Newbie questions suggestions etc.

[Renn1206]

Hi everyone my name is renn im new to AA lol. I just got a 55gal with filters hood n lights came with gravel but i changed to play sand. My fish seem to like it a bit and so do i. Currently in the tank:
1 bala shark
3 red tail black shark
2 tiger barb
2 albino tiger barbs
2 red tail tinfoil barb
1 striped raphael
2 plecos
2 cichlids
1 angel fish
1 dwarf frog
1 blue mystery snail
1 betta

I know i have a pretty wild variety but they are all babies so i figured they would grow on one another. The betta i had on his own n put him in the big tank to see how he did n he seems to love it!! If u look at my pictures u can see a couple of them and one of my whole tank. I would greatly appreciate any suggestions or advice

 

[blert]

Welcome to AA!

IMO, massive stocking issues:

1 bala shark - Bala sharks get huge, a foot or more, and are schooling fish so need a group of five or more - rehome/return

3 red tail black shark - These guys don't like themselves and will soon get very aggressive towards each other - rehome/return two of them

2 tiger barb, 2 albino tiger barbs - Known fin nippers and can be quite aggressive when kept in small groups such as this. Not recommended with the Angelfish or the Betta because they will nip their fins to shreds.

2 red tail tinfoil barb - Another schooling fish that may become aggressive if kept in numbers less than five.

1 striped raphael - A cool fish that can get up to seven inches. I don't think they are schooling fish but if I recall they prefer a buddy to hang out with so two might be better.

2 plecos - What kind of Pleco? Very important to know.

2 cichlids - What kind of Cichlid? Very important to know.

1 angel fish - In danger of attacks from the Barbs and the Betta.

1 dwarf frog - What kind of Dwarf Frog? Very important to know.

1 blue mystery snail - Tight lid, they are known to creep out of the tank.

1 betta - In danger of attack from the Barbs, Angelfish and Cichlids.

Good luck and hopefully other folks will have some more info for you.

 

[Mumma.of.two]

Welcome to AA!

IMO, massive stocking issues:

1 bala shark - Bala sharks get huge, a foot or more, and are schooling fish so need a group of five or more - rehome/return

3 red tail black shark - These guys don't like themselves and will soon get very aggressive towards each other - rehome/return two of them

2 tiger barb, 2 albino tiger barbs - Known fin nippers and can be quite aggressive when kept in small groups such as this. Not recommended with the Angelfish or the Betta because they will nip their fins to shreds.

2 red tail tinfoil barb - Another schooling fish that may become aggressive if kept in numbers less than five.

1 striped raphael - A cool fish that can get up to seven inches. I don't think they are schooling fish but if I recall they prefer a buddy to hang out with so two might be better.

2 plecos - What kind of Pleco? Very important to know.

2 cichlids - What kind of Cichlid? Very important to know.

1 angel fish - In danger of attacks from the Barbs and the Betta.

1 dwarf frog - What kind of Dwarf Frog? Very important to know.

1 blue mystery snail - Tight lid, they are known to creep out of the tank.

1 betta - In danger of attack from the Barbs, Angelfish and Cichlids.

Good luck and hopefully other folks will have some more info for you.

+1
Totally agree. They may seem to get along now but immature fish soon reach sexual maturity and then the problems start....

http://www.aquariumadvice.com/artic...-to-Starting-a-Freshwater-Aquarium/Page1.html

 

[Renn1206]

Thank u guys for the advice im takin your advice and im goin to do some research on what type of fish to get

 

[Renn1206]

Ok this is what i got as far as i can find the plecos are just regular common plecos
The betta is goin bak in his tank i heard the bala is a schooling fish but itll do good on his own the tigers n red tinfoil barbs r going bak to the store. As for the frog its an african dwarf frog, convict cichlids which are still small, i like the striped raphael i will get another and the angelfish i had 3 2 died during a tank cleaning. :-(.

 

[Coursair]

Ok this is what i got as far as i can find the plecos are just regular common plecos
The betta is goin bak in his tank i heard the bala is a schooling fish but itll do good on his own the tigers n red tinfoil barbs r going bak to the store. As for the frog its an african dwarf frog, convict cichlids which are still small, i like the striped raphael i will get another and the angelfish i had 3 2 died during a tank cleaning. :-(.

Convicts may decide to kill off the other fish. They can be VERY territorial and may breed at a very young age, if they breed they will kill or bully other fish.

