Should i do this? Help Requested

[leiahperez]

im thinking of adding a African Butterfly Fish to my 40G tank. but, i am unsure as to if im going about it the right way.
Currently have this on tank as the occupants
Mariland day/night 40g tank light
40g tank filter
40 G manual heater set to 76*
20G air pump
40G water circulation pump

occupants

2 Marble angels( were marked as veils but dont have long enough fins to be veils )
3 Black neon tetras ( will add 3 more soon )
3 Green Tiger barbs ( need to rehome when new fish comes in )
1 Fire eel ( assuming thats what it is, color doesnt match with others ive seen )

Snail infestation currently being worked on ( adding zinc to tank as suggested by LFS )

Currently for my 40G tank i will be getting a African butterfly fish, as i was told the min tank size was 30G.
WIll rehome the Barbs to my 55 when time comes.
Ph is set at 7.4, currently getting it down to 7.0 to 7.2 to accommodate the new fish.
Food being fed will be bloodworms, flightless fruitflies, mysis shrimp and tubifix worms. Standard Cichlid food for other fish will be provided.

Tho my question is, is the way i am going about it the right way, r am i missing a few steps? Help requested

 

[NickAu]

Snail infestation currently being worked on ( adding zinc to tank as suggested by LFS )

I have not heard of this and would be very careful doing it as it may alter your water parameters and harm the fish.

 

[leiahperez]

As for cleaning up a snail infestation, ive tried loaches and assassin snails, so this is what they suggested. And i have a fire eel within the tank ( currently a juvenile ) so its an ok start up tank for it

 

[NickAu]

You do realize that snails especially Malaysian trumpet snails are beneficial to your tank ?

The Malaysian Trumpet Snail is actually a benefit to any aquarium for several reasons. It will not eat your plants at all. This snail also will not "muscle" your shrimp off of food meant for the shrimp. The Malaysian Trumpet Snail feeds on detritus and leftover food that is underneath the substrate. It actually burrows in the substrate and moves around throughout. You will rarely see this snail during the day. Occasionally it will emerge from the substrate. A cool thing is that sometimes you will see the substrate move and you will know that there is a Malaysian Trumpet Snail underneath doing its cleaning duties.

The fact that this snail burrows and eats detritus is an excellent perk to having it. Another great perk is that while it is underneath the substrate moving it is at the same time aerating the substrate. Substrate aeration is a great benefit to planted aquariums as it promotes air exchange and root growth. They will not disturbed any plant roots or move wood/rocks around your aquarium.
http://www.planetinverts.com/malaysian_trumpet_snail.html

The only reason the population explodes is because they have lots to eat.

 

[Byron]

To the original queston, no, you cannot add a Butterfly Fish here. And before considering more fish, you have some problems (or will be problems) to fix.

Starting with the Fire Eel...this fish gets to 3 feet (90 cm) and needs at minimum a 48X24X24 inches/120X60X60 cm) tank before it matures. It will eat smaller fish. More data here:
http://www.seriouslyfish.com/species/Mastacembelus-erythrotaenia/

The angelfish could be trouble looming. If both are males, one will soon be dead as males are highly territorial and this is much too small a space for two to co-exist. If a male/female, they may or may not bond, so same result if they don't. If two females, maybe yes maybe no in time. Angelfish are shoaling fish, living in smallish groups. Two, three or four do not normally work, if the fish are normal behaviourially.

Tiger barbs, like barbs in general, cannot be combined with angelfish. If there is no adverse interaction yet, it is likely because the fish are all too nervous to start behaving normally. I understand the barbs are to be removed, the sooner the better. And once they are, they need a group of at least 10 to deal with aggression.

A quiet, sedate African Butterfly fish added to this tank would be seriously stressed, and that is cruel to the fish. Please don't.

Re the snails and zinc, no. Do not add zinc or any other chemical or treatment to deal with snails. Everything you add to the water gets inside the fish, naturally, and this will cause serious health issues and if sufficient the fish will die.

Byron.

 

[luca1980]

Agree with all above re the zinc. I have never heard of that and would absolutely not add it to my tank - whatever you put in the water eventually ends up in your fish. The snails are there because there is an abundance of food. Just leave them (most are good for tanks anyway) and reduce feeding. They will begin to reduce in numbers as their food source is depleted.

 

[StevenF]

Are you sure they said Zinc or was it copper? What is the name on the bottle you purchased and what are the listed ingredients.

 

[leiahperez]

Just to add zinc itself to the tank ( the small vials that you can buy from some medical stores )

 

[NickAu]

Just to add zinc itself to the tank ( the small vials that you can buy from some medical stores )

And what exactly will it do? How much should be added? How will it affect the live stock, now and in the future?