Adding Fish to Aquarium

[Dallionz]

Hello,

I just saw this forum and I was looking for a place like this to learn more about tropical fish. I have had 10 gallon freshwater aquariums in the past and always had good luck with them. A week ago I bought a 55 gallon aquarium (something I've wanted for a while) and have it set up:

All of the plants in the picture are live except for those attached to the boat on the left.

I'm having a difficult time deciding how many fish to put in it. I know I need to think ahead to their adult sizes and I don't want the fish to feel overcrowded. So let me tell you what I have in the tank, and then what I was thinking about getting.

Currently in the aquarium:
1 bala shark
5 flame tetras
2 black mollies
1 "mystery" snail (looks like an apple snail?)

Thinking about adding:
3 black skirted tetras
2 swordtails
5 neon tetras

So would that be too much? Any suggestions or comments would be welcome.

I also know I'm going to need some kind of algae eater. I hesitate to get a pleco because they get so big. But is it enough with a snail and then something like a cory or kuhli loach? Any ideas?

Thanks in advance, I appreciate your help.

 

[Teelie]

Currently in the aquarium:
1 bala shark: Gets to a 14" in length, might eat smaller fish at adult size like Tetras, Mollies, etc though I've seen it claimed otherwise
5 flame tetras sounds fine to me, good number
2 black mollies these prefer 1tablespoon of salt per 10gallons in case you didn't know
1 "mystery" snail (looks like an apple snail?) Probably is an Apple. Something like 90% of "mystery" snails are. May eat plants depending on species and food it gets otherwise.

Thinking about adding:
3 black skirted tetras Make it 5 and you'll do better though 3 is acceptable
2 swordtails 3 minimum; 2 females per male and these also like salt. 2 Males may fight
5 neon tetras Good round number

For the most part you're doing alright. My only concern is the Bala and that's not even a major one. I don't think you'll be over stocking a 55 with this though you'll be close, and I think Balas may like to be in groups, not sure on this though.

Watch out for cycling though. Normally it takes a month to complete but you're only set up for a week so any time now you'll hit a huge bump of ammonia. Keep an eye on the ammonia levels then the nitrite levels. Buy some Ammo-Lock or Am-Quel to help detoxify the ammonia while you're cycling.

Once it does start to cycle you might want to do small water changes to help keep from killing the fish.

 

[Tempestuousfury]

to the forum. Introduce yourself in the newbie section.

You screwed yourself over when it comes to cycling. You have to do frequent water changes, get a water test kit, and research nitrogen cycling. Try returning the fish and gettingthem back later if you want.

Tetras should be kept in pairs of at least 6. Especially the widows because they get very scared.

Otherwise the tank looks very good.

 

[JamesTasker]

I'd take the bala back because they like to be in shoals, grow to 14inches so may eat small fish, he might eat your live plants and they also need at least a 6foot tank for swimming space when they are adult because they are active fish.

Once he's gone you should have some space left for some other fish - maybe some bottom feeding cories- they are a lot of fun .

 

[kgrehm]

I have a couple bala sharks in my 55 gal. right now and i have had them for awhile along with mollies and swordtails. None of them bother each other and they are all doing good.

 

[G_Sharky]

I'd keep the bala for now but try to get maybe 2 more and just trade them back when they start to get big..Otherwise your tank looks really good....Get a bigger shoal of neons like 15 they would look amazing with that number....get some rummy nose too....

 

[Dallionz]

Thank you for all of your responses.

G_Sharkey: That would be great to have so many neons. They are beautiful fish and I love to watch them school.

Kgrehm: I'm glad to hear that your balas haven't bothered your swordtails or mollies at all.

JamesTasker: I would not be able to take my bala back unless I just gave it back for no refund. I'll have to look into getting some cories - they are fun to watch!

tempestuousfury: Thanks for the welcome. I'll be sure to introduce myself in the newbie section. Thanks for your advice.

