New To Fishkeeping Can Somone Help!?!?

Get Ready! 🐠 It's time for the....
FishForums.net Fish of the Month
🏆 Click to enter! 🏆

DH16

New Member
Joined
Mar 28, 2019
Messages
6
Reaction score
0
Hi there, I am new to Fishkeeping and I have a few questions I need to ask.

1) Can all of the following Fish Live Together?
•Red Tail Shark
•Tiger Barbs
•Kuhli Loaches
•Honey Gouramis
•Plecos

2) If so... Amazing!! If Not Please could you tell me which ones can? & How many of each fish would you recommend?

3) Thirdly, What size tank would you Recommend for these fish? I've seen that the Red Tails need a minimum of 150 gallons. But to house all of these different fish' how big would you Recommend??

4) How Many Filters etc Would I need for a large tank and all these fish??

Sorry guys totally new to all this :)
 
Welcome to TFF. :hi:

To be honest, none of the species mentioned can be housed together, with the sole exception of the Kuhlii Loaches and gourami. The pleco is OK too.

Red Tail Shark is a nasty fish depending upon the individual, but it is in their inherent nature so more likely than not. It willnot appreciate other fish in its space (the kuhlii loaches). And for some reason they (RTS) frequently take a strong dislike to upper level fish that have a vertical stripe pattern such as the Tiger Barb. If you do get a RTS anyway, it needs a 4-foot tank with no other substrate level fish.

The Tiger Barb need a group of at least 10, in a 30 gallon tank, on their own; this is minimum for the health of the species. In larger tanks other fish can be added, but nothing that is sedate (gourami) or has long fins, as this will inevitably cause the TB to fin nip. Like waving a red flag in front of a bull.

If you decide on gouramis, suitable tankmates would be the kuhliis as I said, or Corydoras catfish (not both cory and loaches together), rasboras, some of the less active tetras like the Rosy clade.

On the filter, that depends upon the tank size selected (which depends upon what fish you intend) and the intended fish, plus live plants. The filter is in addition to being filtration also the primary source for water movement, and this can affect some fish one way or the other. Sedate fish like gourami for example do not appreciate strong currents because they have to fight against them 24/7. :fish:
 
Well that's a bummer lol! Could you list some different fish I could have with a RTS?? As I'm quite fascinated by them
 
I'll copy over from a profile of this species I wrote for another site.

Compatibility/Temperament: Not a general community fish especially for beginners. Very aggressive with its own species (it probably lived in solitude except when breeding) and as it matures is often aggressive with other fish especially those resembling it and those with vertical stripes. Should be kept solitary (one fish per tank) with carefully-selected tankmates like the larger barbs, danios and rasbora. Bottom fish (loaches and most catfish, and cichlids) should not be included with this species.
 
If the tank is big enough (4 foot or longer) and the water chemistry is ok for them, you can keep barbs and rainbowfish with red tail sharks. Just have 1 shark per tank and have some driftwood and a hollow log or pvc pipe for it to hide in. Leave the tank lights on for 10-12 hours a day to encourage green algae to grow on the glass and ornaments and away you go.

The following link has information about rainbowfish.
http://rainbowfish.angfaqld.org.au/Melano.htm
 
Thanks guys appreciate the help. Say if I was to have a 4ft tank, how many of each of the other species would be a good amount and how many filters etc??
 
Also, when you say barbs... would cherry barbs be suitable as I like the vibrant red??
 
Thanks guys appreciate the help. Say if I was to have a 4ft tank, how many of each of the other species would be a good amount and how many filters etc??

A canister rated for the tank volume would suffice. There is no advantage or benefit to over-filtration, just ensure the filter is adequate for the tank. And with the fish species being discussed, this will provide good flow/current.

As for the numbers of each species, it would help to know the species, but as these will all be shoaling fish aim for more of a species rather than few of several species. Not suggesting only one species, but make sure there are decent numbers of each species. Barbs for example I would say 12-15 of a species. Probably the same for danios and rasboras and rainbowfish. Obviously not all species within these groups will work.

It would also be advisable to have the upper fish settled in the tank for a few weeks before adding the Red Tail Shark; this way it is entering the existing community rather than being in its territory first and then reacting.
 
Also, when you say barbs... would cherry barbs be suitable as I like the vibrant red??

I would look for more robust barbs.
 
All barbs and rainbowfish need to be kept in groups of at least 6 and preferably more. You can mix different rainbows and they all hang out together. Barbs need to be kept in groups of their own kind.

Rosy barbs are nice and brightly coloured. Ruby and Gold barbs would contrast well with rosy barbs.

Melanotaenia praecox and M. lacustris are blue rainbowfish.
Glossolepis incisus or G. pseudoincisus are red rainbowfish.
 
So all in all, if I was to have a 4ft tank, I could happily keep;
- 1 RTS
- 10 Ruby Barbs
- 10 Rosy Barbs
- a mixture of 10 rainbow fish?

Would this be too bare or too many??
 
If the tank is 4 ft long x 14 inches wide x 18 inches high (or similar sized), then yes you could keep those fish together in it.

Before you get any rainbowfish, post the list of what you want here and I will suggest good combinations. If you keep the smaller species like M. praecox, you can't have G. incisus, because the G. incisus get to 4-5 inches and the males will belt hell out of the M. praecox. Most other rainbows are ok tho.
 
I'm liking the look of the red ones, however I'm thinking to get some more blueish ones to break up the red colours of all the fish :)
 
If the "Ruby" Barb is the Black Ruby Barb, species Pethia nigrofasciata, the females are distinctively vertically striped much like Tiger Barbs, so this may be problematic with the Red Tail Shark.
 

Most reactions

Back
Top