# my fishlist... help..



## avid_novice (Sep 22, 2008)

newbie here.. 
first of all... from where i come from,we dont really uses "gallons" as a measuring term.. so i dont know how many gallons my tank holds.. but i can give u its dimensions.. length :30in , height: 15in, width :12in..so hope u guys can temme how many gallons its capacity is...
and these are the fish i have currently:
2 iridescent sharks.. ( had them in my old tank)
2 blue gouramis
1 red swordtail
2 tiger barbs
2 marble mollies
1 betta/ siamese fighter male and 1 female
6 zebra carps
4 guppies ( kinda adolescent stage i guess)...

wud be grateful if any of you could tell me if ive been foolish in selecting my fish 
thanks
ashwin


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## avid_novice (Sep 22, 2008)

oh and if so what fish can i possibly start off with... oh and one more thing, can i get a common pleco or a mystery snail to clean up my tank?


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## emc7 (Jul 23, 2005)

Strictly, those dimensions hold 23 gallons. Look at fish recommendations for 20 gallon long tanks they should be right on. 

3 problems. 

1) The sharks http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iridescent_shark. If these are them they are food fish that get 4 ft (48 in.) long. 

2) tiger barbs. The can get very nippy in low numbers. They are best kept in schools in 55 gallon tanks.

3) zebra carp. I don't know exactly what this is, but most carp have the same issues goldfish do (get large, eat anything, like cooler water than tropical fish)

Oh, and i missed one

4) bettas. Almost no one keeps males and females together, they have a tendency to kill each other. You might get away with it in a heavily planted tank where they could hide from each other.

And add common pleco? Did you see the pic on another thread of 3 ft long pleco?

Is this a real question or a troll?


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## Guest (Sep 22, 2008)

First off, welcome to Fish Forums. 


I have to say, I agree with emc, above. 


I calculated out your dimensions and it seems your tank is about 23 US gallons. I know that won't mean much to you, since you don't use gallons, but it will help others in the US.

I hope that is your list and not the fish you currently have in the tank.

I'm wondering if by Zebra carp, you mean Zebra Danios maybe? Since you have 6 listed. Is this the fish you are talking about: http://www.happytanks.co.uk/thetank/wp-content/uploads/2007/12/zebra_danio.jpg?

If so, then they would be ok for your tank size. I would choose either the Guppies or Mollies and leave off the Swordtail. Platies are another option, that resemble Swordtails, but don't get as large as the males. Having 1 type of livebearer will reduce the chances of overpopulating your tank. You should know that Mollies tend to be healthier with some salt in their water and the other fish you want may not like that.

Blue Gouramis get pretty large and usually fight with their own kind, unless they have alot of room. I would change that for a Dwarf or Honey Gourami, if you can find one and only get 1.


If you already have those fish, I'm afraid you'll need to exchange them for others. Alot of the fish aren't right for your tank size.


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## avid_novice (Sep 22, 2008)

thanks a lot .. but can i keep them till they grow a bit and then transfer them to a much larger tank, which i can make if necessary, or is it not altogether advisable to keep them in one tank?.. in any case,if any of u can gimme a list of fish( and how many of each) i can keep in my tank, ill atleast have an idea of what to do.. worst come worst ill give away my current fish .. and well i obviously didnt know abt the growing capacities of the common pleco but thanks anyways for telling me.. so cud i get a mystery snail instead?.. or shud i hunt around for a dwarf pleco?

and yes i think im talkin abt zebra danios ... just that mine are orange in color..the ppl at the petstore called them zebra "carps"...


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## Guest (Sep 23, 2008)

Can you tell us where you're from? That would help to figure some things out and maybe give you better advice 

The others have given you some good info, and I have to agree with them.
Exactly which fish do you have in your tank?

The biggest problems I see are the sharks, which get far too big as said, and the combination of bettas. Both of which I would not keep in your tank for any period of time. You should be ok if you follow the advice given, but your situation isn't that clear.


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## avid_novice (Sep 22, 2008)

oh right .. I'm in India... way down in south India where it gets pretty hot.. we really don't need any heaters out here .. and yes i forgot to mention that I've separated the bettas.. and i just visited the pet store today and they've agreed to take in my sharks.. so thats how much I've progressed as of today...


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## emc7 (Jul 23, 2005)

Thats good. You should be ok for awhile. Watch your fish. You should be able to see when the gouramis start picking on each other or the tiger.barbs get nippy.


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## emc7 (Jul 23, 2005)

On the gouramis, my book say 40 gallon minimum, 1 male max per tank (you could have a male and a female), and if you keep them with nippy barb, you will never see them (they will hide all the time). For tiger barbs, 30 gallon minimum, keep in schools, don't mix with long finned fish (like bettas and gouramis) because they will nip them.


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## avid_novice (Sep 22, 2008)

thanks!.. can you help me out have a list of fish which i could possibly keep in my tank?... i really like neon tetras...


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## emc7 (Jul 23, 2005)

You could keep a school of neon tetras in that tank, maybe 8-10. But I would wait until you take out some of the large & more aggressive fish. 

I think you could have neons and danios, one dwarf gourami or betta or pair of rams, and maybe 6 cories. If you want to keep one kind of livebearer, skip either the neons or the danios.


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## avid_novice (Sep 22, 2008)

ok right.. now i have in my tank,the 23 gallon one that is, the 2 iridescent sharks which are gonna go soon, 2 blue gouramis(both look like females),2 marble mollies, the zebra danios, and 2 guppies.. in my 10 gallon tank i have 2 tiger barbs.. and in a separate bowl i have my male betta who seems to be much happier now... and yes the male swordtail and female betta died due to fungal infection today morning.. although it looked like the swordtail had been nipped around.. .. well im learning the hard way i guess..


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## Blue Cray (Oct 19, 2007)

The tiger barbs still wont work a 10g is way to small for them.


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## avid_novice (Sep 22, 2008)

ok heres an update...
>the sharks have gone
>the 2 very tiny tiger barbs in a 10 gallon as of now
>the two blue gouramis look kind of settled in the tank and i dont think i shud disturb them as of now.
>am still looking for an algae eater.
>oh and do i need a sponge filter for my 23 gallon? i have 2 undergravel filters at the moment.
>the pet store nearby just received new stock. they got rams and another kind of cichlid which i couldnt figure out. should i get a pair or 2 of them?
>lastly my betta which is a fish bowl now is active, but a strand(?!) of his tail is hanging by the tip. will try to put up photos. he seems pretty active though he is not really eating.(tried feeding dried worms)


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## avid_novice (Sep 22, 2008)

............anybody?


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## emc7 (Jul 23, 2005)

relax, calm down, take it slow. How long has the tank been up now? You still have danios, gouramis, mollies, guppies and swordtails, right? I really think that is enough fish for a new tank for now. 

If the UGs are working, then you don't need sponges, they kind of do the same thing. You can tell if they are working if you have no ammonia, no nitrite, and rising nitrate. If you don't test the water, don't worry, but don't hurry to add more fish. Its safer to go slow.


On rams and other cichlids. For a tank that size, no more than one pair total and get rid of the gouramis first. Both gouramis and cichlids will want territory and that tank is too small for both. Be careful you know exactly which cichlid you are getting. There are rams that top out at 3" and there are Peacock Bass that people catch in fishing tournaments. Both are cichlids.


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## emc7 (Jul 23, 2005)

Whoa "peacock" wasn't filtered. Hurray!


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