Heres My New Tank/aquarium Inc Fishes.....(Video)

[J4G3D]

Positive and Negative comments both welcomed.

Its a seabray dolphin range 4ft 200 litre tank.

Just added some moss balls, live rocks and YES tonga live rock...natureform 'REPLICA' (crabs and sharks love it).

Still getting some hair grass plus java moss and abit more bog wood so the left side is just bog wood. Just made some holes in the cabinet and shuvved the filter in the cabinet too so it all looks neat and tidy.

Notice the gold barb playing with the bubbles, hes been doing that all day since 10am when i added the bubble stone lol nutter!

What do you guys think? this is my first tank and first dealings with fishes.

http/www.youtube.com/watch?v=8QIMQHvuDkM

 

[MOW4T]

looks very nice, i never seem to be able to make a tank look that nice

you MAY run into problems with your stocking in the future but as i said very nice

 

[Big_eyes]

It looks nice...the tank.

As said though, it is a complete time bomb with that stocking.

 

[J4G3D]

Cheers, wouldnt of thought the tonga replica rock would be to everyones desire but i think it looks good.

What do you think would be a time bomb for the future? the betta?

 

[Wills]

Hi there thats a beautiful big angel you have but I think you have some catastrophic problems with the mix of fish you have in that tank. Im just going to copy your stock list and give you my thoughts

4 platinum angels
1 marble angel - 5 angels is a bit much for a 40 gallon tank, I would advise 3 maximum but would really hope you go for 2.
1 cardinal tetra - needs to be in schools of at least 6 would recommend a school of 10-12 though
1 pleco - common plecs will grow to at least a foot long and are big chunky fish that poop a lot! Needs to be in a 6ft tank minimum
4 albino red fin shark - Very territorial with its own kind especially as they get larger, you need to rehome 3 of these
1 betta - Mixed responses as to how they mix with Angel fish and in a community in general, again hate to say it but I would consider rehoming or buying him his own 5 gallon tank.
2 red claw crabs - As a matter of urgency get rid of these!! These are a huge huge threat to your angels and your betta as well as all the small fish in your tank like the rummy noses and cardinals - if you started off with more of them and this has cut down that is why the crabs will eat the small fish and shred your bigger fishes fins and tails
3 scissor tail - Like the cardinal tetra they need to be in groups of at least 6
1 rummy nose - Same as Cardinals
1 gold barb - Same as Cardinals

I know it looks bad but most people go head first into the hobby and make a ton of mistakes, I know I did but all I want to do is help you to get your aquarium up and running and keep your fish healthy and happy. Trust me a bad aquarium with fish dieing is no fun.

Looking at your stock the way I would move forward with it is to drop some additions to the tank and substitute others for fish better suited to your tank.

Stocking plan 1

2 Angel fish (so either 1 Platinum + 1 Marbled or 2 Platinum)
8 Cardinal Tetra
8 Rummy Nose Tetra - With both of these tetra types you have a risk of the angels eating them as they get larger
1 Albino Red Fin Shark
1 Bristlenose Plec - this is a swap for your current plec it is a different type to the one you have at the moment and will only get to 4-5 inches rather than 12. - An alternative to this one if you dont like it is the Bulldog or Rubberlip plec which stays around 3-4 inches - if you like these you could even get a small group of 2-3

With this one you have room to add more fish IMO but not things like the bettas and crabs as they just are not compatible

Stocking plan 2

2 Angel fish (so either 1 Platinum + 1 Marbled or 2 Platinum)
8 Scissor Tail Rasbora
8 Gold Barbs
6 Zebra Loaches or Yoyo loaches BUT NOT clown loaches (as an alternative to your albino sharks)
1 Bristlenose Plec - this is a swap for your current plec it is a different type to the one you have at the moment and will only get to 4-5 inches rather than 12. - An alternative to this one if you dont like it is the Bulldog or Rubberlip plec which stays around 3-4 inches - if you like these you could even get a small group of 2-3

With this one you have less room to add more fish but I think you could still have a few more depends what else you want to have. The reason I have split your fish into 2 lists is because you do not have enough room in your tank for schools of all 4 types of fish that need to be in schools.



One more thing that worries me is I want to ask if you cycled your tank? There are two ways that you can do this, the first one is where you add pure ammonia to your tank for about 5-6 weeks until your filter can purify the water in 12 hours or some people do this with cheap fish like danio or goldfish but its a bit mean really IMO - if this makes sense to you good If not we can help you get it sorted. If your tank is only a week or two old it is not cycled and I am afraid your fish will be living in pretty toxic (to them) water.

Wills

 

[J4G3D]

Hi wills, thanks for your in depth input.

Ive taken your suggestions aboard and will take some action. Ive stocked my tank after doing some google searching on compatibility and even the crabs it says on most sites that there compatible in a community tank. The angels dont really goto the bottom so i dont see the crabs getting in there way. Although i could be wrong!.

Yes my tank has cycled i done a test today actually and the readings are good.

I think my first step now will be remove the pleco and get the alternative you suggested, then i will remove some fish as i want rid of the scissor tails and rummy nose. I will carry on from there sorting it out.

