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Hi all,

Basically, my issue is that all my fish at one time or another will bicker or clash with eachother. some continually and persistantly until the weaker dies. My tank is a Jebo R550, which holds about 55 litres of water. My tank conditions seem all ok, 27 degrees, PH constant 6.8, no ammonia, although sometimes high Nitrates, and hardness of about 180-200. I do water changes weekly. Te setup is about 1.5 years old.

There isnt more than 2 minutes where one fish will not fight with another.
Its a community tank with tank mates including;
1 Silver shark
1 Rainbow shark
3 live bearers
3 Emporer Tetras
1 Pink Kissing Guarami
1 Lace / Pearl Guarami
1 Siamese Flying fox

The only two which do not get in involved in any of this are my albino cory and Bristlenose Catfish.

I feed them Nutrafin MAx flakes, micropelets and 2-3 times awwek at least frozen bloodworms or fish dinner combo.

Can any one offer advice, as i just want everyone to get along.

Yes I do have plenty of plants and a castle, urn and tree trunk for hiding, which they all use.

I have a feeling that the problem with your tank is that it is too overcrowded, and none of them can define a territory. Some of your fish are just too big for the tank, like the silver shark, rainbow shark and kissing gouramis.

You'll need to trim the tank of many of your occupants...ones that you need to get rid of are the ones mentioned above, and some other so that you will not be overstocked. You'll also notice that as you take fish away, your nitrates will not be so high all the time.

HTH (and I hope I haven't sounded harsh)

Hi there,
If I am reading right, your tank is 55liters which is roughly about 15 Gallons US. I am sorry to say this, but the fish you have in that tank are far far too large for a 15g tank. Heres your stock list:
1 Silver shark
1 Rainbow shark
3 live bearers
3 Emporer Tetras
1 Pink Kissing Guarami
1 Lace / Pearl Guarami
1 Siamese Flying fox

Ok heres some comments: Silver/Bala Shark - Full size will be 10-14 inches, This fish will not even be able to turn around in that tank in approx. 8 months time. My Bala Sharks went from 1 inch to 5 inches in about 6 months. Also, Bala sharks Prefer to be in a school or at least have ANY companions of their own kind.
1 Rainbow Shark-1 Flying Fox Well first of all due to the fact that the rainbow shark is extremely territorial, I dont think 15g is enough for a fish that will soon reach 6 inches, and thats just in his territory. I have had a very bad experience with these fish and Gouramis. Also, the Flying Fox resembles a Rainbow Shark in size and shape, and likely the Rainbow Shark and Flying Fox both find that to be very very offensive. Both these fish will reach 6 inches+ in about 1 year.
Pink Kissing Gourami This is a fish that lives a very very long life, would prefer to have a partner, and reaches lengths of around 12 inches, and likely weighs a pound or two. This fish has no place in a tank less that 75 gallons.
Pearl Gourami [\b] - This fish will hit around 4-5 Inches. It seems it would be fine in a 15g tank, but I know my Pearl Gouramis like their own space, and I think You would need at least a tank double the size than you have now to keep this fish happily.
Now, Im not trying to be mean, or not understanding, and I realize most people buy these fish and ask the people in the fish store "Will this fish be ok in a 15g tank?" and the employees likely say "Sure, yes, of course etc". For your fish to be Happy, Healthy, and exist peacefully together, they all require a few things.
First the smallest Tank I would reccomend you put these fish together in is 75 gallons. A tank 90 gallons or larger would be even better.
Second, lots of these fish prefer to be in pairs or groups. You spoke of a cory, I would say you should have no less than 3 corys, and 6-12 seems to be the best recommended number. No way would 6 fit in a 15g tank unless they were hasbrosus species or some small cory. Also, your pink kisser would prefer a mate, your Bala Shark would prefer at least 1 friend, preferably 2 or more, and as these fish reach a foot long easily, you would need at least 90g to house 2 or 3, preferably more.
Pearl gouramis seem to do well in groups, and this larger, 5 inch fish needs at least a 30 g tank for itself and 1 friend, but 55 would be better for a group. Of course, Im sure this fish would be fine all alone, but 15g isnt enough room for him/her.
Rainbow sharks and their kin, red tail black sharks, are extremely aggressive and territorial, and will NOT tolerate any other of their kind around Unless they have adequate space and rarely, if even encounter each other. Flying Foxes, (Epalzeorhynchus Kallopterus) are a related species, and Also territorial, though not as strongly so. You should keep one or the other, but not both, unless your tank provides at least 45g's of space each.
I do not want to hurt your feelings, or make you angry, but I did the same thing you did, with a 25 gallon tank, overstocked with the wrong fish. I had no idea how big these fish would get, or what they required. Within 4 months I upgraded to a 90 gallon tank, and my Boyfriend and I have both decided and agreed, when we purchase our own house, another tank upgrade is in the future, likely a 180g-400g tank for our fishy friends. Right now we have divided our fish among 3 tanks, a 90g a 25g and a 10g. We realize that as some age and grow, they may have to go back to the pet store, or get another tank for them. When that time comes we will gracefully accept it and do the best for the fish.
Perhaps you can upgrade your tank, or take these fish back and look for some smaller fish suited to a small tank. I would say more livebearers, dwarf gouramis, hatchetfish, betta, small tetras etc, would be happy and live their whole lives in a tank that size.
I hope this explains why your fish are fighting, and how to help them stop.
Good luck, and keep researching on this site, its great, the advice while not always perfect is always pretty helpful and great, and the members are wonderful, and most are kind and willing to help.



