# New to the Board, lots of Questions



## rick1574 (Oct 10, 2008)

hello all, i'm new to fish hobby. about a month about someone gave me a 10gal tank and after filling it with some decorations and a variety of barbs, i'm addicted. 

acting under the advice of a walmart employee (first mistake) i started with 3 tinfoil barbs, 3 tiger barbs, and 3 cory cats. after doing a little research and losing two fish (i tinfoil barb which died 3 days later, and one cory cat who was probably nipped to death) i realized 10gal might be a little small for the fish i have. 

i just purchased a 55gal tank from someone local at a great price. i'm looking to get a few more tiger barbs, and a bunch of other fish and invertebrates. i really want to get a IR shark, but after reading i know 55gal is waaaay to small for them. my question is how long could i expect an IR shark to live in a 55gal tank? or how long before it'll outgrow the tank and i need to make arrangements for a larger home for him? 

instead of a IR shark i was thinking of a Red tail shark, would they mix well with the other fish? any other recommendations, or places i can look to see what fish get along with what? i've seen a couple different charts, but they seem to have conflicting information. anyone have a chart they know works? 

thanks in advance for the help.


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## COM (Mar 15, 2008)

A Red-Tailed is a much better idea, but I wouldn't do it myself.

My suggestion would be to move your fish in to the 55 gallon, see which ones you like best, and then work on beefing up schools.

You can do a lot with a 55 gallon tank. Some people here will call it a small tank, but it isn't. It's a great size and you have lots of options. Great move on upgrading!


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## Guest (Oct 11, 2008)

Welcome to Fish Forums!


A Red-tailed shark should be ok with the fish you have now. It may pick on the Cories, but I think usually, they just have issues with their own kind. Give it some hiding spots and add to the Cory school and they should be fine together.

Definitely get a bunch more Tiger Barbs. They will be less likely to nip other fish when you have around 8 or more.

Are you planning on keeping the Tinfoils? Those guys get BIG.


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## Clerk (Nov 22, 2006)

However, do not add any more fish until you read and fully understand the 'cycling' process!


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## akangelfood (Jun 26, 2008)

The RTS's are rather docile with other types of fish. Mine occasionally gets territorial, but never does any real damage, just chases the others away. They do love caves and driftwood, so make sure you make plenty of those  The trick to a RTS is, like someone mentioned above, getting one, and only one. They fight terribly amongst themselves. Mine also seems to adapt it's behavior to match it's tankmates; kind of a cool trait IMO.


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## fishboy689 (Jul 16, 2008)

Typical walmart employee says something stupid like that.
How about an oscar?
They are great fish which have ALOT of personality.


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## Fishfirst (Jan 24, 2005)

not to mention get huge and create a lot of waste for a 55 gallon tank  I would continue on the path you are on, creating a semi aggressive community. 

Here is a suggestion:
8-10 Tiger Barbs (Green Tiger barbs, albino, ect. all the forms of tiger barbs will school together)
1 Red Tail Shark
1 or 2 Rubberlip plecos or bristlenose plecos
2 kribs or 1 angelfish
6 Congo tetras or 6 Bleeding Heart Tetras or 6 Black Widow (possibly a mix of white skirt) tetras


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## rick1574 (Oct 10, 2008)

thanks for the input! 

as far as the cory cats, i was thinking of leaving them in my 10gal tank and then adding a beta. 

as far as other fish to add, that's where i'm having a hard time deciding. i wanted to get some fish that'll grow to a good size, but i'm worried that the smaller fish (like the tiger barbs, or a red tail shark) will get eaten. 

i'm friends with a local pet store manager who said he'd give me credit on any of the fish i bring in, so i'm pretty much open to anything at this point. i've got a list of fish i'm like, i'm just trying to put together a list where they'll all get along and i don't have to worry about the body count in my tank rising. 

