Tetra Company

[krishanu]

im kind of a newbie when it comes to aquariums...ive only had my aquarium for around nine months now...unfortunately a fish ive had as long as ive had my aquarium passed on today ...

however looking into the future im planning on getting a small shoal of neon tetras...the problem is that my aquarium is a mix of a bunch of fish. the one im most worried about is a ruby shark that is about three inches long...it has the tendency of being a bit aggressive....can i keep the ruby shark and introduce a few tetras? do neon tetras have any other 'enemies'? what extra care would i need for neon tetras?

 

[Griz]

Just to clarify things, is this a 35 "litre" tank you have in your sig?

 

[Baffoon]

the only enemies neon tetras have is 'neon tertra disease'

 

[Boxermom]

the only enemies neon tetras have is 'neon tertra disease'

Not true.

 

[Chri$]

Just to clarify things, is this a 35 "litre" tank you have in your sig?

Was thinking that myself.

If it is your SERIOUSLY overstocked.

 

[Baffoon]

the only enemies neon tetras have is 'neon tertra disease'

Not true.

it was a joke lol

 

[krishanu]

yes..that is the aquarium in question (35 l, accounting for gravel which is present in quite a large amount). and no, my aquarium seems like it has a lot of fish, but all of them are quite small and showing no signs of getting bigger . also, i havent faced any of the problems associated with overcrowding (diseases, torn fins, poor water quality etc)...

 

[Griz]

I would not reccomend adding anything. You are overstocked as it is. 35 litres = 10 gallons. The clown loach and rainbow shark will outgrown that tank soon if they haven't already. Even without those, there's still way too many fish in there.

 

[Rediahs]

THAT in a 10 gallon? I am shocked.. please don't add any more fish.

 

[Boxermom]

Its not just the size of the fish (although if they aren't growing, that's because you've stunted them by having them in a tank too small) but the bioload they create that must be taken into consideration. With that many fish in that small of a tank, you should be doing a MINIMUM of 2-3 large volume water changes per week to keep from poisoning them.

 

[krishanu]

hmmm....thanks for the advice. the only fish whose growth may have been stunted is the rainbow shark. i have been planning to give him away for a while. for those concerned about the health of my aquarium, 35 l is the lower limit of the estimated amount of water in the tank...my clown loach is about an inch long, and all the fish bar the rainbow shark are less than two inches long. also i change the water, in large quantities quite regularly...

i have come across a number of places where the fish 'thumb rule' has been used. however i feel such rules are incorrect as a growing fish would excrete much faster than full grown fish, and the only growing fish in my tank is the clown loach.

and dont worry, i will be getting a new larger tank soon...

 

[Gankutsuou]

wow... even I didn't go this far off end on my first tank, as you see in the siggy....

The clown loach will get larger than the shark. He'll get up to 8" and needs 3x companions in a 100+ gallon community. In otherwords, don't but him friends. trade him in.

And you'll be forewarned that your shark may start to take chunks out of your other fish once he has the feel for some more space

hey, and don't worry. While we're bad off, we'll both be upgrading soon
I know i'm getting a 40 in a week and a half now. I'll clone the tank and immediatly let these guys in.

And at least we aren't as bad as....

1x ghost glass catfish
1x neon tetra
1x betta

in a 2.5 gallon. One person i know has that tank...

And we aren't as bad as 13 oscars and 3 green terrors.... In a 20 gallon....

Some people at the LFS you just wanna murder.

but us biggners just made a few begginers mistakes that weren't that obvious.

 

[krishanu]

the dudes at the aquarium shop told me that i could keep 20-22 small fish in this aquarium...i had no idea it was dangerous. btw in calcutta, if you see some of the aquariums in fish shops (mostly the roadside ones) you will want to cry...i know i do!

 

[Commander Cool]

22 fish in a 10 gallon! I'm a newb when it comes to fish also but that is way over stocked.

EDIT: Stores will say a lot to get you to buy more.

 

[sylvia]

You also can't compare ordinary fish tanks with pet shop tanks - the fish in shops are only there for a short time and are usualy juveniles.

BTW, clown laoches grow larger than 8" - they can get to 12".

None of the fish you have in your current tank are suited to a 10 gallon except the kuhlie loach - not even the tetras or danio should be in there simply because they need to be in a group of 6 minnimum so the tank would be over-stocked and the danios need a 20 gallon minnimum due to activity levels. Note, also, that rams should realy be kept as pairs - not singly.

Just so you are aware, 35 litres isn't even 10 galllons - it's just 8.25 or so - so your conservative 35 litre estimate may well be reffering to a 10 gallon tank anyway (though I'd think gravel only takes up about a gallon in your typical 10 gallon tank).

You shouldn't be adding anything anyway - get a bigger tank.