Looking For Advice

[Kimberly_keidron]

hi,

 
I'm just posting to get advice on my aquarium, what I can add/take away, give my fish a more happy life, ect..
 
-I have a 55gal long
-over filtered- one whisper 90gal filter, one adjustable, up to 60gal aqueon filter on the highest setting.
-two heaters that keep the water at 78F not sure of the brand, they turn on when the water drops a degree below, keeping the temperature stable
-one bubble wall extending half the length of the tank for added aeration.
 
-one skull décor for hiding
- one log décor for hiding
-3 large, silk plants
-3 large, 2 medium, 5 small but thick, plastic plants
-3 marimo algae balls
 
-4 tinfoil barbs
     - 1 albino 6in
     - 2 red tail 3in
     - 1 silver 1in
-1 salvini cichlid 4in
-1 bristle nose albino pleco
-1 one rope fish 8in
--1 keyhole cichlid (currently in medical tank w swim bladder disorder)
 
-recently added 20ml of aquarium salt.
-22% water changes every saturday

 

[Jeremy180]

To put it bluntly, you have several problems, the biggest of which by far is you will be ridiculously overstocked when these fish reach adult size.
For the moment, I would suggest upping your water changes to 50%, and if possible increasing to twice weekly.
The tinfoil barbs are by far your biggest problem stocking-wise, healthy individuals can get over a foot in length.
I would recommend no less than a 125 gallon for them alone.
Your rope fish, aka reedfish, can get to be 3 feet long and at minimum will need the whole bottom portion of a 55 gallon tank to itself.
as all of your remaining fish are bottom fish, this will be a major crowding problem.
As it gets older, the Salvini cichlid will get too aggressive to be kept with your other fish.
Also, do you know what your PH and hardness levels are?
(reads)
Well that came out a bit blunt.
Just know that I'm not meaning to be rude here, but am trying to save both you and your fish from major headaches down the road.

 

[Kimberly_keidron]

parameters-
ammonia .2 (On the high side as the water change is in 2 days)
nitrate 20
nitrite 0
gh 300
kh 120
ph 7.5
 
With the tinfoils I'm working with my LFS and selling to them when each one reaches 8 inches, with the exception of my albino. (Who doesn't like to school)
 
I also have a group of free floating Pothos which I forgot to add which have helped keep my ammonia down significantly.
 
And don't worry about the bluntness, I'm here to learn and better myself

 

[Jeremy180]

After looking at several of your other posts, it seems that you have a few tanks and species that aren't mentioned in this thread.
Can you please post  a full list of all your tanks, whether cycled, uncycled or in storage, and a complete livestock list?
I think the best thing here if you don't want to part with any of the fish besides the tinfoils, would be to do a bit of careful re-sorting of the livestock, to give everyone the best tankmates
Edit: incidentally, the level at which ammonia can cause chronic toxicity (IE not killing quickly, but still causing long term health issues) is .05 ppm

 

[Kimberly_keidron]

Currently I only have the 55g and the 10g medical. The 29g was borrowed until I got the 55, however I will up my water changes to twice a week. Once the Tinfoils are gone I don't plan to get any replacements. And the Salvini is quite aggressive, with the exception of sharing his hideaway with the Reedfish. And I don't believe the Keyhole is going to make it, sadly. Being as within the next month or so I will probably only have the Reedfish and my albino Tifoil, is there anything I could add or should I leave it there?

 

[Jeremy180]

Well, at their current size, with just the reedfish/ropefish, one tinfoil and the Salvini the tank isn't too badly overloaded biologically speaking, as long as you keep up with the water changes, hardly an Ideal situation, though, especially if the Salvini suddenly decides he no longer wants to share the tank with the reed fish, or vice versa.
However, to keep these fish as adults you will need a serious tank upgrade, I'm talking at least a 6 foot (2 meter) tank, considering the tinfoil barb's exercise needs.
BTW, with serpentine fish, one should "escape proof" the top of the tank as much as possible.
Basically if a hole looks bigenough for a snake the same size as the fish to get out, then the fsh may go "carpet-surfing" one day.