I just inherited a fish tank from a friend who is moving (30g, 1 silver dollar, 3 rainbow sharks, 1 small sucker fish of some sort) and am trying to get smart on proper care for the fish. He's had these fish for a couple of years now, so these aren't juveniles any more (so maybe they wont get any bigger? one of the sharks is only 2 inches).
For some reason the rainbow sharks all get along - although the small does get quite a work out being chased around everywhere. I'm not sure if the friendship will continue, their behavior has become more aggressive as I added a heater to the tank.
My big concern is the poor silver dollar - he just sits and mopes in the corner all day. I'd like to add two more silver dollars to the tank so that they could school and hopefully become a little less timid, but I'm concerned that'd crowd the tank too much. The math using the 1 inch per 1 gallon rule shows that this arrangement might get two crowded, but I'm thinking there'd be a positive trade-off from schooling that would make it worthwhile. What do ya'll think?
On the other hand, I've already browsed craigslist for bigger tanks...
I just inherited a fish tank from a friend who is moving (30g, 1 silver dollar, 3 rainbow sharks, 1 small sucker fish of some sort) and am trying to get smart on proper care for the fish. He's had these fish for a couple of years now, so these aren't juveniles any more (so maybe they wont get any bigger? one of the sharks is only 2 inches).
For some reason the rainbow sharks all get along - although the small does get quite a work out being chased around everywhere. I'm not sure if the friendship will continue, their behavior has become more aggressive as I added a heater to the tank.
My big concern is the poor silver dollar - he just sits and mopes in the corner all day. I'd like to add two more silver dollars to the tank so that they could school and hopefully become a little less timid, but I'm concerned that'd crowd the tank too much. The math using the 1 inch per 1 gallon rule shows that this arrangement might get two crowded, but I'm thinking there'd be a positive trade-off from schooling that would make it worthwhile. What do ya'll think?
On the other hand, I've already browsed craigslist for bigger tanks...
Thanks!
silver dollars always prefer to be in little schoo,ls if possible so it would be a good idea
Check http://www.planetcatfish.com/ for help in ID'ing your pleco and/or post a pic of him here in the Fish ID forum and then you'll know his needs, etc. If you have a common pleco, he might need a new home since 30g is below the 55g they need. I think you could add a couple silver dollars o make that lonely one happy. Just keep up with water changes and tank cleaning so that the water chemistry doesn't go bad on you.
Check http://www.planetcatfish.com/ for help in ID'ing your pleco and/or post a pic of him here in the Fish ID forum and then you'll know his needs, etc. If you have a common pleco, he might need a new home since 30g is below the 55g they need. I think you could add a couple silver dollars o make that lonely one happy. Just keep up with water changes and tank cleaning so that the water chemistry doesn't go bad on you.
you could also trade 2 sharks for 2 silver dollars...if your LFS would let you
that would be a nice deal.. so we wouldn't have a bed anymore, but we'd have a nice big tank. quite often leaks can mean a tank is no longer usable for fish and at best would need a panel replaced, but a friend of ours has a 30g they just wanted to get rid of because they moved and had no room for it.. things like that and people who get out of fishkeeping result in some great deals. a water test is good, but these listings are certainly worth checking out.
i saw an ad in my newspaper for a 55 gal. with a stand and cover for $300
...but i will have to restrain my MTS...for the time being...i'm gonna get a 5gal hex, and use it for 1 betta and 1-2 corys
i saw an ad in my newspaper for a 55 gal. with a stand and cover for $300
...but i will have to restrain my MTS...for the time being...i'm gonna get a 5gal hex, and use it for 1 betta and 1-2 corys
Make sure you get at least 2 Cories, since they like friends.
so much for restraining the MTS...
i went out and bought the eclipse 5 gal. today, just got it set up with seashells and fake plants, and i'm already anxious to add fish
to decide which fish to get, i'm going to start a poll in the polls thread...make sure you vote!!!!!
there is no stopping the MTS.. we're getting tank #10 (a 30g that a friend is giving away) on monday and 7 months ago we had 1 10g tank.. we've got a variety of sizes & shapes and pretty much if it's a tank and we can find a place for it, we'll take it.
thanks for all the advice.. i got him three little silver dollar friends.. they're schooling (for the most part - sometimes the new guys ditch him), but his behavior hasn't really improved.. in fact, he has even more of a tendency to freak out and and run around the tank ramming himself into everything. all the chemical readings for the tank look good, so I'm puzzled as to what could be causing him to continue to behave so poorly
do you have a pic of him? does he have any visible signs or symptoms? he sounds like he's got internal parasites. if he does parasite clear would be in order.
hmmm.. no visible physical symptoms that i can detect or connect to any of the fish illness articles and posts I've read here.. not sure i want to throw medicine in the tank without a diagnosis (or maybe it's ok?). i wonder if there's a dietary change i can try.
another behavioral oddity is very passive eating behavior - one of the new SDs that's 1/4 his size totally puts him to shame at feeding time.
sadly, I don't have a camera these days.. the marketing person who wrote "ideal pocket-size camera" should've added "so check your pockets before you wash your jeans"
i'll go do some more research on internal parasites, thanks!
VitaChem daily and NovAqua+ would be good when you're not sure of a diagnosis.. and garlic guard.. to strengthen the fish and generally work on improving their overall health and immune system.
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Peace Out Callum!
quite often leaks can mean a tank is no longer usable for fish and at best would need a panel replaced, but a friend of ours has a 30g they just wanted to get rid of because they moved and had no room for it.. things like that and people who get out of fishkeeping result in some great deals. a water test is good, but these listings are certainly worth checking out. 
there is no stopping the MTS.. we're getting tank #10 (a 30g that a friend is giving away) on monday and 7 months ago we had 1 10g tank.. 
we've got a variety of sizes & shapes and pretty much if it's a tank and we can find a place for it, we'll take it. 
