Grouping Fish And How Many?

[Gun]

Hi guys

I'm new here and I was hoping you guys could help me out.

What it is. I'm looking to buy a 48"x18"x18" tank and these are the fish I would like to keep...

Purple Emperor Tetra x ?
Fire Glow Pleco x 1
Neon Tetra x ?
Male/Female Guppy x 2M/4F
Red Tailed Black Shark x 2-3

Guys, can these fish live together?...is the tank big enough for all?

I've got a feeling (even if they can live together) that there's to many fish on my list for that tank..with the tetras being schooling fish....?

Any advice would be great

 

[minxfishy]

Only problem with that list is the RTBS, I believe they need to be the only shark in the tank, apart from that, reasonably large shoals of each of those fish would be fine.

 

[tangokitty]

Red tail black sharks are very territoriol to their own kind So you should only have 1 per tank. Neon tetras as many as you can get with your stocking level no less then 6 but they look way better with a large school. Emperor's I'd get at least 6 I think the Guppies may get nipped on by the other fish.

 

[Gun]

Thanks for the fast advice guys

Ah...I thought the RTBS may cause a problem. I added them in as I like the way they dart around the bottom always looking like there on the hunt for something

Say I took out the guppies and sharks. I can get 20 Neons for £16.00 and 10 Purple Emperors for £16.91..with the Pleco being £29.95...lol that would be 31 fish...I'm I getting carried away here guys...Is that to many?

Edit: Oh yeah..forgot to ask...would the tetras swim in seperate schools?

 

[minxfishy]

You could still have the one RTBS if you wanted.

I imagine in large enough shoals the neons and purples would shoal with their own kind, I think in small groups they tend to shoal together for safety.

What size does the plec get too?

 

[Gun]

I think it's around 5in max.

Yeah..I think I will go for 1 RTBS

 

[tangokitty]

How long have you had this tank up and running? Most of the tetras tend to school seperatly.

 

[waterdrop]

I guess that's a 67 US gallon tank, so the rough beginners guideline would be maybe 65" of fish body (its not number of fish) (body does not include tail) added up after you've done the hard work of finding the maxium adult size of each type of fish. This would give you a maximum stocking (very experienced fishkeepers with overfiltering go over this, beginners would do well to go under it.)

You'll have to keep working on and refining your list. You may find you are thinking of too many or you may find you have room for yet another school of a different type of tetra. Personally, I would only get male guppies if I were getting guppies at all - I find dealing with livebearers and all their babies to be extremely irritating. You might also consider a school of 5 or more dwarf corries of some sort for bottom activity.

You are aware (?) that you'll have tons of time to refine and discuss your list as it can take 3 months to grow the two species of bacteria in your filter to make it functional before you can add fish?

~~waterdrop~~

 

[Gun]

Yeah..I learned about the cycling a few years ago...although I have forgot how to do it by the book...I definitely need to remember do's and don'ts.

I have a 3ft tank which although it is running as normal has had no fish in since around 2 month ago. Also, the plants have died and it has a fair few snails in it.

The reason for this was because my 4 catfish died after adding a few guppies from a local store. I had those catfish for years and they along with the guppies died all in one night. Anyways, I kept the water in the tank as I thought it might help with speeding up the cycling process..when I buy my 4ft tank.

Don't know if this is stupid thinking..as the water may be diseased..?

 

[OldMan47]

The snails may well be keeping your bacteria alive although they are not always the most attractive to look at. The filter on that tank is probably your best bet to start cloning a bacterial colony for the new 65. The top of this forum has a sticky with the how to for fishless cycling a tank and it can be used in combination with mature media from your snail's tank to get the new tank up and running in almost no time. This puts you a month or two ahead of the typical fishless cycle in terms of how fast the filter can mature and build its bacterial colony.

 

[Gun]

Great news OldMan47...I new there was reason to keep that water.

What about the reason the fish died though...will this not be lurking in the water still...?

Edit: I forgot to say the filter system is 'undergravel'. Does this mean (if the water is ok), to speed up the cycling in 4ft..I would have to use some of the gravel or maybe the filter trays from my current tank...?

Hope I'm making sense here, lol!

 

[tangokitty]

I would recommend getting a canister filter, they work much better then an under gravel Do you not know what killed the other fish?

 

[vinylman]

Hi Gun
Welcome. Unfortunately, Neon Tetras aren't very good fish for a newly cycled tank. Much better to leave them for a good three months. They'll probably nip the Guppies fins, too, not good fish to keep together. Take your time, have a good read of all the pinned threads here, but ask us when you have some ideas in mind. If you're given advice in a shop, come here to check first before you act on it; there are good shops around, but also a lot that'll give poor advice and just keep selling you fish to replace the ones that die because of their advice. And yes, a canister (external) filter will make maintenaince SO much easier.

 

[OldMan47]

You are correct in identifying the gravel as the filter media in your tank. It could be a little harder to use in a canister than some other media but if the new filter has the usual baskets it should work to jump start the new filter. Whatever killed off your fish is something you will need to evaluate. If you have no idea, it might be best to forego the benefit of the used gravel since it may also bring disease into the tank.

 

[Gun]

Hi guys

Great, thanks for all the advice...taking it all on board

OldMan47 - Ah, the reason my fish died....I have no idea really?

My tank was perfectly fine with 4 really nice and healthy catfish. Then I added (I think) 6 guppies (4 female 2 male) from a local store. The fish seemed fine together for around 2 weeks, then literally overnight they died. I know not very helpful...I suppose I'm not very good at identifying disease or unusual behavior.

About the filter. Yeah..I think I'll go for the best canister type I can afford

Guys, I would like to ask for some advice about the tank, equipment, etc to buy. I should start a new thread...yeah?