Compatible?

[Chikadee]

My 30gal is finally up and running! I bought 3 tiger barbs and an oscar last night to start cycling. (I know so many people are against using fish to cycle, and suggest fishless cycling... I've seeded my tank with a sponge filter from an established tank, is it still as cruel to the fish??)

The oscar was kind of an impulse buy... I know how big they get and how much waste they produce, etc... so I am planning on keeping it until it gets too big for my tank, then I will take it back to the lfs. I am planning on keeping figure 8 puffers as my primary attraction in this tank. Will they be compatible with the oscar? If worse comes to worse, I will probably take the oscar back. Here is what I am currently thinking for my 30 gal-

5 tiger barbs
1 oscar (until he gets too big)
2-3 figure 8 puffers
1 pleco
2 corys

Will that be good? I know that figure 8's are light brackish, and I add salt to my tanks anyway, so I am planning on just upping the salt a bit. Will the other tankmates be able to adapt to light brackish?

... Also, I got the lfs to give me some of their nuisance snails so I can start growing my own supply as food... Unfortunately, I had a little accident involving a broken heater and my idiotic unawareness that resulted in a ZZZZZZT!! in the tank and possible electrocution for the snails. Now I don't know if that killed all my snails or not! There were still a few on the walls, but now they have all fallen to the bottom of the tank. Is there anyway I can tell if they're alive or not??

 

[lyquidphyre]

I don't know a whole lot about oscars but I do know they are EXTREMLY aggressive and consider a lot of other fish in the tank as their own personal fish food with fins. Also, make sure that ur lfs will take him back if he does become a problem.
Here is a compatibilty chart that might give you an idea of what fish you can put with an oscar-
http://www.aquariumstuffers.com/compatibility.cfm?Section=freshwater

 

[Madame_X]

Oscar + Tiger Barb = DINNER.

Same with the puffers, I'm guessing. That guy will grow substantially faster than the other fish you have (because he gets substantially bigger). Once those other fish are big enough to fit in his mouth (and he may not wait that long), they'll be history.

Take him back.

 

[madasafish]

Not to mention that an oscar is not really a suitable cycling fish. Not that they're particularly sensitive... they're relatively hardy. But I doubt that one will survive an ammonia spike of the magnitude you expect during a cycle...

I've always recommended zebra danios for cycling. They are hardy enough to survive the rigors of highly nitrified tanks.

 

[tbonem91]

I've actually had really good luck using medium to large feeder fish to cycle with - and at $0.29 apeice, you can get them with the change in your car

 

[tkos]

That last statement was pretty darn cruel and the reason I hate the idea of cheap feeder fish. People see them as throw away animals. I am not against feeding other fish live food but nit blatently killing them during a cycle.

As for whether or not it is cruel to cycle with the barbs and the oscar, it is fine to fishy cycle but you have to be aware that you will need to constantly change the water. Perhaps as much as every day a little. Make sure to have test kits and constantly check for ammomnia and nitrites. If these start to climb much higher than 0.5 then change the water.

Cories cannot take brackish water so leave them out. I don't know about the others but I sure that oscars need acidic water as well.

You say you already add salt to the water but what type? Is it just Aquarium Salt for Freshwater tanks? That is simply NaCl. You need to add Marine salt in a stable concentration for a brackishwater fish to survive.

You should really think twice about your fish choce. Mixing brackish and fresh water fish will probably not make fir a very good tank. If you want puffers then go for it and have a true brackish tank with brackish companions like gobies or mollies.

And ocars aren't super aggressive in cichlid terms. They are just opportunistic and eat whatever they can.

 

[TankGirl]

The figure 8 is in some places listed as a completely FW fish (it was recommended not to add salt at all for better health on fishprofiles.com) and on Puffernet they are considered light brackish. In any case, I personally think puffers are best kept in species tanks. I did read of figure-8's being kept with scats, which are brackish, and they are kept that way at one of my LFS, so I guess my point is there is conflicting info out there! I have kept dwarf puffers and I think in general pufers should be considered aggressive, carnivorous fish, and tankmates should be chosen with care, if at all. Many puffers don't even tolerate conspecifics.

 

[Chikadee]

That's why I am so confused!! I have no idea what to expect with these fish. The lfs said that they need some salt in their water, but it doesn't have to be marine salt. So I'm currently planning on adding aquarium salt, but I hear so many contradicting information... I guess we'll see how they behave and I'll take back whatever fish that don't get along, that's one good thing about my lfs, they will take back any fish at any time.

I am also closely monitoring the levels of ammonia and nitrite in the tank and am doing frequent water changes to make the process of cycling as stress free as possible on the fishies.

Does anyone know how to tell if a snail is dead or not??

 

[TankGirl]

Well, the snail should close up when you pick it up or touch it, and if it's little "trap door" is closed already I would suspect it is alive. If it is dead the door will hang open a bit.

BTW, one thing I do see consistently when discussing brackish water for puffers is that marine salt should be used, not aquarium salt.