Hi

[Occy]

Hi folks..

My name should perhaps be fishkiller - I have had no luck with my guys lately.

I started about 2 years ago with a betta - Bruce. Bruce lived in a cold tank with goldfish and seemed fine. It was only when i moved him to his own tank that i realised he was indeed a veiltail - the goldies had been nibbling on him. At any rate he thrived - the weather was warm etc. About a year ago along came george - a friend for bruce - identical tanks - seperated by a barrier that could be lifted as needed.

I then moved out of home - granted during this time goldfish came and went - but I took george with me and left bruce at home with mum. About 3 months ago bruce went belly up - we figure it was from loneliness because i was no longer there - and probably from cold because the weather changed around then. Not two months later I get home from a weekend away and there is george - in the bottom of his tank. His danio friends were fine, while he was well and truly dead - very sad.

After bruce died I got Erik - a red betta - he lived in bruces tank and then went to live in the heated tank. I got home last weekend and mum said - the red fish is doing well. i went to the tank - uh mum - the red fish is kinda dead...

So Ive had my fill of bettas for now - I do love them but after losing three in such a short time its too heartbreaking to start again - they are such little characters

at any rate - I wanted to keep going with fish and decided on a different track. I went to the pet shop looking for a betta initially but ended up coming home with a rather sickly looking silver shark. he is missing some scales etc but seems happy enough after a few days in clean water with good food. i think he may have been attacked by other fish

I went back to melb to find eric dead and the cold water sucker loving the tropical tank. I went to the pet shop and had a chat with the girl about which sort of fish to go for - she suggested starting with some platys as they are hardy (btw i had my water checked and aside from a little hardness it was fine).

So now i have a 45L tank with 3 platys and a cold water sucker. What else should go in there ? - Im trying to populate slowly so i will do it once a week as I am in town.

Down here I have two tank - a plastic 10-15L cold water job with two goldfish - not a prob

and a 30 L tank with the shark. The shark now has some friends. I have 5 danios - 4 zebra and a gold in there - can anyone tell me why one of the zebras has turned an oilslick colour on its stripes and why some of them look really fat in the front - are they fat or pregnant?

In addition there is a female and male sword tail - female is quite large male is small - they are in love! and two bronze cats who have claimed the bottom of the tank as their own.

should I put anymore fish in or is the tank now full? the shark is about 8 cm btw

anyway thats me

 

[OohFeeshy]

Welcome to the forum


Unfortunately, there are a lot of problems

So now i have a 45L tank with 3 platys and a cold water sucker. What else should go in there ? - Im trying to populate slowly so i will do it once a week as I am in town.

Platys aren't coldwater, and if the 'sucker' looks a bit like a flatfish, it needs high oxygen and fast current.

Down here I have two tank - a plastic 10-15L cold water job with two goldfish - not a prob

Waaay too small, I'm afraid. Try multiplying the size by 10- thats more like what you need. There are plenty of topics in the coldwater section about the problems this tank is/will cause the fish.

and a 30 L tank with the shark. The shark now has some friends. I have 5 danios - 4 zebra and a gold in there - can anyone tell me why one of the zebras has turned an oilslick colour on its stripes and why some of them look really fat in the front - are they fat or pregnant?

In addition there is a female and male sword tail - female is quite large male is small - they are in love! and two bronze cats who have claimed the bottom of the tank as their own.

should I put anymore fish in or is the tank now full? the shark is about 8 cm btw

You have far too many fish, most of which aren't even suitable for a tank this size. The shark will grow to around 14", needs to be in a group of sharks and is very active. The danios are also very active and need a minimum 2ft tank. The fatness is probably eggs. Swordtails get too big too, and the cories need a bigger tank ideally.

 

[Linda B xxx]

to the forum,

i'm sure you'll get all the advice your looking for, everyone is very helpful

 

[Occy]

Platys aren't coldwater, and if the 'sucker' looks a bit like a flatfish, it needs high oxygen and fast current.

Its a tropical tank - the sucker is what they call a cold water sucker

Waaay too small, I'm afraid. Try multiplying the size by 10- thats more like what you need. There are plenty of topics in the coldwater section about the problems this tank is/will cause the fish.

Are you kidding me? - I said 10L not 10G - two goldfish do not need a 100Litre tank

You have far too many fish, most of which aren't even suitable for a tank this size. The shark will grow to around 14", needs to be in a group of sharks and is very active. The danios are also very active and need a minimum 2ft tank. The fatness is probably eggs. Swordtails get too big too, and the cories need a bigger tank ideally.

Tank doesnt seem overcrowded - I wont be getting more fish for it but right now - all the fish seem happy and the shark is by himself because he was the last shark left - it was either come home or die in the shop

thanks for the info

 

[OohFeeshy]

Are you kidding me? - I said 10L not 10G - two goldfish do not need a 100Litre tank

If they're common goldfish, then actually, I was wrong. More like 200L, IMO. If they're fancy goldfish, than a 100L is just about enough. To quote,

I seem to be seeing a lot of posts regarding Goldfish in kept in tanks.
There is IMO a lot of confusion about this subject, so I thought that I'd try to put some relevant information here.

Goldfish can live for 20+ years and reach sizes in excess of 15"

You need 20 U.S. gallons for the first fish
and 10 U.S. gallons for each additional fish
This means that in order to keep 5 goldfish
in a tank you would require 60 U.S. gallons.

A goldfish will not grow to its enviroment.
Its' body may, however the internal organs will not.
This can lead to serious problems with deformaties and death

But obviously two 15" fish need at least a 4ft long, 2ft wide tank.

 

[Occy]

my goldies are about 2 inches long LOL

 

[hot_hazza3]

lol...Im new to this too but they do need some room to hide and also keep active...so yeah i would loko into a bigger tank...i have a 10G tank but im looking now to upgrade as i have fry on the way "H"