Wanting to add new fish. Whats yall thoughts?

[Jramatized]

Ive got a 55 gal. With 1 small black ghost knife, 2 silver dollars, 1 med sized bala shark, 1 med sized black fin shark, 2 alge eaters, and a small peacock eel. Im wanting to add a fish with color thats not so tiny like guppies. Ive kept guppies for the past yr. but they got eatin sometime a few months back. I dont know which one done it cause Ive had them all for awhile and it only happened when I turned my lights off at night. Anyways what do you think a nice fish would be to add to my community? Like I said I want color and not huge, but a fish that will grow to atleast 5-6 inches. I keep my temp warm 78-80+ sometimes. I dont like corys and I dont think they like water that warm anyway. I like the dwarf gouramuis byut they dont get very big. Anyways whats yalls ideas? Keep in mind biomass too. Thanks in advance

 

[Guest]

i'd go with paradise fish. i think they would be ok in that tank. or maybe a few GBRs

 

[Guest]

Hello and frist off I'd be willing to bet you the eater of the guppys was the BKF. they will eat anything that can fit into there month,secound there are some good choses out ther on tankmates for them. There's the convict servum even a few GBR's but the germn blue rams don't get the sie your wanting. Nor do the Apistogramma but both are very colorful and can get 3'' to 31/2'' in size and have the temperment to fight off the BKF once grow alittle. Most GBR's and Apistogrammas are sold at a young age and will need to grow to not be ate like the guppys.
The convicts would bred and there fry would get ate by either the peacock eel or the BKF.

 

[Jramatized]

Ive never seen any GBR's at the stores Ive been too. And yea I think it was the BGK that ate my guppies, but my BGK is only a few inches long. I didnt know his mouth was big enough to eat a guppie. Do you think a school of tiger barbs will nip at my fish listed?

 

[severum mama]

IMO your tank sounds a little too aggressive for either GBRs or apistogramma. I do have to give Weasel F some credit here, as he has kept a lot more of these species than I have, but I personally wouldn't chance it.

It is really unlikely IMO that a school of tiger barbs would nip at your other fish. I have kept lots of tiger barbs, and as long as they are in a school of at least 6 they don't seem to pay any attention to other fish. They pretty much just chase each other around. The problem here is that you have at least 3 fish (possibly more, depending on the species of your algae eaters) that will outgrow a 55 gallon even before reaching adult size. Also, the bala shark and black fin shark prefer to be kept in groups. Do you have plans to upgrade your tank? I don't know what the minimum tank requirement would be for your current stock at adult size, but I would guess at least 75 gallons and probably more like 90+. I wouldn't add any more fish to this setup.

 

[joannde]

I'm surprised nobody has mentioned this yet, but Bala Sharks are actually schooling fish and should be kept in a group of at least 3. They also grow very large (up to 14 inches).

The silver dollars also get quite large (7 to 12 inches depending upon the type you have).

The black fin shark can also grow to 14 inches, and is a predator. I don't think GBRs would be a good choice.

Tiger barbs should be kept in a group of at least 6 - so this is another 18+" of biomass.

Tiger Barb Info
http://fishprofiles.com/files/profiles/449.htm

Bala Shark Info
http://fishprofiles.com/files/profiles/321.htm

Black Fin Shark Info
http://fishprofiles.com/files/profiles/328.htm


HTH

 

[Jramatized]

My silver dollars are full grown. Ive had them for over a yr. One is larger then the other but its maybe 5 inches and the other is around 4.


The black fin shark does not bother anything. Ive notcied when there is 2 of them they will fight, but it dont bother anything else. Its very peacful. The bala stays with the silver dollars as if it was one of them