Which Fish?

[millie1]

i knwo im posting a lot but you guys are really knowledgeable!

soo far..


silver sharks -(2)
red tail black shark (1)
german blue ram (2)
zebra snail - (2)
blue lobster (1)

200 litre tank - this be overstcked? wrong fish?

thanks

 

[Sparnon]

i knwo im posting a lot but you guys are really knowledgeable!

soo far..


silver sharks -(2)
red tail black shark (1)
german blue ram (2)
zebra snail - (2)
blue lobster (1)

200 litre tank - this be overstcked? wrong fish?

thanks

You have about 44 gallons, so after gravel and decor I'd say probably 40 gallons.

That gives you at maximum, 80 inches of fish.

Your bala sharks are equal to about 12 to 16 inches.
Your red tail black shark equal to 6 inches.
Your rams if they're the small type, 5 inches.
Ignore the inverts.

27 inches used up so far. You've got another 53 to go. Don't go nuts as this is just a very rough guide.

As for your selections, your pairing of dwarf rams is spot on, they love being in pairs. Your red tail may harass your balas, and your blue rams may be a bit too peaceful for the boisterous sharks, and the red tail can get very territorial toward all three. Avoid any more similar looking species such as other "shark" type fish or anything that looks remotely similar. Go for robust, hardy fish that can fend off the red tail. Avoid species that are likely to be targetted by your sharks. A shoal of tiger barbs would probably would have been a good choice until you added the rams. My suggestion to you would be to get a smaller tank to house the rams with a few tetras, and stock your shark tank with boisterous fish like barbs, or remove the red tail and keep more cichlids, bala sharks, and tetras.

Failing that, avoid corys and other catfish, since the temperature requirements of the sharks and rams in particular don't match them.

 

[Colin_T]

I'm not sure about 80inches of fish in a 40g tank.
A couple of full grown silver sharks will fill up the tank and then it will be at its maximum carrying capacity. In fact they might even need to be moved into a bigger tank when they get big (12+ inches).
Silver sharks also prefer to be in groups and although 2 will be ok, they would much prefer a few more friends to hang out with.

I would keep an eye on the crayfish because many of them grow to 6 inches or more and will eat any fish they can catch. A lot of them also eat plants. When the crayfish gets bigger it might eat your rams and red tail shark if it can catch it.
Mid to surface dwelling fish are a better choice if you plan on keeping crayfish/ lobsters.

 

[millie1]

wellll

my mother has now decided "im helping the pick the fish"
fab



im thinking more fishes now than sharks as she likes "pretty fish"

but having said that i saw a fabulous eel the other day! what can they safely be housed with? im thinking it may be too big for my tank anyhow!!

i dont mind just having a tank full of fish, no crayfish etc...

what can go in safely with a silver shark??? kinda set on them but willing to listen to other suggestions???

 

[Colin_T]

It depends on the type/ species of eel. Fire eels get big but spiny nose or peacock eels are small and do well in community tanks.

Silver sharks are pretty peaceful and don't normally go out of their way to eat other fishes. I have seen adult silver sharks (12inches long) in a 6ft tank with neons, cardinals and angelfish. They were all grown up together from a young age and that helps but the sharks never showed any interest in the other fishes.
You could keep angelfish, peaceful dwarf cichlids, certain barbs (depending on what other fish you keep, avoid tiger barbs if you keep fish with long flowing fins). Most of the bigger tetras would be fine (avoid black widow/ skirt, serpae, red-eye, buenos aires & columbian tetras as they are fin nippers and will cause problems to fish with long fins). Most catfish and loaches would be fine as long as they don't get too big for the tank.

Your best bet would be to go to the LFS and have a look at what is available. Take a pen and paper and write down the fish you like and then come back here. We can give you advice on what goes well together and help you refine your list

 

[millie1]

thanks!

ive decided im not going for the black shark...!

dont think id will do well with what iwant.....

were goign to go have a look next week - no rush but id like to know exactly what fish i want lol!

 

[catxx]

if I were you I'd return the silver sharks while they're small unless you can plan for a 6ft or larger tank in the future (I know I couldn't fit a tank that size in my house). rehoming fish to any petstore/private owner once they've grown over 6" while be nigh on impossible.

the trouble with wanting more shark like fish is that that red tailed black shark hates anything else shark shaped - territory wars! if you don't have enough caves, the shark and the rams will argue over territory also as they're both primarily bottom dwellers.

i would add no more bottom-dwelling fish. that includes corys and loaches (loaches would really annoy the rams anyway).

what that cray, they are not fish-friendly and with relatively slow-moving bottom-dwelling fish like rams, once that cray is big, it could easily pick one off during the night.

sparnon worked stuff out using the inch per gallon rule. that rule needs to be taken with a pinch of salt. with your fish you need to concentrate less on size and more on temperaments.

my option would be:
rehome the 2 silver sharks and the cray
add mid-top dwelling shoaling fish, a nice group of 6-8 or so, of fish such as cardinal tetras, cherry barbs, harlequin rasboras, basically non-nippy shoaling fish that are around 2" long when adult. smaller may get eaten by an adult red tailed shark, or picked off by the rams if they decide to spawn.

 

[millie1]

hi - ive no fish yet...

im changing my mind over slightly and thinking more commmunity tank....
i love the guppies etc..... really cute....

i like rams (can these go together?)

im sorta set on the crayfish *mabey a crab now...*

but dont have to get one lol - thinking it may catcha guppy really easily.....

hmmmm

 

[Colin_T]

Crabs eat fish if they can catch them. If you want a crayfish or a crab get a separate tank for them.

Guppies and rams can live together as long as the water isn't too acid or too alkaline. Try to keep the PH close to neutral 7.0-7.4 and have a general hardness between 100-200ppm. If the water is too soft or acidic the guppies won't do well. If the water is too hard or too alkaline the rams won't do as well.

 

[millie1]

thanks colin!