freshwater Fish

Question
I have a 65 gallon tank with Rainbows,Killi's,Gourami and
Denisoni Barbs.Power filter and two power heads,I notice that the Rainbows keep swimming into the water flow from the Power filter and the power heads,Why do they do this?

Also should I keep the water flow from the power heads
strong or flowing mildly.
Thanks for your answer in advance.
Derrick.

Answer
Hi Derrick,

You have two kinds of fish in your tank - fish that like slow water (killis, gouramis) and fish that like fast moving water (Denisoni barbs and rainbows). All of these are beautiful fish with bright colors, so even though their needs are different I can see why you would want to combine them. Also the gouramis and killis stay at the top, whereas the rainbows and barbs stay more in the middle area.

My suggestion would be to put a strong powerhead on just one side of the tank. The barbs and rainbows will enjoy swimming on this side, into the flow of the powerhead. They are fish from fast moving waters and enjoy a current. On the other side of the tank, try to make an area of floating plants (real ones like Amazon frogbit are best, but artificial ones are ok too) with no powerhead on that side. This is the side the killis and gouramis will favor.

If you have an undergravel filter, you won't be able to do this because you'll need to have both sides going. If that is the case, redirect the flow against the wall of the tank, and bring it a couple of inches under the water line so that the one side has less flow on the top of the tank. The gouramis and killis will favor this side.

Keep your powerhead on the other side flowing strongly. If you don't have an undergravel filter, I highly recommend Koralia powerheads. Even the knock offs (brand is SunSun) they sell on eBay are of decent quality. This design puts out much more water than traditional powerheads but with far less energy consumption. I love them!

Take care,
Nicole