Australian Rainbowfish - Should he move?

[lmw80]

I have an australian rainbowfish in my 10 [acronym:39a70e6862="Gallon"]gal[/acronym:39a70e6862] with my blue gourami and assorted small fish. Both the rainbowfish and the gourami are reaching adulthood, if not already there, and the tank is not big enough for the two of them...size-wise and personality-wise.

I have decided to move the australian rainbowfish to my boyfriend's 46 [acronym:39a70e6862="Gallon"]gal[/acronym:39a70e6862] tank. In it, he has an angelfish, a neon blue dwarf gourami, 2 bala sharks, assorted corys, and assorted suckers/algae eaters. Do you think they will be compatible? I think if the rainbowfish had more room, and a "place" to make his own without feeling overcrowded, he would be fine. Whaddya think?

[madasafish]

Yup, move that rainbow out of there! www.liveaquaria.com recommends a 50G tank for an adult Australian Rainbow (5.5"). So, get him into a bigger space if you can, he'll probably grow more.

Also, according to my mind and to liveaquaria, there shouldn't be a compatibility issue with most of the other fish. The only fish in the bunch you mentioned that I might be worried about are the Bala Sharks. Is your boyfriend's tank well planted/does it have lots of hiding space? That might be good to reduce inter-species tension!

I'd say the "moving-him" option is by far the better one--I can imagine that he and the NBDG don't get along in that small a space. I know my NBDG and my regular old DG didn't get along at all in my 10G.

Anybody think that the Bala Sharks/Australian Rainbow combination is potentially/irreperably disastrous?

[lmw80]

Anyone?? Anyone?? Beuler, Beuler?

Seriously though, anyone think the bala sharks and rainbowfish will not get along?

[madasafish]

Well, I've done a little research, and it seems that since bala sharks are some of the less aggressive sharks out there, they probably will be fine with rainbowfish. In fact, liveaquaria.com says that their ideal tankmates include rainbowfish, so hurrah! Since the Australian Rainbow is one of the larger rainbow species, the two should get along.

Your best bet is probably to try out the combo and observe for a while. If no probs occur, I'd try seeing if they still get along in the dark (just a kinda random idea, but I've observed some fish becoming more aggressive at night). I guess I always tend towards being cautious!

One last suggestion is to keep the 46 well planted so that the two don't come in conflict.

Hope this helps.

[madasafish]

Oh, [acronym:6388102afd="By the way"]btw[/acronym:6388102afd]. Allivymar has said that we might try an all-AquariumAdvice trip to the NYAquarium. Keep your eyes peeled on the NY/NJ forum for any announcements! We'd probably only go if we have several ppl interested.

[lmw80]

Ooooh....that would be neat! I'd love to go!

I am spending the weekend at his house, so I will bring Gemini (rainbowfish) over tonight so we can observe them the whole weekend and Monday. There is a mixture of live and fake plants in the tank. Plenty of places to explore and hide!

Thanks so much for all your input!

[madasafish]

No prob! Hope they get along well! Sounds like an appropriate home for the fish.

I'll (or Allivymar will) let you know about the trip to the NYA.

Good luck!

[TankGirl]

My only concern is the bala sharks in the 46 gallon! They become about 14" long, so at some point they are going to need new homes. Otherwise, your plan sounds good to me, and the rainbow should be fine.