussed before. And that the most sensible conclusion is to have no tankmates at all with the L046.

But I have 9 zebras (4 adults and 5 youngsters) in a planted 160 liter tank and it would be nice to have something lively in the upper layers.

Does anyone has some positive experience or recommendation for tankmates?

Let me list the former tankmates that were not a succes and why:

Ancistrus: too big and competetive, eats all the zebra food and scares them off
Pearl gourami: idem dito
Hadgets: don't like the strong current
Glowligth tetras: eat all the zebra food
Endler guppies: idem dito
Corydoras: idem dito
Armano shrimps: eat all the zebra food and I caught one eating a precious zebra egg

I was considering last days the fish listed below, but I don't think they are a succes either:
Sparkling gourami: I am worried that the sound it produces could stress the zebra's a little and make it more difficult for them to breed again.
Epiplatys dageti: needs much lower temperatures and very low current

At the moment I have 6 Rasbora hengeli (closely related to the Harlequin Rasbora) that are ideal in the sense that they are small and don't eat anything from the bottom. But I am phasing them out as I am a little fed up with them.
Also I have 4 Otocinclus affinus to help me to combat the algues. They seem to do a good job and they don't compete with the zebra's either.

A tankmate for the zebra imo should:
- not compete for food on the bottom
- be small
- stand strong current and high temperatures

I found it difficult to find such a fish. Does anyone have suggestions?

I searched this forum for "tankmates" and drew my own conclusion:
My Rasbora hengeli (quite simular to Rasbora heteromorpha, Harlequin rasbora) have the good qualities to stay small, to stand high temperatures and they don't eat from the bottom. So I think that I will stick to it.

Just one more question:

Does anybody has experience with the cherry barb (barbus/puntius titteya)?
I do have the suspicion that they eat from the ground. Is that true?

wouldn't Rasboras and Barbs nip the fins of the Zebras?

The Rasbora hengeli don't.
That is for sure, they are in there for half a year and besides that they are absolutely peaceful, they don't even come close to the bottom, so they don't even have any encounter with the zebras.

For the cherry barbs I am indeed not so sure, they seem to be more agressive.
I was more worried about them stealing the zebra food. As did the Glowlight tetras in a failed experiment one month ago.

My best tank mate are zebra ottos! They look great together! Corydoras will eat all the food! I have also tried a school of cardinal tetras and rummy nose tetras!

I do have 8 ottocinclus affinus with the zebras now.

They don't seem to compete with the zebras. When I throw sinking tablets in the tank, they seem to eat indirectly from it by scavencing the substrate around it, but they don't attack directly the tablets. Funny behaviour, but it gives the zebras a change to feed properly.

Tetras are not a good company in my experience (cardinals and glowlights) as they tend to eat all the food from the ground, especially the glowlights are very greedy.
I share the same experience with the corydoras. These are too efficient in bottom feeding. They will leave nothing for the zebras.

Zebra ottos must be really nice looking with the zebras. Can you show a photograph?

Well i've got some whiptails with mine. They are great tank mates and algae cleaner's!!!!!

Cheers,
Clint

would congo tetra work?

andrewcoxon wrote:would congo tetra work?

Congo's are much more robust and are not as dither as most Tetra's are; thus I would not recommend them as tankmates. I believe they would not hestitate to eat away at the Zebra's food if given the chance. Try Neons or other skittish Tetras. Or better use Cherry Shrimp.

We're giving Phantom tetras a go at the moment (its a monochrome theme)

35gal (us) tank with 5 zebs, and a dozen phantoms - they make the tank look alive again

smithrc wrote:We're giving Phantom tetras a go at the moment (its a monochrome theme)

35gal (us) tank with 5 zebs, and a dozen phantoms - they make the tank look alive again

How true!

i've got cardinals with my zebras at the moment and they don't seem to eat any food that sinks to the bottom.

I've got standard Harlequin Rasboras with mine and they don't compete too badly for food and never nip fins.

I would agree with the above and say no to barbs. They are bad fin nippers. Also, my first two zebs came from a tank with Serpae Tetras and they had chewed my poor zebs to shreds. Best avoided!

I have about a dozen double red Apistogramma with mine. A peaceful small cichlid. I have had no issues with tail nipping or food competition. Of course the are active and super colorful as well.

I have Torpedo barbs with the zebras. As torpedos are particularly finicky when it comes to water quality they are also quite useful being around (just in case). They are quite sociable and the zebbies seem fine with them.