Hi - im new to this fish stuff

[Namar]

About 2 months ago I decided to get a Beta and put him in a really cool empty crystal skull vodka bottle. Since then I got a 29g beginner setup with a few different fish. Nobody told me this was such a cool little hobby. I started with a bad mix of fish but no fish were killed thankfully lol.

My first set up was a Beta, 5 Blue Rams, a Pleco, and 4 Angels. I know, I know. It was cool for a couple weeks then one of the Angels grew pretty fast and got aggressive with the other fish. It nipped some of the Betas fins off so I gave the Beta to a friend. Things were calm again so I added 2 Pictus Cats and everything was fine for about a week and then I added 3 Rosy Barbs, this is when things started to really get going. A couple problems started at the same time. The mutant Angel kept growing it got braver and started nipping at the cats which I thought would chill at the bottom. Maybe they were annoying the Angels swimming up and down, I'm finding Pictus are very active. I determined the Angel are too aggressive species as I want a social aquarium. I was able to trade 3 of the 4 Angels back for 2 Gourami's (1-pearl, 1-regular). I think this will be an ok set up for now as the Barbs seem to school up with the Rams but my girlfriend has told me she's seem the biggest of the Barbs nipping at the cats. I also made the mistake of letting add a small goldfish cuz she thought it as cute. I've seen the Barbs nip at it during feeding. It was in the last week or so I decided to really start researching the fish I have rather than going by the word of the dealer along with looks of the fish.

I think I have an idea about what to do next and i am very open to suggestions.
1) upgrade to a 55-75g I'm waiting until my girlfriend and I move in together so I can set up and transfer no problem. Within a few months.
2) immediately start feeding my Pleco wafers as I read they should not be added until after about 6 months.
3) I found the 3 Rosy Barbs are now the most aggressive fish in the aquarium and I read they are far calmer when in a school so I'm thinking of getting a few more. I think they are all males according to what I read so should I get 4+ females?
4) the 1 Angel I kept I'm sure it's retarded, he just stays at the top staring all day, He's also a runt and I don't consider him a threat.
5) I have some plants but think I need to add more, I guess the Rams and Cats really like them.

I enjoyed looking at some of the pics of other aquariums here I'm getting a lot of ideas for my next upgrade. I see lots of chat too and am open to suggestions. I like Cichlids but don't want to have to give all these guys up to make a straight Cichlids setup. Working with what I have I would like to get a little community going. Any suggestions of what I could add? I'm already getting the feeling I may need loose the Barbs, even though a school would look cool.

Thanks

 

[Delapool]

Hi, I've got 9 rosy barbs of which I think 2 are female and the rest are male. I think that having females helps with colour in the males and more fish will allow them to school better and keep each other busy. I don't have any trouble with them, they have their own hiding spot and they don't bother any of the other fish. Having said that, the other fish are fairly short-finned and hardy. I stocked neon tetras in last and the barbs were over pretty quick. Luckily the neons were pretty quick as well until it all settled down. Just me, but I've found once a fish goes awol then they are always bit of a risk unless you can break the pattern with re-arranging the tank or more hiding spots or something. So I must admit I would be inclined to trade them if possible but that is just me. Um, also not sure I read it right but the goldfish I assume is coldwater and not suited to tropical and should be re-homed as well.

 

[Sillyfishies]

About 2 months ago I decided to get a Beta and put him in a really cool empty crystal skull vodka bottle. Since then I got a 29g beginner setup with a few different fish. Nobody told me this was such a cool little hobby. I started with a bad mix of fish but no fish were killed thankfully lol.

My first set up was a Beta, 5 Blue Rams, a Pleco, and 4 Angels. I know, I know. It was cool for a couple weeks then one of the Angels grew pretty fast and got aggressive with the other fish. It nipped some of the Betas fins off so I gave the Beta to a friend. Things were calm again so I added 2 Pictus Cats and everything was fine for about a week and then I added 3 Rosy Barbs, this is when things started to really get going. A couple problems started at the same time. The mutant Angel kept growing it got braver and started nipping at the cats which I thought would chill at the bottom. Maybe they were annoying the Angels swimming up and down, I'm finding Pictus are very active. I determined the Angel are too aggressive species as I want a social aquarium. I was able to trade 3 of the 4 Angels back for 2 Gourami's (1-pearl, 1-regular). I think this will be an ok set up for now as the Barbs seem to school up with the Rams but my girlfriend has told me she's seem the biggest of the Barbs nipping at the cats. I also made the mistake of letting add a small goldfish cuz she thought it as cute. I've seen the Barbs nip at it during feeding. It was in the last week or so I decided to really start researching the fish I have rather than going by the word of the dealer along with looks of the fish.

I think I have an idea about what to do next and i am very open to suggestions.
1) upgrade to a 55-75g I'm waiting until my girlfriend and I move in together so I can set up and transfer no problem. Within a few months.
2) immediately start feeding my Pleco wafers as I read they should not be added until after about 6 months.
3) I found the 3 Rosy Barbs are now the most aggressive fish in the aquarium and I read they are far calmer when in a school so I'm thinking of getting a few more. I think they are all males according to what I read so should I get 4+ females?
4) the 1 Angel I kept I'm sure it's retarded, he just stays at the top staring all day, He's also a runt and I don't consider him a threat.
5) I have some plants but think I need to add more, I guess the Rams and Cats really like them.

I enjoyed looking at some of the pics of other aquariums here I'm getting a lot of ideas for my next upgrade. I see lots of chat too and am open to suggestions. I like Cichlids but don't want to have to give all these guys up to make a straight Cichlids setup. Working with what I have I would like to get a little community going. Any suggestions of what I could add? I'm already getting the feeling I may need loose the Barbs, even though a school would look cool.

Thanks

You are very very very over stocked. Blue rams do best in pairs or alone. Pictus cats get really big. Rosy barbs get big and like much colder water then everyone else. The regular gourami can get the size of a dinner plate. The pearl will work in a bigger tank. The goldfish will get huge and depending on the species may need a pond! Not to mention that they would die at the temps blue rams like.

 

[Namar]

The Barbs are gone, I was able to return them and so I traded them for some driftwood and plants. Rams seem calmer now and color is coming back, once sexes are sorted out I will most likely try sell 3 of them and keep a pair. Made the gf take out the gold fish too. I'm planning on getting a 55-75g in the next few months. The fish are small enough now they'll be fine for time being. I think the cats only get to about 5-6".

 

[Delapool]

Excellent news. Nice to have a good lfs like that.