I really need encouragement

[FishDude15423123]

I was just told I need to return more than half of my fish. Should I buy a 55 gallon and start raising a bala shark? (I will increase tank size as it grows) I don't have money now but am starting a gofundme soon!

 

[Essjay]

It was me that said this. Unfortunately FishDude is another victim of poor LFS advice - you can have one of these, and one of these (all shoaling fish) in a 10 gallon aquarium. https://www.fishforums.net/threads/help-im-new-to-fishkeeping.455491/

Before giving up in despair, give https://www.seriouslyfish.com/knowledge-base/ a look.

 

[FishDude15423123]

Thanks While your at it check this out! gf.me/u/w7qjpr

 

[FishDude15423123]

im going to go down to my lfs with a megaphone and teach all the employees a lesson on fish!

 

[FishGuest5123]

Good luck! We’ve all done this to an extent. I have some fish right now that really should be in softer water but bought them upon I’ll advice. They have been fine but I know it will probably shorten their lifespan. Won’t do it again. We live and learn and then tuck the experience into our treasure chest of knowledge.

 

[Byron]

I was just told I need to return more than half of my fish. Should I buy a 55 gallon and start raising a bala shark? (I will increase tank size as it grows) I don't have money now but am starting a gofundme soon!

I can't tell from my end if you were just kidding here, or might intend doing this...you will soon learn that most of us here will spot problems and point them out, as a service to you.

A 55g is no where near sufficient space for a group of Bala Sharks. This is a shoaling species with a pronounced social structure within the group, and must be maintained in groups of at least five fish. Fewer will result in aggression to the point of death of subordinate fish, and/or aggression toward other species in the tank. They attain 14 inches (some report up to 16 inches) in the aquarium, and being active swimmers, this means an 8-foot length tank.

 

[Munroco]

Don't get discouraged. Have a look at nano fish, you can keep a shoal of these in a 10 gal. I would also say keep the 10gal, get a 55gal too. Oh and don't buy a bala shark, they are beautiful fish they can get to over a foot long.

 

[FishDude15423123]

k

 

[Retired Viking]

The key is to do your research first and make a plan before doing any buying. We have all been there, we see a pretty fish and buy it on impulse. I have a 40 gallon tank that has been sitting empty for the last 3 weeks with just a snail in it. I scraped my original plan after realizing it had issues and now I am doing more research. Didn't cost me anything but time since I already owned the tank.

 

[KOH119725]

I was just told I need to return more than half of my fish. Should I buy a 55 gallon and start raising a bala shark? (I will increase tank size as it grows) I don't have money now but am starting a gofundme soon!

Just know that no matter how bad you mess up, you can't mess up as bad as I did.

 

[yeti79]

Fishkeeping is a learning process so don't get discouraged from lack of immediate success or if you have failures. If your willing to put in the time and effort you will be rewarded. I've kept fish most of my life, done many things wrong over the years, and to this day still have questions and failures. Get a 55 or larger if you can! It will give you much more options of fish you will be able to keep plus larger tanks are less susceptible to sudden parameter changes. Just be sure to pay attention to the initial setup. It will be much heavier (55 gallon~625 lbs) and will need be level with a strong sturdy base. Also keep in mind there is more to an aquarium than just the fish such as the substrate, filter, heating, lighting, plants and decorations. Your basically trying to create a functioning ecosystem. Good luck with your journey into the hobby!

 

[Goosegrl2019]

Don't give up. The internet is ur friend. We have all made mistakes or have questions or we wouldn't b on here. I have had big issues too, mostly because I listened to a salesperson at a box store eager to sell fish. U can research fish and find out a lot more than they will tell u at a store for sure, good luck!! Keep ur head up!!

 

[utahfish]

My first tank as a kid i didnt know anything and this was way before the internet so i relied on LFS knowledge. My first tank was a 20 gallon long, first stock of fish were a couple sword tails two gold fish a chinese algae eater a small common pleco some zebra danios and a nerite snail the swords ate the gold fish the pleco jumped out rather than put up with the chinese algae eater i took the swords back cuz i thought they were mean and got rid of the chinese algae eater. Then restocked with a rainbow shark another small common pleco cuz you know algae never mind it can get to a foot long and more, some neons corys and tiger barbs. Woohoo. After some of those fish died i got some mollies and some small angel fish cuz apparently i had allowance to spend and a LFS to take it suffice to say i killed alot if fish didnt start keeping fish again til 20 years later and while ive learned a lot since then i still make mistakes and kill the occassional " pretty" fish. Keep at it, try to find as much info online or books before making fish purchases and it will save your wallet and fish in the long run.