which fish to keep?

[fatboybaby]

hi,

i'm new to this forum and am also a fairly newish fishkeeper, having had fish for about a year.

the problem is, when i first started i got a bit carried away so now i have 2 tanks and way too many fish and i'm not sure what the best solution is.

i shall list my tanks and fish and would love it if someone could advise which i should keep and which i should try and rehome.

i am unable to buy a larger tank at present, if i could i would in order to be able to keep my gibbiceps who i love...

anyways:

tank 1 - juwel rekord 60 (55 litres -14 US gallons) with internal filter plus additional fluval 1
contains:

8 tiger barbs
2 otoclincus
1 female guppy
1 weather loach

tank 2 - (100 litre - 26 US gallons) custom built with external canister filter eheim professional 2232

contains (and this is the bad one!)

3 angelfish
1 gibbiceps
2 bala shark
9 harlequin rasbora
2 male guppies
3 bronze corydoras
1 hatchetfish

they all are living happily together for the moment albeit with high nitrates, and also one of the angels is beginning to become aggressive.

i suspect the advice will be to rehome the gibbiceps and the bala sharks and at least one of the angels but would be great to get some opinions!

thanks very much

fbb

 

[webcat5]

The usual standard is 1 inch/gallon, as your gibbicep can grow to be 18 inches long, all you have to do is add them up.

3 Angels = 18 inches approx
1 Gibbicep = 18 inches approx
2 Balas = 12 inches approx
9 Rasbora = 9 inches approx
2 Guppies = 3 inches approx
3 Corys = 9 inches approx
1 Hatchet = 4 inches approx

All totaled you have around 63 inches of fish in a 26 gallon tank.

 

[SirMinion]

Yep, sadly in the 100L you're going to need to rehome the angels, gibbicep and the balas for sure.

In the 55L the Weather loach needs more room (move it to the 100L?) and some friends and you're pushing it with 8 tiger barbs.

Well done for recognising your mistakes and welcome to TFF!

 

[Bloo]

The usual standard is 1 inch/gallon, as your gibbicep can grow to be 18 inches long, all you have to do is add them up.

3 Angels = 18 inches approx
1 Gibbicep = 18 inches approx
2 Balas = 12 inches approx
9 Rasbora = 9 inches approx
2 Guppies = 3 inches approx
3 Corys = 9 inches approx
1 Hatchet = 4 inches approx

All totaled you have around 63 inches of fish in a 26 gallon tank.

[snapback]873566[/snapback]​

Just one thing - a Hatchet Fish of 4 inches
I've never had any over 1.5 / 2 inches at most.

 

[GSD]

8 tiger barbs-theyre gonna get a little big for this tank.They need more space otherwise they will become agressive.
2 otoclincus-preberbly going to have to be moved.
1 female guppy
1 weather loach-Adult Size: 12 inches (30 cm) and live 10yearsjust did some reserch)
3 angelfish-definatley going to have to go.they need a tank of 30gallons.Although yours is close it is too overstocked for them.
1 gibbiceps-well i reserched about and it says Maximum Size: 18 inches.so thats gonna have to go!
2 bala shark-definatley going to have to go aswell!these guys get HUGE.
9 harlequin rasbora
2 male guppies
3 bronze corydoras

as a temporary fix i would

get rid of
balas(definatley)
gibbiceps-sailfin plec?
the angels
ottos not sure about them

put the tiger barbs into the 29 along with the dojo(weather)loach for now

and put the all the guppies and cories in the 14gallon for now

and i havent got a clue about the harlequins......
oh am confusing myslelf now

anyways welcome to TFF!

 

[OohFeeshy]

I'd agree, definately get rid of the angels, pleco and balas. And I'd say the tiger barbs and weather loach too. Then, heres what I'd suggest with the rest.

14g-
3 corys
9 rasboras


So you have left
2 male guppies
1 hatchetfish
1 female guppy
2 otos

Which should go in the other tank, and theres plenty of space left to make up school numbers and prepare for fry.

 

[webcat5]

Depending on species 1 to 4 inches long.My Webpage

 

[Bloo]

Depending on species 1 to 4 inches long.My Webpage

[snapback]873693[/snapback]​

Though the ones we buy in the general trade are the silver - Gasteropelecus sternicla 2.5" or marble - Carnegiella strigata 1.5".
I would love ot see a picture of a 4" hatchet - at a guess that is something only obtained in the wild.

 

[fatboybaby]

eek, thanks so much for all the responses you guys.

this is going to take a lot of thought, and a very accomodating LFS i fear - sadly i haven't found a decent one yet although there are some ok ones in my area.

hmm, it also means losing all my favourite fish

how sad.

perhaps i should try and persuade my husband of the need for a further tank instead.

would a larger tank help at all or is that just delaying the inevitable?


edit - oh, and its a marbled hatchetfish that i have.

 

[Bloo]

I don't think it's a good idea to buy yet another tank at this stage. It might just ruin the hobby for you and be a bit overwhelming to maintain all the tanks. At some point (almost undoubtedly) you will probably also have to deal with algae problems etc. etc. and all of that can be quite time consuming. Well unless you have loads of spare time on your hands

In your fish's (and your) best interest, I suggest you take the unsuitable ones back (and give the lfs a good telling off! lol - actually don't bother, they might not take the fish back !) and see how it goes for a few months first with the fish you currently have.

The longer you stick around on this forum, the more you'll discover that there are so many more fish out there you might not even have known to appreciate or found interesting before.

Good luck !

 

[fatboybaby]

thanks so much for your gentle advice!

i have been on one or two other forums and they are a bit scarier than this one!

so my feeling is to rehome the plec, the sharks, the angels and the weather loach which should hopefully give me a bit more room to manouver?

so sad to lose them all but i'm sure you're all right that it will be better off that way.

and my bank balance will definitely thank you bloozoo for advising me against an extra tank!!

 

[fatboybaby]

hi again,

we have progress!

my LFS is willing to sell them on for me but i need to state how much i would want for them and i have no idea!

i can either state individual prices or a price for the whole group.

i think i'm going to sell the

sailfin plec (who is 15cm at the mo but with a part missing from his tail)
3 angels
weather loach
2 bala shark.

is £25 - 30 for the whole lot a reasonable price?

i feel so mean selling them on

 

[Bloo]

WoW that's nice of them to actually offer to sell them on for you. Most shops at best would just give a credit note.

I think (seeing as they fish are still young and not towards to end of their livespan) £25 - ish is very reasonable.

 

[fatboybaby]

yep i was pretty surprised too.

they do a 2nd hand tank service too apparently.

thanks will aim for 25 altogether then.

now, how to get 7 large fish to russell square by tube...

 

[GSD]

bag them.and i would try and get a polostyrene box.you can get them for free in your lfs.carry them in there.and it will also keep them warm