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Remove the following and take them back to the store...
3 Kissing Gouramis
2 Silver Sharks
1 African butterfly fish
6 Clown loaches
1 Synodontis
2 Pictus catfish
2 Golden nuggets
4 Angel fish
1 Fire eel
1 Dragon Gobi

Yeah, the only ones I'd take back right now would be the kissing gouramis (get too large), bala sharks (get too large), dragon goby (requires specialized care), and the fire eel (gets to large). The rest can stay and the tank can be built around them.

I know clown loaches get large as well, but they should be fine in that tank at least for a couple years.

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I'm not your neighbor, you Bakersfield trash.

aaaawww you guys are tough! Can't he keep some of the fish he already has and build a happy community around them? If someone told me to take all my fish back to the store and start again I'd be pretty upset.

I am completely with John.Stone on this one honestly. Take your inhabitants back to the fish store for a store credit or cash, or even give some to anyone you know who owns a nice appropriately sized aquarium.

Properly stocked... Compatible tank mates... Fish wont wont stunt and die in your aquarium... A proper group of fish for your aquarium.

balanced tank? don't know what you mean.

Actually... If I were you I would take them all back and then come here and we can help you plan a properly balanced tank...

Last edited by john.stone at 06-Dec-2004 15:55

Re: dragon gobi
What do you mean by filter feeders? Similar to whales...
I noticed that every now and then he/she manically swims up and down one of the corners ... initially I thought it was sick, but it seems quite happy now
How can you feed a filter feeder?

It's been almost a year since the last fish died on me ... a kissing gurami. He hid in one corder and went thinner and thinner until there was nothing left, the other 3 kissing guramis thrived ...didn't seem to pick on it.

the same can be said for the dragon fish. Didn't intend for the sword tails to be used as live food.

If im not mistaked dragon fish are "filter feeders" they have big mouths but they dont eat fish they often starve in the aqurium

Not sure which synodontis ... decorous seems the closest: the fish is brown with black spots and has no spots on the face (the spots are ~ 0.5 cm) hasn't grown in the last year. Particularly likes frozen shrimp.

Thanks for the advice regarding new (bigger) tank, should I split the fish? If so what would make sense?

Did you really mean to keep just 5 swordtails, the RTBS and 3 angels?

I've had the eel for almost two months, even although it's 15 times the size of the swordtails it seems to leave them alone ... the same can be said for the dragon fish. Didn't intend for the sword tails to be used as live food.

Im surprised you havent had problem i would think that the eel would have polished off some off those fish. You will want to take bake most of the fish and/or invest in a tank thats jsut a little bit bigger. After youve gotten rid of those fish im sure we will be able to help you find some fish to suit your tank

I have an 18 month old tank heavily planted tank, slowly I have managed to get to the following:

5 Swordtails (5 cms)
3 Kissing Gouramis (10cms)
2 Silver Sharks (20 cms)
1 African butterfly fish (8 cms)
6 Clown loaches (6-10 cms)
1 Red Tailed Shark (10 cms)
1 Synodontis (12 cms)
2 Pictus catfish (10 cms)
2 Golden nuggets (7 cms)
7 Angel fish (6-10 cms)
1 Fire eel (30 cms)
1 Dragon Gobi (20 cms)

Aquarium looks fantastic fish appear happy and water is fine. Taking into account that appart from the last two most of the fish were 2-3cms when first bought they appear to be thriving. Can't say the same about the plants most of the time they are either eaten or look a bit shabby.

I believe that I'm either overstoked already or quickly in the process of getting there. What are my options:
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The bala sharks (silver) are schooling and need more than twice the tank size you're giving them. I wouldnt' suggest anything under 125 (US) gallons for them as they are active fish.

Pictus are also schooling fish .

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Yes then, you are HIDEOUSLY overstocked.

Get an additional tank, or invest in one that's about 1000US Gallons

It is about 60 gallons or so.

You are way overstocked. The silver (Bala) sharks reach 35 cm, the clown loaches get to 25, the eel reaches well over 70, and the dragon goby gets to at least 50. It would be in your best interest to remove these fish. Even after you dump these fish, you will still be overstocked. However, it is best to take this one step at a time. Fighting won't be your problem, lack of space will. Also, what kind of Synodontis catfish do you have? The different species have different requirements, and reach different sizes.

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And when he gets to Heaven, to Saint Peter he will tell: "One more Marine reporting, Sir! I've served my time in Hell."

well i hope the 120x45x45 is in inches which means you have over a 1000usg tank

but if its in centimeters that means its only 65usg

plus after adding up all of you fish potential size which is 288inches then i pray its a 1000+

Litres: 243
US Gallons: 64.2
UK Gallons: 53.46

hmm, not very good with math. Do you know the gallons of your tank?

Not really, it is the first tank and didn't have any particular ideas

Seemed to have lost the bottom of the message:

The options I can see all center around splitting the tank ... I'm not certain that as the fish continue to grow they will keep on getting on with each other. The only conflicts appear within species: the 2 silver sharks, 3 kissing guramis and 2 pictus catfish sometimes chase each other. Doesn't last and there is no particular pattern as they appear to be the same size.

The size of the tank is: 120x45x45, with a Fluval 404 filter.