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major33

Aquarium Advice Newbie
Joined
Feb 8, 2004
Messages
6
Location
Palm Beach Gardens Fl
I have a 55 g community tank which I populated with unwanted fish that friends have given me. The tank consists of 7 Zebra Danios 7 Mollies 2 Molly Fry 1 Jack Dempsey 1 Rainbow Shark 1 Buescheri 1 retarded Gobi 1 Chinese Algae Eater 2 Fiddler Crabs and some Ghost Shrimp.

I have 2 other tanks, 1 is SW and one is a 5 gallon FW that I use for raising fry which is currently empty. Should I move any of those fish into the 5 gallon or should I just buy another tank?

Right now it seems like one happy fishy community except for a couple of showdowns between the Jack and the CAE. Even the Buescheri and Jack get along great sharing their ghost shrimp kills with each other.

The Mollies have fared very well so far in this tank. They know to stear clear of the Jack when he's a little testy. Other than that, have I been lucky so far or is this tank situation a recipe for disaster?
 
You have some choices to make, as you can not keep all those fish together. First up is the goby, correct me if i'm wrong but I think they are brackish water fish(in between fresh and marine), and need salt in the water, along with the mollies. And the Dempsey and the Buescheri and cichlids, they do not work in a community setting with non-cichlid fish. If you removed them, the rest of the fish would work relitively well together. None of those fish would fit in the 5g. I would try and see if your lfs would accept them as a donation and start over picking your own fish.
 
Boy, you sure got my attention with the title of this thread!

I am in aggreement with Endgame and think the mollies and the goby could go together in a brackish setup, and the Dempsey is not really going to be compatible with your current stock (the rainbow and the algae eater are somewhat aggressive species, depending upon age and tankmates- neither fish will tolerate conspecifics). It is certainly a hodge-podge of fishies, so maybe your LFS will take some of them and you can decide what kind of fish you want to keep, since I am assuming you did not choose most of these. You have a lot of options with a 55.
 
Wait....wait...wait.....Hold on just a second there Nellie!!! major33....when you say you have a 'retarded Gobi' do you mean you have a Crazy Fish, Butis butis?? If you're not sure...check my Gallery for a picture. If that's what you've got I'd really be interested in hearing about it.
 
Thank you very much for the replies. Yes the Goby is a brackish fish. And to answer Fruitbat, no he is not a Butis butis rather a Bumblebee Goby who just looks stupid. I really like the Dempsey and Buescheri so I will definitely keep them because they are getting along great and share food together. The Mollies I guess I will donate to the LFS or perhaps get another tank. The Goby I'll stick in the 5g He can talk to the gravel all day long. :lol:

Can I keep the Zebra Danios with the Dempsey and Buescheri? Also what other fish would you recommend in the 55g with them? Sorry tankgirl about the hodge-podge of fishies :)

Thank You
 
different fish...

getting another tank is up to you... one thing you will learn about in this forum, if you haven't already, is mts, multiple tank syndrome... Once you start, it's hard to stop... If you know the people at the lfs well enough you may be able to trade some things... they never give you a fair trade but it's better than losing out altogether... another thing you can do is check out the barter/trade section of the forum... There are many members in FLA, i think that's what it said you live at, that might be interested in trading or buying some fish from you. Worth a shot anyway... Jack Dempseys are pretty fish... You might even want a few more of them or at least something of a similar size and tempermant... glad to hear that you adopt fishies from your friends... It that became a habit it would be worth purchasing another tank though... good luck...
 
[center:a878988b41]First off: Welcome to AA, Major33!!! :smilecolros:[/center:a878988b41]

If I lived down the street from you, I would happily take that "stupid" goby off your hands. However, you and the goby may be happier if you took him to the LFS. I had gobies (and will soon have them again )--they enjoy live foods, or at the very least bloodworms.

Can I keep the Zebra Danios with the Dempsey and Buescheri?
No. Jack is mean (if he's not now, he will be when he matures) :devilish: . I have a JD in my 80 gal--he is now the second smallest and quickly becoming the fiercest, among 5-6” fish. Do yourself a favor and take him to the LFS with the goby if you are not going to do a tank of semi-aggressive to aggressive fish. Of course, if you want a tank of aggressive fish, take everyone to the LFS, except Jack and get some African or SA cichlids.

