I just wanted to share that I traded in my Barbs a couple days ago and now I have two Rainbow Sharks and a Rainbow Gourami. They are absolutley beautiful to watch, especially the sharks, which I purchased them at about 3 inches long each. I've got three different caves in my tank at the moment and the sharks have already set up camp in two of them. The Gourami hangs out all over the place and sometimes in the third cave in which he gets a visit sometimes by the sharks and they seem just fine together. I'm planning on adding more Gouramis, a few more sharks, and Angel Fish to the mix in the future. It's fun to sit here in my office and just stare at them. I was a little bummed to get rid of the Tiger Barbs since they were my first fish but I wanted to go a different direction. Thanks to everyone on here who are always more than happy to answer even the most mundane of questions.
Just got sharks!
- Thread starter FaFaFooey
- Start date
how big is your tank?rainbow sharks get along when they are juvies but will fight and damage each other badly when they are older,so dont get any more sharks and you have to get rid of one probably.gouramis may not get along very well either,what species do you plan on getting?
My tank is 70g tall, and I was told by my local LFS "expert" that the Rainbows are schooling fish and do well in a school. I had all intentions of getting just one but he told me I could get plenty more, he also said Gouramis do well with the Angels and he said this tank makep would work out. Please don't tell me he is wrong because I will go down there right now and throw him a beating!!!! This is the problem with being a newb, you trust people know what they're talking about when they work at a fish store.
They guy at my LFS told me having a school of them would be OK in my aquarium, AND I just called another LFS near my house, and I'm not talking Petsmart or Petco but an actual Fishstore and they told me having multiple Rainbow Sharks in my 70g would be perfectly fine. You guys are confusing me now. Don't do that to a rookie.
They will kill each other most likely!
Here is some information:
http://www.thetropicaltank.co.uk/Fishindx/epal-fre.htm
Here is some information:
http://www.thetropicaltank.co.uk/Fishindx/epal-fre.htm
first tip in fishkeeping:FaFaFooey said:
whatever your LFS tells you is wrong 95% of the time. most people in those stores have very minimal experience in keeping fish, they just see the ones in the store (as juvies), read the basic of freshwater fish, and think they know everything about it. best place to get info is online from people that have actually owned the fish as adults or can give you some specific info. bala sharks like to be in shoals, not rainbow sharks. check out this site. when i first started i read alot about each fish on liveaquaria.com and got alot of the basics down. they dont have good recomendations on tank size (usually recommending to small) but the general info on the fish is usaully decent.
http://www.liveaquaria.com/product/prod_Display.cfm?pCatId=1081
how many rainbows are you planning on having in the tank and what other fish are going to be with them. The problem comes when less than 6 rainbows are in the tank. I honestly don't think that you are going to be able to hold a school any larger for a 70 gallon tank plus have anything else in the tank. 6 rainbows and less wil be a problem down the road. They are great when they are small and keep to themselves or play together, never seeming to do any harm but it seems over night, things change drastically. With less than 6, they will begin to become territorial. It will start with one and the head, beating on the next in line on down. When each loses the battle as the weker fish, the winning one will just move to the next guy until he is the only one left, if he isn't too injured himself. Your LFS may have the best of intentions however, I'm not sure if they have ever kept a school into their adult life at the store so chances are they are giving you this advice as experience from juveniles.
First off, thank you Risk for the link. I had been reading a bit on another website but then saw someone say it is the worst site around to get your info from, so I wasn't sure which site was best for info.
My whole idea of starting my tank was to have one Rainbow Shark (until LFS talked me into more) and to add Angel Fish. Those were my two priorities and then I was going to see what other fish were compatible and add accordingly. I was told I could have Gouramis and really liked them so I figured school of Gouramis, school of Angel, and of course the Shark. I had also wanted to get some sort of Cory but they told me they would be too big for my tank as adults.
Now a few things.....first off, do I get rid of one of my sharks now, or do I wait until I see them sparring? Second, is the setup of tank mates I just mentioned going to work? Also, is it true a Cory would not work in my tank? Is there any other species you would recommend adding or not adding? Finally, which are the best sites to look at for info?
My whole idea of starting my tank was to have one Rainbow Shark (until LFS talked me into more) and to add Angel Fish. Those were my two priorities and then I was going to see what other fish were compatible and add accordingly. I was told I could have Gouramis and really liked them so I figured school of Gouramis, school of Angel, and of course the Shark. I had also wanted to get some sort of Cory but they told me they would be too big for my tank as adults.
Now a few things.....first off, do I get rid of one of my sharks now, or do I wait until I see them sparring? Second, is the setup of tank mates I just mentioned going to work? Also, is it true a Cory would not work in my tank? Is there any other species you would recommend adding or not adding? Finally, which are the best sites to look at for info?
I would return one of the sharks now before anything can happen because when I say it happens in an instant, no one is going to want to take in an adult shark with open sores. The set up sounds nice, probably something I would try if given the chance too. I've never tried gourami's with them but I suppose it will work, I think though that more than 1 gourami may be a challenge too if they are not the dwarves.
As far as cories getting too big for your tank as adults... that is just a completely ridiculous statement. They will by far be the smallest fish in your tank. I believe they max out at an inch or two at best. You can have a comfortable school of them too, as well as including a nice fancy pleco.
As far as cories getting too big for your tank as adults... that is just a completely ridiculous statement. They will by far be the smallest fish in your tank. I believe they max out at an inch or two at best. You can have a comfortable school of them too, as well as including a nice fancy pleco.
