peaceful, compatible fish?

[Dragonchild85]

Greetings yet again.

I have a forty gallon tank, and as you can see by my signature, have some fish already. This tank has been established since October 2002. I am ready for some more fish, but am unsure of what to add.

Here is an image of the tank in question:

The shark is my main concern...he harrassed a red-betta to death before...the lfs said guppies aren't a good idea...and I have 5 platies (they seem to multiply!) They are forming a school (didn't know platies schooled), and i want something different to add iinterest. I would like small fish, I don't want to overstock my tank here, but something with color and activity. I don't like fish that just hover there blankly.


If pressed, I'd say the shark is 3-4 inches long, the smalled platy is 1/2", and the pleco is HUGE!!!(6-8", very, very roughly).

Any ideas on this? *gryns* I have a few guidelines I want to follow...lol...

 

[FawnN]

I personally think you will run into lots of problems with your shark.

Other then that,

You could add some swordtails to your set up. I would suggest that you add at least 3 so that they don't pick on eachother.

They are not aggressive towards other fish, but will pick on eachother. I find that mine swim all over the place, are very pretty and active. You will find them in a lot of different colors.

Also, I would keep up with your water changes with that big pleco.

 

[Menagerie]

Try a pair of kribs--either two males or two females. They will be aggressive if they mate. My two are constantly on the move!

 

[FishLover14]

Try a school of balck and red phantom ttetras and tiger barbs also get rid of the shark, a few shell dwelleing cichlids called Multies are very small and cute.

Dan

 

[Dragonchild85]

Just out of curiosity, why does the shark cause so many problems? I was told that they are very peaceful fish, but he doesn't seem to be that way (he tried to take on teh pleco today....stupid fish). Is this common behavior?

Thanks for the replies, I'll do some research on those. Alot of the fish are schooling it seems, how many would be best? 3-4, or would that be overstocking the tank? TIA!

 

[FishLover14]

Get rid of the shark!!


Dan

 

[tetrin]

its just a matter of personalities...they are by nature aggressive and the aggression increases with maturity...but i have seen sharks minding their own territories in a community tank...its just that u got a big bully in ur hands...

i'd recommend the common remedy, rearrange ur decorations so that the shark is forced to define new territories before adding new fish...
i personally love sharks and would love to get one in future!!...don't know how that will turn out though... :|

 

[zao]

What kind of shark is it? My dad gave me this little advise, when I first started to get into aquariums. He said that "If they can fit it in there mouths, they will try to eat it." So if they shark is bigger, then alot of fish that you are thinking about getting, then there is a higher chance of the shark seeing them as a food source and being more aggressive to other fish.

But it is alot like what Tetrin said, some do fine in a commiently tank, like my 4 bela sharks that I have. They are very peacefull, I have not had any trouble with them at all.

 

[Dragonchild85]

zao: the shark is a red-tailed...it's looks almost matte black, and has a red tail. He's quite affectionate towards me, but chases the platy on occasion. Not enough to harrasse and stress her, just about once a week chases her for a loop around the tank.

 

[zao]

Well it almost sounds like a rainbow shark, I think they are also called red tail black shark. But I read around at different places on the net, that rainbow shark are very aggressive. I also read that, the best way to cut down alot of them being so aggressive is too get at least 5 or more of them. I guess it is cause they are too busy fighting for leadership, that they just leave the other fish alone in the tank. Or I think another way is to have alot of hiding places for them. So that is what I kind of read on the net about them. So I am not really for sure if it is true or not. I never owned thouse type before.

 

[happyhillbilly]

I love platies, I have a male myself. I would definatley get rid of the shark, that will broden your options. Donate him to your LFS or see if a friend wants him. Then I would suguest a pleco. The're intresting to watch and with a tank as big as yours you wont need to give it algae discs often. Guppies are very nice fish too. Right now I have a platy, guppy, and pleco in my tank and the Guppy and Platy get along nicley. Keep us updated!