So you think just 1 shark per tank? I specifically asked the guy in my local aquatic centre about this and he said they will be fine but keep an eye on them as they do sometimes get territorial.

 

[Wills]

Cool glad I can help Good news about the tank being cycled

With the crabs Ive personally not kept them but just repeating advice I see given out to others and also based on horror stories from other people.

And with the sharks yeah I really would do just one per tank. A few years ago I bought a tank second hand and it was pretty badly over stocked but it had 3 Red Tailed Black Sharks in and one was huge and fat pitch black where as the other two were just as long but really skinny, beat up and just looked sickly one was missing an eye as well!

With the pleco I said about the bristlenoses and the rubber lips but there are tons more options for you it just depends on your budget as quite a lot of plecs other than the common ones like the one you have at present cost £20+. But the 2 I mentioned average at about £5-£12 depending on where you go for them.

Wills

 

[Big_eyes]

Hi wills, thanks for your in depth input.

Ive taken your suggestions aboard and will take some action. Ive stocked my tank after doing some google searching on compatibility and even the crabs it says on most sites that there compatible in a community tank. The angels dont really goto the bottom so i dont see the crabs getting in there way. Although i could be wrong!.

Yes my tank has cycled i done a test today actually and the readings are good.

I think my first step now will be remove the pleco and get the alternative you suggested, then i will remove some fish as i want rid of the scissor tails and rummy nose. I will carry on from there sorting it out.

So you think just 1 shark per tank? I specifically asked the guy in my local aquatic centre about this and he said they will be fine but keep an eye on them as they do sometimes get territorial.

To be honest you will be lucky if you get rid of 3 of the sharks and the remaining one doesn't go nuts. I did the same - bought 3 had to seperate one the same day and then the other a week later. I kept the most timid one for about a month in my community before it chased everything constantly all day long. You may get away with it if you keep larger fish than it though. But then it will grow quite large itself.

The crabs as said will attack all of your fish. They are night time hunters, the worst thing when most of your fish are asleep at the bottom. They are supposed to have a bit of salt too so I don't know how that would go down with other fish you may have or choose to have in the future.

It's a pain in the backside but most of us have learnt the hard way. Wish I'd of listened to the advice rather than seeing the 'told you so's'

Have a look in the pleco section though, there are quite a few that don't get too big that you could have in your tank.

Having a plec and oto's though now, I wish I'd just stuck with the oto's. They look great in a group and don't make half as much mess. But then mine were dinner on a plate to the shark so it's one of those really.

 

[J4G3D]

So what do the sharks do in the wild? are they loners and chase everything that moves? so far they havnt chased any other fish just its own kind. I can notice there getting more and more aggresive though. The pleco and crabs have already had a confrontation but even the sharks have gone right upto the crabs and crabs have done nothing.

And by the way wills why no clown loaches?

Ive just bought some frozen bloodworms, do you guys know if there not good for any of my fishes?

 

[Wills]

Red Tailed Black Sharks are now classes as extinct in the wild now due to the aquarium trade etc. However I expect that they lived in either huge huge groups of hundreds so that all the aggression disperses between the group or they live individually and gather for spawning and then go on their way.

I say no clown loaches as they get to 12 inches + eventually though it takes years for them to get there. They also need to be kept in groups of 5 minimum, but if you intend to upgrade to a 6ft tank a few years down the line I would say okay with a view to growing them out etc. But in smaller tanks there are other alternatives for them like the Yoyo or other similar botia loaches.

And yes bloodworms are a good food for the fish I feed mine live, if you can find them they love them and they are really good for them but make sure you can find a source that you 100% trust as they can sometimes bring disease into your tank - but thats just the live ones the frozen/freeze dried are 100% safe

Wills

 

[J4G3D]

Hi wills(or anyone else willing to help)

Ive had a thought and how would this sound..

3 angelfish (2 small 1 adult with the option to remove 1 angel as it reaches adulthood)
4or5 gold barb
5or6 cardinal tetra
1 shark
1 bristlenose plec

plus i want a group of colourful fishes, dwarf gouramis maybe? or what else?

My betta is nipping my small angelfish causing there fins to shredd, so that definatly has to go. (would fins grow back?)

 

[Wills]

Hi yeah that looks pretty good to me - your tank might be able to hold all three angels it depends if 2 pair up and start to breed at which point they could really turn on the third one. But if your open to the option of rehoming one that should be okay

With the schooling fish I would probably do 6 gold barbs and 10 cardinals - the bigger schools will make them stick together tighter and the school will look more impressive in the tank.

With the BN if you are getting it to help clean the tank there are a lot of other plecs that would be very happy in your tank. There are about 400 different plecs known to the hobby and are cataloged in a library under L numbers for example I have a wormline plec whos L number is L135 - as far as I know the numbers are based on when they were discovered (or they are completely random as I can see no pattern to them) but yeah there are tons of other small plecs that dont get the bristles but if you like them go for it

As for other fish to go in the tank I think you are quite close to being stocked at the moment at the tank gets a bit older you might be able to get a few more fish but for a few months (around 6) stick with what you have

With the ripped fin you should be okay but just be careful and watch out for fungus or other diseases. Also get a medicine called Melafix it helps fish heal from cuts and nips etc totaly 100% safe for your filter and it really really is good.

