New To The Hobby And Forum, Help Appreciated On Fish Selection

[blackplasma]

hello to all on the forum, apart from keeping a couple of goldfish when i was a kid, i am new to fishkeeping and looking for a good community for support and advise.
i have aquired a juwel 180 litre tank for free because it was sitting in a garden with a broken end panel. i have already cleaned everything up and removed the broken glass, a new piece is on order and being an acomplished diy-er i am reasonably confident with my repair abilities, but i would appreciate any extra advise from anyone with experience in glass tank repairs.

im aware of the need to stabalise water ph and quality before introducing fish and to introduce them slowly over a month or two to get the nitrate cycle established but all advise will also be apreciated.

ive spent the evening looking at all the pretty fish i can be keeping and with a little research i have come up with a quick list of the fish i would like to populate my tank when it is finished.
has anyone got any opinions regarding schooling numbers, over crowding at different levels or fish compatability with the proposed list of fish?

1 bristlenosed catfish
1 siamese algae eater
2 banded rainbowfish
3 silver sharks
3 leopard cory
5 zebra danio
6 tiger barb
either 2 pakistan or 3 zebra loach

does it seem that my fish selection lacks colour? maybe i could have a more colourful barb? or some tetras? any opinions welcome,

thanks
black.

 

[natalie265]

Look into fishless cycling. I think it's pinned in this section.

No on the silver sharks. They get too big.
Corys should be kept in groups of 5 or more. A very nice community fish that will keep mostly to the lower levels of the tank.

 

[Wills]

Agreed with above about doing the fishless cycle it only means you have to add a few ml of pure ammonia and you loose zero fish. It takes about a month which is the down side but the long term advantages just out weigh this so so much. With the stocking there are some fish that are not suitable for your tank like the silver shark as they get to over a foot long. So from your list I would probably do something like

for schooling fish I would do
15 zebra danio - there are a lot of alternative danio around now an awesome one is the hikari yellow danio, stunning fish
or
15 tiger barb - you can mix the different colour forms like green and platinum with the regular wild form if you like.
or
7 danio
7 tigers - though personaly I prefer one big school it gets a lot more natural behavior out of the fish and the tiger barbs will be so caught up in their own school that they wont nip your other fish, same goes for the danio though to a lesser extent.

for the bottom I would do
1 bristlenosed catfish
10 leopard cory
6 zebra loach

and then probably add some kind of medium sized cichlid or gourami actually most of your fish there are Asian fish so gourami would fit better. Maybe thick lipped gourami? There is a line bred orange or rusty as it is also known that would do very nice in that tank so probably a pair of them as well as feature fish. Try to pick one male and one female or two females, typically female gourami will have a shorter dorsal fin but will not lack any of the colour. Obviously this is quite a heavy stock that will need to be added over a number of months

Welcome to the hobby and the forum! Its a big commitment but totally worth it if you do it properly and we can really help you get on the right track! I have not repaired a tank before but there is a DIY section lower down on the main board if you post there perhaps someone will be able to help you out better with the silicon sealant. The best advice I can give is probably to make sure that any glue or sealant is fish safe and bought from an aquatics store it might be quite expensive but its better than making a toxic tank from non safe glue etc.

Hope thats helped a bit
Wills

 

[indigoj]

1 Bristlenose - fine, lovely fish to keep. Remember to have some wood for it.
1 Siamese Algae Eater - can get aggressive.
2 Banded rainbow fish - rainbows tend to be kept in larger groups - maybe consider 6 Praecox Rainbows?
3 Silver Sharks - definite no, will get too big.
3 Leopard Cory - need a group of 5 or more - more the merrier up to about 10 depending on other bottom dwellers.
5 Zebra Danio - lovely if you like them, not my favourite but only my opinion
6 Tiger Barbs - nice looking but IMO not the hardiest and can get nippy. Have a look at Odessa Barbs or '5 stripe barbs' 6 is a good number.
Pakistan and Zebra loaches both need a group, I'd have at least 4 or 6 of either (but watch the balance with the cories)

Personally I'd go for the BN, 6 Praecox rainbows, 6 odessa barbs, 6 corys, 4 pakistan loach, a trio of golden panchax for the top and a pair of something like rams, pearl gourami or something else none aggressive of a similar size.

 

[blackplasma]

wow, thanks for all the replies, a bit sad about the sharks, i read that they get 6-8 inches, my mate used to have 4 or 5 in a tank of this size, and loads of other fish like angels and barbs! the sharks were only a couple of inches long! maybe he hadnt really planned his stock!
can anyone breed me a dwarf variety
i will look in to the other suggestions you have all made thanks but i forgot to say that the wife really likes the look of the little crabs you can get, golden fiddler or the the red clawed ones thinking of having 2, any thoughts?

 

[onebto]

One thing I did not see that was mentioned and I do not know if you are aware .

When fixing in that new pain of glass DO NOT USE STANDARD SILICON !!! use aquarium safe silicon you can get it from most LFS or online Fish stores

 

[indigoj]

Hmmm, I've never kept crabs but have read a lot of stories of fish disapearing from people who have.
Sounds like your mate was way over stocked!

 

[arobinson1984]

Silver sharks reach anywhere between 12-14" and if kept in the correct conditions can be expected to live for 15-20 years.

If your friends didnt grow large its likely that their growth was stunted by being kept in a tank not large enough. Stunting a fishes growth causes a slow painful death for the fish.

