I must be crazy to have these in my aquarium

[whitegreyhat]

Okay well here is the deal. I have a 10 gallon tank with
3 neon tetras
3 black neon tetras
3 zebra danios
1 sucker fish (dont know what its called)
1 male betta
1 female betta

anyway went to petsmart today and was looking around saw some dinosaur eels which looked cool but instead for some reason i decided to buy this thing called a needlefish. they had no clue about it and said it was a novelty fish - loooked nice at the time. until i researched it when i came home and found out that it eats small fish.. first of all its cool lookng but not active all it does is sit near the top or repeatedly run into the glass with its nose.
Anyway It is not stalking any of the fish but i am TERRIBLY worried that it is going to start killing my fish and I dont want that to happen because all of the fish get along extremely well. the male betta is indifferent to the tetras and danios and flares sometimes at the female but thats it. (He trys to kill her in small 2.5 tank though)
Also I had 2 suckerfish but found one of them dead earlier. i think it is because whenever i would put in an algae tablet the larger sucker would attack the smaller one if it tried to eat. therefor the larger one kept getting bigger and the smaller one , well i dont know exactly what happened but it was always being attackd by the larger one. i hope thats the reason it died and not from the betta or anything. is that common?

also what should i do about this needlefish? i dont have any live food and i dont want that thing eating my beloved fish. all i have is frozen bloodworms, tropical flake, betta pellets (dont use much) and baby fish food. I am torn what to do.... any advice please.

 

[rich311k]

I would take it back or get it its own tank.

 

[Zagz]

Welcome to AA! Take him back to the lfs. You are overstocked as it is and do not need an agressive fish like that in your tank to be sure. I'd take him back as soon as possible.

 

[whitegreyhat]

yah i think im going to do that tomorrow i hope he doesnt get hungry by then and now. what about a dinosaur eel? those eat small fish too right? the ones that they had were 3-4 inches and didnt look anything like the pics online really. or do you think its already too full?

thanks for the welcome

 

[An t-iasg]

A dinosaur eel is probably a Polypterus species. They will get much too big for a 10 gallon tank and they will most likely eat your tetras.

Here's some more information about them:

http://www.aquariumadvice.com/viewtopic.php?t=21833

You'll find yourself in a similar situation with the Polypterus and with the needlenose fish. They are both unsuited to your tank and its current fish.

 

[Acer]

i have looked into getting some for my 55 gal but not only do they get too big, they eat small tetras like my glo lite tetras.. i have seen them eat feeder guppys and man are they vicious... the dont even stalk them or anything, they just go physicotic from fish to fish untill they are all gone...i might be exaggerating a little but but thats almost how it looked..

 

[Zagz]

IMO you have enough fish in your tank. A very good excuse to contract MTS IMO, more tanks bigger tanks, it's inevitable.

 

[Lonewolfblue]

Check out this site...

http://www.aloha.com/~lifeguards/needle.html

 

[whitegreyhat]

oh thats a scary story about the needlefish lol. Anyway yah i took it out of the tank. I am going to return it tomorrow. I dont want to risk my fish now, they are all at the bottom near the live plant in a lilttle group except the male betta who was the only one who went near it lol.

Thanks for the advice, I had an inclination that it wasnt a good idea from online research but from your advice hes gone I know i am a noob but its nice to meet fish enthusiasts most people in real life say they are so boring.

 

[Lonewolfblue]

That needlefish would be cool in a tank with other aggressive fish that can handle their own. He looked so cool, but for your tank, just not a good idea.

 

[nomadofthehills]

Petsmart doesn't allow you to return live fish. However, if they say no, tell them to see a manager and say that they give correct advice. Tell them they sold it to u even though your tank was too small. They;ll take it back then. If not, speak to a manager.

 

[Lonewolfblue]

Or would that be incorrect advice? Might tell them they gave you incorrect advice for a tank that's too small. And yes, do speak to a manager.

 

[nomadofthehills]

Yup. Incorrect advice as well. Petsmart goes by the one inch per gallon rule, except for goldfish, 1 inch per 2 gallon in that case. Petsamrt actually has GREAT advice principles, but it is up to the local managers for hiring people who will follow those practices.

Now, that rule has some flaws, but its better than nothing. THe booklet also says use common sense, don't recomend a 10g for a 10"oscar.

 

[whitegreyhat]

what if i say it ate one of my fish would that work lol?

 

[Lonewolfblue]

It might....

 

[Apocalypse_Gold]

Every Petsmart is different. My local petsmart has a satisfaction guarantee-if for any reason you don't like it, you can return it.

 

[lyquidphyre]

If petsmart doesn't take it back, find a local, mom and pop type fish store (family owned, not corporate) and normally they will buy fish and give you store credit.