Fish List

[xptweakerntn]

I've got 2 flame dwarf gouramis and two black finned sharks. I've got a 55 gallon tank, and although I've heard that the sharks should have at least 70 gallons, as they get big, I like them, so I'll just have to keep them till they get too big or something. I do a weekly 5 gallon water change, and am considering a 10 gallon every week instead. But my question, striving for a communitiy tank, what would be some good tankmates? I've always loved guppies, but I've heard they should be in a guppy only tank. I'd like a good algae eater or two, but nothing that gets too big. How bout a good pleco, one that doesn't get big? Any species in mind? Oh, and please suggest any fish that you think are worth looking into! And since you're here, what about swordtails, mollies, platies in the tank, any/all of them be ok?Any suggestions welcome, thanks!

 

[darknirvana217]

Well for starters I would suggest not getting teh sharks not simply because of their large size but becaus ethey are difficult to keep in a community tank. They are very skiddish and can create quite a shake up in your tank when they are disturbed. I think if you like them so much you should look into some smaller shark species. As far as guppies go, it is best to keep them alone, I think mainly because they breed like rabbits. And plecos, some small species like pitt bull plecos, ottos, rubber lipped plecos, and some peckolitas will stay small and usually do fine in a community tank. i'm also going to have to disagree with the mollies, swordtails, and platys mainly because livebarers are prone to ich outbreaks, which will cause problems in a community tank. Some suggestions would be any tetra, maybe harlequin rasboras and others in this group, flag tail catfish, and barbs like cherries.

 

[xptweakerntn]

Ok, so what is a smaller shark series, with perhaps some links to them? Alright, so no livebearers at all, ok. I was wondering what would happen if i put some cherry shrimp in there with the flame dwarves. Oh, and will almost any same sized gouramis work?

 

[sailin_home]

Ok, so what is a smaller shark series, with perhaps some links to them? Alright, so no livebearers at all, ok. I was wondering what would happen if i put some cherry shrimp in there with the flame dwarves. Oh, and will almost any same sized gouramis work?

can i suggest a couple of silver sharks or even 1 red tailed black shark( can't have more then 1 in or with another species cos it's a fight to the death.

 

[cuticom]

No silver sharks, they get 12"plus and need a 70...

A single red tailed shark or a single rainbow shark would be perfect for your tank, there wuite good looking and max out at about 6 inches though some may get a bit bigger. You can only have one though, either a rainbow or a red tail.

Live bearers are fine as long as you get only males, and get them from a good supplier.

If it was my tank I'd go with
2 x male dwarf flame gouramis
6 x female dwarf gouramis
1 x rainbow shark (slightly less aggressive then a red tail)
1 x bristlenose pleco
6 x male platies/swordtails.
6 x male guppies

You'd need to keep up on water changes and stock fish slowly leaving the shark and male gouramis till last but that would give you a very bright active tank.

Theres much debate over mollies and whether or there brackish fish, but IME they do best with salt in the water so I'd give them a skip.

 

[xptweakerntn]

Now why do you mention "males only" for the livebearers, any reason besides the fact that they breed so fast? Because that's one reason I was wanting them, to breed them. But are females more susceptible to disease or such? Oh, I've already got the flame dwarves and the black finned sharks, and now everything seems find. The sharks are probably about 3 or 4 inches long, but they, too, get 12 inches. By the way, about the red tailed black sharks, I used to have two of them in my 20 gallon, they were/seemed to be fine. Although they both ended up dead (one got sucked up into the filter when I had the little end off, for some odd reason, and it just went up the tubing and died, and the other one jumped out the back of the tank onto the floor, and now i have the 55 gallon covered. but although they did like to chase each other around, they seemed ok. So, with enough hiding places, I think it is possible sometimes to have 2 red tailed sharks, but perhaps most of the times it ends up in disaster, and i just got lucky.Thanks! Oh, and that list you provided me (cutiecom), would it be ok to add a few harlequin rasboras, and black skirted tetras?

 

[cuticom]

Mlaes only to prevent breeding (these guys can over stock a tank in 2 months) and also because the males are generally more colourful.

The list I gave you won't work if you have black finned sharks (are these balas? silver sharks? or black sharks) they shouldn't be in that size tank full stop. If their silver sharks their going to bash themselves to death against the glass walls, their extremely flighty and need a good sized school and a massive tank to feel safe.

But if ytou got rid of the silver sharks that list would work and you can easily replace the guppies and swordtails/platies with a school of 8 rasboras and a school of 8 black skirts, they need to be in schools though, as do the livebearers, so you have to have at least 6 of any of them, so you can't really mix and match.

I'd say the reason your red tails died was because of the aggressiveness and they were trying to get away from each other, it rarely works for very long.

 

[xptweakerntn]

Oh, no. Once again, I had the little cap off the filter, stupidly enough, and it just got sucked up. the other one jumped out about 3 months later. i had em for about a year, but perhas i just got lucky. oh, the "black finned sharks" aren't bala or silver sharks, (bala and silver sharks are the same, no?). i believe. very peaceful, just like to swim.
http/badmanstropicalfish.com/profiles/profile63.html
http/www.fishlore.com/profile-columbianshark.htm
although they'll outgrow my tank perhaps, i'll trade em in once they get about 8 inches.

 

[cuticom]

Uuuh did you read the bit about them being brackish? as in not freshwater, as in need extra equipment and salt? Until the sharks are rehomed you will need to place the gouramis in a separate tank and get equipment (hydrometer, extra powerhead etc) so you can set the tank up as brackish, and until the sharks are rehomed you won't be able to get more fish.

And if you choose to keep them they will eventually need to be acclimatised to a higher salinity much closer to the marine end of the spectrum....

 

[xptweakerntn]

Brackish? I thought that mean't just some salt in the aquarium, like 1 teaspoon of aquarium salt per gallon. Brackish is much more than that, isn't it? Perhaps I should start visiting some other lfs, as this one seems to not have a clue about what they are selling. I can take these back down there, but all she'll give me is store credit, so I'll have close to 20 dollars store credit, sounds like this weekend is going to be fun
Thanks cuticom.
However, i was just wondering, considering my tank right now is purely freshwater, the sharks are about 3-4 inches, how long can i keep the sharks untill they die? I've had them a week, so they'll live long enough till this weekend? correct?

 

[darkwolf29a]

Brackish is much more than that, isn't it?

Honestly, brackish is between fresh and salt. And it isn't aquarium salt. It's the saltwater mix that you need for that.

The mix is VERY different from aquarium salt.