Upgrading Aquarium

[The Avenging Narwhal]

Hello everyone, as this is my first time posting on these forums I'll give a bit of background information about my fishkeeping experience.

I've had a 56-litre tropical aquarium for a good 5 months now, and it currently contains a (young) rainbow shark, a synodontis ("upside-down") catfish and a bamboo shrimp. I recently found a great deal online and bought a 380-litre aquarium, and therefore want to expand my tiny fish community.

I have already posted questions related to this on Yahoo Answers but I keep getting the party-line answers of "you can't ever mix this with this and this has the potential to outgrow the tank so don't get it", which severely limited my options. For instance, I was advised not to buy Clown Loaches because a 380-litre tank would potentially not be enough...

Anyway, here is my so-called wishlist for the new aquarium, which by the way will be heavily-planted. I beg you to give me advice based on common sense, not advice based on the most conservative approach to fish-keeping.

5 Bamboo Shrimps
Rainbow Shark
Synodontis Catfish
Pleco (probably one which doesn't grow past 6")
3 or 4 Bala Sharks
5 Gouramis

Additionally, I have the following questions:

1. Some internet sources say that you can only have one Rainbow Shark. Could I have more in this tank?
2. Would 3 Bala Sharks be too large for this tank, and would they get on with the Rainbow Shark?

In case you haven't noticed, I want this aquarium to focus on sharks. Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

 

[N0body Of The Goat]

How long is this new 380l tank?

Let me start with your Upside Down Catfish, Synodontis negriventris. Think of it as a cory catfish of the African continent, as in they do so much better in social groups. Even if your 380l is only 4-foot long, you ought to be looking at a group of ~8 (yes, eight) of these guys. Besides the Synodontis brichardi (which I have three of in my 540l), they are the only other Synodontis that should normally be considered as a social catfish of this genus. Great fish, I would love to get some S. negriventris, but I would struggle to find them a suitable home in my setups right now... I think!

Bala Shark: Sorry, no chance long term, it should reach over 30cm as an adult... http/www.seriouslyfish.com/profile.php?genus=Balantiocheilos&species=melanopterus&id=762
Rainbow Shark: Could work, but these get almost as spiteful as Red Tail Black Sharks as they get older, tankmates need to be chosen with care... http/www.seriouslyfish.com/profile.php?genus=Epalzeorhynchos&species=frenatum&id=234
Bamboo Shrimps: Needs peaceful tankmates
Gouramis: Well this needs narrowing down somewhat, as this family can be 2-30_cm as adults!
Pleco: Well Sturistoma aurem could work well in a peaceful planted tank, "Wills" has a stunning pair with photos hidden somewhere on the forum! A huge group (think one per ten gallons) of Otos would be amazing, especially if it included Otocinclus cocoma (Zebra Otos), you could easily do two groups of 6+.

Answers to Qs:
Very few sharks tollerate more than one of their own kind in a tank, this aggression can even extend to similar shaped or coloured fish. So one Rainbow only.
Any number of Bala Sharks are too big for this tank long term. They need something HUGE like a 8-foot plus tank as they approach adulthood.

 

[The Avenging Narwhal]

Thanks for the advice. It's a dairylea-shaped tank (the proper term escapes me), whose straight sides are 1 metre long, and it's 55cm deep.

In that case I'll (with an air of regret) forego the Bala Sharks. I already own the Rainbow Shark, so it's really a case of building a community around it, so I'm open to all suggestions. Would the following community work in your opinion?

Rainbow Shark
5 Bamboo Shrimps
6 Synodontis Negriventris (basically buying five more of the one I currently own)
6 Gouramis
Pleco

I never realised that the Gourami family had such variety in terms of size! Ideally I think I would want medium to small-sized ones, perhaps a mixture of Dwarf Gourami and other slightly-larger ones. In all honesty, I'm quite happy to take whatever size and number of Gouramis you recommend so long as it doesn't overstock the tank or cause trouble!

 

[Curiosity101]

Hmm,

A single rainbow shark in a 380l (~100gal) should be absolutely fine if mixed with suitable tank mates. Ie. they're too fast to catch or will hold their own if the shark decides to get narky.
Generally speaking the agression is often multiplied due to the fact people don't give them a large enough territory... so you might have no problems at all.

Gouramis are also a bit hit and miss, fair enough you do have quite a large tank. But at the same time some of the larger males can still get pretty territorial.
For your tank I would suggest a mixture of any of the following:
Dwarf gourami
Pearl Gourami
Moonlight gourami
Opaline gourami
Gold gourami
Three spot gourami

Some of those are actually the same species but different colour morphs that have been given new names.

I think in a tank that size it's definitely worth considering some of the peaceful mid sized cichlids like rainbow cichlids, angels, dwarf flag cichlids.

You will also probably want to consider some nice dither fish, my personal preference being to have one big shoal rather than lots of little shoals.

