momo9700

okay, so i know sometime in the next year or so, i will get 55 gal tank. i was hoping to put in:

1 Pleco(dont know exactly what kind)
3-5 Bala Sharks
1 Red tail shark

Would this work? Also, would it be possible to move my two larger red wagtail platies(if they are still alive then) into the 55gal? or would the red tail shark attack them? Because I know that platies arent really territorial so they might aggravate the red tail. otherwise would this be OK?

angelfish220

You will need a bigger tank for that many bala sharks. They get 13 inches long apeice.

I wouldnt do the platy redshark combo eather.

momo9700

okay, so if i subtract the bala sharks, what do you think i could add?

So now its
1 pleco
1 red tail shark
1 Zebra Pleco

this tank would be for just a couple of larger fish, im not very interested in adding a ton of fish for this one. i was hoping to get some freshwater "sharks",(ei. bala, red tail, etc) but i cant get balas, so i dont know what else is good.

angelfish220

Okay how about...

1 red tailed shark = 6
3 pictus catfish = 15
1 elephantnose fish = 13
1 bulldog pleco = 5


so you got 39 inches there, and I wouldnt add anything else because all are bigger fish so the inch/ gal is not as accurate.

You can see that there is only one 'shark' on the list but IMO the pictus looks very sharky and the elephant nose is just really cool. there are pics attached as well.

Attached Images

	bulldogpleco.jpg (15.4 KB, 0 views)
	elephant nose fish.jpg (12.2 KB, 2 views)
	pictus catfish.jpg (13.6 KB, 1 views)

momo9700

oh wow, those guys are awesome! i have never heard of those before. I especially like the pictus catfish, it reminds me of a snow leopard.

angelfish220

yeah, he is one I looked into for my 55 but kept singly they are nocturnal and I didnt want to put back space for 3, but I thought they would go good with the 'shark' theme. the I replaced the common with the bulldog because the commons just get to huge. so then there was like 26 inches and I was like 'okay sharky sharky and couldnt get anything but the elephants are just so cool and I thought I'd just throw it in there.

momo9700

okay, they all fit the fish theme i wanted for this tank, a couple of large, sharky-like fish.

momo9700

and also, what about the zebra pleco, i know they are small(4 inches) but they could look good in there if there is room.

Shawnie

I have two pictus now, but when I had just the one, he wasnt ever noctournal...matter fact even when the lites were out he was still psycho now i have double the trouble but they are fun as heck to watch

angelfish220

really! now I wish I got one....

momo9700

well, you can never have too many tanks

angelfish220

I didnt put it in, but in the other thread you mentioned it so, I left room

angelfish220

try telling my mother

momo9700

okay, so i'm going to start doing lots of research on all these guys (im learning as i go with my platies, and its hard) also, should i do large gravel, medium gravel, small gravel, or sand?

momo9700

I keep telling mine that, and it's not working. Maybe if we had more room she'd believe me.

momo9700

btw, is there any order that i should acclimate these guys in? maybe start with the red tail, so it can set up a territory. then possibly the 3 pictus catfish? or what?

angelfish220

probably sand, and subdued lighting, densly planted (plastic or real just lots of them) but still have swimming room.

The best way to achive correct lighting would be floating plants like water wisteria.

momo9700

how do you clean the tank with sand?