Are These Fish Compatible?

[BluePhantom]

So after all the help I received from you guys and research I have done. This is how I think im gonna set my tank up with.
6 Tiger Barbs
6 Green Tiger Barbs
6 Mollies
8 Dwarf Neon Rainbow
1 Blue Phantom Pleco
6 Serpae Tetra
6 Dwarf Gouramis
Then finally I dont know if they they would work but 12 Cardinal Tetra? I was also thinking like 4 small bala sharks or bad idea?



Do you think this would work? any suggestions or other fish u may add or replace? thanks Everyone!

oh and I was also thinking kissing gouramis?

 

[STEWARDSONS]

what size tank do you have?

 

[STEWARDSONS]

firstly i would say no to the sharks, there is no such thing as a small bala shark, they will eventually grow to a foot long. minimum for them would be a 6 foot tank.

 

[Tizer]

I would still avoid tetras and barbs together. You mentioned you like barbs already, in a tank that size you could get away with a large group of them, mix them up if you like (greens, albino/orange jobbies etc). 50+ would not be an absurd amount for 180 gallons and would still leave room for more. a large number of one species looks and behaves in a far more interesting manner than a mixed species group.

bala sharks are nice, but they are fast and do require a big tank (which you have). Im assuming its 6 foot in length which would be "ok" but personally i would look at Denison's Barb instead. They are a little more pretty to look at (in my opinion), grow to a nice size and are also very busy. Starting off with 10 young ones wouldnt be too bad.

On top of this , yes you might get away with a group of cardinals in there, i've no idea if the barbs would stress them out or not. But with the above stocking already i would be tempted to forget midwater fish for a while and ponder bottom dwellers and planting/decorations. Its already more than enough to be making a start with (if you went down my route). Good luck.

 

[BluePhantom]

what size tank do you have?

ok so no bala sharks. I have 180 gallon tank. another thing do you think it would be over stocking?

I would still avoid tetras and barbs together. You mentioned you like barbs already, in a tank that size you could get away with a large group of them, mix them up if you like (greens, albino/orange jobbies etc). 50+ would not be an absurd amount for 180 gallons and would still leave room for more. a large number of one species looks and behaves in a far more interesting manner than a mixed species group.

bala sharks are nice, but they are fast and do require a big tank (which you have). Im assuming its 6 foot in length which would be "ok" but personally i would look at Denison's Barb instead. They are a little more pretty to look at (in my opinion), grow to a nice size and are also very busy. Starting off with 10 young ones wouldnt be too bad.

On top of this , yes you might get away with a group of cardinals in there, i've no idea if the barbs would stress them out or not. But with the above stocking already i would be tempted to forget midwater fish for a while and ponder bottom dwellers and planting/decorations. Its already more than enough to be making a start with (if you went down my route). Good luck.

ok so with the stocking I have above would be ok and most of them are middle huh? I dont want it to get to crowded. If I just kept it how I had with the first 8 diff fish would that work? and I looked for bottom fish but havnt found to many i like any suggestions? thanks

The dimensions are 6 ft long 2 ft wide and 2 ft tall if that helps.

 

[STEWARDSONS]

oh you have a 6 foot tank. with what you have already selected you will not be over stocked at all.

you could have the sharks or i would suggest denisonii barbs, get 6 of them, they grow to about 15cm and swim together and are amazing looking.

i have 4 in my tank

oh you have a 6 foot tank. with what you have already selected you will not be over stocked at all.

you could have the sharks or i would suggest denisonii barbs, get 6 of them, they grow to about 15cm and swim together and are amazing looking.

i have 4 in my tank

just read tizers comment and it appears we agree, one thing is that denisonii barbs arent cheap, normally £10 each

 

[BluePhantom]

Ok so what I have works so far. Now would I be able to add the kissing gourami? and im really tempted to try like 12 Cardinals i know there smaller but I figure since i have two schools of tigers and a good size tank that they wouldnt even bother the cardinals? I have youtubed it and some videos show them being ok with eachother? and last thing out of the ones I have chosen is there a order I should introduce them in? thanks a lot for the help!

 

[BluePhantom]

Just took a look the denisoni barb and you right I like the look of them more and that seems like something I am going to add. but yes 22 dollars each wow but I think I will add then last save some money haha

 

[STEWARDSONS]

kissing gourami, they grow to about 25cm and i have heard that they can suck the fins of other fish and cause them to get infected.

i started off getting small fish in my tank, like tetras, cardinals etc,

then i decided i wanted to have lager fish with more character so ended up changing most of the fish in there.

 

[eaglesaquarium]

I would increase the number of barbs to 12 each. They may or may not shoal together, but with 6 feet, having two large shoals will look awesome.


As far as bottom dwellers go:

Bronze cories get a little bigger than most (~3"/~7-8cm) and shoal together nicely.


Other bottom-ish dwellers would be some cichlids. There are some very beautiful varieties that would probably go into that size tank very nicely. Rams and apistos would be some to look at: Bolivian Ram, German Blue Ram, Cockatoo Apisto.... With that much space you could get 3 or 4 pairs. Just remember that these fish can be a little territorial during breeding, so when you aquascape try to build in natural boundaries for the fish (large rocks, big pieces of driftwood, each area that you mark off should have plenty of cave type rocks, etc. so that they feel comfortable in their little zone, and if they are comfortable in their area, and can't see the other (which is where the big dividers come in) then you won't have any trouble.

 

[BluePhantom]

Yeah if the tiger and green don't end up getting together I will deff consider more. And yes the rams sound super interesting but with all the fish I have above will they all get along and I don't want to over stock that's for sure. I think I rather have that extra space for the fish u know? I was thinking the german blue rams there so cool!

 

[Tizer]

tiger barbs will school together no matter what colour.

 

[BluePhantom]

Awesome so they will school in a group of 12! That's great! And Tizer do u think I would be able to put like two pairs of GBRs in there?

 

[Tizer]

I wouldnt put any in there for a good few months, not until the tank is well estabished and you have some good plant growth for cover. They are expensive fish and easily lost to poor water conditions.

I know its exciting stuff planning a new tank but take a few steps back and take it slowly. Rome wasnt built in a day

I have 4 Bolivian rams in my 240 litre, two of which have paired up. Its still a relatively happy environment, they have plenty of space but it is something i monitor in case they get a handful. Even with your tank being a fair bit bigger i would be tempted to say stick to 1 pair if and when you do get them.

PS, i would still look at getting more than 12 tigers. I have 20 in my 90 litre....

 

[BluePhantom]

Yeah deff not gonna rush the process. Im gonna add to the tank slowly I figure all the fish I have above would be added at least over 6 months.and tizer should I introduce them in a certain order? Yeah I will prob get more tigers there so cool and it would deff be like 6 albino!