Larger plant friendly(ish) Species?

[Logan487]

Hey all,

Long time lurker but figured I would come back and be social again since I got out of reef keeping and went back to freshwater. I currently am looking for something unique for our 125 nursery tank, although if it outgrows this I would be willing to move it to our indoor pond setup. Any suggestions for something neat looking that is reasonably plant friendly? I have our 125 partially planted and while some occasional chewing is fine I didn't want to setup a buffet like a common would do to it. So far all I have been able to find in regards to colorful or neat looking species would all quickly become snacks for what what is growing out or permanently living in there so figured I would see if anyone could suggest one.

Current Stock list:
Jardini Arowana - 6" Growing out
Albino Tiger Oscar - 4.5" Permanent Resident
Tiger Shovelnose - 5" Growing out
Giraffe Catfish - 6" Might be Perm, Might move so undecided.

Sump is a Pro Clear 400 Wet/Dry loaded with a 50/50 mix of bio balls and Marine Pure spheres so filtration wise anything should be fine. (I have no idea why I did this, but if I did my math correctly the Marine Pure spheres I put in are enough for around a 2500+ gallons worth of bio filtration lol)

 

[Fishyboy🐟🐟🐟]

Idk why but my Brain can’t process this lol, if that is your stock list for the planted tank, the Oscar will surely dig them out, and so will the bigger cats but tbh my brain is not working rn so idk what u are saying

 

[FrancisFloe]

Some kind of bichir, they just sorta lie on the ground and do nothing, get bigger ones cuz your current fish might make a quick snack out of them. Idk theres a lot of plant friendly fish but I didnt expect the fish you list here to be placed in a planted aquarium but hey atleast it worked out.

 

[tlindsey]

Oscar will surely dig them out.
Yes agree

 

[dmyersWv]

Only the Jardini would be plant safe. The rest will dig or just get big enough to uproot all plants.

 

[Logan487]

My B, probably should of caveated the setup. The root balls of each are banded to larger stones that are buried to keep them from moving them around too much.

Edit: Also probably should of clarified I expect some plant shenanigans as they grow so I've went with the more float/free friendly plants like anubias, Java fern, etc.

 

[Logan487]

Idk why but my Brain can’t process this lol, if that is your stock list for the planted tank, the Oscar will surely dig them out, and so will the bigger cats but tbh my brain is not working rn so idk what u are saying

I was trying to figure out what species of larger plecos may be less apt to go to town on the plants. I had thought Royals but turns out they go for plants as well. Not 100% sold on the idea of having a decorative pleco and may just pass though in favor of something else as its was more the kids wanting one.

 

[dmyersWv]

Blue and green phantoms don't get crazy large and aren't to hard on plants

 

[Logan487]

Blue and green phantoms don't get crazy large and aren't to hard on plants

Funny enough a green phantom is the one the kids were obsessing over in the store the other day lol.

 

[dmyersWv]

Wattleydiscus.com had them for $40. Not sure on size.