Tropical Aquarium Advice

[the grim reaper]

The missus' aunt has just given us her aquarium and fish, as they have decided they no longer want them. The tank is 39 inches long, 17 deep and 19 high, it currently holds an 18" long pleco, a denison barb and two ghost catfish.

We're planning to go and get some more fish this weekend, what would people recommend or avoid?

Cheers

Grim
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[thegubner]

Work out how may litres it holds before you buy more fish as you need so many litres space per fish based on the size of each fish.

Mine have all died out over the last three years partly due to over stocking and partly due to lack of care.

On the plus side Josh, my daughters gerbil has a nice new home now.

[Harold_Shand]

Tiger Barbs are good.
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[the grim reaper]

[thegubner]

Yeah thats what i worked it out to be as well.









Honestly.

[wizzzard]

Owning cold water rather than tropical I can't be much help with the fish themselves save for introduce them to the tank slowly in their bag and let the temperature equalise.

Don't buy a few different kinds and put them in at once as this could lead to fisticuffs well finicuffs

Allow as much space per fish as you can, erring on the side of caution, overstocking is the cardinal sin in fish keeping.

Apart form that enjoy what I find to be the most relaxing hobby ever

P.S Photo's wouldn't go amiss.
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Zeitgeist / Addendum / Moving forward

[rac3r]

I might be wrong but neons might be too small. The main thing is filtration! The better that is the more fish you can have

My dad has a reef set up and I'll soon have my own 20g marine or tropical fish only tank
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[wizzzard]

Filtration is part of it but swimming room is the main factor.
I think from memory Neons will shoal if they have enough room, which looks pretty good.
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And did you exchange a walk on part in the war for a lead role in a cage?
Zeitgeist / Addendum / Moving forward

[JAMSXR]

Try this for some useful info.

https://www.fishlore.com/freshwaterfish.htm
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[the grim reaper]

The set-up we have inherited is pretty good, I'll get some photos up over the weekend, including the monster pleco.

The pump is an external unit and is pretty hefty, after moving the tank it cleared the water in no time and the tank is very clean. I don't know the make of pump but it is about 18" tall, green plastic, round and about 8" diameter, it is valved on the intake and ouput as well, so it's easy to change the filters etc. It has a mesh type filter at the top and some weird round hoops further down.

[edit] Found it, it's one of these

I'm looking forward to getting some new fish in it at the weekend, I'll take it steady for now and just get a few, to see how the different species get on. The Denison Barb has shown some aggression towards the Ghost Catfish but not in a damaging way, he/she will just chase them occasionally and then give up almost immediately.

Cheers

Grim
____________________
Adverts don't always work: Remember that advert, where the army are running across the desert and they have a wounded man on a stretcher. They get to a ravine, the bridge is down and a caption pops up that says, 'What are you thinking?'. I don't know about you but I was thinking, 'Christ, I'm glad I'm not in the f***ing army'.

[rac3r]

How about:

Pictus catfish? Nice and active and do well as a group
https://www.aqua-fish.net/show.php?h=pictuscatfish

Red fin Shark (NOT rainbow shark)
https://www.thetropicaltank.co.uk/Fishindx/epal-fre.htm (They look a lot better in real life )

Silver shark
https://www.thetropicaltank.co.uk/Fishindx/silver.htm

There's loads it's just down to what you want
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[ulster exile]

Bala sharks can get very big and if they don't, they're probably being stunted, so I wouldn't recommend them for that sized tank at least.

Personally, I'd take the denison back to the fish shop - they prefer to be in groups and they also prefer pretty large tanks themselves as they're fast buggers. They're pretty expensive (usually around £15 each to buy), so if you get store credit you could get a nice shoal of smaller fish

I'd probably take the plec back too as they're pretty shitty and messy fish so can make a clean tank dirty very fast. There are a lot of smaller plecs out there which are nice to look at without being as messy.

Online stocking calculators are pretty crap anyway, so take what they say with a hefty pinch of salt (not literally of course).

Do you have hard or soft water? Some fish do prefer one type or the other.

[ZRX61]

An EIGHTEEN INCH Pleco in a tank that size?? He'd be the first bugger to go. Then replace him with one about 3-5in long.

