Starting 'shark' only tank, need help

[mulishafan90]

I am going to buy a 55-65 gallon tank and I was wondering how many of the 'shark' type fish I could put in their. I have one small rainbow shark right now in a 20 gallon but I know he needs more room. Just wondering what other sharks (Redtail, rainbow, bala etc.) I could put in the larger tank without them killing eachother, or if its not possible. I heard somewhere that you could put all rainbows in one tank as longs as their are like 6+ of em. If I can't make an all shark tank could I put in a dalmatian molly?

 

[NYgiantsRP]

I dont have much exp with "sharks", but Balas can get pretty big, and the rainbow and red tail get pretty agressive twoards each other. You might have some trouble with this setup. They are also all fish that perfer the lower part of the tank. Really should do some research on those fish.

 

[Mikalicious209]

First, a rainbow shark will not, unless it's a miracle, get along with any other rainbow or red tailed shark. However, the balas would work with either, however they get huge and are extremely active, not to mention they are schooling fish and it's recommended that u keep 3+. They will be way too much for anything short of a 125g. My advice, just go with the rainbow.

 

[toddnbecka]

Actually, you need at least a 75 gallon tank and 10-12 in the group to spread the aggression around enough. Not too much different from some African cichlids or Asian upside-down catfish, but most folks don't want to dedicate a large tank to those when they can have a tankful of more colorful cichlids or less aggressive "community" fish.

 

[Mikalicious209]

75s are what? 4ft? A full grown bala would be able to swim 3 body lengths before it had to stop and turn around. Not a great life for a fish, but I will say it's better than a 55g. I personally would not even think about anything less than 125

 

[toddnbecka]

Bala's don't even belong in most home aquariums, even a 6' tank is too small for those. I was referring to rainbow or redtail sharks.

 

[mulishafan90]

Aight thanks guys, I am cycling a 60 gallon tank right now and Im going with the rainbow, my dalmation molly, a clown loach, and still deciding on one more... maybe a few tiger barbs idk what do you think?

 

[toddnbecka]

Clown loaches are schooling fish, and will (slowly) outgrow a 60 galon tank. If you want to keep tiger barbs a group of yoyo loaches would be a much better fit, both for size and general disposition/activity level. They're rowdy enough to keep up with the t-barbs.

 

[absolutangel04]

I agree with todd. Clown loaches are schooling fish and they have lots of fun behavior that you won't ever see if you keep just one. They also reach a foot and are usually really thick fish. A proper school of them should be in a bigger tank.
Yoyo are tb's sounds good though. I have heard a lot of people say yoyos are too rowdy for their communities, but I think they do well with tiger barbs. Tiger barbs are lovely though and you could fit a nice sized school in there. I recommend at least 8 to spread out any potential aggression issues.

 

[mulishafan90]

I will go with the yoyo loaches, how many do you guys recommend for my stock? Maybe 3?

 

[toddnbecka]

The minimum number of a group is 3, but 5 or more would be better.