Rainbow Fish Nightmare

[dylandeputronroberts]

For about 3 months these cheeky little rainbow fish is living in a small tank by himself as he was chasing the other fish in our community tank. The other fish are

one angel fish
2 raboras
one common pleco
one catfish
4 neon tetras
one guppie
one siamese fighter
two balloon gouramis
two blue gouramis
2 platties
2 assorted mollies

Not sure on what type he is but he is very colourful with yellow and and blue stripes.

Also the ph is always around 8 in the tropical tank the fish dont seem to mind it but is this to much.

It is a 65 litre tank.

 

[djloach]

You are over stocked which is probably what is contributing to your problems. Plus rainbowfish like to be in groups. I have 6 rainbowfish and they frequently chase each other around but leave the rest of the fish alone.

Interestingly, a Ph of 8 is too high for mose of your fish (though most are fairly adaptable) except the rainbowfish which many species live in higher Ph waters.

 

[dwarfgourami]

I think the ph is the least of your problems- besides, it's not just the rainbows that want it that high, that also goes for the mollies, platies and guppies. And most of the rest probably don't care much either way.

But the other problems identified by djloach are serious and need attention. A 65 ltr tank(c 17 Us gallons) is about the right size for your mollies, platies, guppy and either a school of neons (up the number to 6) or a school of 6 rasboras or a small group of 3-4 corydoras (assuming these are your catfish).
All the other fish, including the rainbow, need to be rehomed. The common pleco and the angel fish should never have to live in such a small tank- rehome them as your first priority.

Note that schooling fish need to be kept in schools for their wellbeing. Also that anabantoids (gouramis and fighting fish) are highly territorial, so should be kept on their own (or 1 male with females of same species)- one day, one of them may wake up and find himself sexually mature and beat the crap out of the rest.

 

[alexdallimore]

Just a quick note on PH. My water is 8.2 and always is. The LFS acclimatise all the fish there to this as I live in a very hard water area. This has never had a detrimental effect on my tank. I do however make sure that the tank is kept immaculate in all the other ways so the high PH is the only oddity. If you live in a high PH area it may be worth checking what your LFS does prior to selling, as the fish may already be aclimatised to it and trying to make it lower will just make it more problems for you.