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New tank question

2K views 14 replies 3 participants last post by  savyz 
#1 ·
Hello,

My husband and I purchased a 36 gallon tank for our family. Currently in the tank is:

1 Firemouth
1 Red Chromide
1 Rainbow shark
1 Redtail shark
5 x Tiger Barbs
1 Pleco

They are all pretty small and seem to have plenty of room to swim, and a few hiding areas provided. They all seem to get along fine, although the Chromid and Firemouth pick on each other a bit. No nipped fins or anything. But they do tend to hang out together a lot. The barbs school well. The sharks are loners. So is the pleco of course.

I was wondering if I can get away with putting a few more small fish in. I like Cichlids, but I know it can be difficult to match them up. Any ideas, advice, comments, constructive criticism would be appreciated!

Thanks!

J
 
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#2 ·
Your firemouth is gonna be a problem. Never had much luck keeping them with anything other than 3+ of their own. Rainbow shark and redtail shark will eventually duke it out until 1 is left, too. Pretty quickly too.

Have you looked at kribenisis? Easy to keep and very easy to breed too. You have a pretty nice mix of aggressive fish lol.

If it were me, I would keep the barbs, rainbow shark, and pleco and look into some kribs...

Then again, tiger barbs are kinda like those super annoying flies that buzz around your head that you can never kill.

Rams would pretty cool too, and keeps with the south american theme.
 
#3 ·
Rams would pretty cool too, and keeps with the south american theme.

What South American theme?? The only SA fish the OP has is the pleco (most likely).
 
#7 ·
I have to agree, it's got a high potential for problems. Not yet cause they are still small. Were I you, I would be looking for a 55 gallon. You'll still probably run into a problem with the two sharks, but I really wouldn't put your stock in less than a 4 foot long tank.
 
#8 ·
You'll still probably run into a problem with the two sharks

Not probably, will, definitely run into problems. Just a matter of time. Sooner, rather than later. Think of it as the most extreme rules of tag, ever. Tag: To the Death.

Firemouths are pretty cool. Kept by itself they tend to get kinda shy. You should ditch everything but the pleco, firemouth, and barbs. Then go out and buy 4 more.

A lot of times LFS's will buy back fish, or fish from bog box stores, at next to nothing...but every little bit helps when your getting a school of firemouths.

A school of firemouths with some barbs would look pretty cool, IMHO. Barbs will definitly hold their ground against the cichlids. They are wily little devils. That should be a pretty good matchup. May be able to pull off a shark, too, but thats pretty much pushin it for your tank.

Firemouths, barbs, pleco. Solid lineup. If I had to pick a pleco for that lineup, I would say rubber lip. But any should hang.
 
#11 ·
I would not do that at all.

I don't think the tank is anywhere near large enough for 5 fish that will grow to 6 inches long. Too, tiger barbs really should be in as large of a school as possible. Small groups have a tendency of breaking down, leading to bullied and killed fish. In my opinion you should be looking at at least 10. As long as you're talking about a bristle nose or rubber lip pleco, or any other pleco up to 6 inches, that's fine for your tank. Any larger than that and you'll want a larger tank.

Like I said, I think you should be looking for a 4 foot tank.
 
#12 ·
I hear ya...
Thanks for the frank comments. I appreciate it.
As of now, the 36 gallon is what we have. It's acrylic, on a sweet looking built-in black stand & top, and wasn't a cheap set up. We really like the size for where we are living right now. In the future, a bigger tank is definitely something we will get.

So if you guys don't mind humoring me a bit more.....


Is this what we're looking at?:
(the placo stays)
Choose.

a) a group of at least 10 tiger barbs and that would be pretty much it.
b) my firemouth with maybe 2 other firemouths and that's it or I can also add: _________.
c) get over the firemouth already and if you like cichlids this is what you should have in your measly lame little 36 gallon tank and you'll take this advice and like it:____________.
d) get a cat.
E) other.
 
#13 · (Edited)
I know people that keep a single fire mouth by itself without any problems, so based on their experience I would stick with the one you have plus 10 tigers and a pleco. That's a very reasonable stocking plan in my opinion.

As far as the tiger barbs are concerned, your tank is probably the smallest that I would keep them in. I found a 29 to be a bit too small once they were grown up.
 
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