56 Gallon + Fish I'm unfamiliar with

[MJFish]

My brother just gave me his 56 gallon tank, with some fish...

I've had a lot of experience with fish before, but never with such a large tank and with these variety of fish. Also the tanks before were pretty much my mom's or the fish took care of themselves really (Guppies).

It seems like its mostly feeder fish (Plattys and poor quality Swordtails)
and then theres 1 Gold Angelfish, 2 Tiger Barbs, 2 Rainbow Sharks, 1 Green Molly and for some really strange reason, theres a Crayfish. I also threw in some inbred Guppies I've had forever.
(There was a Loach but I moved it to my Mom's 25 Gallon because the Crayfish kept chasing it, lol)

They all, somehow, seem to coexist just fine right now, but I don't know so much about some of these fish.

Ever since I was little I've been dying to have an Angelfish. Now that I have one I have 100,000 questions.
Supposedly Angelfish are Cichlids?!
It doesn't seem to be aggressive.
Does that mean Angelfish can go into a Cichlid tank?
And how do you gender Angelfish?
I wonder If I should also get another Angelfish or is it OK alone?
I've been feeding it Tubifex worms, flakes, and brine shrimp (or attempting to anyway, the other fish seem to grab it before the Angel does), is there anything about their diet that I should know?


I would love to have Cichlids, but I don't think it'll go so well with the easygoing tropical fish I have in there. Would it be any different if I bought them in pairs?
Or should I just discard the Cichlid idea for now...?


I'm also a bit concerned about this Crayfish thing. My brother said there were crabs, but he ate them. Should I refrain from buying expensive fish since he might eat them, too? OR is he filled up on fry from all these pregnant live bearing fish? I do feed him BTW, lol!... some sort of pellets for bottom feeders.

My mom told me I shouldn't put a pleco in there with the Crayfish...
I can't imagine a gigantic Pleco getting irritated by this little cray (the pleco should grow pretty quickly in such a big aquarium, right?)
No bottom feeders then? Are Rainbow Sharks a replacement for lack of bottom feeders?

About the Green Molly -- I thought Mollies needed somewhat-saltier water?
Seems healthy though.
If it ain't broken don't fix it, I suppose.
At some point of time I had a pair of Mollies (they had black spots) that lived for like two-three years, breeding constantly in water straight from my water softener (Desalinated though = saltier water?). Eventually something happened and every fish in the tank died though...

I know absolutley nothing about Plattys, and it seems there are so many different kinds in this aquarium alone. I know theres some MickeyMouse Plattys in there and some with orange-ish tips, yellow tips...etc.-- somewhat guppy looking. I thought they all were different Guppies originally; I was told otherwise. Can Guppies and Plattys breed together?

My brother originally gave me 1 Tiger Barb and 1 Rainbow Shark.
I went to the pet store the other day and bought more of their kind since they're usually social. I noticed that the original barb and shark were much more faded (the red tips) than the new ones. Is this a sexing thing or result of poor water quality/nutrition?


I am interested in breeding Bettas, though I've heard some crazy things.
I assume with nippy fish like Tiger Barbs I won't be able to have them swim freely so they'll be in a bowl or one of those boxes within the aquarium... Or could they coexist OK with a tank full of Guppies only?
Anyone know of any particularily good sites for breeding Bettas? I've done Google searches but a lot of info contradicts.

Thank you!

 

[Blizzard]

Here is a chart that should help you with your compatability issues:
http://www.liveaquaria.com/general/fwcompatibility_chart.cfm



I hope that this helps you,
Blizzard

 

[virus]

wow theres a millon q's lol but ill answer the guppy one, if it has a big tail like the fancy guppys then, no because the bettas will think it is another male and will kill it

HTH

 

[greenmaji]

