Help needed on deciding what fish to get
Josh_D
Member Posts: 29
Hi guys I am not the most advanced person when it comes to fish so I have come here for a little help. Very soon I will be purchasing a 5ft-6ft fish tank. I wanted to know how many of each fish breed i want would be a good idea that may give a chance of them to breed. I am wanting to get silver sharks, those red tail sharks, bristle nose catfish, electric yellows with similar breeds( I think they are called chichlids) i also want some cool loaches. I would like to know whats a rough estimate number of each fish so it's not crowded. Also is there any other cool coloured fish that would work well with these breads? E.g tiger barbs and stuff. Also what live plant breeds that livefish have in stock would make these guys thrive the best? Thanks and I will be really great full for receiving any responses.
-Josh
P.s. Sorry for any punctuation/spelling mistakes, it is late at night and I'm doing this on a phone
-Josh
P.s. Sorry for any punctuation/spelling mistakes, it is late at night and I'm doing this on a phone
Comments
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If it helps I can post pics of the chichlids I want. We have had the same mix of these fish in a tank a few years back and our tank was beautiful. Little baby electric yellows swimming around. 3 friendly silver sharks about 15cm long each. It was a great tank until we added contaminated fish from the local shop. Lost about $500 worth of wish
. Atleast now I'll have a quarantine tank so it doesn't happen again. -
Not knowing a whole bunch about cichlids, my answer will be only a rough estimation.
One thing I can say is to stay the hell away from silver sharks. They're way more trouble than they're worth. They get huge, need massive schools and destroy plants and things IMO. Youd be better off getting a smaller scchooling fish.
Also, tiger barbs may be an issue with some cichlids as they have a tendency to nibble on fins and generally be a pain to larger peaceful fish.
If you were to get african cichlids, red tail black sharks would also be a no go as they need softer water and low-neutral ph whereas most african cichlids thrive in 8+. The Bristlenose can probably adapt to whatever ph you want to keep him at.
If you were to get african cichlids of a size of about 4-6 inches, I think you could easily get a decent amount ( 25-40 ) in there. With cichlids it's best to get more to avoid aggression. -
Ok thanks
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So can all African chichlids go together or do the lake Malawi ones have to stay away from the other lakes?
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Try using these tools
There is a trick if your keeping African lake Cichlids.. What you do it have a lot more than you would think, and this spreads any aggression out, so no one fish gets singled out and bullied
They are cranky types & you can't usually have much else in with them, maybe the odd catfish
aqadvisor.com/
or
peteducation.com/article.cfm?c=16+2250&aid=3284
"I'm a Doug Addict" 
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Each species is individual mate, what I do is, find a species I like ( usually by finding an online store like livefish.com.au and searching through the fish ), find a species profile ( like on SeriouslyFish, aquaticcommunity or a similar site ) and check to see if its compatible with species I already have. Then it's just a matter of it being a legal import, illegal import or native fish.
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Those are some cranky fish you are wanting there, Rainbows and natives is where its at
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Hearing ya Rainbow, natives - easyier,hardier......etc.
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Don't be disheartened Josh, You can still make a great tank, using whatever you choose within compatibilities, Just give it more forethought come ask us , someone is usually around to reply "I'm a Doug Addict"
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Ok thanks guys
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Josh, if you really want to keep Africans I would start with Malawi's eg: Aulonocara (Peacock Cichlids) an all male display tank, is something to be admired.Sometimes when I reflect back on all the beer I drink I feel ashamed. Then I look into the glass and think about the workers in the brewery and all of their hopes & dreams.
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This is kind of off topic guys but does live fish have a walk in shop? We live close to where they r situated at
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You would be best to call or email them I think to arrange a walk in, they have no information on it on the website.
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I'd go haplochromis They are a little less aggressive to each other than mbuna cichlids
Send Livefish an email, they might let you visit, or try their PM in Fbook, there are two links highlighted on the left of page, one to ask for livefish's address and the other is to ask for their phone number If you go, we would love photos 
A good article on the different lake cichlids , with charts on diet, size and aggression
cichlid-forum.com/articles/haps_vs_mbuna.php "I'm a Doug Addict" -
I too would love to see photos of inside live fish. Please take plenty if they'll let you.
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ok guys so i am back with another question. i have found a tank that may possible be what im looking for im just not sure on what tanks are worth.
http://www.gumtree.com.au/s-ad/rangeville/fish/6ft-fish-tank/1087269222
do u think the above fishtank would be good. its not overpriced? if so what price range should i be going for with a tank that has a hood and stand. i also would like it to have a filter but it is no biggie i can buy one.
thanks for the help! -josh -
6 foot for 600 bucks all inclusive is not bad if it works and is in good condition. Take a look I reckon.
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ok thanks for the speedy response talltreeo1!
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Check the integrity of the cabinet [stand] check for water damage, rot, dry rot etc. That's a lot of tank and stand, a lot of wood,a lot of water, a lot of weight, with the top aswell,also make sure the front glass isn't scratched, nice looking tank though for the price, like TT said check it out thoroughly, let us know how it fairs, Cheers
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turns out that tank is to far away and i am most likely getting a nice looking 4ft tank all set up with filters etc. if all goes to plan i will be ordering some nice fish from live fish tomorrow and i would just like to ask where is the best/cheapest place to get the Texas holey rock for my tank. thanks and i will upload photos if i do end up purchasing the tank ;D
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https://gyazo.com/cdee2617efc097c8c99ec13d01a4b548
fish are gona make my bank dry ;P
hopefully the sharks will get along with the chichlids. they went well in our last tank. i may remove all sharks from the list except the silver sharks cause i heard tt say they required a lower ph. -
If you get any sharks, Bala are prolly the better choice, Those rainbows are A'holes IMO excuse my french I'm no Cichlid expert, but I think they all go together well "I'm a Doug Addict"
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I would stay away from bala sharks in a four foot. They're big fish and need plenty of space.