i've been looking at varieties of sharks, cichlids, clown loaches, black kuhlii loaches, oscars, as well as keeping my current fish. 

i plan on getting some grass or plants for my tank, as well as plenty of hiding spots via caves and other decorations. i also received a couple bubblers with my tank. and i was looking into getting shrimp or other kinds of crayfish to help clean the tank. 

nothing is going into the tank for about a week. i just filled it with water last night, i'm going to run the filter for a couple days and get started with plants and also make sure i can maintain a stable temperature. 

does anyone have any good links for fully understanding the cycling process? i've been reading bits of pieces here and there. also any pros or cons when it comes to having gravel vs sand in your tank?


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## oblongshrimp (Sep 3, 2008)

With the species you have in there now I don't think most species of shrimp or crays would work for you. If they are to big for the fish to eat them then the shrimp/cray may injure the fish (primarily crays).


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## Fishfirst (Jan 24, 2005)

"I've been looking at varieties of sharks, cichlids, clown loaches, black kuhlii loaches, oscars, as well as keeping my current fish."


A red tail shark or rainbow shark would be the two sharks that would stay small enough to keep them in a 55 gallon for life... I'm sure you've seen balas (minimum 75g), silver tips (minimum 75g and brackish), Irridescents (minimum 1000g) all at your local store. 

Cichlids that go with your shark temperment would include Kribs, Apistos, and possibly some shell dwellers.

Clown loaches get big (10") but are relatively slow growers. Although they wouldn't be comfortable in a 55 for life, they would be fine in there for 4-6 years and they probably could be traded in for quite the price. I would however look into smaller loaches (Skunk, Weathered, Striated, ect)
black Kuhliis would be cool if there is a lot of cover and no other more aggressive loaches in the tank. 

An Oscar is not a good idea.

Crayfish are for a species only tank and would quickly consume any fish that they could catch. Shrimp maybe picked on by nippy barbs or cichlids, however it may still work with a lot of cover.
http://www.fishforums.com/forum/general-freshwater/7125-nitrogen-cycle-basics.html <--- Nitrogen Cycle link
Pros to sand: Keeps the detritus on top and can't get lost in the gravel Cons: You can see detritus a lot easier


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## rick1574 (Oct 10, 2008)

thanks for the info. 

i started cycling my tank and since i bought it used, it already had some gravel in it along with a small build up of algy on the sides of the tank. how will that affect my cycling process? 

i've been monitoring all the levels and they all seem to be in the "safe" zone. i only have one of those quick dip strips, i'm not sure how accurate they were. i'm still going to hold off on fish, i'm going to get some plants and let them grow first before i start adding fish. i just replaced the rocks with new ones and cleaned off all the algy from the sides two days ago, after letting it sit for four. 

also, i know the RT shark is very territorial, should i get him last? i read on another forum of a RT shark attempting to claim an entire tank as his territory and i was looking for ways to avoid that. 

thanks.


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## Gump (Aug 2, 2006)

To cycle your tank you need to introduce some ammonia in the form of fish waste or chemical, which will start to break down and start the cycling process.


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## rick1574 (Oct 10, 2008)

so i'm ok to add a few expendable fish? 

any breeds that have a good chance of surviving? i know when i set up my 10 gal tank i didn't cycle, and i only lost two of the initial fish, and the 5 surviving were all barbs. can i transfer them over or get new barbs to put in?


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## Gump (Aug 2, 2006)

A few feeder gold fish will work just fine.


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## emc7 (Jul 23, 2005)

The 55 is your second tank, and the 10 is cycled, right? So move a few of the barbs and cut a corner of the filter media from the 10 and put in the 55s filter. Repeat after 7-10 days (2 more barbs, and another "seed" of filter). No need for "cycling fish" that you have to get rid of and can introduce new diseases.


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## rick1574 (Oct 10, 2008)

my 10gal is cycled...could i just swap filters from my 10 gal and 55gal and slowly start moving the fish over?


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