Can I Put This Fish With The Ones I Have Already

[claire2011]

Hiya i was wondering if any one cud help me please
can i put this fish
(Convict Cichlid amatitlania nigrofasciata ) with a large severum, 2 small tinfoil barbs, and 2 small fire mouths
i no my plecs will be fine anyhelp please ill put pic of fish i want on

 

[Wills]

Depends on what size tank really. If you keep as a singleton could possibly work in a tank above 75 gallons (though tinfoil barbs need bigger than that anyway) But dont try a breeding pair in there as they are really nasty and will damage your other fish a lot - even your plecs.

Wills

 

[claire2011]

i have a 4foot bullet shaped tank 300litre ive decieded now to have a oscar fish as i no they are ok

 

[N0body Of The Goat]

So when is the 6-foot tank order being placed?


The Oscar and the Tinfoil Barbs are going to need a big tank, especially the Oscar in a mainly cichlid community.

 

[claire2011]

aint got a 6foot tank, my tank is 4foot, tank is big and have loads of space as im not putting 2 many fish in it so the oscar and tinfoil barbs should have enough space, if i have to get a bigger tank when grown i will

 

[N0body Of The Goat]

You may well appear to have loads of space right now, but your Oscar and your Tinfoil Barbs (depending upon which species you have) should reach about 14" long. The Barbs will need a long tank for their active swimming space, while your oscar could become very aggressive and kill its tankmates if they do not have space to keep out of its way.

 

[Wills]

What are the dimensions of the tank? I know 4 foot long but how wide is it and how tall? I think I know the tanks you mean and they are not very wide if I remember? Ideally for an Oscar and Severum you ideally want about 18/20 inches wide at least.

But in 300 liters, an Oscar, Severum and 2 Firemouths might work out pretty well to be fair. But I agree with Goat 300 liters is too small for Tinfoils they get massive and need to be in a school they are also very active in the wild they swarm around in huge numbers and travel quickly. I think you would be better off with a group of 5/6 Red Line Sharks which are a little similar to tinfoils but stay around 6 inches as adults.

With cichlids though (especially Oscars) it can go either way they could work out nicely but it could go quite badly. Make sure you start off with a small Oscar as they grow very very fast and will make near adult size in under a year if well fed.


Wills

 

[claire2011]

Dimensions; 1200 x 401 x 690 mm tank is fine its not small, my bf sis has got 2 adult tinfoil barbs in a 3foot conrner tank and now that is small lol

 

[england]

Hello, welcome to the forum, i had three tinfoil barbs in a 5/2/2 foot tank, they outgrew this, ended up having to find somebody with a tropical pond, who drove down from up country to collect, seriously tinfoil barbs need atleast a 6/2/2 if not bigger, if mine got spooked all hell broke loose,Keeping oscars in this size tank with tinfoils will not look nice in the future when they mature, tinfoils can take a time to mature, where as some can grow quite rapid depending on feeding regimes etc,
I would heed the advice given, as we have been there and got the t- shirt, its up to you wether to listen or not, your boyfriends sister with two in a three foot will also need to rehome, It depends really on wether or not you want to be a fish haver or a fish keeper?
Meaning with all due respect, most avid fish keepers like to give enough space to there fish to ensure they have more than enough space to swim around happy, Bearing in mind tinfoil barbs usually grow to around 16inchs or so, imagine that in a tank.

heres mine a while before i rehomed then

 

[Wills]

So thats around 15 inches wide which I have to admit is less than ideal for cichlids.

As you can tell a 3 foot corner tank is no home for a 15 inch adult tinfoil barb but at the same time your tank is not suitable for them either.

Wills