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ok thanks guys i think i will start out easy to make sure the tank works well before i start getting alot of fish.
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TT is right, all the sharks get quite large "I'm a Doug Addict"
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Ok guys i finnaly have the tank going well all nicely set up. Hope this photo works. Also it's not the best but you can see most of the tank. I do have an external canister filter that came with it but I need a new seal for the top so I'm using a different one that also came with it. It is 4ftx1.5ft and currently only has 2 medium size bristlenose in it. Tomorrow I am getting more bristlenose babies for my mothers tank and my own. I have placed a big order on livefish for some cool chichlids and can't wait until they come thanks for all the help guys
http://i963.photobucket.com/albums/ae114/Joshwd99/image.jpg1_zpsbr3zqux2.jpg -
The interior isnt the best at the moment but I will be doing experimenting and changing things out as I get more money to buy different stuff for the tank. I am purchasing all my fish at the small size of 3-5cm hoping they will adapt better to the tank in the long run and so they cant do much damage and aggression to each other at a small size and I also love watching the progress of fish growing
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Looks good man, lots of hiding places for the fish to shelter in.
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Looks cool Josh.
Updates and anymore pics?Sometimes when I reflect back on all the beer I drink I feel ashamed. Then I look into the glass and think about the workers in the brewery and all of their hopes & dreams. -
Will make changes to tank tomorrow and take pictures. I have a heap of fish from livefish in there
Will need to buy one of their $35 aquarium weed packs. -
You shouldn't put chiclids in that tank they are highly aggressive but apart from that it sounds like a great tank.
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Cichlids are fine in an all cichlid tank animal expert, even with sharks who are also aggressive. (I still don't like sharks in any tank)
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Sharks are not aggressive
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Moo can I have some help please?
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I know red tailed sharks can sometimes be aggressive but I have 3 sharks in my community tank and they wouldn't hurt a fly.
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Well, what can I say
Animal X.... Please STOP .. Ya pissing people off mate
If that is your goal, tread carefully my friend "I'm a Doug Addict" -
In me experience in keeping sharks which is limited.
Bala sharks are best kept in a group of 3 or more and are peaceful.
Red tail sharks are fin nippers and can be bullies to smaller fish in the tank.
Rainbow sharks are just plain nasty and make good feeders.Sometimes when I reflect back on all the beer I drink I feel ashamed. Then I look into the glass and think about the workers in the brewery and all of their hopes & dreams. -
I thought red tailed sharks and rainbow sharks were the same thing (correct me if I am wrong) I have one red tailed or rainbow (don't know which one) shark and he is fine (although he sometimes chases the silver sharks. But I have heard of them being very mean.
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You are right they are broadly speaking, the same as are all fresh water sharks coming from Asia. Here have a read....http://seriouslyfish.com/species/Epalzeorhynchos-frenatum/
http://www.seriouslyfish.com/species/epalzeorhynchos-bicolor/
I take it when you say silver sharks you mean Bala sharks? that would be the reason, as far as I know only Bala (silver sharks) prefer to be in groups.
Sometimes when I reflect back on all the beer I drink I feel ashamed. Then I look into the glass and think about the workers in the brewery and all of their hopes & dreams. -
Yes I do mean bala sharks and that is a very interesting article.
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Ok I have been slack with the updates. So currently my primary filter has shit itself and so to has the back up one. Ordering an aqua one nautilus 1400 or something from aquaholics. I also don't like the interior of the tank at all. I plan on changing it completely to suit their natural habitat. If i do the tank water change and the water looks a little less cloudier I will make it my goal to post pics. Currently I have 15 mixed chichlid breads in pairs. 3 Bala sharks, to large common bristlenose plecs and 2 Kulhi loaches or how ever you spell it that are most likely gona get eaten by my fish. All are happy and my fave is the 2 hongis
Btw Heinz.G you on qldaf aren't u? I see your name a lot
Also made a more in depth post about this on there. -
O and I also want a uv light or what ever the lights are that are kinda blue. Makes it way prettier then what I have got
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Hey Josh, is your tank running without a filter at the moment whilst you get a replacement? I just couldn't quite tell from your post. You will also find most of us have been on QLDAF at some time.
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Yes rainbow. Sorry if it was hard to understand as I typed it at like 12.
I never knew qldaf existed then i found it one day by typing l series catfish for sale haha.
Also has live fish thought of maybe becoming a sponsor? I think it would be a great advertiser for the company. -
Yeah Josh I'm on QLDAF, so you have the dreaded I hate the way my tank looks Lol have fun playing around with it. Now remember to do lots of water changes while you have no filter and if you have an air stone keep that running as well Sometimes when I reflect back on all the beer I drink I feel ashamed. Then I look into the glass and think about the workers in the brewery and all of their hopes & dreams.
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Another quick question. Is it coral sand that u often see in those pretty chichlid tanks with white bottoms? If so what size. Also what would look best for my chichlids. Rgb light or the 10,000k LED.
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The 2 different looks I cant decide on. Black gravel, a load of holey rock and a few green plants
Or white gravel/sand darker larger stones/rock and a few green plants.
Should be a getting a new fish tank for bday so I could do both although if I get a new fish tank i wanna make it a nice calm planted tank with some rarer L series catfish and friendly tetras and gouramis -
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