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Thanks for that guys, in particular Sneaky_pete,
I had a feeling it was a lil over stocked and company thing too, however, I have had the silver, rainbow, flying fox and pearl guarami for 1 year, and they all about same lenght say 3-4 inches. Every pet store reckons to get fish to grow large, they need a big tank with heaps of swimming space, else they will be stunted in their growth.

But yes, as this is my first tank, i have learnt from it and within next few months and am looking to upgrade rather than get rid as I love their active personality. Again Sneek-pete, thanks for your research.

I am sure you can find a used tank if money is short. That is what I did. I got a used 90g tank for 180 dollars. I used the single light it came with for my toad's tank, and just added filters, heaters, a light and accessories. I got one of my filters on Ebay, an Eheim 2217 for $130 dollars Canadian, thats 99 american, for a filter thats regularly 289.00 canadia. It was new in the box too. If you go for Ebay, or shop around for used tanks, itll save you a lot of money.
I think my whole set up ran me around 500 bucks, not including fish (cuz I already had most of em) and only a few plants so far.
But it sure beats the 900 dollar + 90g set ups Ive seen.
Good luck!


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Rainbow man,

I have learnt that u can't take any aquarium seriously..for the sheer fact that there all eager to make a sale. I asked them if i could have oscars and neon tetras together for a joke and they said yeah sure! They'll be fine... ever since then!!! i've done my own trial and error, i've learnt more that way than what i would listening to any aquarium owner! Good luck!

I have never had any problems with my lfs. I ask about a fish (they know what tanks i have) and they will tell me if i can fit it in any of my tanks or if its not a good idea...
i know they arent trying to make a sale because i always look at the fish over 20$ and they always show me a dif fish thats like 10$

rainbowman, from my bitter experience with community fish (well, not so bitter), i got to several conclusions:
1. plan in advance. what exactly do you want in there? how many are needed? how many you want? do you want plants in your tank, or just fish? do you want a densely decorated tank?
all these are factors in which fish you can add, and which you desire. it also makes an impact on their numbers.
2. check out your candidates. look around for what fish are accessible, then get home empty-handed. it's time to do some reading. try not to have territorial fish in a small tank, or plan a way to "divide" the tank into territories. see how fast they're swimming, how many are comfortable, look for nasty habits, like peculiar feeding habits you can't afford, or bad neighbouring.
3. get back to the lfs. ask questions you know the answers of (you'll have many of those, now that you've already read so much!). if they BSing you, look for another shop, or at least be very careful. take the time to look at the fish in the tanks. are there dead fish in the tanks? are they recently dead? are some look ill? if there are such, notify the shop ppl, and look at their reaction.
4. once you're sure about your tank setup, and your fish species to populate it, and the quality of the lfs (which probably means the fish are healthier), then you should buy your fish.

it seems like a lot of work. it is, but it is rare, and once you've done that, it will be easier to do it again.