Oddball For Me The...oddball

[Arbee]

I know this has been gone over a bit before, but thought I might start the thread up again.  I have a 75 gallon with some tetras and a couple platies. and three tiny bala's that will cause me to get that huge tank I am lusting over lol  total of10 fish at the moment.  I don't want to keep getting random community fish until I have a plan....although I won't be getting anything else till the tank is fully cycled. 
 
So current lust list is...
Ram and elephant nose...  
 
See I don't even know enough to have a full list lol
 
THanks

 

[SamB]

From what I have read, elephant nose fish will leave your smaller fish at some risk. Rams are a pretty safe option but not really oddball fish . German Blue Rams are beautiful and relatively peaceful

 

[Arbee]

Ture they aren't...but I love them!!!!    I will research more about the elephant fish compatibility then.   I know a lot of the oddballs are pretty aggressive 8(

 

[Wills]

Hi - I can not stress to you how important forming a stock list or at least an idea of what you want - other wise you fill a tank that is totally unsuitable for you, your tank and most importantly the fish.
 
First of all how long has the tank been set up? And when you say your still cycling what kind of stage are you at?
 
Secondly what are the numbers of the other fish you have in the tank at the moment?
 
Now onto the fish you have mentioned so far.
 
I'm just going to say it, are you sure Bala Sharks are for you - to keep them properly you need a huge huge tank lets say an 8 x 3 foot tank for starters (some will say bigger) and the practicalities of a tank like this is not for a novice you have to be set up to deal with having a tank in your home for a long long time and also probably not move home ever again.... the other thing to consider is as well there is a great much smaller alternative to these in the Dension Barb aka Rose Line Shark. Just worth considering.
 
Elephant Noses - possibly not the best fish to mix in this aquarium, they need soft sand substrates so could potentially cause problems as in the pics it seems you have gravel - their noses are very sensitive and are used to dig around. I think for that reason alone I would rule them out
 
Blue Rams - Blue Rams are hard to keep, the reason for this is you do not know what kind of ram you are getting or the parentage of the ram. The problem with this is that the ones closer to wild or indeed wild caught need high temperatures and low ph where as the mass farm bred ones need neutral ph and mid range temperatures. The risk is you dont know which kind you have - even the ones unlabeled as wild in the shop might only be one or two generations from wilds.
 
For me if you want to keep Blue Rams - you have to plan the tank around them - there are a hand full of members on here that have gotten lucky and are keeping farm bred ones successfully in their tank. I cant stress how lucky it is really, and its hard to judge how it applies to you when you have to consider they might not be in the same country as you let alone the same state, county or city...
 
 
So what I would do now is - lets work out where you are in the cycle and how many fish you have right now. Then we can work out a plan of how your going to stock your tank so your happy with it and the fish are happy to be there.
 
This is a great saying when it comes to tanks - fail to plan, plan to fail. Well worth bearing in mind when it comes to starting up a tank and picking the fish
 
Wills

 

[Arbee]

I know bala's weren't my wisest choice, but I will either get my lfs to take them (which I found out they will) or do the bigger tank thing.  Yes I know that takes a lot to do....but I am a rather tenacious learner....
 
The gravel will be leaving the tank soonish...I am putting 100% plant substrate of some kind...it has about 25% in it now.  In the back of the tank.
 
Cycle is only two weeks in, I jumped and didnt do a fishless cycle mainly because I didn't know to do it.  I do now...  and the next tank will be done that way
 
water conditions are as follows
ammonia is between 0 and .025 but still detectable  
ph 8
NO2 .25
NO3 2
 
Doing a 25% water change every other day.
 
As for fishies
3 balas
2 platies
5 minor tetras
5 Glow light tetras (I forgot about them and didn't add them into my initial fish total *Derp*)
 
7 live and amazingly growing plants...
 
I am using a Rena canister filter
 
I hope this gives you enough info.  I know I have a LONG way to go before getting some of the more ODD fish, but I am wanting to plan this and not half donkey it.  I know I have made many flaws in the initial setup and don't want to continue the flawed approach. 
 
Rebecca
The balas are so cute at only 1 1/2 inches long LOL very deceiving!

