Compatibilty!

[birdseye]

Hi ya,

I have been having problems with my tank since day one I know i`ve been given the wrong fish and been given the wrong advice. That is why im on here. I have been a great lover of fish all my life (to look at not eat, i must add). Im really sad because i am a novice, trying to learn but not doing it right I have been given all types of fish, even rare and unusual (taken from there habitats). It really annoys me when some shop owners sell rare fish to anyone!
Before getting the tank i did alot of research. It`s just the compatibility im having a problem with, which is causing alot of stress and even deaths.

Im sorry this is a bad intro but im at my wits end and in need of advice.

My tank is well planted corner tank; Trigon 190L. I`ve had it since December last year. Have lots of hiding places, tubes and bogwood. PH 7.5. Heat;24c. I have; 1 Sailfin pleco, 4 Rams, 2 Cuckoo catfish (Synodontis multipunctatus), 1 Clown loach, 4 Congo Tetras, 3 rainbow sharks (a.k.a ruby sharks), 1 Red Fire Dwarf Gourami.

I used to have 2 armoured shrimps, 1 fighter, guppies, elephant nose, african dwarf frogs and pink and blue kissers (most of them did not live together). I know your all probably thinking stupid woman you should read up before buying fish but i trusted my supplier.

Please help me!!! xxxxxxxxx

 

[Sum22]

So you have close to a 48g tank. Which fish are you having issues with specifically? If you have aggressive fish, you should probably remove those fish and give them away.

I also have to wonder if you might be overstocked which is leading to aggression since the fish are cramped?

 

[Menagerie]

Please explain exactly what fish are being aggressive and which ones hide the most. How big are the sharks? Are there fin nipping issues, lots of chasing, ganging up on one fish at a time?

 

[birdseye]

Hey, thank you for your quick replies.

Im always watching the tank checking out for bullies. They only chasing i see is when it`s feeding time. I notice the sharks chase each other and the cuckoo catfish are very `pushy` at feeding time. The sharks are about 2inches and the cuckoo`s are 4inches and 3 inches. The largest fish in the tank is the pleco 4.5inches. Im thinking of getting rid of one catfish and the rams. I heard that the rams live in soft water ph 6.
1 of the sharks hide alot the other 2 are out very lively. That`ll be the only fish hiding the rest are out and about foraging. I feed them once a day a pinch of flake food and frozen bloodworm once every two days small cube, 2 algae wafers 3 times aweek. It is gone within minutes. I put in a cucumber or corgette once a month for two hours. I water change once every two weeks. Recently been told im doing it too frequent, should be doing it once a month. Iam now ONCE EVERY TWO WEEKS removing waist with a syphon leaving it to settle in a bucket then pooring the `tank water` back in the tank and only doing a 20 percent water change once a month.
I hope i explained it all properly and not too muddling for you.
Thank you xxxxxx

 

[Sum22]

I'm wondering if your nitrates are too high. It would be better to remove and dispose of 20% of the water each week instead of filtering the tank water and adding it back to the tank.

Since you don't see aggression, other than activity at feeding time, your fish might be dying because of poor water quality. I know I've red once a month as recommended, but most people around here are doing weekly 10-20% water changes.

Do you have a liquid ammonia, nitrite or nitrate test kit? Try testing your water to find out the levels. There might be something there that is causing fish death other than having the "wrong" types of fish together.

 

[justsomedude89]

i have a rainbow shark in my 29 Gallon tank as well... they are very teritorial fish i had two but i had to remove one because they terrorized everything especially at feeding time...from what i read shark are best kept 1 to a tank unless very large tanks... i know when i removed 1 of my sharke they both relaxed quite a bit. just my 2 cents