 

[prettyvacant]

i had my rainbow shark in my 29 gal for a week and everything was going well... then i guess he got more comfortable and started to be very agressive towards my black skirt tetras and platies. they all had torn fins, so i decided to move the shark to my 10 gal. i have 5 zebra danios in the 10 gal...the shark is always chasing them, but he wont actually do any damage, because the danios are such fast swimmers. i know that my shark will soon be too big for my 10 gal, but i dont know what else to do with him... so for now, i just put in a small cave for him, and a clear tube i bought from home depot.

 

[Dragonchild85]

happyhillbilly: *shivers* I have a pleco...when I got him, he was so small and so cute, barely an inch long...now he's roughly 7 inches long, and only 2 years old! Does anyone know how much bigger he'll get?

It looks like I may have to give up my shark if i want to expand, huh? I love him to bits though...are there any other sharks that are peaceful? *looks to my 5 gallon* Could he fit in there maybe?

 

[zao]

Well Red-Tails can go up to about 6". On the pelco, they can get farly large. I am not really for sure on this, but I think a pelco can reach up to about 12". Now I currently own 4 Bela Sharks, I have not had any trouble with them. Very peaceful fish. They look pretty much like the red-tails, but totaly different color. Below is a picture of one of my bigger bela sharks, so you can see what they look like.

 

[zao]

Sorry about that, some how I managed to get two attached to the message. hehe

 

[FawnN]

The common pleco can get up to over a foot long and I've seen some that are much bigger then that. Be sure to keep up with your water changes.

 

[jibboo]

I've got a big redtail (about 5") ... he does show some aggressive tendencies, but he directs almost 99% of it at my yo-yo loach. So, I say ... keep the shark ... they are awesome. Everyone who comes over loves my shark (jet black, bright red tail) ... i think if you give him someone else to bother, he'll leave your platies alone (just my guess since I have 2 platys, and he doesn't even look at them. Or my guaramis. I haven't noticed him messing with my plecos ... but I'm not worried about the plecos. From what I've read plecos actually have a sort of armor to protect them ... that's why you'll see them in cichlid tanks.

Rearranging the tank is prolly not a bad idea ... or maybe give him somewhere to occupy ... ie: check my gallery, my shark mainly resides in teh hollow log in the middle of the tank, but will every so often come out and swim around. Or find some action by chasing my 4" yo-yo. But I rarely see him do anything near my platys or guaramis.

Plus, I used to have this big hideous goldfish and he mercilessly would chase this goldfish (til I gave it away) ... but he never appeared to really damage it. So, I think your redtail is just being territorial and maybe bored. But I've never noticed my actually injurying any of the other fish (including the yo-yo ... I think they just like to run around the tank).

 

[zao]

From what I've read plecos actually have a sort of armor to protect them ... that's why you'll see them in cichlid tanks.

Yes it is true that plecos do have armor on them. They are a freakin tank, but my friend had a cichlid tank, and they killed his pleco. So it is pretty much a guessing game. But I also think that his cichlids where bord or something. Cause after a while, the leader cichlid, went crazy and killed off all of the other cichlid's he had in the tank.

 

[Dragonchild85]

Okay, I set up my 6 gallon tank and the shark is in there now. He seems content enough, but I'll be better able to tell tomorrow once the shock is over. I had to chase him all over that tank to catch his butt.

Now, in my 40 gallon I have 5 silver and bluish-black platies and a pleco. The lfs just got in 25 boxes of new fish...they even have clown and royal plecos in the tanks! Tomorrow I'm getting some new fishies...any suggestions? Do angelfish do alright in that kind of enviroment?

 

[FawnN]

I would suggest that you give those new fish a couple of days to adjust to the LFS before you buy them.

I find that fish have a better chance of surviving your tank if you don't buy them right after the LFS gets them after their long trip.

It's a lot of stress from their trip, to the LFS to your tank. Just a thought.