Do as I say, not as I do

[Fishguy2727]

I almost didn't post about my new tank setups, but I have decided to anyways. I rearranged all my tanks and combined them. This includes combinations that I usually argue against, but for some reason I decided to try them. The tank that the discus were in was a 55 on an angle iron stand. One end was shimmed about 0.5-0.75" and was still low (so one end is about 1" lower than the other). So I decided I did not want any water in that tank anymore, too risky. I have also been getting bored with the 150, at least most of the peacocks. And the tiretrack couldn't stay in the 75 much longer, at least not with all the fish that were in there (tiretrack:1'+, some others:bite size). So I completely rearranged all the tanks. Current arrangement:
150:
6 spotted silver dollars
5 discus
4 bristlenose plecos
1 gold nugget pleco
1 tiretrack eel
1 delhezi bichir
1 albino bichir
1 ram

75:
top 11 peacocks (others went to my work)
1 Synodontis petricola

40:
1 goldfish
1 ornate bichir
1 spiney/tiretrack eel
3 cardinal tetras
2 bloodfin tetras
1 ram
1 angelicus botia
1 yoyo botia
1 rubberlip pleco
1 lemon tetra
1 gold barb
2 albino cherry barbs
1 albino glowlight tetra
9 sterbai cory

DO NOT USE THIS AS A GUIDE! Many of these combinations go against all books and most people's experiences. There are some reasons why I have made my tanks an exception. I tried a water change with my discus once without using the buffer. Most discus keepers and breeders preach stability over precision, which I should get without the buffer. When I tried this with my discus they did fine. Long term they should do even better without me trying to mess with the pH. My silver dollars are not nippy, not with eachother, not with the discus so far, so they are not stressing out the discus (they are basically serving as a dither for the discus in that tank). So far there are no problems in that tank, the tiretrack and bichirs are not bothering anyone, the discus are settling in to their new home, everyone is doing very well. I did this because I think the larger tank will greatly outweigh any possible problems that could occur, and will be dealt with as they do.

For the 40, the ornate bichir is just about big enough to move into the 150, so before anymore tetras disappear, he will be out of there. Goldfish can tolerate a much wider range of temps than pretty much any other fish. The temp seems to be in a thrivable range. The spiney/tiretrack will also move into the 150 once he is big enough to not be eaten by the big tiretrack.

If there is anything else that stands out to anyone, PLEASE bring it up. It is good to talk about issues such as ideal water parameters and compatability. And if anything mentioned already still seems off, PLEASE bring it up.

Please see 'TONS of new pics' thread for pics, or check out the 28 new shots in my PhotoBucket page.

[Drumachine09]

Whoa, you DID do a major overhaul.

Good luck, hope it all pans out.

[Fishguy2727]

So far all is well and I am glad I did it, everyone in the 150 seems to love the extra space.

[Kuli_Loach]

I am with you, I have a lot of mixes that ain't suppost to go together like my severums and angels.

[Lady Hobbs]

Wow. I would probably put all your tetra's in the 150 gallon as well. They get along so lovely with the SD.

What happened with all the other goldfish? You had a gaggle of them.

[Fishguy2727]

All but one didn't make it. Too much stress (breeder, wholesaler, (possibly another wholesaler), my tank) not to mention ranchus are pretty much one of the if not THE most sensitive breeds of goldfish. There are two in there now because I grabbed one that had been at my work for a while.

[AquaQueen]

Wow...mighty brave of you and a big move for some of them...good luck with all of that. I will definitely go check out the pics.

[cocoa_pleco]

I am with you, I have a lot of mixes that ain't suppost to go together like my severums and angels.


lol, i have retarted mixes too. my 55g has 3 angels, a severum, about 10 different tetras, 5 different loaches, a peacock eel that i havent seen since the day i got him (may be dead, i have no dam idea), a platy, 2 killies, 2 breeding rainbow sharks, a giant gourami, and a black shark. theres probably more i forgot about.

EDIT- also, 2 dwarf aquatic frogs


BTW, fishguy, your tanks sound cool

[RobbieG]

I'll try just about any combo in my tanks - but only because I have enough room to quickly move a fish if I have to. I've found that most community fish seem OK with just about everyone - except small groups of the same species!

[zackish]

Didn't you ever learn...when you tell someone what your doing they are going to try it either way:c3:

It's like telling your kids something you did and telling them not to do it.

[Fishguy2727]

RobbieG brings up one of the most important points, when going outside the 'safe' area of compatibility, you MUST be able to undo that instantly if need be. You also need to be experienced enough to recognize even the most subtle signs of incompatibility in order to not bring a bad end to any of your fish.

[Zibignu]

[Only Registered Users Can See Links.]

Who needs tanks?

Lol I was looking through your pics (tons of nice ones btw) and I couldn't resist posting this one. I'm sure everyone here as seen it but meh.