My tank is 65 gal & a 5in Pleco keeps that keep with no bother.

[Fisty]

Pictus catfish eat anything that fit in their mouths.
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[rac3r]

[growler]

how long have you had the tank set up? you need to let it set up or you run the risk of new tank syndrome

https://www.bestfish.com/breakin.html


I like the sharks both red tailed black shark and silver sharks which would grow to a good size in your tank and they are both algae eaters so will keep tank clean and not damage other fish
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DILLIGAF

[rac3r]

How about Exodons (bucktoothed Tetra)? But this will have to be a species only tank. They have a great personality almost like mini piranhas
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[the grim reaper]

We're not planning to return any fish, we inherited the tank so wouldn't know where they came from anyway. The pleco is currently 17 years old and seems relatively happy in the tank, plus as this was a present, we will be looking after the current fish as well as we can.

I think we will get a couple of barbs as company for the present one, the tank is free of clutter, so they have plenty of space. Maybe some neons too but I think we'll stop at that and see how it goes.

Cheers

Grim (+ missus)
____________________
Adverts don't always work: Remember that advert, where the army are running across the desert and they have a wounded man on a stretcher. They get to a ravine, the bridge is down and a caption pops up that says, 'What are you thinking?'. I don't know about you but I was thinking, 'Christ, I'm glad I'm not in the f***ing army'.

[Tonka]

Which fish shop do you go to, Grim?

I'm just on the other side of the NF and there are several over here, but it's always intersting to visit different ones. I also used to drive all the way up to Porton as there was/is a lovely fish place there - not been for ages!
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[the grim reaper]

[Inkognito]

If you do decide to get barbs i'd advise you keep an eye on them.
In groups they tend to terrorize the other fish. You don't want your other fish to get stressed as it can go downhill very fast.

It doesn't always happen but it's happened a few times to me so it's just advice.

Also remember to research what fish will go with the ones you have in now.
Don't ask in the stores as they'll tell you whatever just to sell you fish.

There are a few very good fish forums you could browse for information and advice.
I frequent https://www.tropicalfish.site5.com/tfc/ Tropical Fish Center and https://www.tropicalfishforums.co.uk/ Tropical Fish Forums and they're both full of helpful people.
Lost of beginner info aswell.


Also if you have a Maidenhead Aquatics near you they seem to be one of the best stores around for both advice and healthy stock as they quarantine all their new stock before selling. Most other stores dont.

Edit:
Just saw you was planning on going to pets at home.
Make sure you inspect the fish carefully before you buy. Have a look at all the tanks before you buy aswell. They are not known for their expert fish care.
I've bought from them a few times before i found maidenhead and none of the fish lasted more than a few days. I'm sure it's different from store to store but you can never be too careful. It's still money down the drain if something happens

Anyway. Hope you have fun with your new hobby. It won't be long till you get sucked in and get MTS (Multi Tank Syndrome)

[ulster exile]

I couldn't agree with the above more. I wouldn't buy fish from Pets @ Hell for love nor money - there may be a few good ones, but I've not heard of any.

Just because the Denison is a barb, doesn't mean that other types of barb will fit in with it. TBH I can't see the denison mixing with any other barb apart from other Denisons - the rest couldn't keep up for a start!

PS You don't have to have bought a fish from somewhere for them to take it in trade against the others. The plec you'd have trouble offloading, but the Denison Barb - I doubt it unless it's in poor condition. Alternatively, advertise them on Aquarist classifieds. I know it sounds like I keep banging on about you getting rid, but you'd be doing them a favour if they go to a home where the tank is the right size for them.

[rac3r]

+1 for Maidenhead Aquatics

They have loads of tropical stock (less marine ) and the one near me has some awesome display tanks. The only downside is that they are a little on the expensive side. It's better to buy your fish from a specialist store rather than a general pet store
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[The Shaggy D.A.]

[MinhDinh]

I'd say you should tell them youare new to owning fishes because you will find that they die quite easily unless you change the water and maintain it to a very well standard.

Clown loaches are bubbly.

Red fin tiger sharks are characters too.

If you like colours and smaller types then guppies, swordtails, mollies, platies are all beautiful.

They also have fry that they have that coe out alive.

I'm thini=king of getting smaller fishes again myslf.
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