Upside Down Cat - A Few Questions

[TomBoyNI]

I'm just starting out

But I have a few questions about one of my fish, the upside down cat.

When I put him in the tank he found a nice spot under a wee bridge and there he remained rarely coming out, just in there chilling throughout the day.

The first question is what size to these guys grow to as I only have a 65 litre tank.

The next is I got a red tailed shark today, now suddenly Gorgous George (the cat) has awoken, and seems very interested in my wee shark, my main concern is that he will kill the shark, or annoy him so much that the wee guy will have a crap life.

So can these 2 live happily ever after or will 1 of them need to find another home.

George getson 100% with the rest of the fish, he just seems to be quite interested in the shark.

Thanks in advance

 

[Breeze7050]

What kind of "Cat" is George - surely not a domestic shorthair Sorry couldn't help that. But, being more specific will help us help you! I think 65l is fairly small, but Im not sure about liters...
Pleas answer a few more questions so we can help you out better...
what other fish are in the tank?
what are your water parameters?
How long has the tank been running?
How was the tank cycled?

Answers those and we will try and help you out more. I would guess though that you are overstocked and RTBS have a tendency to be overtly mean/aggressive as they get older, so he might not "get on" with your other fish once he grows up a bit.

 

[SuperColey1]

RTBS will definately get too big for that tank. They need a lot of space when fully grown.

Upside down fish here:
http/www.fishforums.net/index.php?showtopic=94973

 

[TomBoyNI]

I'm sorry but I'm totally useless the aquarium was a present from my dad for moving to a new house, The fish that were in it were all advised by a local aqaurium, very respected place, as for the dimensions it would be about 2.5-3ft wide, and about 2ft high, the pH would be about 6.5 - 7.0

I think the shark is a minature cos the guy in the shop said it would be fine, he is probably about 2in long at the moment, the cat about 3in

As for my other fish to be honest I don't know so if anyone can help that would be great...

There is this guy and his mate...


Then these 2 guys...


I know I really should know more, but all I can say is sorry

It seems that the catfish has adopted wee bridge ornament, and he is like the troll, nobody is allowed under it for too long or out he comes chases them away and then disappears back into the wee cave.

My main concern is that he goes on a rampage tonight when the rest are asleep and I wake up to a murder scene

Sorry about the pics but it isn't easy photographing them, and the shark is fast as anything!

 

[Breeze7050]

well you are in the right place to learn. Hopefully we can get all your questions answered and get everything worked out.
The first fish is a German Blue Ram GBR - very cool fish. The second maybe some kind of gourami - can't really tell by the pic.
A picture of George would be great so we can see what we are dealing with. What does he look like? Color? Does he have barbels?
If he is only 3 inches it is safe to say he won't go on a murdering spree! Usually a newly added fish gets some extra attention the first day or two he is introduced to the tank. I would just give it some time.
Keep in mind that respected or not, people at fish stores - LFS's are in it for the money!! We are not - we just help for free, so be sure to do research before running out and buying something.
Im sorry I can't be of much more of a help - try to get us some pics of George. Thanks adn welcome to teh forum!

 

[raptorrex]

is it one of these? if so they can grow to five inches but three is more common.

. if you got one of these you need a a much bigger tank. and should really be in schools!

. or one of these, don't get as big as above but need lots of space.
they are known to get grumpy as they get older.

 

[TomBoyNI]

well you are in the right place to learn. Hopefully we can get all your questions answered and get everything worked out.
The first fish is a German Blue Ram GBR - very cool fish. The second maybe some kind of gourami - can't really tell by the pic.
A picture of George would be great so we can see what we are dealing with. What does he look like? Color? Does he have barbels?
If he is only 3 inches it is safe to say he won't go on a murdering spree! Usually a newly added fish gets some extra attention the first day or two he is introduced to the tank. I would just give it some time.
Keep in mind that respected or not, people at fish stores - LFS's are in it for the money!! We are not - we just help for free, so be sure to do research before running out and buying something.
Im sorry I can't be of much more of a help - try to get us some pics of George. Thanks adn welcome to teh forum!

Yep that's the one a blue Ram, Ram was in my head, but I'm playing Gears of War at the moment and he is the main bad guy so wasn't sure where that had come from,

Gorgeous George, well here are a few photos of him, he had relocated from under the bridge for a moment, again apologies for the quality...



I think these show the same fish too...

Thanks everyone for the replies, these forums are super quick!

 

[TomBoyNI]

Firstly sorry for the double post, as I say these forums are super fast as I was replying boboboy must have been doing the same.

For Boboboy, the first pic, looks like my catfish alright, the other 2 aren't any of my fish.

Cheers for the reply and info

 

[Breeze7050]

Im going to have to let somebody else i.d. that one - Im clueless!

 

[SuperColey1]

Im going to have to let somebody else i.d. that one - Im clueless!

If the second one is not yours then you don't have a red tailed black shark.

If yours is still a baby he'll look slim. Be a black to dark grey colour. with a red tail and maybe some white tipping to his dorsal fin. If so he's gonna get to 6 inches and need lots of swimming space.
Its not the fish size thats a problem in this case, its the room he needs to swim in. When they get older they get very grumpy

Is it this one?
http/www.tropicalfish4u.co.uk/acatalog/R...lack_Shark.html

 

[Miss Wiggle]

Hiya and welcome to TFF.

I'd just like to re-iterate what Breeze said, however reputable fish shops are in it for the money, we're doing this in our own time for free..... so just bear that in mind if your trying to decide who's giving you the best advise.

your tank's about 18 us gallons. there's a rule to help you work out how many fish and what sort can go in your tank, it's not infallible and there are plenty of exceptions but it's a good start!! for every us gallon of water you can have 1" of fish (worked out on the adult size). so in your tank you need to aim for no more than 18" of fish. so when you've got ID's for all your fish do some research and find out the adult size, add them all together and if you've got significantly more than 18 you need to re-home some fish.

also in a tank under 20 gallons you shouldn't have anything that's gonna get bigger than about 4" so i think the shark's probably going to need a bigger home, possibly the catfish too, some of them can grow very very big.

 

[raptorrex]

humm he could have a red tail albino!

 

[TomBoyNI]

Well things have calmed down in the tank now, the catfish and shark were both happily chilling out under the bridge after dinner tonight, so it must have just been a wee bit of interest for Gorgeous George.

Thanks everyone for the advice

A truly great and friendly forum, nice one