Stocking Advice?

[bezzo89]

I have an aquarium which i have taken over from my parents it has a ruby tail black shark in it at the moment and is a LAC R760.

It is approximately 83litres and is taller than it is wide. A picture can be found here R760

I didnt know really what to stock in here and what would go well with the shark, the tank is up and running and is clean.

Any advice or ideas on what could go in and be okay with the shark??

Thanks,

Oh and the shark is around 2 inches in length.

 

[KittyKat]

Your shark is probably a Epalzeorhynchos bicolor which is too large (6 inches) for a tank that size (60 x 30 x 54 cm). I would recommend that you trade in the shark for a school of a dwarf species of rasbora, then get a school of dwarf otos and some cherry shrimp. You should also try keeping some plants in there, good ones to start with are Java moss, Java fern and some of the more common Crypts. I would also recommend you read about cycling if you are not yet aware of what it is. Good luck with your new tank!

 

[meguro]

The tank is too small for the shark long term. I suggest finding a new home for the shark before you, or your parents, get attached. It will also help to open up stocking options as they are rather territorial/aggressive fish.

 

[Wills]

Agree with all above unfortunately the red tail black shark and the rainbow are a commonly sold fish into unsuitable tanks. An 80 liter tank is a really good tank for some dwarf cichlids like Apistos or Dwarf Acaras you could get a trio or pair and then have a nice schooling fish like rummy nose or green neon and some hatchets Or if you prefer asian fish you could get gourami and a school of rasbora, personaly I like rusty thick lipped gourami and I think one would look really good with some chilli rasbora in that tank and a few khuli loaches for the bottom

Wills

 

[bezzo89]

yes looking at pcitures like this one Sharkie it is a rainbow shark.

It was sold it from a LFS but as you say it was sold on misinformation.

Okay i have had a couple of the above mentioned fish before so thats not too bad.

Would a LFS be likely to take the shark? he is in good condition and looks very healthy, maybe i could put him on here?

I like the idea of the loach as they are a species i havent experienced yet. I also like the idea of an asian tank with the fish mentioned above by Wills.

There is a large round ball, a terracota tube and a small plant pot in there at the moment.

There is also some plants which i am not sure what they are i will get a picture of them and upload to see what people think they are.

The java moss looks good i wasnt sure if i would be able to get it to settle on the tube or not?


Been having a look at all the fish suggestions and all seem quite good!

 

[bezzo89]

i have noticed there is a colony of snails in the tank as well...

What would be best to do with these?

I am going to purchase a new testing kit as soon as possible at the moment i only have a ph tester all the other test kits were *tidied up*.

Any ideas on a good kit?

Depending on results is it worth me completely cleaning out the tank and fishless cycling it again (obviously once i sort out my shark issue), which could also help to get rid of the snails?

Thanks

 

[Lucky5tar5]

Eesh, I was also sold a red tailed shark with the belief it was fully grown. Lame... I did however notice that he ate a fair few snails while I had him, so I'm not sure why yours hasn't. My best solution as of yet for snail infestations was to get 4 zebra loaches. And boy did they go to town on those crispy little whippersnappers. Even dispatched of a huge apple snail which I wasn't all that pleased about. I'm led to believe most loaches are partial to a snail or two, but don't quote me on that. Make sure you remove the empty shells from the tank though.

Most LFS's should take sharkie off your hands, and hopefully it'll go to the right environment. Fishless cycling is never a terrbile idea, but I'm not sure it'll completely remove all snails...

 

[bezzo89]

thanks luck5tar, i have heard loaches are good for snail eating, a lot of the time i have heard people recommending them in LFS to eat the snails, clown loaches and boatia i have heard so far to be encouraged!

I think i will talk to my LFS and see what they say, i just want him to go to a good home where he can carry on growing and live well!

 

[Wills]

I think in an 80 liter tank you are greatly limited with snail eating fish the only one I can think that is suitable is the pygmy chain loach but if its not something you like it seems a shame to use up a lot of your stocking on a fish to deal with a problem. Most botia loaches get to 5 inches + and clowns get to 8-12 inches (eventually). If it were me I would pick them out by hand or an other method is to put in a lettuce leaf and let them gather on it then when there are a few on it pick it out and bin them and then repeat most of the times it works a treat. Ooooh or an other option I just remembered is to get an assassin snail, thats a snail eating snail that reproduces very slowly so it wont over run your tank like the others as well.
Wills

 

[bezzo89]

oh so its the assassin snail that eats the other ones i had heard of one which would eat the little ones... i shall have a think of what to do.

