Question for DF...or any fish experts

[blodthecat]

ok....so we bought my daughter a biorb some months ago (tropical tank). Only had a couple of fish in, as we were waiting for the nitrogen cycle to get going. Anyway, we had the water tested and all was ok.

So.....DH decided to take my daughter out to stock her tank (how hard can it be?) They came back and said they had bought ''A'' fish. Why only one i thought.

Bloody hell...DH pulled it out of the bag and it was a large silver shark. Absolutely gorgeous, but I didn''t know whether to give it some fish flake or throw it a steak! The Biorb is a 60L tank and this fish is about 6-7 inches long (but looks bigger with the magnificant of the water etc.)

I don''t want a fish gasping for air....so my question is.....is there a rule of thumb to how many inches of fish you can have per litre of water???

I''m going to have to take a photo...you''ve got to see this, to know what I''m talking about!

(bloody hell....men! You send them out on a simple errand!)

 

[colormyworld]

Hi blodthecat, As I recall it is one inch of fish per gallon of water.

 

[WTNLVR]

It depends on what kind of filtration you have and the surface area of the water. The maker of the tank may be able to tell you. If it's 15 gallons or so, I probably wouldn't put much more in it.I've never seen a tank like that-way cool.

 

[galeteia]

Those poor little fish. I wouldn''t want to be in their shoes, er, fins. Trapped in a small space with that monster? Eeek!

 

[Kaleigh]

I know squat about fish. But those little guys must be pretty freaked with that shark swimming around them. They''ll be his lunch!!!

I hope DF can help you out.

 

[Dancing Fire]

Blod

my other Brit GF

60 L = 15.6 gallons (we''re still using standard measurements here in the US

) anyway, looks like you have a Bala shark and a silver dollar in your tank, those 2 fish can grow pretty big

soo...i''ll say you need at least 60 gallons (not litres

) don''t forget they''ll be buying more fish.

 

[belle]

as mentioned, much depends on filtration and the *general* rule for small fish is 1gallon per inch of fish. as fish get bigger, they need more tank. a good pet store that specializes in aquatics can give you helpful advice on what species of fish can go together well and how much area they need.

i have 3 bala shark and 3 silver dollars along with an angel fish and 2 gourami in a 36 gallon tank.

 

[aussiegirl23]

Please, Take the Bala Shark back to the store you got it from. It can grow to 12" even when in a personal aquarium.

It is irresponsible and cruel to put fish of this size and potential into such a small tank.

Please do your research next time and don''t put any more fish at risk.

This is no better than purchasing a puppy for Christmas that you don''t have any knowlege or resources for.

Aussiegirl

 

[msdarlinjoy]

Hi Blod ~

I have never seen a tank like that before! I looks pretty cool!

I have had bala sharks before, and yes ... they can grow very large! My bala sharks were pretty aggressive, so aggressive, that I went out and bought another tank to put them in. Even though that I bought "aggressive" fish from a reputable fish dealer ... once I got them home, and released them all ... there were some varieties that were just "more" aggressive than the others, and it bothered me to keep seeing all the territorial issues the bala''s were having with the other fishes.

I think for a tank that is about 15-20 gallons, I would stick to fish like guppies, tetras, clown loaches ... more of a community tank and they shouldn''t get huge.

Also, if you have plants or statues, or rock formations in your tank, they take up space too. So you have to figure that in "Inch" wise with the thought of 1 inch - a gallon. So if you have a plant that is 7 inches long ... that = about 6-7 fishes.

My very first tank was a 32 gallon tank, I bought all these cool fishes ... my favorite was called a rainbow arawana? It ate mostly crickets ... but was beautiful.

I bought my son a tank of his own when he was about 7, he will be 15 in Dec. He still has one of his fishes ... It is called a placastumus ... It is now in my parents 120 gallon tank because it go so huge! At some point if it continues to live ... we will have to see if the pet store would like it back "for free" because we are not going bigger, and my parents aren''t going any bigger than 120 gallons!

Good luck and take care ... fish are not only pretty ... they are so relaxing!

 

[msdarlinjoy]

Hi Belle ~

I see you have a 36 gal. Is it the 36 tall ... or ... the 36 long?

I have always liked the look of the tall''s ... but didn''t know anyone who actually had one.

Have a super day!

 

[VegasAngel]

We have bala sharks. They should be kept in at least a 50 gallon tank & need to be in schools of 3 or more. One bala shark is sure to be unhappy by itself it will probably be very skittish & do a lot of ticking. They jump so make sure your tank is covered well. Feed them Floating flake food, freeze dried blood worms, & maybe once a week or so black worms or brine shrimp. I am surprised the pet store didnt ask how big your tank is or whether you already had bala sharks etc...

