Tommy Gunnz
Fish Crazy
Hey everyone! I am currently in the process of 'streamlining' my tanks to better fit my fish. When I got into the hobby, of course, I went to the LFS to buy a tank and once it cycled (which was about the ONLY good advice I got from any LFS), I just starting stocking up with the fish I wanted. Most of my decisions as far as how many of what type of fish to buy were based upon the 1" per gallon of water and the store's buy two get one free deal at the time. So, I am now basically stocked well, but with the wrong fish. For example, I have 4 rainbow sharks in my 55 gallon tank, which makes the tank exciting since they are chasing everything around in there, but they are getting large (well, one of them is, I assume the dominate one) and I think they may be making it harder for my eels to find food.
So, the question is, how many rainbow sharks should I have in a tank? I realize that most people would say only one, but I am trying to get a concensus on exactly how many. Would rainbow sharks be considered "bottom feeders" or more 'mid-tank' type fish. They definatly swim in all areas of the tank, but I am interested in where they go to feed mostly. Also, do you feel that they would be a negative thing for my other 55 gallon tank which is set up right now as a breeding tank for my wife's mollies and platys? We do not do the actual breeding in there, even though it does sometimes happen, and actually match up mates in another 10 gallon tank (we are trying to experiment with 'creating' the color and sizes of fish we want. This is really a ton of fun and we have been very successful in doing it!).
Any advice would be greatly appreciated. My main goal here is, like I said, to streamline my tanks now that I sort of know what I am doing, to better serve my fish. I say this because I am not going to kill or harm any of the fish I already have and if need be, I will, in the future, buy more tanks if I need to in order to make sure all my current friends live a long and happy life.
So, the question is, how many rainbow sharks should I have in a tank? I realize that most people would say only one, but I am trying to get a concensus on exactly how many. Would rainbow sharks be considered "bottom feeders" or more 'mid-tank' type fish. They definatly swim in all areas of the tank, but I am interested in where they go to feed mostly. Also, do you feel that they would be a negative thing for my other 55 gallon tank which is set up right now as a breeding tank for my wife's mollies and platys? We do not do the actual breeding in there, even though it does sometimes happen, and actually match up mates in another 10 gallon tank (we are trying to experiment with 'creating' the color and sizes of fish we want. This is really a ton of fun and we have been very successful in doing it!).
Any advice would be greatly appreciated. My main goal here is, like I said, to streamline my tanks now that I sort of know what I am doing, to better serve my fish. I say this because I am not going to kill or harm any of the fish I already have and if need be, I will, in the future, buy more tanks if I need to in order to make sure all my current friends live a long and happy life.