There is a ton you can do with a 55 gal. One idea, if you want a non-aggressive tank is to look at my sig--29 gal Community tank. All these fish get along and, except for the ones that are "just visiting," will reach a max size of four inches. I am upgrading the 29 to a 50 gal this week. If you want color and dynamics in the tank, I whole-heartedly suggest docile cichlids--the dwarf cichlids, such as rams, kribs and brichardi. Of course, there are tons of ideas on this site-- look around!
Just research the fish you want before purchasing them to ensure they are compatible with each other and your water parameters. There are also, a ton of great sites on line--just google the fish you like and take notes!

Good luck and update this post as you are deciding on what fish you want (or once you decide). Have fun! :usa
 
The Dempseys and the N. buescheri are both somewhat aggressive, with the Dempsey being more so, but they come from very different waters, so the Dempseys will want softer, more acidic water while the buescheri are from Lake Tanganyika and that is very hard and alkaline. If they seem to be healthy and doing okay, then you might do okay with a decent sized school of tiger barbs, but I think anything else and you are going to have trouble. Dempseys are tricky! Green terrors can hold their own with them, I believe, but scuffles will arise. The buescheri need caves and such to feel comfortable, so be sure there are hiding places for it. They are very aggressive with conspecifics, so I would not recommend you keep any more of those in that tank.

This is exactly how MTS gets started, as Millipede pointed out, so don't feel bad! How do you think I got my handle? :wink:
 
I like dempseys too and I'll probably end up getting one sooner or later. If you're going for the more aggressive cichlids make sure you provide lots of decor so they can stake out territories. Here are some fish that would go well with a dempsey: red and green terrors, convicts, oscars(might be to big for your tank), and large plecos.
 
Thank you Menageire for the welcome! :D My goodness I think I will have to purchase a half dozen tanks with all the different kinds of fish I like. MTS is definitely setting in. :lol: I might have to get a 30g to keep the mollies in. I am in love with one that I call Tubby. She is a pot bellied Molly that is very agressive towards the other Mollies. It's actually quite amusing!

Right now I'm so overwhelmed with the amount of research it takes to see what kind of fish go well together. I definitely want an agressive cichlid tank. Makes for some interesting viewing. :twisted: I was planning on getting another 55g anyway so maybe I'll have one agressive tank and one non. Looking at other member tanks to see what kinds of fishies go well together really is helping me.

The Goby is so slow and stupid that even the 2 1/2 week old molly fry are sizing him up. Can I slingshot him over to you? He probably would get across the border rather easily :)
 
Major33 I just noticed Palm Beach Gardens- I lived in Lake Worth for 9 years, and have recently been pining for the tropical life I used to lead, with the daily jaunts over the bridge to the Beach and the scuba diving, sailing, etc.

Anyway, it sounds like you are well on your way to an aggressive cichlid tank, and the Dempseys are a great way to start. I definitely think red/green terrors, as mentioned, would go with what you have.
 
The Goby is so slow and stupid that even the 2 1/2 week old molly fry are sizing him up. Can I slingshot him over to you? He probably would get across the border rather easily
LOL By all means--I had to special order the little buggers up here!

You will be glad you joined AA--heck you probably already are!!!

If you have the space, time, money, etc to set up both an aggressive and non-aggressive cichlid tank, that's living the best of both worlds! (check out this site--find the part where it lists cichlids by region: http://www.mongabay.com/fish/species_index ). However, sooner or later you will come across the posting of rams and shell dwellers--people are succumbing to these cute, tiny cichlids--WATCH OUT!
I have never kept Mollies, but I can see that you will need a new tank soon. :jump:

[center:c67b8bbd47]MTS is incurable, but you probably knew that![/center:c67b8bbd47]
 
Tankgirl I'm sorry you miss the tropical lifestyle. :( I pass by Lake Worth every day on my way to work driving on that awful accident filled I-95. I usually go to Juno Beach, but now it's so infested with Sharks since they built a fishing pier that it's starting to get really scarey. They come right up to the edge of the beach!!! I guess I now know how my little Goby feels when he stares eye to eye with the Jack. :lol: Thanks for all the info regarding my tank :D

Menagerie how big is the heater you keep in your tanks? Those fishies must be mighty cold living up there in the great white north. I really don't even need a heater in the 55g because it's always 80 degrees in there. Thanks for the info on the cichlids. I really love the Jack especially when he pears out of his cave or wherever he is at the time when I come by. Whats great about living in Florida is usually there are lots of different species of fish to choose from. With the great advice I'm getting on here, I think I have a better understanding on how to go about setting up a happy FW tank
 
Major - heaters arent as important for getting the tank hot as they are for keeping the temperature stable, it could get really cold one night and your fish would freeze. Get a heater just to keep the temp stable, you need one around 5watts/gallon, so try a 200-300watt heater. And good luck with the tank! Try and get some pics up!
 
