Fish in my tank

[robertmarda]

I do not claim to be an expert in fish keeping. I have only had fish continuously since 1999 and am still learning about their care. I have read a number of books to learn about fish. Most of these books seem to not recommend the combination of fish I have in my 55 gallon tank. I want to know what you all think of the combination of fish I have in my tank.

My original goal was to have as many colorful fish as possible and in fact this still is one of my guiding goals.

I have the following creatures in my 55 gallon tank: 1 pleco (abt 8 inches), 1 convict chiclid (abt 6 inches), 1 crawfish (abt 6 inches), 1 bright red platy (male), 1 red wag swordtail (male), about 4 small clams, 1 emperor tetra, 2 diamond tetras, 1 painted glass fish, 1 lemon tetra, 1 black molly (male), 1 silver lyretail molly (male), about 20 mixed mollies (male and female - their parents are the black molly in this tank and a silver lyretail molly I have in a 10 gallon tank), 1 rosy barb, 1 tiger barb, and 2 common minnows.

Let me comment here that all are healthy and swim around freely. None seem to fear the convict chiclid and the convict chiclid never chases any fish more than a couple inches before giving up on the chase and he rarely does this even though the other fish will swim close to him. He has even been chased a few times by the pleco and has simply run away rather than try and fight. The convict chiclid is part of an experiment to see if this aggressive fish can live peacefully with all these community fish. He was about a half inch long (or maybe a little shorter) when I bought him in January 2002 and was the smallest fish in the tank when I put him in. He has grown up with all these fish in the tank except for the craw fish (placed in the tank 4 July 2002) and the red platy (placed in the tank 28 Sept 2002).

Will any of you give me your comments on this combination of fish in my tank? Don't worry if your comments are negative, I am quite sure few people have ever put these kinds of fish together in the same tank.

 

[Grant R]

If you've had that tank since 99 and there has rarely been a problem, I think you're OK to be honest. Books and opinions of third parties will always, always differ. I think if you're tank was even slightly smaller, you'd see some problems though.

 

[robertmarda]

I didn't mean to imply I have had this set up since 1999. I started with a 10 gallon tank and a completely different combination of fish.

I set up my 55 gallon tank in Sept 2001. The current tank composition has changed very little since July 2002.

One example is that one book I read said he didn't like it when people bought one or two of a species, but that has been part of my goal since I want many different colored fish in the tank.

 

[Grant R]

Oh right, I'm with you.

For the record, you are exactly the same as me. From the minute I got into the hobby and knew nothing about it, one thing was for certain - I definitely wanted a community tank.

 

[cricket]

That's pretty much what I did when I set up my first larger community tank. I wanted everything out there I saw, and ended up with 2 black mollies, 2 dalmation, 2 white, 3 tiger barbs, 2 rosy barbs, 3 glowlight, 3 neons, etc. 1 of each kinda cory cat,etc. Not the ideal for schooling fish, you will see more natural behavior when kept in larger groups. But, my fish did fine, appeared healthy, no problems overall. The main thing is they are all compatible enough as far as water conditions and aggression. So, it sounds like it is working ok for you, and you have the tank you want. Eventually, on my own I decided that I liked the look of the fish in schools, instead of some many kinds mixed together. But having all the different kinds at first, kept me excited about learning about fish, and let me figure out what kind of fish I really was interested in. When you have a larger, more agressive fish like a convict, it can depend on the individual personality of the fish. So while I wouldnt recommend mixing a convict with those fish, if it ain't broke don't fix it! Again, when I set up a malawi cichlid tank, I wanted lots of color, so ended up with one of everything. Then I felt like everyone on boards expected you to keep them in groups, otherwise you didnt know what you were doing or something. Well, again, I came to that conclusion on my own eventually, when I wanted to be able to breed them. But by that time I knew what my favorite kinds were and which would be most compatible with each other. Sorry, I'm a long poster.

 

[Somethingfishy]

Hey robert,
I am not saying your combination of fish is wrong, as I am one to talk, I also have a 'non' compaible community.

But I do have convicts and I have a pair. The only time they get aggressive is when they breed, so your single convict is not going to get too territorial or aggressive towards its tank mates.
Tiger barbs do prefer to be in groups of 4 - 6, they do look a lot better in a group. I have some of those as well and they are currently cycling my 130G.
The tetras are also another group of fish that prefer lots of them, a grouping of 10 I would say of each would be a good site on the eye.
For me personnaly I would get rid of the convict and stock up on the other community fish. Your 55 can take a lot more of the smaller fish.