"Ever since I was little I've been dying to have an Angelfish."---didnt we all at one time?
"Supposedly Angelfish are Cichlids?!" yep they are cichlids! so are half the fish you know of!
"It doesn't seem to be aggressive." not too bad..
"Does that mean Angelfish can go into a Cichlid tank?" Not really.. most cichlids that are sold are bigger and alot meaner then the angel..
"And how do you gender Angelfish?" they are not gender dymorphic.. you can tell if you watch them spawn.. its really the only sure fire way to tell them apart..
"I wonder If I should also get another Angelfish or is it OK alone?" I hope your not going to put one in that tank.. you would be better of waiting untill you could get compatiable fish with the angel
"I've been feeding it Tubifex worms, flakes, and brine shrimp (or attempting to anyway, the other fish seem to grab it before the Angel does), is there anything about their diet that I should know?" they like meat.. love bloodworms.. but will normaly eat plain old flake food..

 

[greenmaji]

you would be best off to get a 5 gallon tank to isolate the crayfish.. they will get lucky sooner or later and catch one of your fish..

Tiger barbs are too nippy for that tank.. I would see if you can give them to a LFS or get credit or something..

Im not too fond of rainbow sharks.. if im not mistaking more then one in a tank is asking for big trouble.. the more aggesive or stronger one will beat the subordante fish untill it getts sick and likely dies.. I would try to get rid of at least one if not both of them..

the plattys, sword tails, molly and angelfish should be fine together.. unless of course later on you angel gets big enough to think one of those smaller fish looks good to take a bite out of.. but they might be big enough to avoid that by then..

betta breeding is a big subject.. you might want to look more for a book..LOL

HTH

 

[RabidChild]

the plattys, sword tails, molly and angelfish should be fine together.. unless of course later on you angel gets big enough to think one of those smaller fish looks good to take a bite out of.. but they might be big enough to avoid that by then..
LOL

HTH

Aren't swordtails usually pretty bad fin nippers? At least that's what I think I've read.

 

[Blazeherd2306]

Aren't swordtails usually pretty bad fin nippers? At least that's what I think I've read.

When I had one it never nipped other fishes fins.

About the Green Molly -- I thought Mollies needed somewhat-saltier water?

There are debates on this. I think they live longer in brackish water but its JMO.

2 Rainbow Sharks

Bad combination, one or both will be killed.

Ever since I was little I've been dying to have an Angelfish. Now that I have one I have 100,000 questions.
Supposedly Angelfish are Cichlids?!
It doesn't seem to be aggressive.
Does that mean Angelfish can go into a Cichlid tank?

Some cichlids are aggresive while others are not. Angelfish are slow-moving, so don't add any aggresive fish with it.

1 Gold Angelfish, 2 Tiger Barbs

Not a good idea, you should do one of the three.
1.Get rid of the barbs
2.Get rid of the angelfish
3.Add about 6 more barbs

Also, tiger barbs and guppies won't mix, unless the barbs are in a big group of 8 or more. (all barbs are different, but better be safe than sorry).

I also threw in some inbred Guppies I've had forever.

I'm not sure how big you're angel is, but eventually the guppies will become a snack for it.

I'm also a bit concerned about this Crayfish thing

It shouldn't harm anything, except maybe plecos or fish that it can easily get.

Or should I just discard the Cichlid idea for now...?

I agree with this statement.

Can Guppies and Plattys breed together?

No maybe in very very very rare instances. Guppies and mollies may because they are in the same family.

My mom told me I shouldn't put a pleco in there with the Crayfish...
I can't imagine a gigantic Pleco getting irritated by this little cray (the pleco should grow pretty quickly in such a big aquarium, right?)
No bottom feeders then? Are Rainbow Sharks a replacement for lack of bottom feeders?

I don't think you should add a pleco. Try an apple snail.

I am interested in breeding Bettas, though I've heard some crazy things.

It won't happen with the tankmates right now. Don't add bettas with tiger barbs or guppies.

 

[tkos]

Good advice above.

Get rid of the barbs and at least 1 shark. Moving the crayfish would be best as well if you want to have bottom dwelling fish. Angels can be picky , some are aggressive some aren't. If you add another angel it may or may not get picked on. Gnerally it is best to add angels when they are small and in groups. That way they tend to pair off best. But as it stands keeping just the one is the best idea.