Kribs

[Terriann]

Hi guys

I was wondering about getting a pair of kribs in my tank, although I am not sure they are compatible with my other fish. Could you take a look please and advise?

5 sailfins
5 guppies
1 fighter (which has never touched my guppies - they are not proper guppies though they don't have a long tail, just a long yellow bit at the bottom)
2 silver sharks
5 neons
small black ghost knifefish (rescued from lfs as it was being attacked by a larger one)
1 plec (about 3" in length)
5 chocolate gouramies (my babies)

I have a 180 litre tank, the kribs an albino shark will be my final bunch I think as I am quite well stocked. If I can't have kribs, will rainbow fish be okay instead (I heard they are territorial)

Thanks in advance for your advice guys.

 

[mrbonzai]

I would be worried about the guppies, the betta, and the gouramis. The sailfins should be fine if they're on the larger side, but there's no guarantee on that and I wouldn't attempt it without at least a 55 gallon tank. Kribs are peaceful cichlids but they are still cichlids none the less.

On another note, your silver sharks are brackish water fish. They get about 10 inches long and are very beefy as adults. They really don't have a chance of surviving to adulthood without at least some salt. I would recommend either setting up a brackish water tank, or get rid of them to someone you know that won't just throw them in another fresh water tank. I know pet stores have started selling gobies (especially "dragon goby"), puffers, silver sharks, scats, and monos as freshwater but they absolutely are not. Half of the ones I see die in the store from salt deficiency before they even get sold.

 

[Terriann]

I would be worried about the guppies, the betta, and the gouramis. The sailfins should be fine if they're on the larger side, but there's no guarantee on that and I wouldn't attempt it without at least a 55 gallon tank. Kribs are peaceful cichlids but they are still cichlids none the less.

On another note, your silver sharks are brackish water fish. They get about 10 inches long and are very beefy as adults. They really don't have a chance of surviving to adulthood without at least some salt. I would recommend either setting up a brackish water tank, or get rid of them to someone you know that won't just throw them in another fresh water tank. I know pet stores have started selling gobies (especially "dragon goby"), puffers, silver sharks, scats, and monos as freshwater but they absolutely are not. Half of the ones I see die in the store from salt deficiency before they even get sold.

I had no idea about the sharks, thanks for the heads up, I will be returning them soon if that is the case (would it help if I added some aquarium salt, I tend to add a small teaspoon with a water change as I have been told it is good for the fish). And I think for the minute to avoid kribs, maybe when I get a second tank or move to larger fish.

Thanks again.

Tan

 

[Davo86]

I think you may be confusing Silver Bala Sharks and Silver Columbian Shark Catfish,
I have never heard that bala sharks need salt and would say that even if they do (which i doubt) they are completely fine in fresh water.

However, the silver sharks, Bgk and plec (if common or gibbiceps) will very easily outgrow your tank and need a larger tank

kribs would be ok, provided they don't spawn, although rainbows may work better.

whatever you add i would sort out the current stocking problems you have before you add anymore fish

 

[Terriann]

I think you may be confusing Silver Bala Sharks and Silver Columbian Shark Catfish,
I have never heard that bala sharks need salt and would say that even if they do (which i doubt) they are completely fine in fresh water.

However, the silver sharks, Bgk and plec (if common or gibbiceps) will very easily outgrow your tank and need a larger tank

kribs would be ok, provided they don't spawn, although rainbows may work better.

whatever you add i would sort out the current stocking problems you have before you add anymore fish

I have just done some research on the net and the sharks I have do not seem to need salt which is good, it does look like I need a bigger tank though which I intend to get next year, how large do I need my tank to cater for a bgk? He is only about 3 inches in length so I should have enough time before he gets huge. My plec isn't a common plec, he is black with a white maize markings across him. The LFS told me that he should be fine in my tank.

Ta for the advice.

Tan

 

[Davo86]

well the BGK will max out at around 20" the sharks at 12" so you will need a tank around 75 to 80 gallons
however you will find that the BGK will eat your neons and guppies and any other fish as soon as he can fit them in his mouth

do you have a pic of the plec or can you identify it from this list?
plec list

or could it be a gibbiceps?
gibbiceps

or could it be a bristlenose?

 

[DarkEntity]

Silver Sharks are NOT brackish fish, you have mixed them up with another fish. They do however get big and prefer shoals. Puffers can be freshwater, not all are
brackish.

BGK's will easily hit 16"+ so you are looking at 100Gall + basically something with 20"+ in depth so that the BGK can turn (assuming you keep him)

 

[mrbonzai]

Sorry, I must have mixed up the fish. It's difficult because I've seen the ones I'm talking about labeled as silver sharks, silver fin sharks, silver tip sharks, bull sharks, etc. I assumed it was the brackish one because of how many I've been seeing lately at petco and petsmart. Where once it was a fish that you had to go to a mom and pop store for, now it's one of the most readily available cat fish around.

 

[Terriann]

well the BGK will max out at around 20" the sharks at 12" so you will need a tank around 75 to 80 gallons
however you will find that the BGK will eat your neons and guppies and any other fish as soon as he can fit them in his mouth

do you have a pic of the plec or can you identify it from this list?
plec list

or could it be a gibbiceps?
gibbiceps

or could it be a bristlenose?

Hello there, he is L066 - the king tiger pleco. I am going to try and keep my bgk if I can, a lot of people seem to have mixed views on the fish, I am hoping that I will be one of the lucky ones and he won't eat my littlies, if it does it will have to go

It does sound like that in 12 months time I will have a good excuse to put a massive tank in the living room!

Ps. that is a fantastic website, thanks!

http/www.planetcatfish.com/catelog/image.php?image_id=2158