Community tank suggestions

E

erikcooper

AC Members
Feb 17, 2004
19
0
0
Visit site
Hello to all. I have some questions from a somewhat beginner to tankmates and such. I guess you could well say I am a beginner in all apsects but I have been reading a little bit and I get the drift of quite a few things. Anyhow, I have a community set-up going and was wanting some help with it.

Before I start though, does anyone know a good place to find a top for a 40g aquarium?

Ok, now to business. I have a 40g aquarium set up right now and I am going to list what I have living in it now.

I have:
Sunburst Wag Moon Platy - 2
Red Wag Moon Platy - 2
Painted Red Wag Moon Platy - 1 (One died after a day in his new tank :( )
Red Velvet Swordtail - 1
Rainbow Shark - 1
Albino Rainbow Shark - 1
Fantail Goldfish - 1
Goldfish(regular) - 1
Figure 8 Puffer - 1
Chinese Algae Eater - 1
Common Pleco - 1
Bristlenose Pleco - 1
Ramshorn Snail - 1
Black Snail - 1
Blue Snail - 1

That is what I have. I have quite a few questions. I want to expand. 40g is more than enough room for this ammount of fish. The goldfish are fullsize and the sharks are both around 5 in. I have had those 4 for around 3 years or more now. I want to know if I should get a few more of any of the platies of swordtails.

Also I would like a small school of say, 10-15, fish to swim around. Would Neon Tetras be good for this?

I have another tank that is cycling right now to set up for two RB Piranhas. I will be moving a pleco into that tank, probably the common since he is a little bigger than the bristlenose, a lot cheaper, and easier to replace if the piranhas get into a bad mood.

Should I get a few more snails? If so any recomendations? What about shrimp or crabs or both? Are these good for this setup? If so what kinds?

Also, anything that you think would be good to have in this setup please let me know. I am interested in all kinds of fish and just need some suggestions. Since there is a good ammount of room for territories some barbs maybe? Danios, Corys, Rainbows, Mollies, Loaches, Rasboras?

I thank any and all who reply very much. I could use this help and I know it will take a while to be thorough on all these questions.

Erik Cooper
 
Last edited:
Sunburst Wag Moon Platy - 2
Red Wag Moon Platy - 2
Painted Red Wag Moon Platy - 1 (One died after a day in his new tank )
Red Velvet Swordtail - 1
Rainbow Shark - 1
Albino Rainbow Shark - 1
Fantail Goldfish - 1
Goldfish(regular) - 1
Figure 8 Puffer - 1
Chinese Algae Eater - 1
Common Pleco - 1
Bristlenose Pleco - 1
Ramshorn Snail - 1
Black Snail - 1
Blue Snail - 1


Actually, Eric, you dont have enough room for these fish. If your Goldfish is only 5 inches then you have stunted him. By the age you described, your fish should be about fully grown and for a goldfish that means 7-10 inches for fancy goldfish and 12+ inches for common goldfish. Also, goldfish are not tropical fish, do not eat the same food as tropical fish, do not like the same temperature as tropical fish, and produce mass waste when compared to tropical fish. :(

Your common pleco should have 55+ gallons and that is a bare minimum. They (too) reach over a foot in length when fully grown and need LOTS of room to roam around in. I hope you have driftwood in this tank as plecos almost NEED it to survive. Also, plecos are known to suck the slime off of slower moving Goldfish. This combination is definately NOT good. :(

Your shark should also be much larger and I'm afraid you've stunted him too if he's as old as you say and still that small. They can be aggressive towards the other fish you have in there too.

I dont know what else to say Eric. The 2 goldfish you have in there alone needs 40-50 gallons and combined with the shark and plecos, you have quite a mess on your hands...I'm sorry to be the one to say this, especially now that you have all these fish.

Oh boy
 
I agree with AFG

Also, that figure 8 puffer requires a tank that size just for himself; plus they need brackish water. You have tropical, cold water, and brackish water species COMBINED. For all the fish you mentioned, you should have 3 completely different setups for each type.
 
I couldn't agree more with the other two replies. :( Sadly, the Chinese Algae Eater is also likely to wreak havoc in your tank at some point. As they grow, they become very aggressive and will suck onto the sides of your fish. :sick:
 
I am not quite sure that the sharks or goldfish have been stunted. The 4 of them shared a 29g for at least a year and that is where they reached the sizes they are now. While the 29g would not be enough room for them as they grew, it was plenty for them at the sizes they had so it shouldn't have stunted them. I was told when I got the sharks that they could not live with the goldfish because of the higher temp water that they needed and because of the diseases the goldfish could spread. While I was away at school however my mom put the sharks in with the goldfish and they stayed that way until I came home 3 months later with no problems at all. The fancy may be mre than 5in., but if so not much. The regular goldfish came from some fry that my grandmother had in her pond and only one of the fish in her pond have grown more than the size that he is now, and the pond only had 4 total golds in it, for a 6' diameter pond they wouldn't have stunted. The sharks are not supposed to grow more than 6in. fully grown so I figured that I just happened to have a couple that didn't quite get as big as some others.

As for the pleco, he is only about 3 in. right now and he will be moved to the piranha tank in little more than a week. That tank will be a 65g so it will be plenty for him. Speaking of the RBs, does anyone know what number I should get for a 65g tank? I have been told no less than 3 regardless because they need to shoal in order to not grow to dislike each other. How many can the tank hold?

I figured that since the goldies and sharks were not going to get any larger and have their own sections established in the 40g that there would be enough room for a school of smaller fish. Let me know what you guys think after reading this reply.

Erik Cooper
 
The truth is, if your goldfish is "fully grown", yet he is under 7-8 inches he is stunted. Common goldfish should be a foot long, if not close to 1.5 feet. If he is not that length, he is stunted.

The sharks get larger than 6", so he most certainly is stunted. If the pleco continues to grow, then chances are he is OK, but regardless he needs to be moved out ASAP.

Do not add any more fish to this tank until you take care of your latest problems. And might you have good luck in finding these fish proper homes. No, they cannot stay how they are.

HTH
 
Well I dont know about that. Goldfish ARE freshwater fish. It's just that they prefer different foods, and a slightly different temperature. They can "survive"...its a matter of the space they have more than anything. They are being pushed to the limits with the rest of the fish in this tank.
 
although I respect you guys knowledge I'm gonna have to step in here on the goldfish deal. My parents have a goldfish pond in their backyard that's probably in the neighborhood of 800 gallons. We stocked the pond probably 10 years ago with numerous types of goldfish from the common "feeder" goldfish, fantails, fancy goldfish, Koi and Comets. They've bred numerous times and who knows what crossbreeding has been done. We have stocked about 6 other ponds of family and friends from the babies. Only the Koi and a few Comets have ever reached over 8". Most of the common goldfish reach a maximum length of 6"-7" or less. We have some that I know are at least 6 or 7 years old that are around 5". I doubt very seriously that he has "stunted" his fish. In addition, I had a redtail black shark that was an aquarium fish in a 10 gallon tank when I was younger that was introduced to this pond at around 3.5" long and my parents no longer wanted to keep this tank running. A year later we drained the pond for cleaning due to being overrun by catfish babies and we took out the tropicals we had put in the pond the year before to give to a friend with a large tank. The redtail had reached 6" in his new surroundings. I am a firm believer in the fish only reaching the size his surroundings will allow up to a certain point. Kyle
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
AquariaCentral.com
Top Bottom