Silver sharks are a shoaling fish and should be kept in groups of 6+ and in a minimum tank size of 6ft x 2ft x 2ft although ideally they should be in an 8ft tank.

Andy

 

[Wills]

Just to check though can you show us a picture of the shark you are on about? Common names get thrown around loads all the time.

 

[blackplasma]

http/www.thetropicaltank.co.uk/Fishindx/silver.htm
these are the ones he had and his tank was 4 foot maybe 5 but he hadnt had them longer than a year!
a real shame that these are not suitable because i love the way they look.

the list i posted first was a provisional list made by just looking at pictures and a few characteristics for an hour or two

a noobie question, are fish species-ist (racist)? as in will neon tetras school with cardinal tetras, and will tiger barbs school with golden and rosy barbs?
can i mix catfish? are they happy solitary? or do they need others? if they need company will they mind if they have a catfish friend who looks different to him?
i guess they dont recognise their own reflection so do they know if they are stripy or spotty?

ive found extra fish now, to add to the potential list if anyone has any advice opinions?
L046 zebra pleco http/www.thetropicaltank.co.uk/Fishindx/hypa-zeb.htm
L204 flash pleko http/www.planetcatfish.com/catelog/image.php?species=panaque+sp(l204)&image_id=4999
is the flash aka emporer?

will the zebra mix with the bristlenose as they will be similar size?
will they both be happy with a bigger flash in the tank? basically i like all three so much i would like one of each?

oh and how about a ruby shark instead of silvers? they like being alone right?

 

[blackplasma]

6 loaches has been advised, can i have,
2 http/fins.actwin.com/species/index.php?t=9&i=364
2 http/www.loaches.com/species-index/botia-striata
and 2 http/www.aquariumlife.net/profiles/asian-loaches/gold-zebra-loach/100094.asp

or do they not school like this?
i think there is just too many different pretty fish to choose from, maybe i should get a job in an aquatics centre!

 

[Wills]

Hi yeah the fish need their own type to school with so like tiger barbs need a minimum of 6 rather than 2 tigers, 2 rosy, 2 gold etc. Same for loaches or any other schooling or shoaling fish, 6 is the minimum but if you do the minimum you get the minimum back so thats why I said about the bigger schools. The bigger the school the more secure the fish will feel and so will be much more active, also in the case of fish like tiger barbs with a reputation to nip other fish if you keep more of them their nipping will stay directed towards each other rather than other fish in the tank. Also with the fish recognizing each other its not by sight but by chemicals they produce and each sub species have their own, realistically cory cats will "group" together but they would be a much better school with their own kind.

With the plecs..... the L46 is one of the most expensive fish in the hobby each fish is around £140 at the moment and thats usually for an 8cm juvenile. So its certainly not a fish to start with and usually people give a group of them their own tank rather than having one in a community. However the L204 (good choice btw) is a bit cheaper price will depend on your area but it will cost between £20-£40 per fish but they are a nice little plec that do well in most tanks. However with these plecs the tiger barbs might be a no no as the 204 have filaments on their tails and there is a good chance the tiger barbs would nip them off.

For me getting a stock list just right is one of the best parts of the hobby, working out which fish you want and then which of those can live together. Sometimes you do get a disappointment or two but there are so many fish out there you will be able to find a good mix for you.

With the ruby sharks do you mean the ones with black bodies and red fins? If so yeah they need to be kept singularly, but it will limit your choice for the bottom of the tank as they dont like other loach shaped fish and sometimes have problems with other bottom dwellers in general. Or if you mean denison barbs which are sometimes known as the ruby line shark, I think these might get bit too big but the odessa barb would do good in there I think. They are smaller but still a bit shark shaped and have a great red look to them but these are schooling fish so you would need at least 6.

Hope thats helped a bit
Wills

 

[Haych]

One thing I did not see that was mentioned and I do not know if you are aware .

When fixing in that new pain of glass DO NOT USE STANDARD SILICON !!! use aquarium safe silicon you can get it from most LFS or online Fish stores

i am curious... what does normal silicone have that fish safe doesnt?

i have been tols silicone is silicone, and its all the same

(please dont rant at me, i still use fish safe just interested)

 

[Haych]

1 bristlenosed catfish - SHOULD BE OK
1 siamese algae eater - DONT KNOW THESE
2 banded rainbowfish - DONT KNOW THESE
3 silver sharks - WILL GET VERY LARGE (AS SAID BEFORE)
3 leopard cory - A MUST IMO, IN YOUR SIZE TANK 10 WOULD BE BETTER
5 zebra danio - IMO NIPPY. HAD THEM BEFORE AND FOUND THEY WERE EXTREMELY NIPPY TO OTHERS
6 tiger barb - IMO BARBS ARE ALSO NIPPY
either 2 pakistan or 3 zebra loach - CANNOT ABIDE LOACHES LOL, BUT IIRC THEY NEED AT LEAST 5 TO A GROUP

does it seem that my fish selection lacks colour? maybe i could have a more colourful barb? or some tetras? any opinions welcome,

hi, and welcome

my opinions above, but do you like cichlids?

 

[OldMan47]

Many types of silicone sealant are marked as resistant to molds or mildew. Those contain a biocide that can leach into the water. A pure silicone product is safe but the "good, high quality silicone" in man7y cases is not pure silicone sealant. Instead it contains the added biocide.
Actually there is no such thing as pure silicone. The stuff you buy in a tube contains many ingredients that work together to make the silicone sealant rubbery stuff that we are accustomed to calling silicone.