Worries About My Stock.......

[zeke the black ghost knife]

ok after reading topics and post, you know im only 11, im now not so sure about my stock. they are getting along very good together....for now.....
i already know that soon im going to have to move my honey gourami. very sure of that. very worried, especially about my redtail shark. hes been very peaceful up until now. lately hes grown alot from 1 inch to around 2. and during feeding time, he gets VERY agressive. he chases off my mollies, gouramis, and the only fish that doesnt get bothered my him is the black ghost knife, the peacock el, and the pictus catfish and the corys. please let me know if the stock is ok!

does this mean my blue gourami...uhh.....welll.....not suited for my 90 gallon? kinda worried now...........

gallons: 90
stats: i dont have a kit.....sry and im not going to petsmart to get it checked in a while.......
width: 18 inches
lenght: 48 inches
height: 23 1/2 inches
aquariums stock: 1 black ghost knifefish, 1 peacock eel, 3 buenos aires tetras, 2 dalmation mollies, 1 dwarf gourami, 1 honey gourami, 4 cory catfish,
1 redtail shark, 1 longfin rosey barb, 1 red lyertail, 1 pictus catfish.
set up: some plants, lots and lots of hiding places including 4 tubes, 2 aquarium decor tunnels, another viney wood decoration thing, and a.......rock.


i hope this setup is ok!

 

[Tokis-Phoenix]

Buenos Aires Tetras are quite nippy fish so i wouldn't recommend keeping them with gourami's which are vulnerable to having their feelers nipped. The tetras are also shoaling fish so should also be keept in shoals of 5-6+ (larger considering the size of your tank). Kept in numbers too small they will be constantly stressed or may develop anti-social behavior- this goes for all shoaling fish.
Black Ghost Knife are predatory fish so will probably eat the smaller fish in the tank when its large enough. The tank is a bit on the small side width-wise for a ghost knife in the long term (ideally the tank should be at least 24inches wide instead of 18inches wide);
http/www.fishforums.net/index.php?/topic/50349-black-ghost-knife/
Peacock spiny eel: Being predators they should only be combined with fish that are over 3", smaller fish will be eaten;
http/www.fishforums.net/index.php?/topic/41583-peacock-spiny-eel/
Pictus catfish are also predators and shouldn't be kept with fish under 3inches;
http/www.fishforums.net/index.php?/topic/41743-pim-pictus/

Mollies are sociable fish and prolific livebearing breeders. Gender ratios are very important as males can overly harrass females if there aren't enough, while the males can be aggressive towards one another if not in the right numbers etc. So a lot depends on whether your 2 are male or female. Either way they are 1 too few and in a tank with a few predatory fish...
Same goes for the Lyretail Swordtail. Livebearing fish, sociable, though keeping more than one male in a group of females is trickier than with other livebearers etc.
Red Tail Black Sharks are semi-aggressive territorial fish. As to how aggressive or territorial they are depends on the individual fish (while juveniles they're usually not too bad, but they become worse with age) and the habitat/environment they're kept in the tank. They are tricky to keep well in community tanks when it comes to the happiness of the other fish as RTBS often go for fish with distinctive tail markings or colouring similar to their own (so avoid red or black or red & black fish) etc. They shouldn't really be kept with fish that are too slow (like gouramis) to defend themselves against the RTBS. A tank full of small quick tetras, danios or barbs etc makes a better community option for RTBS.

Really your tank is a real odd selection. You should really do more research on fish before getting them as all of this could have been avoided with more research (don't listen to what pet shop/LFS staff say as they often don't know what they're talking about- use good books, internet sites or seek advice from experienced good fish keepers instead etc). Their is a good fish species index on the forum with lots of information on all sorts of fish;

http/www.fishforums.net/index.php?/forum/36-fish-species-index/

A great deal of the fish you have cannot be kept together or are not suited to each other. You need to choose between either;

a. A tank with a few large fish, with the predatory fish being the main focus. You cannot keep lots of small fish with such predatory fish as sooner or later they will eat or attack them.

b. A peaceful planted tank set up with the gourami's as the focus & some peaceful fish (ones which won't nip/harrass or stress the gourami's etc). Corys, khuli loaches, peaceful tetras & barbs, peaceful livebearers like guppys or female mollies etc would make good tank makes.

c. A robust community tank with the Red Tail Black Shark & Buenos Aires Tetras as the focus- good tank mates would include other quick robust shoaling fish like danios or harlequin tetras, and robust bottom fish like Yoyo/Pakistani Loaches.

Your tank has a lot of fish compatability issues so you really need to sort this out sooner rather than later. You can either rehome the incompatible fish or set up other (suitably sized) tanks for them .

