Oh Dear, I think I've made a big mistake

[sharz]

Hi
I was in the LFS the other day, and bought a pair of bolivian butterfly's, and a pair of blue rams.
I've been reading bits here and there and now I'm worried that I shouldn't be putting these in my tank with my other fish and these should be in species only tank.
I've got 2 angel fish, 1 bristle nose, 2 silver sharks, 1 pear gourami, 1 corys and 8 neons.
I'm still pretty new at this and LFS said that they are all good community fish, and would be fine. I'm just worried that they wont survive.....
Should I return the butterflys and rams, or will they be OK with the other fish?????

 

[RazorbacksFan]

I know the rams should be okay but be forewarned they are very sensitive to water conditions.

 

[meegosh]

Not familiar with the butterflys but I must agree with Razor as far as the rams go. They are very sensitive and most rams from the LFS are doomed from the start. They are of a weak strain and most likely won't make it past a few months.

If you can find a reputable breeder that has some rams then I would get them. If you can only find them at a chain store or a LFS then I would pass on them.

 

[joy13]

Once your angels and sharks get big enough the neons will probably be on the menu.

 

[Etunes]

Everything everyone else said is correct. Especially what joy13 said, i dont know if the angelfish will eat them but the sharks definatly will.

 

[meegosh]

I have a large koi angel (~6" tip to tip) in my 30g with some neons (and guppies) and have had no problems with him eating neons. It seems like the guppies are a snack for him when I skip a feeding. I had 7+ males a while back and I'm down to 4 or 5. It seems every weekend I go camping and don't feed for 2 nights he eats one. FWIW.

 

[joy13]

My angel managed to eat 1 1/4 long baby sword that I took out of the outgrow tank. It was a struggle but he did it. Everytime I put a new fish in the tank he tries to size it up for dinner. I feed him mostly flakes and frozen food but he prefers live food.

 

[WhiteDevil]

My angels only eat fry and food, never bothered my neons at all.

 

[DizzCat]

a pair of bolivian butterfly's, and a pair of blue rams.

Do you mean Bolivian Rams?? They are basically the same shape as the Blue Rams, just more silver. If so, they are much hardier than Blue Rams so should be OK. Rams are also wonderful community fish and leave everyone but their own alone.

The issues you may have is how big is this tank? If its smaller than a 30, then they are going to fight over territories. German Blue Rams stay small at 2-3" where Bolivians will get to be 3-4". My male is 4.5". I have a pair of Bolivians and they live with frogs, cories, tetras, danios and gourami. They lived with Angels too at one point, but the Angels got re-homed because the tank was not big enough for them.

Also, the silver sharks will not be good in the long run because they get huge.

How big is your tank and is it well planted?

 

[DizzCat]

I had a couple Angels once and the biggest one was as large as my palm, and they never even looked at my Neon's. They loved Guppy fry, but never bothered any other fish at all.

 

[sharz]

Thanks everyone
Dizzcat, my tank is well planted and have heaps of hiding spots, it is 120 lts, (about 30 g I think) I am planning on upgrading in a few months, but am just waiting till I move house in November, before I get the new tank. I figure it is better to wait and re home everything just once. I'm looking at a 4ft tank which I'm really looking forward to setting up.
Meegosh, I've heard that my Angels might like to make a snack of the neons, but couldn't bear for them to flushed! I adopted them from a friends tank as he was getting rid of them. I haven't had any problems as the angels are quite small at the moment, only about an inch or so, but you're right, when they grow, I dont expect the neons to last very long.
Joy & etunes, I'm surprised that my sharks would try to eat neons, LFS said they are vegetarians.... These too are quite small, so i guess time will tell.
thanks everyone.

 

[mgamer20o0]

seems like a lot of fish for a 30 gallon tank. are the silver sharks bala sharks?

 

[sharz]

Yes, I think they are Bala sharks.

 

[mgamer20o0]

i would personally take those back. they are a schooling fish and get to over a foot.

 

[DizzCat]

I'm surprised that my sharks would try to eat neons, LFS said they are vegetarians.... These too are quite small, so i guess time will tell.

Any fish will eat smaller fish if given a chance. They will especially go after fry.

Your Bala sharks will get up to a foot and a half, probably before you can re-home them. Even when you get a bigger tank it will not be big enough. They never tell people that at the lfs.