stock question

[tropical94]

Ok, my bro got a 55g (brackish). He has i think 3 green spotted puffers, 1 figure-8, 1 blackfin colombian shark, and 1 flounder. Now hes adding 1 needle nose gar, 1 monus argentis, and 1 convict cichlid. Im sure theres probably going to agression issues, but i dont know much about brackish tanks. Im worried about the convict though. I would think that IF it can adapt to brackish, that it would be very stressful on the fish. Any opinion on his stock? Thanks

 

[zoowks]

He's overstocked with just the three gsp's. that 55 would be the minimum for 2. Gsp's and figure-8's should not be kept together because as adults gsp's need high end brackish to marine and figure-8's are low end brackish for life. The columbian shark will be ok with the gsp's and can also go full marine in adulthood, until one day the gsp's get to be adults and may become territorial and nip fins really bad. Same goes for flounder depending on species for its specific gravity. I have never heard about a convict being brackish. Also 2 aggresive species such as the convict and gsp are not a good idea in the first place. I'd tell him not to add the garr, monus and convict. Look toward using that money to another tank to home the figure-8, flounder and columbian shark which have a better chance of being peaceful tankmates.

 

[MonoSebaelover]

Mono's are SCHOOLING fish, so 1 fish is not going to work. It needs to be in groups of at least four, preferably 6 fish. They get to about 8-10 inches and require saltwater as adult so will very quickly outgrow the 55. I agree, your brother's tank is already stocked as it is with the puffers.
Convicts ARE NOT brackish, strictly freshwater, so adding one will more than likely kill it. I would tell him to leave the tank as it is, he is already going to need to upgrade. Hope this helps!

 

[tropical94]

Thanks hopefully this will get through to him. He said his 'fish guy' said it would be alright, but its obvious his fish guy doesn't know what hes talking about, or he doesn't care and just wants to make money.