Also forgot to mention that the tank will be 14 days old tomorrow 

 

[TallTree01]

Get bigger schools before thinking if oddballs. Up the tetras and sharks numbers to 10 each.

 

[Arbee]

I will do when the tank has cycled!  I love watching the fish school!    I am ok with not getting an oddball for another year!  I just don't want stock the tank up with a bunch of non-compatable fish in the meantime!   And love to research and plan....wish I had felt that way in college!!!

 

[T1KARMANN]

Hi
 
im a big fish guy and can i just say no matter how big your tank is you will always end up over stocked to some extent
 
i know everyone is telling you this and that fish get to big for your tank but its not the full grown size of all fish that counts its how long you want to keep them
 
take a datnoid for example they take 10 years to get to full size
if you buy some at say 2 " they will grow to 7" in the first 18 months but then slow right down to about 1" per year
 
also you say a 75gal well gals mean nothing its the foot print that counts

 

[DrRob]

To be fair T1KARMANN, you are somewhat unique in your tank arrangement, and of that, most of us will be eternally jealous. You also have the strength of character and the good sense (and contacts) to move fish on when they do get too big.
 
I worry more about people who stock a tank for the size of fish they have without concern about the size, or with no plan or facility to move them on when they outgrow the tank.
 
Agreed, definitely, that footprint is a huge, and underestimated issue.
 
Personally, I tend to keep my fish for the long term. I've been very bad at parting with any of them, and that's limited my stocking a few times and makes it all the more exciting when I do manage to get a pair, so I'd avoid the larger fish as my other half would throw me out if I tried to flood the dining room. Still working on the shed tank idea......
 
Overall, I agree with everyone above, plan, learn about the fish you want to stock, and, if you do take on big fish get advice from people like T1KARMANN as to how that set up works before you take the plunge. Personally I'd avoid, but that's my way of doing it. Just don't end up with huge fish in a cramped box, it's not rewarding.

 

[T1KARMANN]

I do feel a very high percentage of even small 10g tanks are very over stocked

For a 20 gal owner a 75 gal is a massive tank

The size of tanks we all have may be bigger or smaller but the size of fish we keep changes with the size tank we have

I haven't changed the mix of fish I keep for over 20 years I have only had a max of 5 different types of fish

We all keep fish our own way if we didn't the hobby would be very boring we also learn by our mistakes
I have seen so many people go out and buy a red tail catfish for the 6x2x2 tank they have
I have also done this Well not red tails but my mistake was a silver Arowana in a 6x2

When I started keeping fish there was no Internet so the only info I got was from fish shops trying to sell me fish

I gave up telling people the tank is way to small about 3 years ago as it made me sound arrogant

 

[Arbee]

I agree with you on this one, even though I am very new to this I don't want to push that max limit.   And since the first post the bala's are no longer with me, sadly due to a parasite outbreak that I was too new to spot quick enough.    I am learning quickly though!

 

[T1KARMANN]

as for parasites i swear by a uv steralizer they are expenciove new but you can pick one up cheap on ebay for about £20
 
i wouldnt run a tank without one
 
if you pay £20 on a 15w vectron uv think about how much money that will save you on meds alone

 

[Arbee]

T1KARMANN I swear you just read my mind, I was logging on here because darnit my fish are flashing again.  No spots, just flashing.  And all my water params are fine

 

[sawickib]

Yea arbee elephant nose fish are very sensitive to water parameters and substrate. They also arent competitive feeders so putting them with fast/aggressive eating fish will make the ele starve to death. They are also very sensitive to salt and any type of meds as well. They like low light and a pH of about 6-7.5 and hardness 5-15H, they rarely eat flakes or sinking pellets, so mostly frozen blood worms, or live/frozen brine shrimp, they are able to find live easier due to their electrical organ in their lower jaw/snout. They should be kept in by them selves or up to 6, some say 3 or above but I would just be safe and do 6, this reduces aggression among them. There is no external sexing method and they do not breed in tanks, believed to be because of electrical pulses are changed from the tank (they cant tell girl from girl"). All in all not very easy to keep fish but I dont wanna stop you from getting one just do him good.