Hi, I'm a beginner fishkeeper (about 1 year in the hobby), and am particularly interested in the North American Natives. I'm from the UK, where most of our own natives are hard to come by in the shops, and many European species (the Eurasian Weather Loach Misgurnis fossilis, for example are banned (as are quite a few US species that can also cause problems like Pumpkinseeds).

I can get Bluefin Killifishes relatively readily from an LFS that has a wide selection of US species (for a UK shop], but I already have three American-Flag Fish (1M 2F) in a fairly well planted 240 litre (although possibly not densely planted enough). The male is a particularly psychotic individual. There's three Weather Loaches, and 12 White Cloud Mountain Minnows, and they're either big enough for him to ignore them, or fast and numerous enough for his aggression to be spread out- so I'm getting close to my stocking limits here anyway.

I've read the threads here, but still have a couple of questions.

How well will the Bluefins cope with my angry fish? I did have a group of bitterlings (very peaceful unless you show them a Swan Mussel, at which point one male will become territorial), and while they never really thrived, I'm sure the aggression from the Jordanella did not help matters, and very probably hastened their demises. A few people have said they're trying it, and I'm wondering how they're getting on six months/a year down the line.

How many do I need in a group for them to be comfortable, and will that help with the Jordanella? I've read conflicting reports of how shoaling they are. The general consensus seems to be that they're happier if there's more of them, which is fine. But if they're going to be just as unhappy with 8 as with 2 with Mr Grumpyfins picking on them, then there probably isn't much point in going for them.

The male is a particularly psychotic individual.

That sounds like an American flag fish, all right >.<

Have you read this? http://badmanstropic.../profile82.html
There are different setups described there, but the general consensus is that two females and one male does not make for a happy family. I'm surprised that one of your females hasn't been bullied to death by now. Perhaps it's because your tank is fairly large.
Before you add a new fish species to your tank, you might want to figure out how to decrease the aggression of your flag fish. One person (see website above) described a peaceful setup with 4 females and 2 males.

I have 4 males and 2 females and all are well behaved. The males are so busy showing off to each other that they leave the females alone. No babies yet.

Sometimes, my cichlid keeping friends say, you have to overcrowd them a bit to make the aggression go down. Sometimes you have to do the exact opposite. It takes some experimenting to find the situation the fish are happiest in. If I were you, I'd try removing the flag fish from the tank for about a week and then introducing them back to the tank at the same time as a new male and two new females. See if the setup that worked to lower Cherna's flag fish's aggression works for yours as well. By introducing them all to the tank at the same time, you can avoid the aggression that is normally sparked when one fish invades another fish's territory. Keep an eye on them, of course, and remove the new male and two females if it doesn't work out. But hey, it's something to try.

Edit:
Also, I'm curious, what kind of weather loach do you have if the European variety is banned in the UK?

Edit #2:
And another thing, what temperature is your tank at that satisfies both White Cloud Mountain Minnows (mountains are cold) and Florida flag fish? (Florida is hot)

Edited by EricaWieser, 09 July 2011 - 03:30 PM.

Have you read this? http://badmanstropic.../profile82.html
There are different setups described there, but the general consensus is that two females and one male does not make for a happy family. I'm surprised that one of your females hasn't been bullied to death by now. Perhaps it's because your tank is fairly large.

The size definitely helps- the male and one female were in a 64 litre cube, and that didn't work- it wasn't large enough for her to get away. Moving them to the big tank helped, but there was still a lot of aggression, so I added the second female to try and spread things out a bit, a few weeks ago. So far it seems to have worked, although I agree that it might not work out long-term. The females are quite happy with each other's company, and the male hates everyone who gets near his patch of algae (Which is, of course right in the middle of the tank ) Nobody's paired up, but I'm keeping on the lookout for that.

Before you add a new fish species to your tank, you might want to figure out how to decrease the aggression of your flag fish. One person (see website above) described a peaceful setup with 4 females and 2 males.

He's a bit of a bruiser, getting on for 2". I'd probably have to find a fairly mature male to try this. (And I'll need a lot more tanks). Its going to be tricky from that point of view if nothing else.

I think its probably best that I don't get the Lucania- they're not cheap (£12 each, and not commonly seen either). I had a feeling it was going to be an expensive and unnecessarily cruel mistake.

Edit:
Also, I'm curious, what kind of weather loach do you have if the European variety is banned in the UK?

Misgurnus anguillicaudatus, the Dojo Loach is legal. Its only the European one that's specifically banned.

Edit #2:
And another thing, what temperature is your tank at that satisfies both White Cloud Mountain Minnows (mountains are cold) and Florida flag fish? (Florida is hot)

Its an unheated tank in a centrally heated house, so it bobbles about between 20 and 23 degrees Celcius (70-72 F). I tend to keep the hood raised in summer or the lights would raise it to 26ish. I'll get occasional temperature spikes when it gets really warm, but it doesn't drop below 18C. It doesn't seem to get warm enough for the flags to try spawning, which is probably fortunate.

Edited by DaveGodfrey, 10 July 2011 - 06:20 AM.