As eventhough i am sorting out the tank my dad doesnt want to get rid of the shark... "he will take his chances"...

Its harder convincing some people than u think!

It wouldnt be so bad if the shark stayed in one place like on the bottom then i could get mid and top water dwellers but he goes everywhere and always has!

 

[meguro]

As already mentioned, snail eating loach species are also too large for your tank. But if you want to reduce the snail population feeding less is one of the best ways. This will reduce the food source for the snails and keep their population under control.

The rainbow shark will probably do fine in that tank, as far as not dying is concerned. It won't grow to its full potential, but it will most likely end up the only fish left in the tank after a while. You can thank its aggression for when that happens.

 

[bezzo89]

yeah i agree maguro i think where it has been like a *family* tank people have just chucked food in there not knowing how much to do, so there has always been spare food for them. In my own tank upstairs iv never had this problem at all!

I remember the shark was nipping at some long finned black widow tetra i have back when it was in my tank in my room for a while due to the downstairs filter breaking.

So i had replaced the filter and got him back in there asap, still cant remember why he was purchased, i think that years and years ago we had a tank with silver sharks in it so we got him becuase of that but that was in a tank 1 metre wide so there was a lot more room!

If my dad isnt willing to let me swap the shark then i think i will say to him he needs to look after the tank, as he still seems to want more to do with it.

I have seen its wrath before, why does he think he is the only one in the tank still alive and really healthy?

Two choices, do i go and swap him and get other fish or leave it to him...

 

[Lucky5tar5]

Tricky one really... Easy decision when it comes to rehoming,(you definately should) but some people refuse to see something right in front of their nose. No offense meant by that, but its sometimes the case. Most red tails will be pretty peaceful for a long time, its with age that the territorial aggression develops. Sometimes it can even happen overnight.

The ball is in your court really, it'd be wise to only have fish in there that are suitable to the tank specs and the community you intend to keep. I would certainly like to think that most people on here would agree, but its more of a case of opinion in your particular case.

Red tails go best with larger fish really.(not a chance in that tank) So get rid of him and have healthy, happy community fish, or keep him with tired worn out and fatigued fish.

As for the snail problem, I don't know why I didn't mention them before! *slaps forehead* They sell them pretty cheap in my LFS, but a while ago I went into a branch of Pets at Home and they were giving them away as pests to be fed to puffers etc. If you know what you're looking for, and google a good picture, you might get some free! Dwarf chain loaches are pretty sweet too, although they don't seem that active whenever I see them in the shops. When I was starting out I had a Pakistani loach, or YoYo loach as its sometimes called. Striking colours, endlessly active in all levels of the tank. I'm told they should be kept in groups and can grow to over 5" but the LFS that sold it to me all those years ago was adamant that you should only keep one... Hmm, perhaps I should research this a bit more before giving advice. Argh, I'm rambling!

 

[bezzo89]

I have a friend who i am going to talk to when he gets back from holiday with regards to re-homing it. He has a large tank which stretches the whole wall of his living room and has similar sized fish in there with a lot of room for him to grow and swim into.

I have heard of snails being fed to puffers before i will keep my eye out for them i have had a look at a few pictures so have a good idea wat to look for!

I would rather make a nice community tank of it, and would like a couple of loach as i said before i havent had the kinds your speaking of before.

I have a large skull in my tank upstairs and i am thinking of removing it in favour of some plants and rockery but am not sure right now. the ancistrus are on it every now and then, and like to knick any flake which the fish drop from the surface, but it takes up too much room, and gets really mucky inside so its hard to clean. I wanted to do a bit more aquascaping and use the space a bit better with some substrate.

The tank downstairs is taller than it is wide so i was thinking some tall plants over one side opposite the filter but wasnt too sure of other decorations.

Although i know aquascaping is an art form and a hobby on its own i wanted to make the tanks look bigger than they are! There are twin lights downstairs so anything thats in there grows fast!