A fish tank by the sea...

[Yaxley]

Hello all from Brighton town!
I have been running a 25gal freshwater tank for the last 4 months! It has a Fluval filtration system and is constantly heated to around 22-26c. It has good lighting and is well planted with several rocks and caves.
My tank is currently stocked with:

1 Red tail black shark 4" (the big daddy of the tank ATM)
1 Betta Splenden (fighter) male 2"
1 Sajica (TBar) Cichlid female 3"
1 Convict Cichlid Female 2"
1 South American Puffer 1.5"
1 Salt & Pepper Syndontis Cat 5"
8 Tetra (mixed)

My main queries at the moment are feeding my puffer (Puffkin) a wide enough range of crunchy foods to keep his beak down.
I'm also in need of some advice about how to make my tank a more complex environment for the fish with plants and caves to keep aggression to a minimum!

Any advice I'll be happy to read as there's a lot to learn!

Thanks all,

Nick Yax

 

[melosu58]

Welcome aboard

 

[Mr.Albiman]

The only thing I can help you with are your tetras. They do best when kept in groups of 6+ of their own type. If they are mixed with other species and there is only 1 - 2 of each type, then they may lose thir colour and become aggressive.

Dan: )

 

[Deep Seven]

Welcome Aboard

From what I've been able to find on the South American Puffer, a lot of aquarists are unable to prevent overgrown teeth by diet alone and most end up trimming the puffers teeth about every 6 months.

 

[Yaxley]

Thanks

3 are Blue Emperor Tetra
5 are Glowlight tetra (i think). They have red eyes and line across the body.

 

[DragonFish71]

You will eventually have problems with the convict cichlid. They are highly aggressive snots and will kill your betta and the tetras.

Puffers can also be mean little snots. They have a beak like set of teeth and can shred fish fast.

The Sajica I don't know much about, however from what I've just found on google they are not a very aggressive cichlid unless spawning. There might be a problem between them and the convict just because the convicts are mean tempered. Also, they are a large cichlid, your betta and tetras would be lunch.

You might also want to look into re-homing the cichlids, shark and catfish. Most of those fish will get to be about 4 inches or larger. 25g is too small for them to be happy and healthy

How to keep and house Synodontis species with pictures

Breeding and rearing your convict cichlids -- Cichlasoma nigrofasciatum with pictures

How to house and keep your red-tail shark, Labeo bicolor, with pictures

 

[Deep Seven]

Puffers can also be mean little snots. They have a beak like set of teeth and can shred fish fast.

Actually, from all I was able to find, the south american puffer is suited to a community tank. They are the most passive of the puffer family. They are a schooling fish, and prefer to be in a group of 4-5, but will usually be happy solo.

 

[DragonFish71]

Actually, from all I was able to find, the south american puffer is suited to a community tank. They are the most passive of the puffer family. They are a schooling fish, and prefer to be in a group of 4-5, but will usually be happy solo.

What I found on badmanstropicalfish stated otherwise.

4th paragraph:

First Freshwater Puffer? Try South America


And this states they are nippy to long, flowing fins. The OP has a betta:

Keeping the South American Puffer: Tips for Proper Care of this Freshwater Puffer Fish

 

[Yaxley]

Interestingly the Convict and the Sajica have formed a close bond, they swim together and fin slap. Whether the smaller Convict is slightly confused and thinks the Sajica is a male I'm not sure but they do get on well.
However, the Convict will often chase the tetra.
Otherwise all the fish are very healthy, no problems with the South American Puffer, though his beak is growing. I think the red tail will soon need a new home as his aggression is growing.

Thanks for any help!

Nick

 

[DragonFish71]

I'm just giving you advice for the future health and happiness of your fish. I look at long term, not what's going on right now and in the long term you will have problems with your tank size and the stocking choice you made. You didn't take into consideration the adult size of the fish, nor the fact that cichlids are an aggressive species. Even the dwarf cichlids can have aggression issues, though some can be tanked with bettas if there are enough line of sight blockers to keep the betta safe.

Convicts and bettas are species I know plenty about, I used to breed them for sale. I've had convicts kill a common pleco (it was 12 inches long) they weren't even spawning, and I've had bettas who killed everything in their tanks.

Having an aquarium is a long term investment for most of us, so when we see issues like this, we post advice for educational purposes. I know I sure as heck would rather someone tell me I made a wrong choice than to have my fish suffer. Ultimately it's up to you to heed the advice or ignore it. *Shrugs*

 

[mgamer20o0]

Welcome to AA.