[tropfish]

RobbieG brings up one of the most important points, when going outside the 'safe' area of compatibility, you MUST be able to undo that instantly if need be. You also need to be experienced enough to recognize even the most subtle signs of incompatibility in order to not bring a bad end to any of your fish.


well stated fishguy!

i see no problem in mixing some species that others wouldn't mix. the individual fish are different. combos have worked for some ppl and havent for others. like you said its really down to recognise any dislike between them early on before damage is done.

[Incredulous_Ed]

[Only Registered Users Can See Links.]

Who needs tanks?

Lol I was looking through your pics (tons of nice ones btw) and I couldn't resist posting this one. I'm sure everyone here as seen it but meh.

lol, my pleco used to do that.

Fish guy, is the goldfish uncomfortable at the tropical temp? or since it is a fancy variety is it okay?

[cocoa_pleco]

i would imagine its alright. hes the last person i would think that would abuse a fish

[Incredulous_Ed]

yeah, I was just confused.

[Fishguy2727]

Actually the heater in that tank stopped working a long time ago apparently, so I just pulled it out. So they are all in at room temp. Goldfish are fine at higher temps. The problem is their metabolism is increased. That means more waste and faster, and higher oxygen intake, which is why it is important to have an air stone in a goldfish tank.

[Incredulous_Ed]

oh, that clears it up then. thanks.

[cocoa_pleco]

lol, their metabolism goes through the roof. when i had a large comet in my old tropical tank he was like a ADDHD kid without ridalyn and he would fly allover the tank and never stop

[Fishguy2727]

Many comets do that in 65F.

[cocoa_pleco]

and there was another stage of his ADD where for 4 months he would go to the left side of the tank, get gravel in his mouth, spit it to the right side, repeat. he did that unless he was eating. he had a huge mountain on the right side. eventually he got too big for the tank and went to a pond (manmade at someones house, not wild)

[tropfish]

sounds like he enjoyed himself haha

my old goldfish was 6" before he died of bloat problems, and every day i could hear him taking mouthfuls of gravel and throwing them eveywhere. it was really cool to watch, but Kind of annoying when you're trying to fall asleep haha.

[2manyfish]

You did a lot of switching around Fishguy!! :c5: I'm glad everything is working out for you too. To me, sometimes you just have to try something to see if it will work or not. Maybe it won't last but if you are careful to keep a close watch and take care of any problems I really don't see the harm.

Say, I was wondering since you have peacocks if you think one would get along with a spiney eel in a 50g wide tank? I'm picking up an OB peacock tomorrow and was just wondering what you thought.....

I'm going to go see your pics now!! :c5:

[cocoa_pleco]

if you have alot of nooks and crannys i think the peacocks will leave the eel alone. my peacocks allow platys and a few other fish with them

[2manyfish]

Okay Fishguy, you've had your fun but where oh where is this thread "Tons of new pics" at??? HMMM????? :27:

And could you give me a hint on what page I would find the new pics on your Photobucket account??

Help an old person out who doesn't have that much time left to go through 14 pages of photos.... :ezpi_wink1:




Thanks Coco! I may have to try the eel then!!:c3:

[Fishguy2727]

The other thread is in this same section 'General Aquarium Forum', it is just a little farther down now, but still on the first page.

The first couple pages on my PhotoBucket page have all the new pics. It starts with the good pic of the gold nugget pleco.

The peacock eel and peacock will probably be fine together. My tiretrack loves the pile of very smotth river stone I have. He hides in there all the time. I would suggest something similar. The areas between the rocks will be too small for the peacock to get into, but big enough for the eel to slither through.

[crackatinny]

How are the new combo's going so far fishguy?

As seen in my avater, compatability can be a strange thing, and sometimes works and sometimes not.

[Fishguy2727]

So far so good.

[2manyfish]

Well I finally got around to seeing your tank and fish pics!! WOW!! Very nice FishMan!! :19: You've got some gorgeous fish there that's for sure!! :malelovies:

Your peacock OB looks very much like the one I have....but I'm somewhat confused. The guy at the fish store said that this one was very aggressive and would not tolerate another peacock in the same tank. When I picked it up this morning, I saw that "my" fish was digging underneath the divider to get to the male on the other side. This tank is a 40g tall and I'm wondering if I could get more peacocks instead of an eel.

Sorry I was so late getting back to you but things got very weird around here!! :ezpi_wink1:

[Fishguy2727]

Sometimes individuals can be much more aggressive than the norm. You have to know your fish and go on a case by case basis. If he is that aggressive I would probably take him back.

[2manyfish]

No way FishGuy! I guess I don't mind having just the one cichlid in the tank. At least I should be able to keep other types of fish with him. :c5:

[cocoa_pleco]

No way FishGuy! I guess I don't mind having just the one cichlid in the tank. At least I should be able to keep other types of fish with him. :c5:


lol, i didnt really either. before my 33g was salt i had the severum in it for a while then added the clown knife. was interesting enough, but you do need the option of adding later