Can These Fish Live Together?

[CalumE5]

Hey, I'm new to the forum, and would appreciate advice on whether this is a healthy combination of fish. My parents recently bought some fish and I was just wondering whether they had done enough research.

The tank is 30 x 12 x 12 inches, not sure on gallons! We have:
5 x Head and Tail Light Tetras
5 x Zebra Fish
2 x Male Guppies (3 have already died )
2 x Black Mollies
2 x Silver Mollies
1 x Cuckoo Catfish

Help would be appreciated! It would also be useful to know what other fish would make a good addition to the tank.

Thanks!

 

[CalumE5]

Sorry to be pushy, but can anyone give me a response? Thanks again.

 

[Imperata]

Yeah I think the experts must have a meeting today or something because my thread is not being responded to either.

 

[Randi]

OK - Your tank is 18 1/2 gallons which means you should not have more than 18 inches of fish. You are close to being overstocked. The species you have will live together just fine (although mollies prefer brackish water they can adjust to freshwater). As you have already had some deaths in the tank I have to ask, did you cycle your tank? If not you are going to have trouble keeping that many fish alive in a new setup. Fishless cycling is better, but since you already have fish, here is a link to information on fish-in cycling: http/www.fishforums.net/index.php?showtopic=224306

 

[BIG BAD BARRY]

Hey, I'm new to the forum, and would appreciate advice on whether this is a healthy combination of fish. My parents recently bought some fish and I was just wondering whether they had done enough research.

The tank is 30 x 12 x 12 inches, not sure on gallons! We have:
5 x Head and Tail Light Tetras
5 x Zebra Fish
2 x Male Guppies (3 have already died )
2 x Black Mollies
2 x Silver Mollies
1 x Cuckoo Catfish

Help would be appreciated! It would also be useful to know what other fish would make a good addition to the tank.

Thanks!

Why dont you do some research using the below sites as a start and show them whos boss!

http/www.seriouslyfish.com/kb.php

http/www.thinkfish.co.uk/fishdata.html

http/tropicalfishgallery.com/species-gallery/gallery_catfish.html

http/www.aquariumlife.net/fishprof.asp

 

[Caprichoso]

That sound like a 20g tank(I think).
In any case, that is wayyy overstocked and is probably the reason for the fish deaths. It's a mistake to have that many fish in a new set up. The tank is uncycled and there was most likely an ammonia spike. That tank should have a maximum of 15 fish. Now that being said, you can have more but you have to be very diligent on water changes and gravel vacs and making sure to not overfeed the fish. The fish you have in there will do ok together as far as getting along with one another. Do you have a test kit? The water needs to be tested asap! If there is any ammonia, you must do a 50% water change asap. Do a secondary water change later in the day. Test the water the next day. If there's still ammonia, do another 50% water change.*Note: If on that first test the ammonia is really high, do a 75% water change instead of the 50%.

So, I know that was more info than what you were asking for (my apologies), but I see major problems here. To answer your question: No other fish would make a good addition to the tank.

 

[CalumE5]

Thanks for the responses - like I said, it's my dad's tank mainly, I was just looking for some advice, so I shall duly report back and let them know. I couldn't tell you whether it's been cycled, etc, but my dad looked like he knew what he was doing, it isn't the first time he's had fish! We left it for several days after filling it with scenery, to let the gravel settle, and we introduced the fish slowly so they wouldn't get temperature shock, but I'm not sure on much more.

The first two guppy deaths were within a day or two of getting the fish, so we suspected that maybe they'd been damaged when being transported into the bag, but we weren't sure about the third.

Also, about the overstocking, I've heard that the 1 inch per gallon thing is not widely accepted, and that it should be taken with a pinch of salt. Also, would it not seem a little undercrowded with that few fish?

I'll let you know more when I find out myself.

 

[Tizer]

If i were you i would take the Cuckoo Catfish back, thats if its a synodontis multipunctatus. Its a lovely fish, but it does grow big and its a schooling fish, so best off with a few buddies. You might also find that when it gets big, your small fish might go missing. Being a catfish it has whiskers it uses to hunt for food, its possible for them to eat small fish and not really know what they have done. Instead I would recommend getting 4+ corydoras as bottom feeders for your tank, but only if you have a sandy substrate. No bottom feeding fish should really be kept on gravel, in my honest opinion.