Help with new fish/tank

[BWFBezerk]

I just bought a 10 g. tank and have let it run for a day with the filter going, today I added a heater, 2 Bala shark, a sucker fish, and a Dragon fish, but after reading around on this site i find there name to be Violet Goby, the freshwater kind. Most of the time he is either laying on the bottom of the tank or skimming the top with his head poking out, is this normal behavior for this species, I was thinking maybe he isn't getting enough oxygen somehow, but the 2 sharks and sucker fish are fine. Please help me out.

 

[daza]

Hi BWFBezerk, and welcome to TFF.

I've not had experience with any of the fish you mention, but there is a good reason for that There are a few problems here...

Firstly, letting the filter run for a day (or any lenght of time) will not do anything in itself. You need to establish the nitrogen cycle in the tank. This link explains it all. Your fish may be acting strangely because of ammonia poisoning.

Secondly, the tank is vastly overstocked. So much so I was wondering if you were joking (no offence meant - a lot of fish stores do not advise well). But - those fish will get bigger than the tank!

The bala shark for example will get to 13 inches - here is some info on them.

A Voilet Gobby can get to 24 inches - here is some info on them.

Do you know what type of sucker fish you have? Some of them can get as big (or bigger) as the above fish.

The best thing to do is try and return the fish to the store you bought them from for a refund or credit. Read about cycling the tank, get it cycled and then get some more suitable fish from the store. Perhaps some small tetras (neons or cardinals maybe) or White Clouds or harlequin rasboras, etc, etc.

Hope all that info helps. A lot of beginners end up finding out that their lfs gave poor advice (I would probably have been one of them if I hadn't found this site before buying my tank). Keep us posted

 

[jflowers]

I am with daza on this one.

Jon

 

[The-Wolf]

I'll add that the goby is a brackishwater fish and not tropical freshwater.

I aggree with all the rest.

 

[BWFBezerk]

the fish store had the dragon fish in freshwater right next to the bala sharks in the same water, just a divider, he had told me they were the freshwater, he also said that they grow to 12" max, and the bala shark i got are the "small" kind that only grow to 8", the sucker fish max grows to 4"

 

[BWFBezerk]

just remembered, in the store they had all 3 fish listed as Tropical freshwater semi-aggresive

 

[jflowers]

the fish store had the dragon fish in freshwater right next to the bala sharks in the same water, just a divider, he had told me they were the freshwater, he also said that they grow to 12" max, and the bala shark i got are the "small" kind that only grow to 8", the sucker fish max grows to 4"

The goby may have been in FW, but that does not mean its what it needs. Some fish are born in FW and slowly move to brackish and even full marine by the time they are adults. And 12" in a ten gallon?

I don't know what the 'small' kind of bala sharks are, but 8" in a ten gallon? And two of them at that. Thats 28" of fish so far, then the 4" sucker (whats it called?).

Thats 32" of fish in something that could handle 10" if it was cycled, which yours isn't and on top of that one of them will need a much better brackish set up ASAP.

Jon

 

[BWFBezerk]

those are the max lengths though, right now the sucker is 1" (i can't remember the name), each bala shark is about 1 1/2" and the dragon is 4", so as of right now the size isn't an issue, I do have a 55 gallon that is in the process of becoming a fish tank, so I'm just using this tank because I read in these posts I should have a side tank to bring the fish into first before I put them in the main tank.

 

[jflowers]

Bala shark

http/www.liveaquaria.com/product/prod_Di...=21&pCatId=1177

Violet goby

http/www.whozoo.org/Anlife2001/johangus/jg_dragonfish.htm

Jon

 

[BWFBezerk]

In the store there were two seperate tanks of Bala Sharks, one small sized and one larged size, the guy told me that they wouldn't be that big so I guess they lied for a sale, and as for the Goby, I've read in these posts that there are two types to those as well, large and small, large being brackish and small being freshwater

 

[jflowers]

In the store there were two seperate tanks of Bala Sharks, one small sized and one larged size, the guy told me that they wouldn't be that big so I guess they lied for a sale, and as for the Goby, I've read in these posts that there are two types to those as well, large and small, large being brackish and small being freshwater

Regarding the goby, try and get the scientific name, once you have that, do a search on google. That way you can be sure, but I think you may be dissapointed, any good lfs will be able to tell you the scientific name of thier fish.

Jon

 

[BWFBezerk]

the only name that I got was South American Dragon Fish

tell me how to post a picture and I'll show you my tank right now, i can take a quick pic of it

 

[jflowers]

Once you get the pic on your pc, reply to the thread and use the image button IMG and this will allow you to browse to the place you stored your image. make sure its not too large a file size, can't remember the limit off the top of my head.

Jon

 

[BWFBezerk]

it won't let me browse, it just asks for a URL

 

[jflowers]

Bu**er, I was sure that was the process, looks like you need to upload it to a server, then link to it. I don't do pics very often. If you want to email it to me and I will upload it and send you the url to enter.

Jon