My 36G Tank

[Seshat Odair]

Hello,
I recently gotten my tank stocked with fish and have ran into several problems. I have a 36 gallon tank with 2 small bala-sharks, 2 small discus, 4 neon tetras, 2 x ray tetras(started with four but my local fish store said it would be ok to add some Oscars to my tank and I, not having any experience with Oscars went along with it, they ate 1 and 1/2 x rays.)I also have 2 dwarf gourami's, and 2 snails. I know most people think this is overstocked but they all seem to be doing well together. I give them a pinch of tropical fish flakes and 1 frozen DISCUS FOOD cube once every day. I plan on getting some freeze dried brine shrimp as a treat. Is this alright nutrition wise? My temperature is 85 degrees F, it used to be lower and some of my fish came down with ick, I went to the fish store(not the same one that sold me the oscars) and asked about it because i couldn't seem to cure it. He said to raise my temp. and it would go away. also add some salt to give their slime coats back. One of my neons still have ich, he looks kind of swollen. Could it be something else? I do around a 25% water change every week and my pH stays b/n 6 and 7. one last thing, one Discus seems to be picking on the other. It hasn't caused any damage yet they are both still eating, is their a way to make them more friendly towards each other? Have I done anything wrong? I don't have a lot of experience with fish so any tips appreciated. Thanks

 

[Fish Guy]

Oscars with Discus and other communtiy fish is a hard combination, espcially in a 36g tank. Oscars are messy and will raise the ammonia levels in your tank a good bit. Bala sharks also get too big for a 36g, I would take out the oscars and bala sharks, which will help keep your tank in check in terms of water and sickness.

 

[Wills]

Hi welcome to the forum, and the hobby. Unfortunately its not great start to fish keeping you have had and your tank will eventually cause major problems unless you fix things now. I think this has happened because of the advice from the shops you have been given. Which is a common thing it happened to me when I started and I bet it happened to most people and will continue to happen. I have grown a distrust of most fish shop sales people as a result and always approach with caution... There are some that are honest and wont sell you monsters but unfortunately you have been sold some fish that are going to cause problems.

First things that worry me are the Discus and the Oscars (how many Oscars do you have?)

Discus need high temperatures and are best kept in groups, they also need very good quality water - often they are kept in RO water which ensures low nitrates which are often present in tap water. In community tanks they often go black and fade away and die. Usually they work okay in tanks above 55 gallons which gives them space to grow and also to keep them as a group. As you are experiencing in low numbers (2 or 3) you often get a dominant one that causes fights but in a big group (5 or 6) this gets spread out between a hierachy and is not an issue.

Oscars - A massive cichlid for any tank as they grow upto a chunky 12 inches and some get bigger. A 36 gallon tank is no home for one let alone more than one. The general rule of thumb for Oscars is 75 gallons for the first one and then 150 gallons before adding any more. Though in those size of tanks other tank mates are possible.

The Bala Sharks are also a bit of a monster growing upto 16 inches!! And they are incredibly active so need a big big tank. But in a big enough tank would work with the Oscars quite well.

So with regards stocking right now you have 3 set ups in one tank. So I would say you have 3 options.

1. Get a bigger tank and focus on the Discus and stock the tank accordingly with other fish that like the high temperatures like blue and gold rams, rummy nose tetras and sterbai cories etc. And rehome most of the other fish the Oscars and Bala Sharks but perhaps if you could keep the 36g the tetras and gourami could stay in there.

2. Get a much larger tank and keep the Oscars and Bala Sharks and stock accordingly with them - ie other big fish and American Cichlids. Here you would need to rehome the Discus

3. Keep this tank but rehome the Oscars, Bala Sharks and Discus and keep the Dwarf Gourami and Tetras and stock accordingly with that with things like Dwarf Cichlids like Apistogrammas or Laetacaras and up your number of Tetras up so you have 6/8 Neons and 6/8 X Ray Tetras. A group of Cory cats or Dwarf Chain Loaches or Zebra Loaches.


Now onto the whitespot - how long has this tank been set up, how many weeks/ months?

The person who told you to up the temperature is quite right this does work but there are some medicines that will work well to get rid. I would always recommend Waterlife Protozin as I have always had great success with it So it might be a good idea to get hold of some of that and treat the tank as per the instructions.

Sorry its bad news but its best to act now rather than let the fish grow in a small tank. Also in the future I would always google a fish before you buy it. If you have a smart phone just do it in the shop and you will get quick answers - eg your Oscars if you googled it you would see images of large adult fish and would see the tank size recommendations and the issues around them, same for the discuss.

Hope its helped
Wills

 

[Seshat Odair]

Oscars with Discus and other communtiy fish is a hard combination, espcially in a 36g tank. Oscars are messy and will raise the ammonia levels in your tank a good bit. Bala sharks also get too big for a 36g, I would take out the oscars and bala sharks, which will help keep your tank in check in terms of water and sickness.