Plecos need huge tanks, look at Bristlenose or other smaller species of Pleco instead. Raphael's are wide mouth cats. If you have them do not get small fish or the Catfish may eat them at night.

And no the Bala will not do good on his own. They tend to be VERY nervous as single fish and many kill themselves by hitting the sides of the tank if startled. They get a foot long. Need a bigger tank or it will stunt it.

Pick a fish as your focal fish. Build around that.
An Angel tank has calmer fish. Fairly peaceful. Won't nip fins. Won't grab the food before Angels get some.

 

[blert]

Ok this is what i got as far as i can find the plecos are just regular common plecos
The betta is goin bak in his tank i heard the bala is a schooling fish but itll do good on his own the tigers n red tinfoil barbs r going bak to the store. As for the frog its an african dwarf frog, convict cichlids which are still small, i like the striped raphael i will get another and the angelfish i had 3 2 died during a tank cleaning. :-(.

The Common Plecos get huge and even one is not suitable for a 55 gallon tank, return/rehome both of them. As Corsair said, look into Bristle Nose Plecos as they stay pretty small (5-7 inches I think) and you MAY be able to keep two of them but you may run into territorial aggression with the Raphaels.

Moving the Betta back into his old tank was a good idea.

As Corsair said, the Bala will not do well on his own. They are kind of twitchy and really need a group, they also get way to big for a 55 gallon tank. There will also be aggression between it and the Red Tailed Black Shark as the RTBS is not only aggressive towards themselves but towards anything shaped like them such as other "sharks".

The frog will have issues finding food. You will have to spot feed him and make sure he gets something to eat. Also, keep an eye on his toes, some of those fish may nip at them.

As Corsair said, they Raphael will eat what it can fit in it's mouth and it has a big mouth.

Angelfish can be difficult when they are young. They can also get a little aggressive when they reach sexual maturity. Stick with just the one until you figure out the rest of your stock.

I don't think a Convict is exactly a community fish. They will get aggressive with smaller and timid fish. If a fish doesn't have the "nuggets" to stand up for itself it's not going to make it.

 

[Mumma.of.two]

What size is your Betta tank? The frog might be better off with him if it's big enough, filtered and heated (should be anyway).

 

[Renn1206]

The betta tank i a small one gallon tank. It is filtered but not heated. My only concern tight now is that willy(betta) is jus sittin under the filter where the water doesnt disturb him and he just sits there could he possibly be missing the larger tank? And i also took your advice and decided on a fish and am gonna try and work around the RTBS and i am either going to keep one of the plecos or just get a bristlenose and the striped raphael will soon have a buddy. Is there anything you guys recommend fish wise i would appreciate every suggestion and appreciate all the help thus far

 

[Mumma.of.two]

The betta tank i a small one gallon tank. It is filtered but not heated. My only concern tight now is that willy(betta) is jus sittin under the filter where the water doesnt disturb him and he just sits there could he possibly be missing the larger tank? And i also took your advice and decided on a fish and am gonna try and work around the RTBS and i am either going to keep one of the plecos or just get a bristlenose and the striped raphael will soon have a buddy. Is there anything you guys recommend fish wise i would appreciate every suggestion and appreciate all the help thus far

If you get a 5 gallon and heat it you can add your frog in with Willy. Can you test his water? He maybe sulking or there could be a bigger problem. The minimum tank size for a Betta is 2.5g. They really do better heated. They are tropical fish and 80F is the prefers temp.

You could have the RTBS, a bristlenose, the catfish on the bottom of the tank and maybe a school of tiger barbs for the top.

 

[Renn1206]

If you get a 5 gallon and heat it you can add your frog in with Willy. Can you test his water? He maybe sulking or there could be a bigger problem. The minimum tank size for a Betta is 2.5g. They really do better heated. They are tropical fish and 80F is the prefers temp.

You could have the RTBS, a bristlenose, the catfish on the bottom of the tank and maybe a school of tiger barbs for the top.

Thx mumma my question now is what other than tigers is good and is it ok to keep the 3RTBS i have should i add more or should i just leave one as mentioned b4 only because the tigers keep nipping the tails on the plecos

 

[blert]

Thx mumma my question now is what other than tigers is good and is it ok to keep the 3RTBS i have should i add more or should i just leave one as mentioned b4 only because the tigers keep nipping the tails on the plecos

Keep one RTBS or there will be aggression between them and one or more will probably not make it.

