new tank

[Ramrebel]

Hey,
I have a 20 gal going for about 3 months now. In it are 3 tinfoil barbs, a tiger barb, a silver dollar, pimelod 4 line catfish, and a pleco. They are eating the kabumba plant and all hide under a rock arch when the light is on. Anything else in the tank (swordtails, painted barbs) wind up lunch.

1) The foil barbs and silver dollar are getting huge. The others aren't. Why?

2) What's the deal with my plant?

3) Can I/should I add anything to maintain order in there?

Ed

 

[reefrunner69]

This is not necessarily my strong area, so hopefully if I am wrong, someone will correct me, but.....

Hey,
I have a 20 gal going for about 3 months now.

That's great, following FW rules that allows you 20" of adult sized fish stocking capacity. What type of filtration do you have, what temp?

In it are 3 tinfoil barbs,

I have seen tinfoil barb that were very close to 12". These fish are way too large and active for your tank.

a tiger barb,

I would call these fish semi aggressive and not necessarily suited for a community tank, though they do stay fairly small, say 2" - 3".

a silver dollar,

Another large fish also a little skittish for a 20 gallon tank. Unsure of sizes but I have sen them in excess of 5"

pimelod 4 line catfish

Catfish get pretty large as well, although I believe this one stays under 6", they are very active and produce lots of waste.

and a pleco.

These fish are Ok, but they require wood fiber in their diet. They can also get about 3 ft in length.

They are eating the kabumba plant and all hide under a rock arch when the light is on.

The tank is too crowded and this manifests itself most when the light is on. Is it a regular 20W aquarium light? I believe the silver dollar (might be a pacu, they are often confused when small), and the tinfoil barbs are veggie eaters. Unless you are dedicated to making a planted aquarium, you may consider replacing with plastic plant.

Anything else in the tank (swordtails, painted barbs) wind up lunch.

This is not too surprising given how overcrowded the tank is.

1) The foil barbs and silver dollar are getting huge. The others aren't. Why?

The tin foil barbs and the silver dollar are the only fast growing large fish in the tank. They are also the largest and fastest and get all the food. The pleco gets very large, but it does so slowly.

2) What's the deal with my plant?

It's being eaten by fish that require vegetable matter in their diet.

3) Can I/should I add anything to maintain order in there?

I am not trying to be rude, but the best thing I can reccommend is that you purchase a book on FW fish Aquarium Fish by Barrons is a particularly good one. Read all that you can, and do not count on your LFS to steer you in the right direction on which fish to buy. There job is to get you to spend money. Another good source (besides this forum) are the monthly aquarium magazines. One of my favorites is Aquarium Fish Magazine or Tropical Fish Hobbyest or Freshwater and Marine Aquarium Magazine (although there are too many ads in this one IMO, still has some good articles).

 

[reefrunner69]

I forgot to put this in the other night , it must have been the stress of answering outside my strengths. You have my humblest apologies, and...........

 

[fishfreek]

Ed, first off I would like to welcome you to the site.

The foil barbs and silver dollar are getting huge. The others aren't. Why?

As reefrunner pointed out both of these fish will get huge. I had two silverdollars in a 90 gal fresh tank and they got to the size of 4"+ in under a year. I got them when they where about 1" so they 400% their body size very quickly. They will get large quickly so I suggest trying to find a new home for them soon as they will easily outgrow your tank if they have not already.

What's the deal with my plant?

I belive silverdollars are vegi eaters so they will go for plants as a primary food source.

Can I/should I add anything to maintain order in there?

Personally I would not add anything but remove the silverdollar and maybe one or two or all three of the foil barbs. I have never kept barbs so I dont know their behavior but if they are simular to the tiger barbs I would say they are very agressive.

 

[CRaZeeeBiTcHisH]

tinfoils

this may be too late to help any, but here goes...
tinfoils do get very large, they are schooling fish, which means one won't be happy alone-they like buddies, they are semi-aggressive ( i had one that would ram an oscar if it got irritated enough)....I would get rid of the tinfoils, can't say about silver dollars ,i don't have any experiences with those, it has been quite awhile since i kept any other kind of barb, but iirc keeping a small school of tiger barbs will decrease fin nipping and aggression towards other fish , but of course each fish has it's own personality and i did have a few persistent bullies....and as has been previously mentioned, don't get too attached to the plec unless you wanna invest in a much larger tank...they do get rather large, and some seem to grow a lot faster than others...and above all--DO THOSE WATER CHANGES! it will keep nitrates low and water healthy for your fish. Best of luck.
ps that tip about not trusting the lfs to steer you correctly is very accurate...read up on this stuff , then ask them a few questions--chances are you will know then how dependable they are.

 

[fishfreek]

Thanks crazy,

The way i see it is that its never to late to give some helpful advice. If "its to late" for the person whom asked the question maybe its not to late for someone later on.