Red Tailed Black Shark And .......

[lon1000]

hi guys,
this is my first post on the forum.. looks like a great forum with tons of information..

i'm thinking about getting on of these:
Rena Aqualife 100 x 40

55 gal (258l) tropical tank..

a couple of questions.. my mrs is MAD about sharks and part of the reason in getting the tank was so that she could have a red tailed black shark.. i quite fancy having some discus.. i'm getting the impression that these two types of fish wont be compatable.. is that correct?

is so, what else could i have with a red tailed shark? i'm looking for something colourful and interesting..

i quite liked the look of these rams: Microgeophagus ramirezi (Ram )

any other suggestions or advice.. is that tank i'm looking at getting suitable? or will i need more hardware?

thanks for your help in advance!

rgds
chris

 

[ox5477]

If your looking for color, all you really need are the discus. They come in many color varieties and you would be able to create a good sized community in the 55G with many color variations.

The rtbs would not be good with the discus. rtbs' are known to be quite aggressive and would only stress your discus. discus are considered a weaker species to begin with so you don't want to add any extra outside stress.

with the discus too, make sure before they go in that the tank is well cycled because as I mentioned above, they can be more sensitive to water conditions. also, some people use bare bottom tanks to make sure that no food particles or waste gets stuck in the substrate to pollute the water quality. high rate of water changes helps too to keep the water parms stable

 

[lon1000]

hi,
thanks for the advice.. i thought as much.. i've done quite a bit of research into discus, and understand that i have to make sure the water conditions are stable and correct for them.. how many discus would be sensible for a tank that size?

it maybe i have to put my ideas of getting discus on hold, as part of the reason behind getting a tank was so my mrs could get a red tailed shark.. i may have to look at other species that would live happily with it.. any sugguestions on that?

thanks
chris

 

[ox5477]

hi,
thanks for the advice.. i thought as much.. i've done quite a bit of research into discus, and understand that i have to make sure the water conditions are stable and correct for them.. how many discus would be sensible for a tank that size?

it maybe i have to put my ideas of getting discus on hold, as part of the reason behind getting a tank was so my mrs could get a red tailed shark.. i may have to look at other species that would live happily with it.. any sugguestions on that?

thanks
chris

I would say the other fish will have to be very hardy and able to defend themselves. any of the medium species of cichlids should be ok, (rd, jd, gt, sev). sometimes you can get tempermental cichlids like my jd (aka, hes a wouse) and they won't be able to handle the aggression of the rtbs. although you may get lucky and get a more docile rtbs.

just a question... do you already have the 55G? if you dont and are open for a larger tank, more shark options could open up that may plz the mrs while giving you a few more options. the rtbs really is a tricky fish to stock i think

 

[lon1000]

hi,
i haven't got the 55g yet.. unfortunately i'm not sure a larger tank is possible due to the space its got to fit in.. why? what did you have in mind?

rgds
chris

 

[ArauraDiscus]

If you had more tanks, I would say that you can always try discus, and if the shark causes problems you can remove the discus to another tank. Discus though as a general rule are best with only other discus, and maybe, a small shoal of dither fish like rummy nose tetras. You can always try angelfish, which are somehwat more agressive, come in many colors as well. And then you can try to get some german or bolivian rams, which are just as colorful as any discus. I personally reccoment Leopard Gouramis or Cptenoma Acoustire. They are a joy to watch and basically float around the fish tank trying to immitate a leaf saying "Grrr I'm a Leaf"

 

[lon1000]

hi,
thanks for the advice..

i did wonder about angel fish.. would they be ok with my little RTBS?

1 x RTBS
2 x Angel fish
2 x Leopard Gouramis
6 x Rummy nose tetras
4 x rams (was looking at blue rams)..

what do you think? i've still got alot to learn, so am trying to adsorb as much info as possible at the moment.. anything else you think would go well? some sort of algea eater?

what about quantity of each fish/total quantity?

rgds
chris

 

[VampirePlec]

probably bristlenose would be best for an alge eater, they do need other foods such as alge wafers and cucumber, mine love blood worm. Just what ever you do dont go for the chinese alge eaters these are horrid little fish, will pray on and kill smaller fish, they did with my female fighters so probably cauld with the blue rams ( i have some of these they are gorgouse!), angel fish are also gorgouse and come in many different varieties, my fav are the black lace, atm i dont have any of these, but i do have a zebra and a leopard wich are two very interesting types of angels. i have always had troubles with just 2 angels together (mine are in seperate tanks), but most people will say just the two will be fine, sorry cant help you much with the stocking. Tho maybe if i Suggest more rummynose if they would fit? as these guys look awsome in a larger group.

hope this helps.

