What to do now with my hodgepodge of fish species?

[horseridingirl]

We've determined that I made one of the first newbie mistakes - stocking my aquarium like "Noah's Ark with 2 of many different fish.

I have a 38 gallon long tank. I started out with 4 white clouds and 3 zebra danios to help "cycle" the tank per the fish store - appx 1 month ago.

I then added 2 Green Cories (one died the 2nd day), 2 Rosey Barbs, 2 Guppies, 1 pearl danio (was trying to get another zebra danio, but the pet store gave me this one and said it "didn't matter"), 1 gold pristella tetra, 6 neon tetras (then got another 3 more because they died/got eaten possibly by spotted catfish) of which only 1 is left, and had 3 cardinal tetras of which only 1 remains.

I also have one dwarf gourami and 3 tiger barbs - one of which has been sent to solitary confinement in the 10 gal tank because he is nipping at the other tiger barbs and many of the other fish that get in his way.

I've managed to kill off 4 angel fish, 1 bala shark, 10 tetras, and the green cory. I think this was because I had 2 angels at a time and they were intimidated by the other fish. And part of the cycle was completed with fish in the tank (because I didn't know better at the time).

I know I have too many different types of fish and want to do the right thing by possibly taking some back and getting more of others so that they will school and be more comfortable.

Does anyone have any suggestions on what to do/keep/get?

 

[fishstoreguy]

well, I would say there are too many fish in there already and some don't necessarily get along that well. It is good to have 3 or more tiger barbs because they focus aggression on each other rahter than others. The angels will take out tetras if big enough and depending on stocking order. The catfish may also be a culprit as the rule with catfish is usually if they can get it in their mouth they'll eat it. Or at least try. At the fish store where I work we had a tiger shovelnose catfish with another tigernose of almost the same size halfway down his throat before we found him. umm the pearl danio will probably get alot bigger than a zebra danio. If it is what i think it is. Still only 4" or so. I would steer clear of larger sharks like the Bala if you plan on buying more tetras. They get over a foot long when fully grown. If my count is right you still have the Danios +1 pearl, 4 white clouds, 1 gren cory, 1 spotted cat, 3 assorted tetras, 1 dwarf gourami and 2 tiger barbs. You can either go with a semi-aggressive tank and try to find a new home in a 10g for the tetras and dwarf gourami. or do that with the barbs and have a community tank of tetras dwarf gouramis and such.
There are really many ways to go with the tank but at this point I would wait a while and test your water to make sure everything is ok. The culprit for many deaths appears to be adding too many fish too soon. You should only add a few every week or so at the earliest. The fewer fish you introduce slower the more time your biological filter has to catch-up and make more bacteria to handle all the extra waste. Otherwise a tank will almost have to cycle again. Most stores do free water testing, and most times problems can be remedied with frequent water changes versus the introduction of chemicals. good luck!

 

[OrionGirl]

Which fish do you like best, based on looks and behavior?

 

[horseridingirl]

The angels were my favorites for the short time I had them. The most recent pair lived for 1 week. The previous pair were really small about the size of a dime - and they lived about a week too. I just don't want to get any more if I am doomed to kill them off! This past Saturday morning, I woke up and saw the marble angel fish floundering around, tipping up and down, and I raced him to the pet store but to no avail. They said my water was OK at the pet store and didn't know what could be wrong with him/them. I hooked up the airs stone Saturday hoping that would help.

I like the Cory Cats also. My green cory is so spunky. He tries to run with the Rosy Barbs sometimes. I like the Rosy Barbs too because they are pretty, bigger and spunky. The male chases the female all the time (which I'm not crazy about) and they are more aggressive for food. I like the zebra danios pretty well. The white clouds are OK. They just kind of hang around.

The guppies are pretty cool too. I think my female guppy and female danio are both preggie.

Oh, and the dwarf gourami is pretty and entertaining too. I've had him about 2 weeks and he comes up to the glass and looks like he's staring at you to give him food or something. I put the net in the tank to get the tiger barb used to it since he was chasing the others - and wanted to pull him out - and the dwarf gourami was checking out the net and he went and got in it! He's nosy.

I want them to do their own thing and not be hiding out from each other. Now it's such a mismatch of fish that it's hard to enjoy them -- they're just all different and all over.

 

[OrionGirl]

You'll really need to decide what you want to be the focus of the tank. Your current setup isn't large enough to accomodate comfortable groups of the current mix--so picking some and removing the others to allow room for filling out groups will be your best bet.