I agree with Endgame, you will want a heater as back up. Personally, I would go for a 200 watt heater or less, but do some research and see what your needs are. Before my fiancé and I outfitted our tanks, he did all the reading on equipment and I read about the fish :wink: .
Anyway, he found out that using the smaller watt was better on the heater because the larger watt would get the water warm quicker and then turn off, on-off-on-off.... The smaller watt heater needs to stay on longer and therefore does not wear out the heater as quickly. Now, I'm sure others will disagree, but that's what we use. For example on the 80 gal, there is a 200-watt heater. I recommend Visa-Therm or Ebo-Jager heaters. We just upgraded all our heaters to Ebo-Jager because I found them on eBay. Two months ago, we moved to Canada--I miss Ebay!! Not that it's not up here, but the shipping from the US doesn't make it worth it. If you have the time and want to save money, I highly recommend looking at eBay for basic aquarium needs.
 
Thanks Endgame and Menagerie. Sorry I didn't mean to scare both of you but I do have a heater. It's a 250 watt Titanium Pro that a friend had given me when he moved and couldn't take all his tanks with him. Lucky for me. :) I recently kept it off because I wanted to see what the temperature would be without it. Temp was between 79 and 81 degrees. However I now see how important it is to always maintain a stable temp. Thanks for the advice Endgame!

Happy to say that the heater is now on and the fishies are getting toasty. The Goby has curled up on his favorite leaf and gone to sleep. Last night I couldn't even find him and thought he had become a late night snack for the Jack. The little guy will be moved very soon. Also I've decided to give the Mollies away to a neighbor. They will be departing tomorrow night. :(

One question though Since the Jack and the Beuscheri are getting along so great, do I still need to seperate them? I know they come from different waters, but I was reading that the Dempseys have become highly adaptable to most water conditions. Man I love that fish even though he can get a little angry at times. Now I just need to figure out what to do with the Zebra Danios and Rainbow shark. Perhaps I'll put them in the 5g? Although I can't see how in the world the Jack could snag a Danio. They sure are one slippery fish.

But I really do see what you mean regarding the Dempsey. He is starting to roam all over the tank. The CAE now high tails it out of there when he's around. I just put in some more ghost shrimp to keep the JD occupied while I figure out what do with this "hodge-podge of fishies" as Tankgirl describes it. :) Thanks for the advice everyone
 
Scared of no heater?--nah, just jealous that it's that warm!!

How large are the JD and Beuscheri? I have never kept Beuscheri and am not certain of their needs. JD will just get worse as he matures. You were talking about two tanks--a non-aggressive and aggressive. What about a South America/Central America cichlid tank and Lake T tank. Both biotopes have wonderful fish to choose from and then you would not have to worry about any one fish adjusting to met the needs of another.
Just a thought, since I am now scamming to get a Lake T tank with shell dwellers and brichardi. That maybe a long time away--my current apartment does not have enough outlets; three bedrooms with one outlet each!!!!!!! Luckily, I don't have to plug in anything for the three cats and two birds!
 
:lol: Yeah it's about to get REALLY warm here soon. Today it was a bit chilly low 70's :twisted:

Yes thats what I was thinking about doing. Having one Lake tank and one with South America/Central America cichlids. The Jack is a nice round 3 1/2 inches and the Beuscheri is just under 3 inches but is much different appearance wise. Not round but longer rectangular looking with nice yellowish color and black stripes running down his body. Looks like a torpedo. So far the Jack really likes him a lot and have no problem sharing food together. But I know it could change very fast.

As I'm typing this the JD is on the prowl for Ghost Shrimp. Yeah you could say that he's just a little bit ticked off :)
 
Yeah it's about to get REALLY warm here soon. Today it was a bit chilly low 70's
ACK!!! You sound like my sister in Phoenix--she tells me how warm it is by whether-or-not she can wear open-toed shoes!

[center:e2ba399985]:bad-words: [/center:e2ba399985]
[center:e2ba399985]Darn you Southerners!!![/center:e2ba399985]
[center:e2ba399985]I just want to leave my house without gloves--is that too much to ask for?!?!?![/center:e2ba399985]
 
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