Wills

 

[J4G3D]

Once again great reply, thanks alot wish i found this forum before i dived into the deep end. Ive listened to the lfs's too much and realised they just want to make money not help you get the best friendly setup.

 

[Big_eyes]

Once again great reply, thanks alot wish i found this forum before i dived into the deep end. Ive listened to the lfs's too much and realised they just want to make money not help you get the best friendly setup.

If you decide to rid of your sharks and angels I would be willing to take one of each and pay for postage

Good luck with sorting things out.

 

[J4G3D]

Hi there thats a beautiful big angel you have but I think you have some catastrophic problems with the mix of fish you have in that tank. Im just going to copy your stock list and give you my thoughts

4 platinum angels
1 marble angel - 5 angels is a bit much for a 40 gallon tank, I would advise 3 maximum but would really hope you go for 2.
1 cardinal tetra - needs to be in schools of at least 6 would recommend a school of 10-12 though
1 pleco - common plecs will grow to at least a foot long and are big chunky fish that poop a lot! Needs to be in a 6ft tank minimum
4 albino red fin shark - Very territorial with its own kind especially as they get larger, you need to rehome 3 of these
1 betta - Mixed responses as to how they mix with Angel fish and in a community in general, again hate to say it but I would consider rehoming or buying him his own 5 gallon tank.
2 red claw crabs - As a matter of urgency get rid of these!! These are a huge huge threat to your angels and your betta as well as all the small fish in your tank like the rummy noses and cardinals - if you started off with more of them and this has cut down that is why the crabs will eat the small fish and shred your bigger fishes fins and tails
3 scissor tail - Like the cardinal tetra they need to be in groups of at least 6
1 rummy nose - Same as Cardinals
1 gold barb - Same as Cardinals

I know it looks bad but most people go head first into the hobby and make a ton of mistakes, I know I did but all I want to do is help you to get your aquarium up and running and keep your fish healthy and happy. Trust me a bad aquarium with fish dieing is no fun.

Looking at your stock the way I would move forward with it is to drop some additions to the tank and substitute others for fish better suited to your tank.

Stocking plan 1

2 Angel fish (so either 1 Platinum + 1 Marbled or 2 Platinum)
8 Cardinal Tetra
8 Rummy Nose Tetra - With both of these tetra types you have a risk of the angels eating them as they get larger
1 Albino Red Fin Shark
1 Bristlenose Plec - this is a swap for your current plec it is a different type to the one you have at the moment and will only get to 4-5 inches rather than 12. - An alternative to this one if you dont like it is the Bulldog or Rubberlip plec which stays around 3-4 inches - if you like these you could even get a small group of 2-3

With this one you have room to add more fish IMO but not things like the bettas and crabs as they just are not compatible

Stocking plan 2

2 Angel fish (so either 1 Platinum + 1 Marbled or 2 Platinum)
8 Scissor Tail Rasbora
8 Gold Barbs
6 Zebra Loaches or Yoyo loaches BUT NOT clown loaches (as an alternative to your albino sharks)
1 Bristlenose Plec - this is a swap for your current plec it is a different type to the one you have at the moment and will only get to 4-5 inches rather than 12. - An alternative to this one if you dont like it is the Bulldog or Rubberlip plec which stays around 3-4 inches - if you like these you could even get a small group of 2-3

With this one you have less room to add more fish but I think you could still have a few more depends what else you want to have. The reason I have split your fish into 2 lists is because you do not have enough room in your tank for schools of all 4 types of fish that need to be in schools.



One more thing that worries me is I want to ask if you cycled your tank? There are two ways that you can do this, the first one is where you add pure ammonia to your tank for about 5-6 weeks until your filter can purify the water in 12 hours or some people do this with cheap fish like danio or goldfish but its a bit mean really IMO - if this makes sense to you good If not we can help you get it sorted. If your tank is only a week or two old it is not cycled and I am afraid your fish will be living in pretty toxic (to them) water.

Wills

Im finally getting my tank there as per my sig i now have...

3 albino red fin sharks (2 still to be rehomed)
4 cardinal tetra (going to be purchasing another 4 to 6)
4 angelfish (1 left to be rehomed)
4 dwarf gouramis
1 gold barb (purchasing 3 more next weekend)
1 albino bristlenose pleco
2 red claw crab (keeping these but MAY rehome, theyve been fine so far despite what people have said)
1 rummy nose tetra (need to rehome)

also new additions:
java moss
lava rock
hairgrass
Will also get rid of the plastic plants for live ones

Also completely given my whole tank and tank stand a makeover from mahogany to beech (cost £14) with trimming around where the stand meets the tank (cost £2.50). Done abit of D.I.Y also to put the filter into the cabinet out of the way so everything looks neat and tidy.

Before:

After: