Advice Needed

[gcdj]

I have a 29 gallon tank i have a medium Pleco cali cat troipcal shark a gold groumi... i guess my question is 2 fold first is there any cichlid i can add to this tank as it sit without the salt and other chemicals .... or is there a way i can prepare this tank to stock with a few cichlades (with the salt a chems) while the other fish are still in the tank?

any advice would be appreciated

Rev

 

[pirate monkey]

I have a 29 gallon tank i have a medium Pleco cali cat troipcal shark a gold groumi...

I'm afraid before you think of putting other fish in that tank, we need to address the issue of what is in there already, then we can go from there

Do you know what species your pleco and shark are? If not, post a pic that would help us identify what they are. How long have you had them for?

Some plecs can grow to over 18", and sharks tend to need a lot of space due to being active swimmers - more than 29g! Also the gold gourami grows to be a good 6" so will need a larger tank long term.

is there any cichlid i can add to this tank as it sit without the salt and other chemicals ....

I am also a little confused as to what you mean by this - cichlids don't need salt or other chemicals as they are freshwater (FW) fish! Just nice clean water (0 ammonia, 0 nitrites, low nitrates) with stable temperature and pH - same as for most FW fish

But do let us know what your pleco and shark are first!

 

[gcdj]

OK you can see i am new to this ... I thought cichlids needed a small amount of salt ?? i read a couple sites where they said something about 1 teaspoon to 10 gallons .... some freshwater salt ... perhaps that person was wrong ... so good .... i do not need salt ... great!!!... the shark and pleco i have had for almost a year were in a 10 gallon take for my daughter then she was no longer interested so she gave them to me ... i have moved up to the 29 gallon tank the shark i belive is a red fin ... he is black body with red fins ... i will get a picture up of my pleco he is 4 or 5" long and was very small maybe an inch when we got him ... the gourami is only now about 2"

I have a 29 gallon tank i have a medium Pleco cali cat troipcal shark a gold groumi...

I'm afraid before you think of putting other fish in that tank, we need to address the issue of what is in there already, then we can go from there

Do you know what species your pleco and shark are? If not, post a pic that would help us identify what they are. How long have you had them for?

Some plecs can grow to over 18", and sharks tend to need a lot of space due to being active swimmers - more than 29g! Also the gold gourami grows to be a good 6" so will need a larger tank long term.

is there any cichlid i can add to this tank as it sit without the salt and other chemicals ....

I am also a little confused as to what you mean by this - cichlids don't need salt or other chemicals as they are freshwater (FW) fish! Just nice clean water (0 ammonia, 0 nitrites, low nitrates) with stable temperature and pH - same as for most FW fish

But do let us know what your pleco and shark are first!

 

[pirate monkey]

No worries, we all made mistakes before! But that's why this is a great place - lots of people to give really good advice

so your shark is a Red Tail Black Shark? I do believe he will be too big for your tank so you should think about rehoming it, or upgrading your tank, either way it should be done soon as possible! The pleco may well be ok depending on species. Unfortunately for a lot of people, LFS are very good at selling baby plecos as 'algae eaters' that end up huge! Saying that, many do stay under 8" and would be fine in your tank. I believe the gourami would probably be ok where it is for now, but be aware that cichlids can be nippy, and gouramis have those irresistible long pectoral fins!

So, back to cichlids! Nope do not need salt at all!

Have you seen some you like already? There are some profiles at the top of the main page there. For your size tank (is that uk or us gallons?) you'll be best looking at dwarf cichlids like apistogrammas (including cockatoos, agassizi and others), also rams (I have never kept those so can't advise on suitability). Other options would be keyholes, firemouths, sajicas, cutteri. Convicts are another option but these are pretty aggressive towards tankmates!

Another thought would be kribensis (kribs) they are old world rather than new world.

Some food for thought

 

[gcdj]

OK so oyes red tail black shark ... the funny thing is ( and i will post a pic of the tank tomorrow... the shark lives in the large castle center piece and i rarely see him ...however i re possitioned the castle today ane the calico cat fish was in there four 4 or 5 days swimming in circles with the shark ... the catfish swam out today when i moved it ... now my shark is smashing into the castfish to keep him out ... will the shark survive with cichlids... i have decided to leave this 29 gallon tank upstairs ( 29 US gallons ) and i think i am going to brave a 55 to 60 us gallon tank for the cichlids... if he can survive with them i will move him (the shark) however if not i will have to fid a new hom for him hopefully i have a buddy with a large tank because actually that shark has gotten really big in the last 10 months ... i rarely see him except when he comes out at night to do some cleaning to the outside of his house... so i think i will be starting anew... when i start my chiclid tank could i use some water and the plastic plants from this tank to help with the cycling of a new tank ?

No worries, we all made mistakes before! But that's why this is a great place - lots of people to give really good advice

so your shark is a Red Tail Black Shark? I do believe he will be too big for your tank so you should think about rehoming it, or upgrading your tank, either way it should be done soon as possible! The pleco may well be ok depending on species. Unfortunately for a lot of people, LFS are very good at selling baby plecos as 'algae eaters' that end up huge! Saying that, many do stay under 8" and would be fine in your tank. I believe the gourami would probably be ok where it is for now, but be aware that cichlids can be nippy, and gouramis have those irresistible long pectoral fins!

So, back to cichlids! Nope do not need salt at all!

Have you seen some you like already? There are some profiles at the top of the main page there. For your size tank (is that uk or us gallons?) you'll be best looking at dwarf cichlids like apistogrammas (including cockatoos, agassizi and others), also rams (I have never kept those so can't advise on suitability). Other options would be keyholes, firemouths, sajicas, cutteri. Convicts are another option but these are pretty aggressive towards tankmates!

Another thought would be kribensis (kribs) they are old world rather than new world.

Some food for thought

 

[shane87]

use some of your fltermedia from your old filter to give your new filter a kick start...or put your new filter in to your old tank for a few weeks to let it grow some bacteria

 

[pirate monkey]

^^^^agree, by far the easiest way. You can add your substrate, and any bogwood if you have some too if you like, but the water won't have much bacteria in it. Same with the plants really.

You'll have much more fun with a bigger tank - and more options too

 

[gcdj]

First off i want to say thank you ... this is a wonderful forum for a beginner such as myself ... after all the advice i have decided to keep my tropical tank just that a tropical community tank
I have decided to get a 55 gallon (US) tank for my cichlids now i have to figure out which will be better for me ... cen american of african

^^^^agree, by far the easiest way. You can add your substrate, and any bogwood if you have some too if you like, but the water won't have much bacteria in it. Same with the plants really.

You'll have much more fun with a bigger tank - and more options too

 

[timbruun]

Actually just so you know. The shark is probably a rainbow shark. Red Tail Black Sharks have red only on the tails.. Although there isn't much of a difference...