Is it right??

[Rachel]

Hey, i've been to a shop now and have been given the exact fish i can have for the tank i am having made. The tank will be about 21 by 21 by 27. Roughly 60gallons i was told. So apart from speaking to the man and telling him i had been told that his information was wrong and that angelfish and smaller fish wont mix, he said that if i put baby angelfish in, they wont know to eat them.....
Here's the list:
2 Angelfish
2 Discus
1 Red tailed black shark
6 Neons
2 Catfish
4 Guppies
4 Mollies
I love all of these fish and am really happy that it looks like they can all go in the same tank. But i am very wary of what people have said about these fish mixing? Does this look ok to you?
ta x

 

[CFC]

The tank is just over 50 US (about 42 UK) gallons if the measurements you give are in inches, if they are centimeters then you can basicly halve that.

Discus should not be mixed with angel fish or RTBS as they do not cope well with aggressive tankmates, if spooked discus will refuse to eat and die. As i have said before discus are very difficult to care for, they require perfect water quallity at all times and nitrates above 10ppm may kill them, they also need soft acidic water so unless your tapwater supplies these conditions you will need to buy the water in from a shop that sells RO water or your own unit.

The theory that angelfish wont eat smaller fish if they are brought up together is rubbish, fish have the same instincts in the aquarium as they do in the wild and ALL fish will eat whatever they can fit in their mouth (with the exception of herbivors and filter feeders), as soon as the angels are big enough they will eat any fish small enough to be eaten.

Which catfish are you thinking of? There are hundreds of catfish available and many are not suitable for community tanks, unless they are corydoras or pleco type catfish i would be wary of adding them.

 

[Rachel]

I think it is called an Angel Catfish. It is one i am sure that can go in the tank even if i got the name wrong because i was sure none could mix but was then told otherwise. Why would this man be telling me they can mix if they cant? Yes he may just want to sell his stuff, but he said he would replace any fish if anything happened to them or give us a complete refund. Why would he risk his reputation and all that extra cost? I am so confused...

 

[ryan]

Discus should not be mixed with angel fish or RTBS as they do not cope well with aggressive tankmates, if spooked discus will refuse to eat and die.

rubbish, everyone seems to think angels and discus should no be kept together. well if you hav kept angels and discus together you would know they are perfectly happy together. unless you get a very aggressive angel or discus which is unlikly. i hav kept two small discus with large angels for a year or more and they are perfectly happy together and never cause any trouble. if anything the discus chase the angels.

 

[CFC]

I think it is called an Angel Catfish.

Would that be a small silver with black spots catfish with long whiskers?

Angel catfish is a name often used for pimelodus pictus, a small but highly predatory catfish, if these are the catfish you are talking of then they will deffinately eat neons and guppies and any other fish under 3" in the tank, they are not a normal communitty fish.

 

[CFC]

Why would this man be telling me they can mix if they cant? Yes he may just want to sell his stuff, but he said he would replace any fish if anything happened to them or give us a complete refund. Why would he risk his reputation and all that extra cost?

Just because the guy works in a fish shop (or even owns one) it dosent mean he knows everything about all fish. Also once he has sold you the fish if they survive one week after that he has no obligation to replace or refund you for them, like all livestock their health is dependent on you and you alone once you have purchased them.

The advise of experienced fish keepers who are not making any profit or gain from helping you is far more valuable and IME more accurate, the choice is yours but i know whod id believe

 

[Rachel]

Yes thats exactly what the catfish looks like.God im confused now, some ppl on here are disagreeing with each other and i dont know who to ask or trust. I have no idea because ive not had these fish before. Do i risk it with the angelfish and smaller ones??

 

[Lateral Line]

I would advise beginners to avoid discus. They are tempremental and need particulaly good water quality, also at a higher temperature than many other fish.

Angel fish will eat smaller fish - it's what they do - can't see how anyone can argue with that really.

P. pictus is certainly not safe with smaller fish.

 

[Lithril]

In your last Posting Rachel you said that the 21x21x27 is in cm which makes the tank just over 2gal, I think thats where most of the problems have been with conflicting information, I'm taking it that its really in inches???

 

[Rachel]

Yea sorry error! Well, ye in inches but does that effect what i was saying before? x

 

[Lithril]

Makes a big difference to stocking capacity

Why don't you leave out the discus and substitute the neons for another type of tetra? You could also get some Cories???

 

[CFC]

rubbish, everyone seems to think angels and discus should no be kept together. well if you hav kept angels and discus together you would know they are perfectly happy together. unless you get a very aggressive angel or discus which is unlikly. i hav kept two small discus with large angels for a year or more and they are perfectly happy together and never cause any trouble. if anything the discus chase the angels.

Well there maybe the odd exception as you seem to have proved but ask any discus keeper if they would suggest keeping discus with angels and the majority will say no. Discus are shy fish and have specialist needs, like higher temperatures almost sterile water and high protein foods, they are not a begginers fish and should only be kept by experienced fish keepers IMO.

 

[Rachel]

I really want the discus fish though and they were the main fish i wanted to have in my tank. Having other fish with them was great but this man in the shop seems so sure of everything he says. I want the discus really so anything else to go with them is good but do you think i shouldnt have angelfish or i shud have them but not the little neons? x

 

[Gabe]

"some ppl on here are disagreeing with each other and i dont know who to ask or trust"

Well, I think you should listen to what CFC is saying. He gives really good and accurate advice. And just b/c you really wanted a fish, doesn't mean you should have it. Not to be rude at all, but some fish are harder to keep than others or can't be in the same tank with another fish you really want or already have.

Some of those people that work at lfs may seem confident and that they know what they are talking about, but they really don't. They are like used car salesmen(no offense to anyone I hope ) they will do anything for a sale, even if it includes lying through their teeth. HTH!!

Gabe