 

[zeke the black ghost knife]

thank goodness for my brothers 56 gallon tank, and my 2 20 gallon tanks! then, what fish should i keep in the 90 and wich should i get rid of?

 

[zeke the black ghost knife]

agggh!

 

[zeke the black ghost knife]

is it ok to put the catfish in my pond?

 

[zeke the black ghost knife]

no one helping............

 

[Wills]

Not sure which catfish you mean for the pond I cant see any there that are suitable for pond conditions - when it comes to rehoming its often best to just take them to the LFS especially when its common species that dont need much specific care but are at risk in your tank of being eaten.

I am guessing that since your BGK is your fav it would be best to work around him/her and then rehome the rest - either to the LFS or to your other tanks.

1 Black Ghost Knifefish
1 Peacock Eel
6 Buenos Aires Tetras
6 Rosey Barb - can mix the longfins and regular fins
1 Redtail Shark - at 2 inches I imagine his aggression levels are not that serious in terms of this set up but against the smaller fish it could be quite bad - also a little chasing during feeding time is quite normal in any tank. - If aggression levels continue maybe swap to a Rainbow Shark - these have red on all fins and are generally more peaceful.
3 Pictus Catfish.

That also leaves you some room for some nice mid water feature fish like some kind of South or Central American cichlid something like a Firemouth or Ellioti would work pretty well But there are loads to choose from for that sized tank.

Wills

 

[zeke the black ghost knife]

well, you see, where am i going to put the rest of the rehoming fish if they cant go into 20 gallons? and im thinking about getting about 3 or 4 kulhi loaches. and i am giving my pictus cat to my brother (he has a 56 gallon) ans, well, actually i think i have it covered! thats so much will!

is it ok to put in a buch of kulhi loaches? what im going to do for them is im going to get a glass bottle (saw this on utube) and fill it with sand so the kulhi loaches can have some peace and quiet and have a place to burrow in.

 

[Wills]

Thats not really fixing any issues to be honest with you. Yes moving the catfish to an other tank is okay, but it still does not address the fact that it needs to be in at least a trio and that there are still other predatory fish in your tank that will at some point start to eat the smaller fish in the tank.

The Khulis would be a mistake, yes the bottle scenario could work but if the loaches are not in the bottle when the predatory fish in your tank decides to eat them.... well you know what will happen.

I would still consider spliting your stock into two or three set ups so you have your Black Ghost Knifefish, Peacock Eel, Buenos Aires Tetras, Rosey Barb, Redtail Shark and Pictus Catfish in one tank

and then put your dalmation mollies, dwarf gourami, honey gourami, cory catfish and the lyretail (platy?) into an other set up the khuli loaches would work well in there with this grouping.

The second grouping would be maintainable in around a 20-25 gallon tank or just rehome them, its down to your choice really you have more than just the catfish that is predatory in there - in terms of rankings of predatory nature it would probably go

1. Peacock Eel
2. BGK
3. Pictus Cat

The thing is here is its not just a case of an aggressive or semi aggressive or territorial fish etc these are predatory fish which will see your small fish as food when they are adults hence why you need to decide on what kind of fish you want to keep.

Wills

 

[zeke the black ghost knife]

ok thank you so much!luckily, i have 2 20 gallons, both in good shape. and lyertails are mollies. so kuhlis in the 20 galllon? ok!

peacock eel in first ranking? wow! i didnt know that! id think id be the BGK! woah!

 

[zeke the black ghost knife]

ok i got the new rosey barbs, buenos aires, and i moved the mollies (they are doing fine! )and now all i have to do is move the gouramis!

 

[Wills]

Excellent I have 2 tanks one is for larger cichlids and larger fish in general and the other is for tiny little micro community fish Its often best to keep a few tanks that way your choices on what fish you want are not that limited.

Just make sure you keep up with the water changes and maintenacne on the tanks

Wills

 

[zeke the black ghost knife]

yeah. i got the kuhli loaches, but they went in the 20 gallon. im going to move the gouramis today. happy new year!

 

[LuciferJonny]

Ive had a single pictus catfish for years now and he does fine without more catfish. He used to be in a community tank with a red tailed black shark, but when they both got to around 4 inches, they got really aggressive towards each other so i ended up donating the rtbs to my lfs. I then had to move him to my dads larger tank as he kept eating my platies which were around 1 inch long.

So all in all, you might find your shark and pictus will fight when there bigger. And your pictus will probably start eating your smaller fish if you get any when its bigger.

 

[zeke the black ghost knife]

very nice for a newbie. and ive gotten everything taken care of already. ive NEVER seen my RTBS and pictus cat EVER get close to eachother. remember, every fish is different.