Just a quick question, are you keeping the 56l up and running? I really would advise you don't keep the bamboo shrimps in such a big tank with potentially quite a lot of fish that will try to eat them.

 

[The Avenging Narwhal]

Gouramis are also a bit hit and miss, fair enough you do have quite a large tank. But at the same time some of the larger males can still get pretty territorial.
For your tank I would suggest a mixture of any of the following:
Dwarf gourami
Pearl Gourami
Moonlight gourami
Opaline gourami
Gold gourami
Three spot gourami

Thanks, I'll look into those. I was thinking about ordering the fish from aquaticstoyourdoor online since my local pet shops don't stock that much by way of variety.

I think in a tank that size it's definitely worth considering some of the peaceful mid sized cichlids like rainbow cichlids, angels, dwarf flag cichlids.

I had never even considered them! Will they get on OK with the aforementioned Gouramis or is it a case of one group or t'other?

You will also probably want to consider some nice dither fish, my personal preference being to have one big shoal rather than lots of little shoals.

Sorry, dither fish? I'm not familiar with that term...

Just a quick question, are you keeping the 56l up and running? I really would advise you don't keep the bamboo shrimps in such a big tank with potentially quite a lot of fish that will try to eat them.

I hadn't intended on keeping it running; there isn't that much space in my bedroom. I see what you mean about the shrimps; I doubt Gouramis or Cichlids would pass up a chance if it presented itself. My Rainbow Shark has gotten on fine so far with my shrimp but that's perhaps because it's still a tiny wee shark lol.

 

[N0body Of The Goat]

"Dither fish" are usually regarded as peaceful, schooling fish, that when out and about give more skittish fish the confidence to wander around.

Take my Lionhead Cichlids for example, when they see my group of 11 Yellowtail Congo Tetra all happily swimming in the vacinity, they instinctively know there are no nasty big predatory fish in the area and so are much more likely to come out of their cave.

 

[The Avenging Narwhal]

Take my Lionhead Cichlids for example, when they see my group of 11 Yellowtail Congo Tetra all happily swimming in the vacinity, they instinctively know there are no nasty big predatory fish in the area and so are much more likely to come out of their cave.

Ah, that does sound like a good idea, and I'm sure I'll have space for 10 or so Tetra on top of what's already in there; 380 litres is a lot after all!

 

[Curiosity101]

It's not really a case of cichlids or gouramis. But there will be a case of getting the balance right. Gouramis tend to be more top dweller, most mid sized cichlids are mid-bottom dwellers.

I definitely wouldn't mix say... 6 larger gouramis with 2 mid sized cichlids in that tank, but 3 gouramis and 2 cichlids (peaceful cichlids) should work fine as they'd both have plenty of room and should ignore eachother.

 

[Curiosity101]

Oh and there are quite a few places online that ship fish... not all have proper online shops. But they all at the very least have a stocklist with prices and then you can phone up to order.

Aquatics to your door
Direct tropicals
Wildwoods
Wholesale tropicals
Coxwell Aquatics
Trimar aquatics

 

[drobbyb]

What about a nice sized group of Melanotaenia boesemani rainbows? They are medium sized fish that can hold their own against rowdy tank mates, and they will add a nice flair with their bright colors and their interesting behavior.

Melanotaenia boesemani

 

[N0body Of The Goat]

What about a nice sized group of Melanotaenia boesemani rainbows? They are medium sized fish that can hold their own against rowdy tank mates, and they will add a nice flair with their bright colors and their interesting behavior.

Melanotaenia boesemani

drobbyb, did you read about the tank being "dairealea-shaped", as in presumeably wedge-shaped? Only having 3-foot long sides, I suspect you might agree with me and say this is too small for any Rainbows that get larger than ~8cm i.e. anything bigger than Celebes.

 

[drobbyb]

Oh! I missed that. Hmm... that does change things a bit.

 

[The Avenging Narwhal]

How about 5 Dwarf Neon Rainbows, 5 Neon Dwarf Gouramis and 5 small to medium-sized Cichlids as the main body of fish?

 

[Curiosity101]

Hmm... In a 380l corner tank I'd imagine that the stocking you're thinking of wouldn't look very good...

It's only personal opinion but I don't like tanks mish mash of undersized fish. In a 380l the 'centerpiece' fish should really be 10cm or more for a 'balanced' look.

I would be more inclined to say something like:
3 pearl gouramis (1 male, 2 female)
2 bolivian rams
2 dwarf flag cichlids
10 Corys or loaches (or any other similar bottom feeders)
15-20 Tetra/Rasbora/rainbows dither fish (anything around 4-6cm fully grown)
Maybe even a triplet of swordtails or sailfin mollies (1 male, 2 female)

And you'd probably still have some room.

 

[Curiosity101]

Infact I don't think I'm even thinking large enough. Cause you could probably go as far as getting and oscar or a severum and then planning the rest of the tank around them.