Fish list and ID

[Fishy411]

Okay i am planning on getting a 55 gallon tank.in it i wanted
-2 bristlenose plecs
-1 ( maybe) spotted raphael
1-red tailed shark
2- black sharks. They look just like red tailed sharks but no red tail.
anyone have any suggestions for cichlids? i was thinking an albino krib and a pair of yellow labs or red peacocks. Any suggestions?

 

[sylvia]

All those fish are bottom dwellers and will be competing for territory.

Black sharks may look like RTBS when young but grow to 20 inches (50cm) at adulthood and are predatory. Bad idea.

I would get whatever cichlids you want and skip the sharks altogether. An RTBS may work alright with cichlids but the cichlids may also decide to kill it - not sure.

I don't think the raphael would get along with the cichlids. Not sure about that though.

Actualy, you may have to forget the plecos as well and go for all-cichlid cause those cichlids you mentioned come from africa so probably need hard, alkaline water while the plecos need soft, acidic water...

 

[Fishy411]

could i get just one rtbs? Are the cichlids i mentioned easy to keep? also would a black shark go after a catfish if it was a lot bigger? also what about tri-color sharks bcuz i really wanted this to be a mostly shark tank with a few cichlids and not the other way around.

 

[trevo878]

I wouldn't get any sharks. Red tails and balas grow very large and should be kept in groups of 3 or more which would require a 100 gallon tank- minimum.

 

[sylvia]

Balas do grow large and require a huge tank. RTBS don't - they grow to just 6 inches but their aggression at adulthood means they are difficult to keep with other 'sharks'. They are one of the most aggressive sharks unfortunately IME. Black sharks are out of the question! They are MUCH to large for the average tank and deffinately not a good community fish!

If you want a shark tank, make sure you have LOTS of large-leaved plants and some rockwork would help too. Then consider any of the following though they aren't necessarily all 'sharks':

You can keep several of these:
Siamese flying fox/flying fox
Siamese algae eater (NOT Chinese!!!)

And one of each of these:
Red-finned shark
Ruby shark
Rainbow shark - you may get a couple of these without problems

The lred-finned and ruby sharks are rather aggressive and you will have to watch them... providing some ceramic pots for hiding places and purchasing them young and at the same time will help ease aggression and allow them to establish territories.
The foxes will probably get chased by the various sharks but they usualy don't come to any harm.
If everyone seems to have settled, you can try to introduce an RTBS as well. There may be some initial fighting and then they settle down or they may not get along at all and you'll need to forget about the RTBS altogether.

 

[sylvia]

Oh forgot to say that I think a tricolor shark is the same as a rainbow - not too sure though.

The cichlids you mentioned are, I think, rift lake cichlids so they require alkaline, hard water. If you provide them with that they are relatively easy to keep and breed well but don't mix them with the sharks in this case.

If you realy want a catfish, go with a bristlenose pleco.

 

[Fishy411]

actually i think a ruby shark is a rainbow shark and i know that a a tricolor shark is a bala shark