I immediately took the Oscars back but I have waited to long to take the balas back. I, at first, didn't know how big they got and decided to keep them then i found out and my warranty is gone. I have a friend that will take them when they outgrow my tank.

 

[Seshat Odair]

Hi welcome to the forum, and the hobby. Unfortunately its not great start to fish keeping you have had and your tank will eventually cause major problems unless you fix things now. I think this has happened because of the advice from the shops you have been given. Which is a common thing it happened to me when I started and I bet it happened to most people and will continue to happen. I have grown a distrust of most fish shop sales people as a result and always approach with caution... There are some that are honest and wont sell you monsters but unfortunately you have been sold some fish that are going to cause problems.

First things that worry me are the Discus and the Oscars (how many Oscars do you have?)

Discus need high temperatures and are best kept in groups, they also need very good quality water - often they are kept in RO water which ensures low nitrates which are often present in tap water. In community tanks they often go black and fade away and die. Usually they work okay in tanks above 55 gallons which gives them space to grow and also to keep them as a group. As you are experiencing in low numbers (2 or 3) you often get a dominant one that causes fights but in a big group (5 or 6) this gets spread out between a hierachy and is not an issue.

Oscars - A massive cichlid for any tank as they grow upto a chunky 12 inches and some get bigger. A 36 gallon tank is no home for one let alone more than one. The general rule of thumb for Oscars is 75 gallons for the first one and then 150 gallons before adding any more. Though in those size of tanks other tank mates are possible.

The Bala Sharks are also a bit of a monster growing upto 16 inches!! And they are incredibly active so need a big big tank. But in a big enough tank would work with the Oscars quite well.

So with regards stocking right now you have 3 set ups in one tank. So I would say you have 3 options.

1. Get a bigger tank and focus on the Discus and stock the tank accordingly with other fish that like the high temperatures like blue and gold rams, rummy nose tetras and sterbai cories etc. And rehome most of the other fish the Oscars and Bala Sharks but perhaps if you could keep the 36g the tetras and gourami could stay in there.

2. Get a much larger tank and keep the Oscars and Bala Sharks and stock accordingly with them - ie other big fish and American Cichlids. Here you would need to rehome the Discus

3. Keep this tank but rehome the Oscars, Bala Sharks and Discus and keep the Dwarf Gourami and Tetras and stock accordingly with that with things like Dwarf Cichlids like Apistogrammas or Laetacaras and up your number of Tetras up so you have 6/8 Neons and 6/8 X Ray Tetras. A group of Cory cats or Dwarf Chain Loaches or Zebra Loaches.


Now onto the whitespot - how long has this tank been set up, how many weeks/ months?

The person who told you to up the temperature is quite right this does work but there are some medicines that will work well to get rid. I would always recommend Waterlife Protozin as I have always had great success with it So it might be a good idea to get hold of some of that and treat the tank as per the instructions.

Sorry its bad news but its best to act now rather than let the fish grow in a small tank. Also in the future I would always google a fish before you buy it. If you have a smart phone just do it in the shop and you will get quick answers - eg your Oscars if you googled it you would see images of large adult fish and would see the tank size recommendations and the issues around them, same for the discuss.

Hope its helped
Wills

I got rid of the oscars right away but was unaware that the balas needed to go back also. So my warranty has run out on those but i have a friend that is willing to take them on later. I would really like to keep the Discus. Speaking of them, i was shocked this morning because they were both eating off the same frozen cube without fighting! They haven't had a peaceful meal in weeks. Would it be ok if i kept the Discus, dwarfs, and tetras & gave the sharks to my friend when they can take them? For future purchases, yes, I will already know what i am buying before I go to the fish store and have had research done.

 

[Wills]

The problem is with Discus the tank is not really big enough its just the extra length and width that you need with them.

If you want to go down the Discus route thats great But you need to keep fish with them that will thrive in the high temperatures like the Discus. Where as the Dwarf Gouramis will need to be in cooler waters, though the tetras may work out.

Rehoming fish is not just down to the warranty as the retailer has a responsibility to sell you products fit for purpose and selling a fish that will grow to over foot long to a 3 foot tank is not fit for purpose. If you talk to the shop and explain that you were ill informed by their staff and have since learned what size they get to they may take things a bit different.

If your going down the discus route there are some really good owners on this forum so it might be worth starting a thread specifically about them and what you need to do to meet their needs

Wills

 

[GShorty1981]

The sharks will eat the Tetras soon.

 

[Seshat Odair]

3 things.
My filter reeks guys, I can change it and for about a day it will smell a little better but the next morning it smells awful again!

One snail is floating on the top of the tank and has been for hours, the other is and has been inside it's shell sitting at the bottom of the tank in the same spot for a whole day. Never kept snails before, used to use algea-eater soo, what happened to them?

It keeps saying error when I try to use personal messages. Why?