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MeghanG

AC Members
Jul 19, 2011
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South Jersey
Hello,
I am very new to this hobby, but really enjoying it so far. So I have a 29 gallon bow front tank and have a few fish in it. Currently I have 3 lamp eye tetras, one black molly, a pair of balloon belly mollies, one pictus catfish and one silver tipped shark. I bought the catfish at the same time on the recommendation of the pet store I was at. I was told they they will remain fairly small and are great community freshwater fish. :headshake2: I really enjoy my catfish but have seen some information about them that makes me think twice about having them in my tank...I am not prepared for getting a larger tank anytime soon and do not want to turn my tank into a brackish one. All of my fish are getting along great so I'm not quite sure if I should return both catfish or just keep them how it is. I would LOVE any suggestions you have since all of you have much more experience than I do.
 
Big Mike

Big Mike

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Sep 8, 2009
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Hi MeghanG. The silver tipped shark (if its also called Columbian shark) will get very big and require brackish water. I have read that as adults they require full saltwater.
 
BettaFishMommy

BettaFishMommy

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Mar 17, 2008
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Sherry N.
welcome to the forum!

i'd return the silver tip shark. the pictus should be ok in there.

i would also up your tetra numbers. they like to be in groups of at least 5 or 6. you'll see much nicer schooling behaviour when they are in a bigger group. you have room to add at least another 6 to 8 lamp eyes if all your mollies are the same gender (i say that because breeding mollies can soon overtake a tank with all the babies! lol).

just be sure to quarantine any new fish in a separate tank for at least a month before adding them to your 29 gallon. you don't want to introduce disease or parasites to your current fish.
 
axelrod12

axelrod12

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Jan 10, 2011
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Greg
I would second returning the silver tip shark, especially if you aren't prepared to buy a larger tank for it as it grows.

Pictus catfish grow to be about 4-5" and are generally very active. They are also social and prefer to be with other pictus cats. However, I have heard that one can live happily in a 29g.
They are also semi-aggressive and will eat pretty much anything that fits in its mouth. So this could act as population control for any unwanted molly fry. However, I'm not sure if he would be a threat to your tetras or not.
 
Rbishop

Rbishop

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Dec 30, 2005
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Guess I would be for returning the Pictus. they seem to like company and are more active than you think in a large enough tank. You could substitute nicely with some small cory.
 
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