90 gallon planted tank

Question
Hello and thanks for your time.  I am in the process of changing my 90 gallon cycled planted tank, and am looking for some new inhabitants.  My husband is a big fan of eels and ropefish.  The only old resident will be an elephant nose, and possibly several peppered corys.  

My current thought is 5 ropefish, the elephant nose, a school of 6 corys, and possibly a school of Dennison barbs(Puntius denisonii).

We want something unique, colorful, and compatible. Our water runs slightly hard, with a ph of about 7.4 out of the tap, I do weekly 25-50% water changes, and have had no problems with this tank at all.

Thanks for your time.

Answer
Hi Barbara;

That sounds like a very nice mix of fish. Ropes can be delicate but you already have an elephant and their diet is similar. The one thing you must be sure of is that there are no holes or open slots in the tank lid, even small ones. They are escape artists! They also grow to be about three feet long.

If your pH tends to stay on the high side after it goes into the tank, try adding some driftwood or bogwood. They soften the water over time which should make all your fish pretty happy.

Be sure the Dennison Barbs are large enough not to be eaten when you get them. They will be plenty large enough eventually as adults at about 5 inches, but if they start out too small your ropes will make a midnight snack of them. Yikes!

Here are some web pages with more info about them;

http://www.aquahobby.com/gallery/e_reed.php

http://badmanstropicalfish.com/profiles/profile90.html

http://www.practicalfishkeeping.co.uk/forum/showthread.php?t=20991

Have fun!

At Your Service;
Chris Robbins