FishProfiles.com Message Forums

Hello everybody ,

i am new to new to aquariums . Two weeks ago i bought a 46 gal tank , aqua clear filter ( suppose to be enough for tanks up to 70 gal. ) . Also have done alot of reading and now i have more question then i had before .
Here are my question :

1 Is my filter enough to also aerate my tank .
2 i bought some fish 3 gourami , 4 bala sharks , 5 sarpae tetra , 2 swordtal , 2 fancy gups , and 3 fish that i dont know what they are , they look like silver dollar , they have pink back ( i hope u will now what specifes re they ) , Are they going to get along nice ?

I like fish that school together . I was thinking to get 5 tiger tetras and 2 more gourami .... Do u think it would be a good ideea ? is my tank large enough ?
Thank you

Well first off the bala sharks were probabally the worst decision for stocking your tank, the fish get to be over a foot long and are very active. Also you don't want to add to many gouramis as they can fight for the territory on the top. Serpaes are fine but around fishprofiles our general rule is 6+ for a schooling fish. Swordtails and guppies are both livebearers which could mean alot of babies if you have a m/f pair but usually the gouramis would eat most of them if not all of them unless your tank had many hiding spaces for the fry. As for the fish that you said you don't know about...your description did you say they were like silver dollars? I hope you didn't end up with pacus since those will reach about 2 feet long. Its good that you came here to get answers but in the future id research your fish before you go and buy them. Also since its a new tank, do you know what cycling is? If your tank is not cycled you are probabally gonna have alot of deaths. I would definately take back the bala sharks unless you have a 6 foot long tank coming sometime in the near future. I think that covers it all if you dont understand just ask

The "cycle" aforementioned should be completed before lots of fish are added. I would suggest some danios for this. Add approximately 6 of these and wait three weeks. This allows good bacteria to build up in your tank that consume fish waste and the ammonia they produce. If you do not cycle the fish you add could die. If you have already added the fish you mentioned you may want to go out to a local fish store (LFS) or Wal- Mart and get ammonia neutralizers that come in the form of bottled liquid or pads. You may also want to purchase a testing kit (nothing too extravagant) in order to keep your fishs' ammonia (waste) levels in check. After a few weeks the tank should be fine and welcome to Fish Profiles.

Thanx guys ,

How does it sound 4 gourami ( 2 of each ), 6 tiger barb 6 sarpae tetra , 3 clown loach and meybe some guppys ?

Also u didnt answer my first question : Would my filter AquaClear ( suppose to be enough for up to 70 gal tanks ) aerate too? I bought an air pump and only turn it on at night for look purposes ...
Thank you

Yes your filter will aerate as long as you have surface movement created by it. Most of your actual exchange is down on the surface and in reality little is absorbe from bubbles rising to the surface, it is the activity at the surface that creates the absorption of the oxygen.

On the clown loaches, they also are going to get way to large for this aquarium. The will exceed 12" in length when grown.

---

Water, taken in moderation, cannot hurt anybody. -- Mark Twain

Another problem I see with the stocking is you have 2 fin nipping species. Tiger barbs and serpaes are both likely to harass your gouramis and probably remove their feelers. Then I'm not sure about sticking 2 quite active schools of fish in a 46g tank. Serpaes are a larger species of tetras and need some room. I suggest you go with either barbs or tetras instead of both and pick a different species if you want gouramis. Red phantom tetras look close to serpaes. Most loaches also prefer a group of 6 and clowns, while their size is often argued, in my opinion they do not belong in that small of tank. Yoyos, dwarf, skunk, chain, and kuhli loaches are some small loaches I've seen repeatedly that would be fine for your tank.