Advice On A New Additon To My Tank

[Chris #]

Hi,

Well after a pretty disasterous start to my fishkeeping (bad advice from LFS etc....) my tank is almost cycled and ready for a couple of new additons........

I want to be really careful about what I add as I don't want to upset any balance I have in there.....

At the moment I have 1 Red Tail Shark and 9 adult guppies, 5 juvenile guppies and 15 new fry......


Its a 144 litre tank.

I would like something that will fit nicely with what I have in there, will be easy to keep and whilst I don't mind loosing fry to the new addition(s) I don't want to loose them all.....

 

[Matty P]

Red tail sharks can be aggressive, so be aware with the guppies + fry!

 

[Chris #]

Red tail sharks can be aggressive, so be aware with the guppies + fry!

Hi Matty,

This chap is a real softie - he can't be bothered with the guppies at all - one of the females bullies him!!!

thanks for the tip I'll keep an eye on him.

 

[Matty P]

How big is it? They can grow up to 5"(12.5cm). It might be a different story then

 

[CPQ]

Hey, I had a red-tailed shark and he was nice as anything to start with - didn't bother anyone. Then all of a sudden he went mental and killed 5 fish in the space of a few days!!

I have been told though that you can avoid problems as much as possible by understocking and making sure there's lots of caves etc so he can pick a territory. That way he just protects the territory and focuses aggression on intruders rather than just rampaging around the tank attacking everyone in sight!

so ... if you're going to add tankmates i'd definately recommend fast-moving fish which can look after themselves! maybe like a paradise fish?

 

[Chris #]

Red tail sharks can be aggressive, so be aware with the guppies + fry!

Hi Matty,

This chap is a real softie - he can't be bothered with the guppies at all - one of the females bullies him!!!

thanks for the tip I'll keep an eye on him.

he's a couple of inches long - I didn't realise he could grow so big until after I had got him........ he's a pet for my eldest daughter so he's not going anywhere.......

this is why I'm asking for advice on here before getting any more stock as my LFS seem incapable of giving good advice!!!

 

[Chris #]

Hey, I had a red-tailed shark and he was nice as anything to start with - didn't bother anyone. Then all of a sudden he went mental and killed 5 fish in the space of a few days!!

I have been told though that you can avoid problems as much as possible by understocking and making sure there's lots of caves etc so he can pick a territory. That way he just protects the territory and focuses aggression on intruders rather than just rampaging around the tank attacking everyone in sight!

so ... if you're going to add tankmates i'd definately recommend fast-moving fish which can look after themselves! maybe like a paradise fish?

A paradise fish sounds like a plan - some of the stuff I've read on them warn they are really agressive though?

 

[Matty P]

Paradise fish are lovely, but there fins would be a nice meal for the RTBS. Also don't get any more than one male or they will fight.

 

[CPQ]

if you get a female paradise fish it would be alright!? (wouldn't it?)

They're not as fancy as the males but my female's got one of the biggest personalities of any of my fish - she's great!

 

[CPQ]

oh - and also I found with my paradise fish that as long as she's not the biggest in the tank and has lots to keep her entertained she's a lamb! lol

 

[Chris #]

The more I hear about these the more I like the idea - how big do they grow?

 

[stang1]

Paradise fish are best kept in a species only tank because they are aggressive so I'd look for something a little different for your tank.
How about some of the Gourami species, especially ones like Honey, Pearl, Sparkling etc.