A larger group of Tiger Barbs will help keep their aggression to themselves and away from the other fish.

 

[Mumma.of.two]

Keep one RTBS or there will be aggression between them and one or more will probably not make it.

A larger group of Tiger Barbs will help keep their aggression to themselves and away from the other fish.

+1
Only one RTBS per tank. The more barbs, the more fish to diffuse the aggression.

 

[blert]

Are you going to try to keep the Angelfish?

A lot of your tank's capacity is going to be taken up by the two Raphael Catfish and Bristle Nose Pleco and that doesn't leave you much space for many other fish. If it was me I would pass on the Pleco just to be able to make room for other fish. Also, with a BN Pleco driftwood is a must.

This might max out the tank but if you are firm on these species then:
1 Red Tailed Black "Shark"
2 Striped Raphael Catfish
1 Angelfish
11 Tiger Barbs

You will still have to watch those Barbs and the Angel. The large school should keep them "contained" but they may still make aggressive strikes on the Angel. If you are not keeping the Angel then that opens up many more options as they have quite a large bio-load.

BTW, what filter are you running?

 

[Renn1206]

Are you going to try to keep the Angelfish?

A lot of your tank's capacity is going to be taken up by the two Raphael Catfish and Bristle Nose Pleco and that doesn't leave you much space for many other fish. If it was me I would pass on the Pleco just to be able to make room for other fish. Also, with a BN Pleco driftwood is a must.

This might max out the tank but if you are firm on these species then:
1 Red Tailed Black "Shark"
2 Striped Raphael Catfish
1 Angelfish
11 Tiger Barbs

You will still have to watch those Barbs and the Angel. The large school should keep them "contained" but they may still make aggressive strikes on the Angel. If you are not keeping the Angel then that opens up many more options as they have quite a large bio-load.

BTW, what filter are you running?

Hey guys Havnt been here in a while. I am running a whisper 30-60 and a regent not sure exactly how many gallons its for but im assuming its the same they both cane with the tank am going to buy new ones when i have the funds for it but thats another subject. Also i was thinking of your selection of fish and the only thing i dont want is the tiger my wife got them for me but im not a big fan of them. I was thinking
5-6 angels
2 raphael cats
1 pleco( i am going to upgrade the tank when hes big enough)
1 RTBS
cnt forget gary the blue mystery snail

 

[Coursair]

Hey guys Havnt been here in a while. I am running a whisper 30-60 and a regent not sure exactly how many gallons its for but im assuming its the same they both cane with the tank am going to buy new ones when i have the funds for it but thats another subject. Also i was thinking of your selection of fish and the only thing i dont want is the tiger my wife got them for me but im not a big fan of them. I was thinking
5-6 angels
2 raphael cats
1 pleco( i am going to upgrade the tank when hes big enough)
1 RTBS
cnt forget gary the blue mystery snail

Stock fish according to ADULT size or you may stunt or KILL them. 6 Angels in a 55g is way too many IMHO. As they grow they get territorial. Yes, you can start with babies. BUT large fish need space to show you their full potential.

This goes triple for the Pleco. Yes you can keep him for a while. But a healthy Common Pleco grows fast. And you can stunt them even easier.
They are 18-24" as adults. Are you willing to set up a Pond or 100g + tank within 6 months ???

They are easier to place as babies. They don't grow in value. Yes LFSs sell big Plecos for more, but they usually get them for free and build in the fact they may have them awhile into the price.

 

[paytertot]

See I have stocking issues too I have a 55 with 4 angels and 7 discus plus small tetras and 3 rope fish.

 

[LyndaB]

You're getting excellent advice. I just wanted to add this little tidbit. When you're stocking a tank, only purchase fish that will fit in that tank as adults. All fish are really small and cute when young, but you have to be able to meet their needs when they are mature.

 

[blert]

Like I said before, IMHO...

1 Red Tailed Black "Shark"
2 Striped Raphael Catfish
1 Angelfish
And one largish school (9-11) of smallish fish

...pretty much maxes out the tank at adult size. You might be able to fit a few more of something in but not something that is going to get large. Other folks will have a different opinion of course.

 

[blert]

See I have stocking issues too I have a 55 with 4 angels and 7 discus plus small tetras and 3 rope fish.

WOW! Just WOW! With all those fish is there actually any WATER in that tank?!