FishProfiles.com Message Forums

I have a 80 gal.
In there I have 1 albino pleco (4 inch), 1 apple snail (2 inch), and 2 kissing fish (2 1/2 - 3 inch). I was thinking bala shark, red tailed shark and when the fish get bigger, a small Oscar.
What would you do?

I went to the pet store and saw a spiny eel, cool. This may be something I would like to put in the tank as well.

Hi there,
just to mention, the fish you have chosen already
grow very large. Kissing gouramis have the potential to live an extremely long time and get very large. My uncle has a breeding pair that are now 25 and 26 years old respectively and are 15 and 16 inches long.
The pleco you chose, if it is a common pleco like a Gibbiceps or Hypostomus, has a potential to grow to 18-24 inches.
A Red tail shark would be a suitable tank mate for these fish.
Bala sharks are a no-no unfortunately. These fish grow to be 16 inches long, are schooling fish (so need a group of 6), and are active, fast moving, skittish fish. They really need a tank 8 feet long to be kept in properly.

I honestly dont think an Oscar is a suitable tank mate for the large, relatively peaceful kisser fish. The Oscar and the pleco would ok together, with no other tank mates. Oscars grow extremely large, and are often intolerant of tankmates. 80g would be a suitable size for a single oscar and a pleco tankmate.

You could probably add a spiny eel to your tank with the current tank mates that are in there with no problems.

How long have you had this tank set up?
Is it cycled?


Come Play Yahtzee With Me!
http://games.atari.com
Http://www.myleague.com/yahtgames

I think that the pleco may be a Chocolate Pleco. I see why the bala is no good. The oscar I still think could be OK as I would like to get the fish in the tank a little larger (4 inch) and then put in a 2 inch oscar. I'm thinking that if the kissers are much larger then the oscar, the oscar will leave the kissers alone.
Also the spiny eel will get big. Does anyone think that a 16 inch eel will eat 6 inch red tail, down the road.
To answer So_Very_Sneaky's question. The tank was set up in Aug 07 and yes it has been cycled.

Chocolate plecs are just a color morph of commons. They have the ability to grow to the same size, although granted I've never seen anyone take the time to raise them so large.

Size doesn't make a difference in aggression. I've had small fish terrorize larger fish, even 2" fish chasing around 5"+ fish.

"Spiny Eel" is actually rather ambiguous; the entire family (Mastacembelidae) has the common name spiny eel, and many of its members are thus called spiny eels (ie. lesser spiny eel, ocellated spiny eel, zebra spiny eel). This makes a difference as different spiny eel species grow to different lengths. Many of the common species in the aquarium trade are actually given different names, such as fire, tire-track AKA zig-zag, or peacock. The fire and the tire-track both reportedly grow to over 3' in length! The peacock, on the other hand, grows to only about 1'. Many mastacembelids, in fact, do not grow over 16" in length, so that's a pretty good estimate for a maximum length provided it isn't the zig-zag AKA tire-track or the fire eel.

That said, we can assume that your spiny eel will not grow large enough to eat the redtail, and if it is a species that grows large, than at least it will take some time before it grows large enough to be able to. I won't guarantee that a 16" spiny won't eat a 6" redtail, only because I've never seen a spiny that large and can't say how big their mouths are...

Keep the tank covered; although I'm not sure how this applies to spiny eels, many eel-shaped fish have the ability to escape from the aquarium.

--------------------------------------------
The aquarist is one who must learn the ways of the biologist, the chemist, and the veterinarian.

Well, I have been told what not to get. But does anyone have some good ideas on what I should get.
I would like to go with fish that are in the 6-14 inch area, and will go with the fish I already have.
Thank you to Shinigami about the Spiny eel is a family of fish. I did not know that. I think that the eel was a Spiny Peacock eel.

If it's a Peacock, then it should get about 12", give or take. I still can't comment on whether it'll be able to take down an adult Red-Tailed Shark, but as the eel grows you should be able to judge by the size of the mouth.

Oh BTW, I did some more research, and it appears that there are a few things to keep in mind when it comes to spiny eels. As said, keep the tank covered, and that includes any small holes. Also, spiny eels are similar to many catfishes in that they do not tolerate some medications. It also appears that smaller spiny eels LOVE to burrow themselves; this may be problematic if your gravel is sharp, as it may scratch their skin and cause infection. Round gravel may not be a problem. Sand is their preferred substrate because of their burrowing behavior.