 

[belle]

Date: 7/15/2006 5:15:42 PM
Author: Mrs Darlin Joy
Hi Belle ~

I see you have a 36 gal. Is it the 36 tall ... or ... the 36 long?

I have always liked the look of the tall''s ... but didn''t know anyone who actually had one.

Have a super day!

hi miss dj!

this tank is 36 long but it does curve out in front which is kinda cool (does that make up for not being tall?

)
i took a quick (terrible it is!) snapshot of it to try and show you the cool curve

but it didn''t work out so well

here it is anyway...
you can see two of the balas on the left and the angel fish in the center(ish) the rest of the gang are hiding.
i have another 55gallon tank with african cichlids but they are *extremely* shy. pretty...but shy. if i am ever able to catch a one of them with the camera, i''ll post it for you if you''d like.

 

[msdarlinjoy]

Date: 7/15/2006 10:07:19 PM
Author: belle
hi miss dj!

this tank is 36 long but it does curve out in front which is kinda cool (does that make up for not being tall?

)
i took a quick (terrible it is!) snapshot of it to try and show you the cool curve

but it didn't work out so well

here it is anyway...
you can see two of the balas on the left and the angel fish in the center(ish) the rest of the gang are hiding.
i have another 55gallon tank with african cichlids but they are *extremely* shy. pretty...but shy. if i am ever able to catch a one of them with the camera, i'll post it for you if you'd like.

Hi Belle ~

I didn't know really what to call them, but yours is exactly what I was trying to refer to. It appears more tall ... I think because it curves out a little.

I love

your tank! When I get a new one, it will definately be that kind!

Love all the plants you have too! I love to make little havens for them to hide if they want to.

If you have time, and can capture your african cichlids ... please post

Have a nice day!

 

[blodthecat]

Hi guys,

Thank you for all your helpful posts. The bala shark was bought from a garden centre. All the tanks are labelled, and stated whether the fish are comminuty fish, aggressive fish etc... the bala shark was in a community tank

If this fish has the potential to grow very big, then I think i had better take him back to the shop. The shop did know what size of tank we have...as they sold it to us!

I am really grateful for all your advice

....thank you.

Blod

 

[blodthecat]

In conclusion....I had to get this sorted today, and have been back to the garden centre with our fish.

I said that they had advised us on what tank to buy, how to get the water just right, and I also wanted their expert help in choosing suitable fish for the tank.

The guy in the shop said the shark was ok for a community tank, and that the tank dictates how big the fish will grow (i.e. if the tank is only small, the fish won''t grow any bigger) Is that right?

Anyway they took the shark back, and we came away with some gravel feeders.....and lots of tiny tetras (which are very pretty)

But...bloody hell, what a job I had getting that shark out of the tank...It splashed and jumped....what a kafuffle....

The silver dollar is still in there, but the shop intially advised us to put that in as our ''first fish'' to get the nitrogen cycle going, as they are supposed to be very hardy.

I don''t understand how this garden centre can be selling equipment, food, tanks and fish without knowing much about it.

Blod

 

[aussiegirl23]

Blod, Thank you for doing the responsible thing.

The deal with aquarium fish is that a LOT of the fish sold in typical petstores like PetCo, PetSmart or Walmart will grow to exceed most people''s aquariums. Like the common pleco - typical adult length is 2 1/2 FEET to 3 FEET.

Fish will not simply "grow to fit the aquarium!" Their growth will be stunted by the cramped, smaller living conditions, but not stopped entirely. In the meantime they are miserable not being able to swim much and end up with injured noses from dashing around the tank.

I have a rather large tank (250 gallons) and have taken in numerous "trade ins" from people who bought iridescent sharks, bala sharks, plecos, certain cat fish, et. who had smaller tanks and had no idea how big these guys get.

I understand you feel like you should be able to trust the store selling fish - but in reality, you can''t trust most of them. The best thing to do is go look at fish, come home, research that species (food requirements, temperment, size potential etc.) and THEN buy fish. I know this is tough, especially when you''ve got kids involved - they want things to happen NOW and THEIR way. But you need to make sure it''s the best idea for the fish too.

The tetras and gravel feeders sound lovely - and more appropriate. Any chance you know the more specific species or could share pictures?

Best of luck : )

Aussiegirl : p

 

[Dancing Fire]

Date: 7/16/2006 9:48:35 AM
Author: blodthecat
I don''t understand how this garden centre can be selling equipment, food, tanks and fish without knowing much about it.

Blod

no different than a salesperson selling diamonds they have no knowledge of.