Which fish are the problem ?

[FishEs2978]

Sadly, I’ve been drastically misinformed by my local fish shop. Here’s my current list of fish:

2 clown loaches ( both still small )
8 yo yo loaches
1 beacon pleco ( still small)
A pair of jewel cichlids ( genders unknown believe one male and one female)
A pair of convicts ( believe one male one female ) were sold to me as two females.
One key hole ( he’s been in the whole time extremely passive for a cichild)
One red tail shark ( still small)
One huge golden barb.

The newest additions to the tank are the jewels, however they seem to present no problems. As of lately my golden barb has had severe fins nipped and I’m unsure who is the culprit. Any and all advice is welcome. And I am aware these fish are not a great mix and am trying to set ip a new tank.

 

[itiwhetu]

You have multiple issues with your tank. You need to divide the tank into decent areas. The tank needs more structure. Convict Cichlids are never happy campers and will always cause headaches. Jewel Cichlids are mildly better than Convicts. But in the long term you are going to have to do some heavy-duty political negations through NATO to keep everyone happy.

 

[Colin_T]

What sort of tank did you want, peaceful community, tank busters, or something in between?

What are the tank dimensions (length x width x height)?

What is the GH (general hardness), KH (carbonate hardness) and pH of your water supply?
This information can usually be obtained from your water supply company's website or by telephoning them. If they can't help you, take a glass full of tap water to the local pet shop and get them to test it for you. Write the results down (in numbers) when they do the tests. And ask them what the results are in (eg: ppm, dGH, or something else).

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Get rid of the jewel cichlids because they will kill everything when they start breeding.

Get rid of the convict cichlids because they will breed out of control and probably bash the keyhole cichlid.

Get rid of the clown loaches and just stay with the yoyo loaches.

Gold barbs and all barbs need to be kept in groups of 10 or more. Either get more or get rid the individual.

Redtail shark could have issues with the loaches when the shark is older. A rainbow shark is a better option and not quite as agro. Or better yet, just stay with the loaches and suckermouth catfish.

 

[FishEs2978]

Okay I’ll test my water in the local shop when I get there next, I’m looking for a peaceful community but with decent sized fish. However if I was to go down the route of jewels what are the best rank mates ? I’ll have a restructure of the tank and provide more places to hide etc. Tank dimensions are 140*20*20

 

[GaryE]

I've kept a few jewel species, and one thing they have in common is they kill tankmates if they feel the slightest threat to their young, whether the young are in the planning stage or actually there. So my rule every time I break down and get them again is no tankmates.
That's about how I would approach convicts.
It's certainly what I'd do if I ever made the mistake of getting a solitary, anti-social red tailed shark.

I suspect you've been a little too trusting with a clearly inexperienced fish seller. I hope he or she will be just as helpful about taking fish back. That poor keyhole is like a grade school kid in a jail cell with hardcore members of two rival gangs. He is doomed unless the rough kids get sent elsewhere.

 

[FishEs2978]

Okay thank you for the information it has been really helpful, from what you’ve told me I’ll return the convicts and jewels and replace the red tail for a rainbow. Do you recommend getting the keyhole a partner ? And I’ll also up the golden barbs to 7. Are there any other tank mates you’d suggest ? If I’m looking for relatively large scale fish. About the same size as they keyholes. I have looked at gouramis but I’m just not so keen on keeping them … and in the future I’ll certainly be doing my own research before blindly trusting the fish shops. Thank you

 

[GaryE]

A rainbow shark is just an uglier, just as nasty bottom dwelling barb. Get Corydoras instead - a group of 6. A person who doesn't love watching Corys is probably yet to be born.


I love keyholes. A pair would be nice as if they pair off and breed, they don't kill tankmates in a tank the size of yours. They may be the dumbest cichlid I ever kept, but they are nice little things.

Gold barbs grow - check maximum size. They'll be your big fish if you take that route.

 

[Colin_T]

Are the tank dimensions (140x20x20) in cm or inches?

Don't mix Corydoras and loaches, just stay with the yoyos. They can get big depending on the strain. Most will reach 4-5 inches long, a friend put 10 in his 6ft tank and the alpha female hit 10 inches in 6 months. The males were between 6-8 inches long. They were from the same batch as mine, which were kept in a 4ft tank.

Filament barbs, rosy barbs and even odessa barbs will all get along. Have a group of 8-10 of each, assuming there is room.

I would get another keyhole cichlid. They are lovely fish, although very under rated.

There is a species of jewel cichlid that resembles the normal type but they are meant to be very peaceful. I can't remember the name of them but a forum member was interested in them a year or so ago and made a post about them. I was quite shocked when they mentioned they were peaceful but according to all the information I read on them, they were indeed peaceful and had a completely opposite nature to normal jewel cichlids.

 

[FishEs2978]

I will have a read up on the jewels, I have now returned the shark and convicts, they refused to take back the jewels so I’ve listed them for sale. I’m leaning down the route of Odessa’s and another keyhole. I looked at apistogrammas a while back are these too small for the tank ? Thanks . It is in cm

 

[Colin_T]

I wonder why they refused to take the jewel cichlids back
They should take them back because they sold them to you and are responsible for making sure you get suitable fish. They didn't really do that

No other fish until the jewels are gone and definitely not small peaceful cichlids like Apistogrammas, they will get ripped apart.

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That's an unusual size tank. Was it custom made?
If it was 18 inches (45cm) wide and high it would be a much better size for fish.

How big does the pleco get?

Clown loaches will get too big for the tank.

 

[FishEs2978]

Yes was custom made to fit a space I had … I’ll wait until the jewels are gone but when they are gone would apistogramas be a good fit ? I believe it is a bristlenose ( it’s a female so not 100% sure ) I always had the intention of moving the clowns when they got too big.

 

[Colin_T]

If the tank was wider and higher you could probably have a pr of Apistogrammas with the keyhole cichllids, but due to the width of the tank, I would stay with 2 keyhole cichlids and leave it at that.

 

[AmyKieran]

Reiterating what others have said but jewels are really nasty fish. Will defo cause problems in the long run