Fish tank will be overcrowded?

Hey all. I'm relatively new to fish ownership, so I've been relying on others, and I may have been led astray by my fish salesman.
I'm hoping seasoned veterans here can confirm/deny my fears.

The background:
I've started a new 10 gallon tank, got the PH set, began the nitrogen cycle, and started introducing fish.
Started with a betta & upside down catfish. Waited two weeks for them to get comfortable, went back to the same store to add some more. He sold me the first two, and I reiterated 10 gallon tank with his current mates, so I asked what else would 1) play nice together, and 2) fit in the tank.
I should also mention, this guy helped with my setup. He didn't actually sell me anything since the equipment was hand-me-down, but confirmed my filter was good enough, answered some questions, etc etc.
AquaClear 20 filter with Hagen elite 799 air pump.

He ended up selling me a tricolor shark, and 3 longfin barbs.

The problems:
First thing I did is go home & google them and realize the bala shark almost assuredly won't fit long term in this tank. Maybe that's incorrect? but the entire internet world seems to think "50 gallon minimum or bust". If this guy grows to 12" then his tail will be sticking out.
The second thing I noticed is these might be denison barbs, which means they are arguable too big for this tank as well.

Some pictures of the above are attached.

So how screwed am I?
Thanks in advance,

I wouldn't add anything until your tank is cycled. I'm assuming you are doing a fish in cycle?
What are the results of your water parameter tests?
Have you lost any livestock yet?
The betta also should be on it's own
The bala shark will grow to 14 inches in a good aquarium, fish who grow to the size of the tank (inverted commas) I think are stunted, their length is but their organs keep growing. I'd rehome the bala asap.

Edit: Welcome, by the way. I'm so rude sometimes; I don't think.

Welcome to the forum first off

Afraid will confirm your fears that the salesman as led you down the garden path

A betta splenden is best kept alone in a 5 to 10 gallon planted tank with perhaps snails and MAYBE large shrimps but that’s debatable.

Any other fish sharing the same tank may end up clashing with the betta.

Tricolour sharks, most barbs and glass catfish are definitely not suitable for 10 gallon tanks am afraid.

Best way of confirming and to have more detailed information on these species of fish is to look up these species on a website, Seriously Fish is a good source that I use time and time again.

Just to help you out the Bala shark won't be suitable for this tank. More importantly tho look at the shape of this fish and then do a google search and look at the pictures. Before buying fish make sure that the fish are correct shape and have been well fed. This fish looks like it is under nourished at best and may even have some deformity

itiwhetu said:

Just to help you out the Bala shark won't be suitable for this tank. More importantly tho look at the shape of this fish and then do a google search and look at the pictures. Before buying fish make sure that the fish are correct shape and have been well fed. This fish looks like it is under nourished at best and may even have some deformity

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I agree. The shark doesn't look right, and 50 gallons is too little for a bala, much less 10 with a betta. That salesmen got you good.

Well, you have learned the most important rule in fish keeping. Never listen to the people at your lfs. It will always get you into trouble.
All the fish you have, except for the betta, are not suitable for your tank. I would return all of them to the store, and just keep the betta on his own with a few snails.
Is your tank fully cycled yet?

Hi and welcome!
I'm sorry you've been so badly misled, you're not the first nor the last I'm sure to have been lied to by salespeople and bought entirely inappropriate fish.

The bala does look terribly misshapen, either starved, carrying a heavy worm burden, or deformed. but take a look at te adult size of a healthy bala shark. No, they really can't live in a ten gallon I'm afraid. They probably would stunt long before getting this big, but stunting kills them as well sadly.

Thanks for the replies. As you can tell, I'm ultra new at this.

Unfortunately I don't have any other metrics outside of PH. I de-chlorinated the water, ran the filter (w/ charcoal & biomax), and put a few food flakes in and ran that with no fish for ~2 weeks. Also used PH Down until it stabilized.

I haven't lost anything, and they all seem happy. They don't hide, come running for food, haven't seen anyone nip, and they're all really active (except the catfish which hides during the day).

But oof, sounds like this is setup for failure. Lesson learned here: find a new store. Figured I could go to the experts who make their living off of it, but seems that's not the case. The total sale was only like $20, so it's not like they made a killing off it either.

Someone I know has a 40 gallon tank which is almost empty (I think just 1 fish at the moment, forget what kind), said they'd take the bala at least. Should I try to re-home the barbs there as well?

Also, I have an empty 30 gallon tank (wanted to have a fully functioning 10 before going bigger). I would like to not set that up quite yet, if possible.
But I also want these dudes to be happy & healthy.

AdoraBelle Dearheart said:

Hi and welcome!
I'm sorry you've been so badly misled, you're not the first nor the last I'm sure to have been lied to by salespeople and bought entirely inappropriate fish.

The bala does look terribly misshapen, either starved, carrying a heavy worm burden, or deformed. but take a look at te adult size of a healthy bala shark. No, they really can't live in a ten gallon I'm afraid. They probably would stunt long before getting this big, but stunting kills them as well sadly.

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To put in perspective at second 7 you see a mature oscar. At the age it appears to be it is somewhere from 9 to 12 inches long. The bala shark is probably 3 inches longer. Meaning they can get 13 to 15 inches long.

Urgh, we've all been there for sure, such a shame isn't it - not only does the human get fobbed off, but there's no consideration for the fish themselves. Poor babies

I'm glad to hear there's been no ill effects of the stocking.

Bala sharks getting that huge isn't unusual either, take a look at a few in this video at Ohio Fish Rescue. They take in unwanted monster fish in the US, their tanks start in the hundreds of gallons, many tanks in the thousands of gallons. Go to 20:50 to see a 1000 gallon tank with some pretty standard sized bala sharks in there. If this one makes it, it's going to outgrow the 40 gallon tank very quickly as well

Remember LFSs have an intrest in fish dying and selling you stuff you don't need

The weird part is this guy didn't want to sell a whole bunch of other ones for various reasons. These kinds don't get along, these will get too big, these guys eat different food which might be a hassle, so it's not like he was trying to push me out the door with whatever I pointed at.
A little mom/pop shop that's got a good reputation & been open for as long as I can remember. Guy walked me through the steps of "Ok what fish do you want to start with and we'll take it from there".
All sorts of unfortunate.

I guess I can try to find something similar to the Ohio rescue in my area, maybe call the guy and ask him what the deal is & see if he'll take em back.

It's too bad cause those guys look awesome too, but I'd rather they be happy & comfortable then all diseased in an overcrowded tank. I want to have an aquarium, not a jail cell.

Barb 2 looks like a cherry barb. These (6 minimum) would be ok in the 30 gallon, assuming the parameters are suitable.

Naughts said:

Barb 2 looks like a cherry barb. These (6 minimum) would be ok in the 30 gallon, assuming the parameters are suitable.

Puntius titteya – Cherry Barb (Barbus titteya, Capoeta titteya) — Seriously Fish

www.seriouslyfish.com

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You could very well be right, I think I was focusing too much on the black line through the eye & not the rest of the body.