Few Questions From A Noob

[jstand22]

Hey new member here, I just have a few simple questions...

I have a very diverse 46gallon aquarium that is very well established. Filter is a Rena filstar Xp2 and the heater is the new external Hydor heater (awesome). pH ~6.5 temp~ 83
Here are the occupants:
2 black mollies
1 White lyretail molly
1 Needle Nose Gar (Needlefish)
1 Banded Leporinus
1 Rainbow shark
1 Kissing Gourami
1 Bala Shark
1 Silver Dollar
1 Spotted African Leaf Fish
1 Pangasius Catfish
Everyone gets along great....suprisingly the male white molly is the most aggressive...he's like a small dog...he think's he's alot tougher than he is

Questions:
I have not yet added aquarium salt because I was going to add clown loaches...if I don't add the loaches should I definatly add the salt?
And how often should I be feeding the Needlefish...I usually feed him 2 feeders one day, one the next day, skip a day, repeat. He seems to like it, but is that recommended?
And finally does anyone have suggestions on what type of fish to add next?

Thanks,
Jay

 

[5teady_2012]

Hey new member here, I just have a few simple questions...

I have a very diverse 46gallon aquarium that is very well established. Filter is a Rena filstar Xp2 and the heater is the new external Hydor heater (awesome). pH ~6.5 temp~ 83
Here are the occupants:
2 black mollies
1 White lyretail molly
1 Needle Nose Gar (Needlefish)
1 Banded Leporinus
1 Rainbow shark
1 Kissing Gourami
1 Bala Shark
1 Silver Dollar
1 Spotted African Leaf Fish
1 Pangasius Catfish
Everyone gets along great....suprisingly the male white molly is the most aggressive...he's like a small dog...he think's he's alot tougher than he is

Questions:
I have not yet added aquarium salt because I was going to add clown loaches...if I don't add the loaches should I definatly add the salt?
And how often should I be feeding the Needlefish...I usually feed him 2 feeders one day, one the next day, skip a day, repeat. He seems to like it, but is that recommended?
And finally does anyone have suggestions on what type of fish to add next?

Thanks,
Jay

If your fish have lived fine without salt, then theres no point in adding it now, most people only really use it do boost meds (unless the fish are use to having salt)...

 

[england]

click on this link
http/www.fishforums.net/content/Other-Ca...18/Pangasiidae/
silver dollars should be a schooling fish, and silver sharks really need company
i think the mollies will become dinner at some point
dont get clown loaches

 

[jstand22]

click on this link
[URL="http/www.fishforums.net/content/Other-Ca...18/Pangasiidae/"]http/www.fishforums.net/content/Other-Ca...18/Pangasiidae/[/URL]
silver dollars should be a schooling fish, and silver sharks really need company
i think the mollies will become dinner at some point
dont get clown loaches

The catfish will not grow to that size in a 46 gallon tank. He'll be lucky to reach a foot.
The mollies are pretty damn big (they eat like no one's business) and it will be a looong time before anyone in there is big enough to eat them. Plus the only reason they are in there is that I used them to start the biological cycle, so no big loss really.
The silver dollar has buddied up with the banded leporinus and have been living happily together for the last 6 months, he's ok.
The bala shark is an adult, and most of the stress that younger balas carry is gone, he has been fine hanging out with the dollar and banded for the last 3 months. Schooling fish can be kept apart from their species as long as there are other fish of equal size/temperment for them to "buddy up" with.
I'm not that new to keep aquariums, but I am new to keep needlefish and was wondering how often to feed them. Anyone?

 

[catxx]

you really have several fish in your tank that really do need a bigger tank.
the needle nose gar gets to around 12"-15"
the black banded leporinus around 10"-12"
the bala around 12"
and your pangasius will get bigger, just slower because it's tank isn't big enough (stunting in action), i've seen some handsome 1.5-2ft pangasius returned to petstores.
thats a lot of big fish for a small tank.

and when that needle nose gets big enough, those mollies will be a quick snack.

 

[Davo86]

obviously you know little about the fish you keep, Your leporinus will become quite aggressive when it matures so don't be suprise one day to find chunks missing from your other fish, As for your spotted african leaf fish it will surely enjoy snacking on the mollys once it matures,

Regardless of whether a silver shark is fine on its own, a fully grown fish needs twice the amount of space you are keeping it in. The silver dollars should also not be kept alone, it shouldn't have to 'buddy up' with other species.

And from the previous post your also oblivious to the fact that if the pangasius doesn't grow too big for your tank it will become stunted and is likely to die prematurely

Lastly if your thinking of keeping all those fish you may want to think about purchasing a larger tank