Tank mates

[lordpet]

Hello,

I have a 29 gallon with two angelfish, 2 plecos, a molly, a ghost knife fish, and a little shark. I was just given a 55 gallon and its fish: three tiger barbs, 3 danios, a Pleco, and 2 gouramis. I want to get everyone in the 55 gallon. Who will be compatible and who won't? I think I may trade in incompatible fish for ones that'll get along.

Thanks


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[Doomsday]

That's a lot of plecos


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[dalto]

Unless you know what type they are we would need pics of the plecos, the shark and the gouramis to provide a good answer.

 

[Doomsday]

Probably a bala shark


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[sinibotia]

I hope to all that is good that those are bristlenose plecos....

 

[sinibotia]

I plugged all of those fish into aqadvisor, and assumed the absolute smallest fish- dwarf gouramis, red tail black shark, and bristlenose plecos. Still came out to 150% stocking. All of those fish in a 55 gallon tank is way too much, even assuming the best.

Not to mention the angelfish might eat the danios, the tiger barbs and red tail black shark will nip the angelfish and gouramis, mollies need drastically different water from most of those fish, and lastly a black ghost knife fish needs at least a 6 foot tank, 120 gallon minimum tank.

Just for kicks and giggles, I tried assuming the worst too. Assuming giant danios, iridescent shark, kissing gouramis and common plecos, your tank is 400% stocked.

My advice, absent other information, is to trade in the plecos and the knife fish. That'll bring your stocking down to at least semi-reasonable levels and then we can help you figure out what to do with the rest of the fish regarding compatibility.

 

[dalto]

To be fair, I think he is willing to remove fish, just looking for some guidance on how to do it.

We just need a little more info first.

 

[sinibotia]

To be fair, I think he is willing to remove fish, just looking for some guidance on how to do it.

We just need a little more info first.

If I came across as rude, I honestly didn't mean to, and I'm sorry! You can see I edited my post to include a suggestion as to what to trade in to get to a potentially reasonable stocking level.

The black ghost knife fish is way too big no matter how you slice it, and it's a pretty safe bet your plecos are common plecos and will get even bigger than the knifefish.

 

[lordpet]

Hi, thanks for the responses. I'm away from the tanks but can give a bit of info off the top of my head:

Plecos: I have one little Pleco that won't get bigger and one high fin. The little Pleco is lazy and needed help. The high fin seems a bit aggressive and I have been thinking of taking him back to pet smart as it is. The Pleco from 55 gallon is a bristle nose.

Angelfish: basically the tank situation revolves around keeping them happy

Knife fish: he's still very small. I can trade him in when he's big or just upgrade tank eventually. Too cool to get rid of now.

The shark: I'll have to get a pic. Little silver guy with maybe black tipped fins.

The Molly used to have three Molly friends but they all died.

New fish: three tiger barbs, three giant danios, a blue gourami and a pearl gourami, as well as aforementioned Pleco

I also have an ACF in a 20 gallon tank and a yellow bellied slider in a 40 gallon breeder

So I'm looking to consolidate the fish tank situation, don't want to maintain 4 tanks. I'm keeping the angelfish, shark, and knife fish, as well as small plecos, want to put them in 55 gallon with whoever will get along with them. The new fish are trade bait, ha ha

Cheers








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[sinibotia]

Sounds like a bala shark, which will get to 18 inches. So if you keep the knife fish and the shark you're really gonna need to upgrade.

I definitely wouldn't keep the tiger barbs or the giant danios. Tiger barbs are too nippy and giant danios can be as well.

Also, what species is the little pleco? Definitely trade in the high-fin as they can get well over a foot.

 

[lordpet]

I don't know what the little pleco is. It looks pretty standard but hasn't grown at all. I suppose if he starts growing big i can trade him in.

Thanks for the help. I will eventually dump the tiger barbs for sure, probably the danios as well. They swim pretty fast, might not be good for the other guys.

The shark and knife fish are tiny now. When they get big, I'll either get a 120g tank or find him a new home. i will have to upgrade the turtle tank at some point as well.

cheers