What new fish should i get?

Originally posted by dbcb314
severum- full grown
parrot- full grown
botia- i believe it is full grown
shark- full grown
jewel- baby
krib- baby
firemouth- baby
african- not full grown obviously
elephant- not full grown


What would you reccomend i take back? the african knife fish?
the pleco? when you say take back, i need to know what?
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First there is nothing wrong with a little controled over crowding. As long as the mix and personalities of the fish is right. The fish personalities is a big factor. You can have the most docile species and have the biggest SOB that can cause havoc in your tank.

IMO: You can keep the parrot and the severum. I have seen that mix quite often with no problems.

My immediate chop list would inclued:
The african
the elephant
The krib
Either the jewel or the firemouth. One of them should be fine.
I also have to agree with the pleco idea of changing the common for the bristlenose.

So right now that would only be 4 fish and one change of species.
Give that a try. I don't think that you will have any problems.
 
Originally posted by dbcb314
so lets see, you want me to keep

firemouth
severum
botia
red tailed shark

wtf? are you freakin serious? 4 little fish in a 50 gal? you can keep all those fish in a 30. go a little overboard much? i would like you to explain your reasoning to get rid of the parrot, jewel, krib? i could understand the african knife as they do grow a foot (never seen one that big but) and the elephant nose as they get about 10 inches (never seen one that big but). but everything else, i dont understand.
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THEY'RE NOT LITTLE FISH, DBCB314. You can keep all those fish in a 30, but that doesn't mean that it will be successful. I didn't tell you to get rid of that Parrot, but to make a choice between it and the Sev. Both are large fish, and will need a 45 gallon minimum. That's when kept alone. Jewels are pretty darn aggressive, and don't think that yours won't be doing some roughhousing when it gets older in a tank stocked with bottom-dwellers. Kribs also can be aggressive, but you may not need to get rid of it as much as the other fish, but I'm thinking that your long-term bioload in that tank will be a little higher than you want.

You like tankbusters...you've given that away with your preferences for fish and with the fact that you think these are small fish. Get bigger tanks if you want to get the bigger fish.

Hey, apparently, Scott disagrees with me a little bit and would leave some more fish, but he's axeing some of the same ones as I suggested and some of the ones that I wouldn't because THEY'RE NOT LITTLE FISH.
 
stuff to know-

krib- not really even my fish. i am trying to grow it out for my brother. he loves the fish but it is too small for his tank and large kribs are not common here. he wont be in my tank terribly long.

pleco- there cheap. i dont have a lot of money (no job), so i could not get a cooler pleco. i have plans on giving this to my brother, taking my brothers pleco and putting it into a future african tank, and buying either a royal or gold nugget pleco.

elepant and african- i doubt i will get rid of the african. i know it gets too big, but i will keep it until the time comes. he is too cool, and i will be able to sell it later on. he is too cool. i was worried about compatibility with the cichlids, but they pay no attention to each other. the elephant is in the same boat as the african, except there is a bigger chance i will be getting rid of it LATER. definently not now.

jewel and firemouth- I dont see the problem with these too. I have heard of firemouths being able to stay in tanks with jd's, let alone a jewel, which are only really aggressive during breeding. what is the problem with these two?
 
I know you are trying to be helpful, but dawg you read too many books. A severum in a 45 minimum? your nuts. I have seen 2 in a 30 easily without incident. these fish were healthy as can be and they never picked on each other. A firemouth gets about 6 in i believe. that isnt really huge. The botia has not grown for about 3 monthes and he is about 6 inches. that isnt really huge. severum does get decent sized, but the shark is also full grown at about 5 inches. so, you want me to keep 20+ inches of fish in a 50gal.

and i dont really like the tank busters. i hate pacus, i hate huge catfish i really dont like oscars either. In a perfect world, i would be able to get a 75 gal and get what i want. but i have a 50.
 
I'm not sure that I'm going by an inch per gallon rule here...and that Severum thing didn't come from a book, it came from the owner/operator of this here site.

Hey, some people keep Doviis in a 180+ by themselves...that's 20+ inches of fish, too.

I may be a little conservative on this issue, and I recognize that. I just don't want my tanks "packed to the gills" so to speak, and I err on the side of caution. Fortunately, my fish have survived well in my tanks as a result (with the exception of the malnourished Oto and the elderly Betta), and I'll stay on the side of caution.

(There's no such thing as too many books...you were happy to learn the stuff about Aros from me, right? ;))
 
i agree with childawg. your tank is way over stocked man. i know you want a cool tank, but you gotta be nice to the fish as well :( its like living in a small apartment with a bunch of people. its livable, but its gotta suck :(
 
I hate to do this, but to correct a misconception, I will. I'm thinking cichlids are tropical fish...but I think you mean slender-bodied ones...
 
Basically the problem with the pleco is size. The commons and most of the pleco species get very big. The brislenose is a notoriously slow grower, and it doesn't nearly as big as most of it's cousins.

Firemouth are overrated. They are not tough fish. But like I previously said it all depends of the personality of the fish. I have owned firemouths that are real mean. I have also owned ones that never came out of the cave. If you happen to have a SOB though ..watch out.

Jewels however are NASTY, MEAN fish with a serious chip on their perverbial shoulder. This fish whether it seems doscile or not will torment any and all fish it can. They are tough. Your smaller, weaker and more doscile fish will be targets with a jewel.

As for the big boys. Hey you don't want my and others advice cool no problem. Some people have to learn things on their own. That's cool. Keep in mind though we have all been there before.

One last piece of advice you may choose to take or ignore.
I have been around this hobby long enough to know that when enough people give you the same advice about a fish.
Take it.

Best of luck dbcb314. Keep us updated on the tank.
 
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