Help Please

damef1 · Sep 17, 2008

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I have the juwel 240 tank which is 4 ft.

Currently I have
3 kribs
3 silver dollars
2 buenes ares tetra
1 tiny silver shark
1 gourami
2 Parkinson's Rainbowfish Melanotaenia parkinsoni
2 Red Rainbow

Question 1

I have 3 kribensis in my tank, they used to all swim around but since my cat fish died who used to live in a cave two of the kribs seem to be going in there, will they be breading and are my other fish safe if they do? Should I buy a partner for the 3rd Krib?

Question 2

I would like to add some tetras to my tank, neons, glowlights, black tetra and cardinals, how many of each would you recomend? I was thinking 10 neon and 10 glowlight maybe, will this be too many for my tank with the other others i already have in?

question 3

what else could I add to the tank to give it nice colour, the water is really clear at the moment and I want to keep it that way

question 4

Do I need fish that will eat from the bottom?

Athena · Sep 17, 2008

Hi there - are you aware that your tiny silver shark will grow to over a foot long? I'm not sure about the adult sizes of all the other fish you have but you might want to check that out before you add any more fish to your tank - unless you were thinking of rehoming some of the larger ones at some later stage. Once you know what the full adult size will be for each of your current fish, you will then have a better idea of what stocking options are left to you (as in will you have room for more fish and how many of what size).

If the depth (front to back) of your tank is 12" or less then the silver shark will not be able to manoevre about in the tank once it reaches adult size.

Just something to bear in mind for the long term. For now it's not a problem but it's always good to plan ahead when stocking your tank.

Regards - Athena

ps - just been doing some checking for you - here's what I found:

Approx adult sizes

Kribs 4"
Silver dollars - 6 - 7"
Beunos Aires Tetra - 3"
Parkinsons Rainbowfish - 5"
Silver Shark - up to 15" (but takes years to reach that size)

Not sure what gourami you have, so have left that.

So - looking at this, if you add up

3 x 4"
3 x 6"
2 x 5"
1 x 15"

You reach 55", plus whatever the gourami is.

Using the 1" per gallon calculation as a rough guide - and your tank is 53 Imp gallons - you can see that looking ahead your tank is already fully stocked. It might not seem like it now because the fish are fairly small - but if you add loads more fish from now, what will you do once they all begin to grow? It will mean you having to decide which fish to part with and find new homes for, which can be difficult and upsetting when you have grown attached to them.

Your choice, obviously, but just voicing my opinion. I know that if you were to ask in most LFS's they will probably just say yeah, go ahead, you've loads of room for more fish - but they are only interested in making sales, not considering the long term scenario.

Kind regards - Athena

damef1 · Sep 17, 2008

Athena said:
Hi there - are you aware that your tiny silver shark will grow to over a foot long? I'm not sure about the adult sizes of all the other fish you have but you might want to check that out before you add any more fish to your tank - unless you were thinking of rehoming some of the larger ones at some later stage. Once you know what the full adult size will be for each of your current fish, you will then have a better idea of what stocking options are left to you (as in will you have room for more fish and how many of what size).

If the depth (front to back) of your tank is 12" or less then the silver shark will not be able to manoevre about in the tank once it reaches adult size.

Just something to bear in mind for the long term. For now it's not a problem but it's always good to plan ahead when stocking your tank.

Regards - Athena

ps - just been doing some checking for you - here's what I found:

Approx adult sizes

Kribs 4"
Silver dollars - 6 - 7"
Beunos Aires Tetra - 3"
Parkinsons Rainbowfish - 5"
Silver Shark - up to 15" (but takes years to reach that size)

Not sure what gourami you have, so have left that.

So - looking at this, if you add up

3 x 4"
3 x 6"
2 x 5"
1 x 15"

You reach 55", plus whatever the gourami is.

Using the 1" per gallon calculation as a rough guide - and your tank is 53 Imp gallons - you can see that looking ahead your tank is already fully stocked. It might not seem like it now because the fish are fairly small - but if you add loads more fish from now, what will you do once they all begin to grow? It will mean you having to decide which fish to part with and find new homes for, which can be difficult and upsetting when you have grown attached to them.

Your choice, obviously, but just voicing my opinion. I know that if you were to ask in most LFS's they will probably just say yeah, go ahead, you've loads of room for more fish - but they are only interested in making sales, not considering the long term scenario.

Kind regards - Athena

Thankyou thats all very helpful, the tank I have is 63 gallons, Id really like to add 10 neons and 10 glow lights, Should I remove the silver shark? I had neons and sharks together in the past with no problems before I moved house and set up the new tank?

Athena · Sep 17, 2008

Yes, it's 63 US gallons, 53 UK gallons. I have no idea whether that "inch to a gallon" rule relates to UK or US gallons, though (anyone else know?) :huh:

You could add more fish from now if you wanted to, yes, but it would just mean rehoming something or other later on. Ten neons and 10 glowlights are going to add an extra 20" or so - personally I think it's too much but then I'm one of those who prefers to slightly understock a tank rather than pushing things to their limit.

Oh, I also read that Kribs don't tolerate other bottom dwellers too easily and can become aggressive with them - so that answers your earlier question about whether you should buy a bottom dweller.

If you do go ahead and add more fish, best to do it just a few at a time over a period of a few weeks, with regular water changes in-between, otherwise you will end up with an ammonia spike resulting in dead neons etc (they are quite sensitive) and other possible problems.

Yes, it might be a good idea to swap the silver shark for something that doesn't grow so huge

But as he's only tiny you could always do that at a later stage if you wanted to enjoy having him in your tank for a while longer.

Anyway, must be off to do some work now - all the best - Athena

damef1 · Sep 17, 2008

Thanks for all your help!

SharonCC · Sep 17, 2008

I think the tetras would be fine. By the time the shark gets to 15 inches, some of these fish will have died of old age. It does seem to me like the tank could take more fish, with the proper maintenance...I wouldn't add any more Kribs, though. When they're in breeding mode, they can be aggressive. I'm not sure the smaller tetras will be Ok then...

K-Holed · Sep 17, 2008

The one inch per gallon rule is usually applied to newer setups. As your tank matures (assuming you have adequate filteration) this can be pushed somewhat. What I would suggest is more importent in a tank is knowing which fish inhabit which parts of the tank. Which fish are teratorial. What the oxygen exchange is like in your tank. Which fish will tollerate overcrowding and which will not. Will your fully grown fish eat smaller fish? How big is the body of the fish? (You could have a 12 inch oscar, which is in no way the same a stocking 12 one inch neon tetras!)

I'd leave things settle in for a bit, check that everything's ticking over well, ask yourself the questions above, then go from there.