Teelie: Thanks for letting me know that the mollies and swordtails like a tablespoon of salt per each 10 gallons of water. Is this okay to add in for the other fish as well? As for the swordtail I was planning on getting one male and a female, but I'll be sure to get two females. Thanks for the advice on the cycling.

I'll be watching the tank as far as the cycling goes. Should I wait for a while before adding any more of the fish I talked about?

Thanks again!

 

[Teelie]

Yeah, the other fish should be fine with the salt. In fact some actually benefit more from it. Some people say Cories can't stand salt but there's conflicting evidence there (mine never were bothered by it) though I do know scaleless fish like several Loaches absolutely cannot take salt. It'll burn their skin.

Oh and one last thing, make sure you use aquarium salt. If you use regular table salt it'll kill your fish.

 

[noelberg]

salt is a tricky thing. many bodies of water have salt in them, however low a concentration.
since cories are scaleless, salt can be harmful to them. but given a low concentration of salt in a 55g, i doubt it would do much harm .... however this means it is also not benefitting the livebearers. Cories will live in a slightly saline tank, but I have heard it will shorten their lifespans. The safest thing to do is to have a little salt in the tank, add the livebearers, then wait a little while -adding no more salt!- and let some salt get out of the water during evaporation before adding cories. most livebearers live in saline tanks at the lfs, so it might be stressful going from lotsa salt to zero salt.

from my experience, salt is not necessary with livebearers. i have two perfectly healthy swordtails in a tank with very little or no salt.

 

[Sky042]

my first concern would be do not add any more fish until your tank has finished cycling. I'd suggest reading the pinned topic in the begginers section called avoiding new tank syndrome.

After your tank is fully cycled and your water has balanced out and such then you could move on adding more fish.

Tetra schools are pretty cool to look at through neons don't seem to shoal that tightly. I've got 12 of them and they tend to break off into small packs of 3-6

 

[Ruby Shark]

Hello.


I only have two concerns. Your tank is not fully cycled yet and that could result in a few fish deaths. I would not add anything to your tank before it is fully cycled(check your levels with a test kit) and read some of the information in the "beginners" section.

My other concern is about your Bala Shark. They prefer to be in small groups of at least two or three and I don't think a 55 gallon tank is ideal...especially if your have other fish.

Anyway your tank is beautiful and I hope you enjoy it.

 

[Cheese Specialist]

noelberg - salt does not evaporate out of the water. The only way it can be removed is during water changes.

I personally don't add salt to my tanks with livebearers (I have 2 mollies in my krib tank) and they have always been fine. Just because the 'prefer'/'like' it doesn't mean that the need it and it should not be used when there are catfish or loaches IMO just in case.

 

[Dallionz]

Thank you all again for your advice and help. I am taking a sample of my water to the pet store nearby to have it tested this afternoon and then will buy a test kit while I'm there. I think that will give me a good place to start when it comes to making sure my tank is cycling okay. I may also pick up some aquarium salt to have on hand as well.

I guess it all goes to show that you can't trust people at pet stores to know what they're talking about. I should have figured.

Thanks again! I'm off to read some of the info in the beginners section.

 

[konrad05]

From what i got from the picture, it looks like you have 1 24" 20watt bulb in each fluorescent strip. That makes a total of 40 watts, even if you had double bulbs in each (which still wouldnt be enough), your live plants, especially what seems to look like an amazon sword are going to die very quickly. I would stick to plastic, they have almost every plant in plastic these days. Otherwise it looks like a great tank, good luck!

 

[Dallionz]

Actually, I'm already having some problems with the plants. The amazon sword leaves are starting to fade and look clear. And the mondo grass is going from green to brown at the tips. I think you're right and they aren't going to last long. Should I wait till they do really start to die and then replace them? Or replace them now? I almost bought plastic plants and didn't - should have gone with my gut instinct. Besides, I've never been able to keep a plant alive, why would an aquarium plant be any different.