In my 20G I have 6 neons, 6 minnows, 6 rummy nosed tetras, 3 platties, 1 molly, her partner died, 6 cories, 1 pl*co and 6 apple snails, as well as, currently, two un-identified catfish, which will be moving to my 130G when it is ready. I had 5 Tiger barbs in there as well, and they all lived/live happily ever after.

Again do not take this as your tank is stocked incorrectly as I also like to experiment with different types of combos.

For example in my 130G I am putting in a combination of CA, SA and African cichlids, which under normal circumstances will never see each other.

Just an opnion. I like to see experimentation, not always good but enjoyable.

 

[robertmarda]

Thanks for the comments and opinions.

I am planning to move most of the mollies, all but 1 is of mixed stock. This of course was poor planning/experimentation on my part. They were born in my tank. Their father is a black molly and their mother is a silver lyretail molly. They aren't ugly but they are gray with various combinations of black dots and splotches. Once I move the mollies out I plan to get 2 to 4 more tiger barbs (female). The one I have now is male.
I also plan to get a female red platy and probably some yellow platies.

I have learned that about the only tetra I like is the neon tetra and those I won't be able to have in my 55 gallon tank because they are bite size for my convict chiclid. I have taken a liking to him and don't want to get rid of him and since he is so docile I believe I'll be fine. I still plan to get some more colorful fish and I do want a good group of schooling fish, perhaps the tiger barbs will fill this role.

 

[SleeplessLwd]

It sounds like your tank is working well for you. What you have to remember is: that what works for one, does not always work for another. I had Tiger Barbs in one of my tanks with Cardinal Tetras and Angel Fish. The only ones that were aggressive were the Tiger Barbs. I ended up getting rid of them. The only way you'll find out if something works is to try is. The books are guidelines and not always accurate.

 

[Somethingfishy]

Hey sleepless,

I totally agree:

that what works for one, does not always work for another

But a note on the Angels and Tiger barbs, they are known as non-compatibale as the tiger like to nip the fins of the Angels.

Robert:

I would agree with you there as I also prefer the tigers and would rather get a school of tigers rather than tetras, I prefer them.
The convict is also another nice cichlid and if you like him then keep him, he won't bother anyone as long as you do not put a female in there with him, .

 

[robertmarda]

I have two other tanks, so on the off chance that the tiger barbs decide to pick on other fish in the tank, such as the swordtail, mollies, tetras, or platies I'll just move the fish that get picked on to another tank.

One thing I have noticed with the convict chiclid is that he doesn't seem to tolerate fish that grow too large. I want to get a couple other fish that will grow to his size but am very hesitant because of how he reacts to fish as they grow. The only one he doesn't mess with is the pleco (probably because the pleco is larger than he is and is tough skinned).

If anyone has suggestions as to what other fish (that would grow to about 6 inches), if any, could live peacefully with the convict chiclid, I would like to know. I have considered getting another chiclid (but not a convict). Any thoughts?

 

[Somethingfishy]

Well robert,

I am going to experiment with keeping some tiger barbs in my tank.

Good tank mates for the convict could be:

Rainbow cichlids:
http://www.fishprofiles.com/profiles/cichlids/rainbowcichlid.asp

Firemouths:
http://www.fishprofiles.com/profiles/cichlids/firemouth.asp

 

[robertmarda]

The temperature range for those two fish shows they prefer 25C/77F. I maintain my tanks at about 80F which is probably 26 or 27C. The size sounds perfect and their temperament too. I may just try one of each. I know I don't want to accidentally get a male and female of the same species (although I'd love to breed chiclids);then they would become aggressive towards all other fish.

 

[Somethingfishy]

Well I have a breeding pair of all three of the fish spoken about and yes the temp I maintain as well at around the 27C/80F mark and so far have not had a problem. Mine I kept in a 45G and am moving them into a 130G this weekend.

Both of them, the firemouth and rainbow, are very graceful looking fish when they swim and are very timid, so don't scare them or else they will hide. I know, it took a lot of work to get mine to come out when i first got them.

 

[robertmarda]

That might eliminate them from being candidates for my tank. We have 4 children all age 7 and under and they occasionally tap the tank.

What if I get them when they are quite small? Would they grow accustomed to the tapping and then ignore it. All the fish we have now don't seem to care too much. Some, like the chiclid and pleco just ignore the children.

 

[Somethingfishy]

They certainly will. I got mine when they were already adults so I had to wait. But now that they are out they are very beautiful especially when they turn to their breeding colours!!

 

[Somethingfishy]

PS just to add, I will also be putting in some a female 5 spot tilapia they might do well with your convicts?
http://www.gsmfc.org/nis/nis/Tilapia_mariae.html
Very aggressive when breedin but as a single very nice to look at and very peaceful.