Can Anyone Id. This Fish

[kiwifish]

i've had a pair of this fish for over a year now and they have become my fav. ( except for the clown loaches) and they even survived a black widow mass murdering spree. the last week or so, they have started "kissing" like gouramis, are they fighting or mating? and i only know they are a type of tetra. ps. is the photo on the left ( i not able to load the other photo )

 

[rdd1952]

A photo would help or at least come description as to color body, shape, length, etc.?

 

[kiwifish]

yes i am relatively new. i had a smaller tank a few years ago and only had 5 mollies, within 1 week there was over 500 frys. after raising them, i gave them all a away until the last of the original fish pass away. now i have a 125 liter tank.

2 talking cats
4 clown loaches
5 bolivian rams
2 gold rams
4 kribs
1 pleco
2 pachypanchax
2 unknown
1 red tail shark
1 angel

 

[rdd1952]

Your tank is extremely overstocked. The 4 clown loaches need at least a 50 gallon tank and will grow to 12" long (6" by the end of the first year). If the pleco is a common pleco, he will also outgrow the tank as they can reach 24" in length. The general rule of thumb for community tanks is 1" of adult fish per gallon of water. You currently have about 135" of fish (not coounting the 2 unknown fish)in a 33 gallon tank so you have about 4 times the normal load. You will need to keep a very close eye on you ammonia and nitrite levels and a good mainteance program. I would suggest running 2 filters because with the heavy load you have, if your filter gos out for even a short time, you could start seeing massive ammonia build ups.

 

[kiwifish]

the kribs and gold rams are new addition and they seem to be setteling ok. the pleco and clowns, i've had them for over a year now and they have not grown very much.. maybe less than 1/4 inch each ( yes i do feed them). a friend of mine have had his for over 3 years and they are only around 3 inches. i have heard that they can grow very big, but ive never seen them bigger than 5 inches.
i check for co2, no2, no3 ph every week.

ps. the unknown fish photo is the one i'm using for my avatar, i'm still not able to upload photos

 

[rdd1952]

If clowns haven't grown any more than that in a year (or 3 years in your friend's case), they are being stunted by the size of the tank and the fact that it is over stocked. Clowns should easily grow to 5 or 6 inches in the first year. After that, their growth slows but they will definitely reach 10" to a foot. Their body's don't grow their organs do so they die a slow early death.

Also, CO2 isn't something you need to test unless you have live plants. Ammonia is one of the most toxic chemicals in the tank. You should definitely be checking it each week.

Edit: To upload photos, you have to use a hosting site such as photobucket.

 

[kiwifish]

yes have now worked out how to upload!

 

[Miss Wiggle]

body shape looks like a barb, judging by the fancy finnage i'd say it's been selectivley bred to become something like a high fin/sail fn variety (not seen this before in barbs though)

 

[xingumike]

whatever it is something has been having a good munch on its caudal fin by the looks of it

 

[kiwifish]

no. it has always been like this ever since i brought it, the other one has an even higher one

 

[xingumike]

the caudal is the tail, half of it is missing

 

[kiwifish]

no, is only the angle of the photo

 

[xingumike]

no, is only the angle of the photo

if you say so, you are wrong though

 

[Miss Wiggle]

pretty sure it's a rosy barb from the body shape and spot by the tail, they often have a yellowish tinge to them although i';ve never seen one quite this yellow, however if it's been selectivley bred to produce the high fin i wouldn't be surprised at selective breeding for colouring either

 

[kiwifish]

no, is only the angle of the photo

if you say so, you are wrong though

just had a really look and is not missing, though sometime the two of them pick on the angel