Native Tank Setup - Inhabitants?

Apologies if this is in the wrong forum.

I'm turning my 72 Bowfront in the living room into a Native Tank. I'm currently planning to add 3 Longeared Sunfish.

I'm curious about what fish would make for good neighbors in the tank. Also - is there a native equivalent to Plecos? Something that helps keep trash under control.

Thanks in advance.

Most similar-sized sunfish, larger minnows, topminnows, and darters, and madtoms can all be kept with longears. Just provide plenty of cover as longears can be rough with tankmates.

There are North American fish that eat algae and detritus (such as uneaten sunfish food), but many of them are too big to do well in tanks. Inverts such as shrimp, snails, scuds, and crayfish will also do this job; The first three are vulnerable to predation and may need to be replaced periodically, while crays can be a danger to your fish. You could also try stonerollers (a type of minnow) for algae control. But no aquarium fish (including plecos) will replace the need for gravel vacs and water changes; in fact, 'cleaner' fish add to the tank's bioload and increase the need for maintenance.

Longears are gorgeous fish and I'm sure they'll look great in your bowfront! Keep us updated.

Most similar-sized sunfish, larger minnows, topminnows, and darters, and madtoms can all be kept with longears. Just provide plenty of cover as longears can be rough with tankmates.

There are North American fish that eat algae and detritus (such as uneaten sunfish food), but many of them are too big to do well in tanks. Inverts such as shrimp, snails, scuds, and crayfish will also do this job; The first three are vulnerable to predation and may need to be replaced periodically, while crays can be a danger to your fish. You could also try stonerollers (a type of minnow) for algae control. But no aquarium fish (including plecos) will replace the need for gravel vacs and water changes; in fact, 'cleaner' fish add to the tank's bioload and increase the need for maintenance.

Longears are gorgeous fish and I'm sure they'll look great in your bowfront! Keep us updated.

I do 50% water changes weekly on all my tanks. The 72 is currently running twin Penguin 350's and 2 Hydro-Sponge III's - I prefer over-filtration.

The reason I look for "clean up" fish is I prefer to run sand substrates - making vac'ing a chore. So far I've diminished this to once every few months in my Cichlid tanks with a mix of Plecos/Loaches.

I was hoping to keep Darters with the Longears - but I did not want to add them if they would ultimately become food.

I think bigger darters like logperch may work with longears. You could also substitute the smaller but similarly colored dollar sunfish for longears; this would probably increase the number of darter species you could keep. Hopefully someone with more experience keeping sunnies and darters together will chime in.

I have a pair of juvenile longears in with my darters, though they'll probably go to my pond when they get larger. At first, the one chased the other, but they get along now. Don't seem to bother the darters at all, but then again, they're both in the 2" range. For the moment.

Juvenile hognose suckers are great trash collectors, but they grow fast and get big. I've used juvenile crawfish, they're great for eating algae and any leftover food, but they get aggressive when they get larger, and are a favorite fish food when they're very small.

I'd second the suggestion of a logperch. Fairly interesting, not the prettiest of darters but attractive with the tiger stripes, and they get large enough (6-8") that they could survive with a full sized longear. Most darters don't seem to get much over 3". General rule seems to be that if a fish will fit in another fish's mouth, it will probably end up there.

General rule seems to be that if a fish will fit in another fish's mouth, it will probably end up there.

LOL!! So true!!