So, considering a stock that will include a plec, a kissing gourami, a spiny eel, and a red tailed shark, you do have some options left. My question is whether you want to make this a community with some little fish as well, or do you simply want to get only a few bigger fish? Looks like you were going for the latter since you wanted an Oscar. Also, before suggesting some fish that might grow too large, what are the dimensions of your tank? This makes a difference as we can't recommend a fish that won't be able to turn around in your tank, and the dimensions make more of a difference with that than the actual volume; it could be an extra tall tank for all we know and thus might not have much horizontal swimming room.

--------------------------------------------
The aquarist is one who must learn the ways of the biologist, the chemist, and the veterinarian.

The oscar I still think could be OK as I would like to get the fish in the tank a little larger (4 inch) and then put in a 2 inch oscar.

This is a good idea in theory, but won't work well in reality. Oscars grow very fast, and grow to be 16 inches or so in length. Kissers are the opposite, they are extremely slow growers.
If you waited until the Kissers were approx. 10 inches long, then put the oscar in, the oscar would likely still reach full size before the kissers reaches 11-12 inches.

Honestly I dont think they would be suitable tankmates at all.

A good large cichlid tankmate for your kissers would be something along the lines of say, Festivum Cichlid, Severum, Uaru, Satanoperca jurapari or Geophagus daemon, or similar.

As Shinigami mentioned, Chocolate Plecos are just a color morph of the common Hypostomus sp. pleco, growing to be 18+ inches in length.

A peacock eel would be a suitable tankmate for your fish.


Come Play Yahtzee With Me!
http://games.atari.com
Http://www.myleague.com/yahtgames

Shinigami my tank is 48" long, 18 wide and 20 some high. Also thank you about the info on covering the tank. I do have some small holes that an eel could get out of. I would not of thought that the eel would be an escape artist as they are mostly a bottom area dweller.

i'm sorry but i really have no input

but i have a question

when you say kisser do u mean kissing gourami or something totally different?

please excuse my ignorance, im still a bit of a noob, and i'd appreciate it if i wasn't pwned

-a solidary predator, the firetruck stalks its prey

Yep, Kisser is a slang term for a Kissing Gourami.


Come Play Yahtzee With Me!
http://games.atari.com
Http://www.myleague.com/yahtgames

Hi

Just a little input on the spiney eel discussion....

I have two "peacock eels" in my 180g tank atm, they have been there for approximately a year. They are both about 6 or 7 inches long and I highly doubt that even at double their current size they could take down a 6 inch fish... their mouth shape and size just doesn't look like it could do it IMO (I may yet be proven wrong though).

Current tank mates for my eels are acaras, angelfish, Opaline gouramis and various smaller tetras. They do not seem bothered by their tank mates, nor do they seem to cause any issues for any of the other fish. I think they would probably fit in well with your proposed stock list.

Their favourite food is bloodworms which they appear to suck up... moving around with their little snouts wriggling, sniffing out all the bits that get stuck in the plants or between bits of gravel.

My eels spend most of their time buried in the substrate with only their heads exposed but when they do come out they are super active, zooming around all over the place, including the upper levels of the tank. I have an open topped tank and have not had a jumper yet however the sheer volume of reports out there of these fish being natural escape artists suggests that if you have the option of covering your tank, do it. I guess I've just been lucky with mine so far.

Here's my current favourite pic: Peacock Eel

Good Luck, and have fun with this tank

G_T

Never be afraid to try something new. Remember that a lone amateur built the Ark. A large group of professionals built the Titanic.

Hey G_T, great info! Good stuff.

steven, your tank is a standard 75 by All-Glass measurements. Now I know how your tank looks, and a peacock eel sounds like it'll be fine for quite some time.

That said, I'm still not sure about the capacity of the peacock eels to eat, but I'd wager that some of the larger schooling fish would be good choices for some activity in your tank if you want to contrast all the other fish either swimming slowly or not moving at all. I think certain barb species, certain danio species, and certain rainbowfish species fit the bill, but I can't give you specifics. Gourami might be nice as another slow-moving fish, and some of them get large enough that they should be able to hold their own. The cichlids listed in one of the posts above seem like good cohices too.

--------------------------------------------
The aquarist is one who must learn the ways of the biologist, the chemist, and the veterinarian.