Stocking Ideas???

[chey9204]

I am upgrading from 35 gallons to 78 Gallons, I currently have, a bala shark 3 gourami's, 2 tetras and 2 cat fish. I would like to add some new fish,not sure how many I can add (need advice) I saw a picture of a fire eel that was cool. Does anyone know about Killifish? Open for suggestions and advise.

 

[henningc]

Depending on the types of gouramis, tetras and catfish there are many choices. I hate to tell you, but at some point the Bala Sharks may out grow the tank. Fire eels are cool, but in a well decorated tank you won't see them very often. Most killie fish are top water and with the sharks that could be a problem. The Golden Wonder Killie would work. They get about 4" and can old their own. They will eat smaller fish so depending on the tetras size they would work.

I'm not sure what type of gouramis you have or how long you have had them, but most gouramis can get large if allowed to do so. If the fish are young they will grow larger than typical. I'm a fool for Leeri-Pearl Gouramis. A pair of Badis would look nice and give some shape breakup among the fish.

For the middle colunm, you can either go with a shoal of tetras or break up the fish types with barbs and livebearers. For livebearers I would go with one of the larger Goodieds. For barbs, Odessa barbs from Selectaquatics.com would blow the color off the map.

Bottom dwellers, depending on the type of cat fish you have a large group or two distinct different groups of corys would look nice. Say Jullei and Pandas. I would get at least six each.

If you let us know what you have now-gouramis, catfish, tetras, we can help you out some more.

 

[chey9204]

Thanks for the reply,

When I bought fish for the 35 gallon really didn't think to much about what I was buying, typical female I bought fish that match the paint color of my new home lol. The tetra's are orange striped and pretty good size. I have 2 blue shade gourami's and one that looks yellow gold, believe it our not bought from walmart and all are doing great have had for years. Not sure what the cats are but can check out where I got them, bought 2 the same size one grew really big but not the other...I used to raise guppies when I was a kid and loved trying to get new colors. My shark started about 3 inches now like 8 inches very active. I need to learn how many fish I can have. I will look up your suggestions to see what these fish look like. Thanks for the reply and help.

 

[FrogFrenzy]

Well some fish you need are more bala sharks. Bala sharks are a schooling fish and can get stressed without schooling mates. I'd get at least four total. You also need to watch the gouramis. If they're all male they could start fighting but I think a tank that big is big enough for them all to have their own territory. Getting a killifish is risky. They can be aggressive and might eat smaller fish. I would suggest a school of cardinal tetras (at least 8-10) or maybe some clown loaches or tiger barbs. They're both peaceful schooling fish. Ghost catfish would also be good. They grow to about 4-6 inches. Any school of rainbow fish would really stand out.

 

[guppygourami]

As FrogFrenzy said above, Bala sharks need to have companions as they are schooling fish. Unfortunately, as they get older they GROW older and the bala will outgrow your tank, reaching up to one foot, maybe longer but will be stunted in a 78 gallon tank. Along with the size, temperament will be a problem. Bala sharks are semi aggressive when they reach their 'middle age' size and can kill your other fish.


Once again, I really think you should remove the Bala.
Do you mind giving pictures of the tank and one of each species of fish so we can identify them? It'll be a great help.