Newbie

[grangel]

Hello everyone, I'm Greg and a newbie to the aquarium hobby. My brother in-law gave me a 75 gal tank along with 8 African cichlids. I have added a few more and love it. I have four different types of sharks and two types of barbs, and two pleco's. Here's some pics, let me know what you think. I did all the decorations on my own. Any and all advise would be greatly appreciated.

 

[philipraposo198]

cichlids are not community fish. I would return the ones you added unless you want to beat up or worse dead fish.

 

[grangel]

Hmmm, I've had them for a over two months now and they seem to get along fine. Thanx for the info. I'll keep an eye on them.

 

[Huro]

Hello and Welcome to AA!

 

[Fishfanboy]

Like the pirate theme

 

[grangel]

Thanx, I really like how it all turned out.

 

[JessiNoel21]

Nice tank welcome

 

[fishyd]

cichlids are not community fish. I would return the ones you added unless you want to beat up or worse dead fish.

True, but Africans are better in groups. Aggression gets spread out more. biggest problem would be if there's a couple females. Just keep an eye on them and be ready to rearrange territory or have a place to rehome one or two if problems do arise.

What are the plecos you have?

Very nice theme though, like the look!

 

[grangel]

These are my two plecos

 

[Mcgolg76]

Couldn't see all the sharks. Was one a bala?

 

[grangel]

Yes, I have two bala, two red tail, two rainbow an one Colombian shark.

 

[All_fish]

Balas get huge and believe it or not are too big for a 75.

 

[grangel]

I just found that out the other day when I went to a fish store. I was shocked, lol. I've only seen them when they are small.

 

[Bichir Bro]

Yes, I have two bala, two red tail, two rainbow an one Colombian shark.

Love the tank!!! Like that pirate theme!! But I do see some problems that may arise with your current stock! Bala sharks grow to huge proportions and need well over 175 gallons to be happy so I recommend to remove or rehome them! Red tail sharks are highly aggressive to their own kind and anything else that even closely resembles a shark through their eyes will be chased and likely killed. Same deal with the rainbow sharks, so I recommend keeping one or possibly two out of the 4 so you won't see any issues with them trying to kill one another! Also columbian sharks get very large and require massive tanks. They're brackish to fully marine fish that do extremely poorly in freshwater aquariums and are known to be aggressive little buggers!
The plecos you have will also get too large for a 75 gallon! The first one is a common pleco and will grow to sizes of over 15"! The other one is a royal pleco and while I do not know their exact max size I do know it's extremely large! So once you get those few things out of the way and taken care of I think your tank will work out just fine! Welcome to aquarium advice by the way!!!!

 

[Mcgolg76]

The tiger barbs need more friends. Get really nippy of only two

 

[grangel]

Thanx guys, I appreciate all the great advise. I will address these issues so I can have a nice tank with happy fish

 

[garrettkei]

Great job decorating. A lot of people like the natural look ... But I love pirates. I have that same ship.

 

[grangel]

That is so cool! Looks great!!!

 

[Sk3lly]

Welcome along!!
Im not a fan of the unnatural look unfortunately

Just really commented to highlight the other comments on your stocking.

Go on to www.aquadvisor.com

Add your tank size, filtration methods and current stock. You will see just how badly you have it wrong at the moment

 

[ckalisz]

Grangel

As far as the stocking with balas n plecos goes don't sweat it too much. It'll take quite a few years before they get too uncomfortable.