 

[MoonstruckMuse]

I'd second the bristlenose decision, as well as the leopard gouramis.
I've heard people talk about how their RTBS got along fine with angels, but mine decided to bite out their eyes. sooo, perhaps something a bit different.

Personally, I really love tall deep fish like discus and angels, and to me, a severum is an excellent and beautiful substitute. I recommend them all the way - not really aggressive unless they need to be, and a pleasure to watch. Very personable fish.

Either way though, I'm slightly concerned that the rummynoses may be a little too small, but not sure about that.

 

[lon1000]

hi again,
thanks for all the advice..

so:

1 x RTBS
2 x Angel fish (possibly more than 2?)
2 x Leopard Gouramis
6 x Rummy nose tetras
4 x rams (was looking at blue rams)..
1 x bristle nose pleco

i'm looking at getting a smaller second tank for breeding so could separate some out if needed.. this will be 70cm wide, 30cm high, 20cm deep.

does that all sound reasonable? the main tank i'm looking at getting comes with
Filtration:Rena external power filter 1050l/h XP2
Heating: 200W heater / thermostat

i'll have to see exactly what setup the tank comes with, but what about an under gravel filter pickup thingy?

anything else hardware wise you think i should get? air pump and some air stones perhaps?

rgds
chris

 

[three-fingers]

That equipment sounds good to me, no need for an under gravel filter, or airstones if you set up the canister filter to provide movement at the surface of the water.

Although if you intend on having real plants you should check out the lighting on the tank, as a rough guide (generally works for this size of tank) you are looking for at or just over 1 watts per gallon for a low maintenance set up with easy plants. Some sort of under-substrate fertiliser would help greatly if you go this route too. Easy live plants like Vallis, Java fern and Hygrophila species can always be added as an afterthought, but if you spend a little more on the correct lighting/fertiliser and start up, you should notice a difference in water quality that will benefit your fish and in the long run mean less maintenance through water changes/scrubbing algae .

Personally I would go with just one angel, as unless you are very lucky and get a pair, they will fight. If you have more than 2 angels, you will probably find the largest bully the smallest to the point where you start to have real problems. If you must have more than one angel, you'll want to start looking into an angel set-up without the other fish, which is similar to a discus set up but water parameters are of less importance .

 

[lon1000]

hi,
thanks for that info.. i hadn't got onto plants yet.. but sounds interesting.. i'm looking at getting this tank setup well from the offset, so thats useful to know.. that tank i linked to above has 2 x 25W tubes so thats nearly 1w per gallon..

1 x RTBS
1 x Angel fish
2 x Leopard Gouramis
6 x Rummy nose tetras
4 x rams (was looking at blue rams)..
1 x bristle nose pleco

Anything else people recomend? what about Blue Dwarf Gourami? or perhaps a Kribensis (Purple Cichlid)??

rgds
chris

 

[three-fingers]

Dwarf gouramis are an option, but tbh I would avoid them, because unfortunately now it seems that a great deal of the dwarf gouramis on sale are infected with DGIV (see here) or are of otherwise poor quality making them pretty sensitive, especially to new tanks. If you find good ones later on though you could certainly add a few once your tank is a little more mature .

Kribensis could be OK, but I wouldent recommend it as they can be pretty aggressive and may fight with your shark and rams.

One thing that I'm not 100% sure about is the leopard gouramis, if you mean Ctenopoma acutirostre
then I would leave them out - as they will most likely make dinner of your tetras and can be sometimes be territorial - possibly making life hell for your rams/angel. They are compatible with the shark though. Instead you could maybe look at the more community-tank oriented relatives? Like opaline/golden/blue/pearl/moonlight gouramis?

With the rams, it would be good to provide hiding places such as terracotta pots, piles of stone/wood or even just plants so they can avoid your shark if it turns out to be an aggressive individual.

Other than that you could look at other dwarf cichlids like Apistogramma species, given you provide enough cover so they aren't constantly chasing each other.

You could also look for things like hatchet fish, which are lively, interesting to look at and are surface dwellers so will keep out of everyone's way .

 

[lon1000]

Hi,
ok.. so not leopod gourami.

1 x RTBS
1 x Angel fish
6 x Rummy nose tetras
4 x rams (was looking at blue rams)..
1 x bristle nose pleco
3 x Apistogramma agassizii (Agassiz' Dwarf Cichlid )

what about an Indian Gourami?

rgds
chris

 

[three-fingers]

Sounds perfect .