dcorrea

I'm kinda new to all of this, so I'm basically looking for any and all suggestions from any and everyone who can help. I have a 25 gal tank presently (I'm looking to upgrade soon) with 2 of each of the following Sharks: Rainbow, Albino Rainbow, Red Tail, Bala, and Colombian. I also have 1 Chinese Algae Eater, 1 Red Claw Crab, and several Ghost Shrimp. Believe it or not, they all get along great, except for the occasional chase. In the tank I have a couple of rock "caves" one live plant and one plastic plant. I couldn't give you specifics on the water, I haven't had it checked yet, I've had the tank running on three months now, and I know I should. The sharks seem to be doing fine, I add a water conditioner and a nitrate supplement once a week, I feed them only twice a day and I make sure the light is turned on for at least 5 hours a day (I have them sitting in a well lit area so I only turn it on when it is beginning to get dark). Any suggestions as to what I can and should not be doing to further promote their good health and well being? Any added supplements or anything else I can do? Any plant suggestions? I know, that's a lot to asking about in one shot, but I'd like my sharks to last for a long while! Thanks in advance!

Amanda

Welcome to fishlore!
Are all these fish juviniles?
And balas can get LARGE. They need at least a 90 gal. tank.

Amanda

bala shark info:
http://aqualandpetsplus.com/Shark,%20Bala.htm

dcorrea

Thanks!
No, I bought them small, about an inch or so at the time, and they've only gained about, I'd say maybe another inch or so. I'm looking at maybe getting a 100 gal tank in the near future to hold everyone.

Amanda

Wow, I'd love to have a 100 gal.
The only worry I would have, would be that when they start to mature, they could get a little more aggressive. It's just something that you would have to watch for.

dcorrea

Thanks!

Loved the link, a lot of cool info in there!

Anything else I should know?

Amanda

Your aquarium info says that you don't know about the nitrogen cycle? Is your tank cycled? Do you know your water parameters?
Also, we would all love to see any pics of your tank that you may have.

dcorrea

I'll get some up soon!

As for everything else, the tank is a used one, a friend had it for a couple of years, but no longer wanted it and was going to toss it. She had it just sitting in her garage for at least six months before my wife and I asked about it. We had it it for another couple of months before my wife bought me the sharks. We used the same gravel, washed thoroughly, she had Koi's, so I believe it had already cycled. As for the the parameters, I've never measured it, if that is what you mean.

Amanda

By parameters I mean, ammonia, nitrate & nitrite readings.
If the tank was sitting around for 6 months, then all the beneficial bacteria died.
It would be a good idea to purchase a test kit (the API Masterkit is a great one) and test your water. How often to you perform water changes?

dcorrea

Oh! LOL! Can you tell I'm new at this? LOL!

I was told my local pet store, in this case PetSmart, could do that for me. Can they?

I haven't yet, I was also told that by adding the supplement that I could go, in the very least, 6 months before doing so. Would that be a good idea? Also, that I would only need to do like a 50 to 75% water change.

You've been so very helpful, I appreciate all your help very much!

Amanda

You'll see in this forum that large chain stores i.e. Petsmart, Petco, Wal Mart, are not favored. They ususally do not give honest readings, and will tell you that your tank is cycled when it's not.
As for the water changes, a 25 - 40% water change should be done weekly. Especially of your tank is not cycled, the ammonia could build up and kill the fish.
Plus, you have quite a few fish in a 25 gal., the ammonia can build up VERY fast.

Shawnie

welcome to fishlore!!!
amanda is giving you great advice...the only few things id like to suggest is that down the line, if not yet, you will have major issues with that many rainbows and red tail sharks..they are super territorial and im very surprised they havent gotten into it majorly yet...were they all from the same tank? usually for a 30 gal, one is all that would be recommended...so deffinately keep a close eye on that...and also, get an api liquid master test kit if you can,,,relying on pet stores for water readings leads to selling you things you dont need, or selling you fish when a tank isnt ready....I wish you well and you joined a great forum with lots of helpful members

dcorrea

Really? Wow, that is good to know!

So by buying this kit, it will let me know when to add what and so on? And, also, the treatments and supplements I've been adding won't keep all of that in check?

Weekly? I'll be sure to start doing that a.s.a.p. if not sooner!

Amanda

What supplements are you adding?
most are un-needed and can cause stress to your fish.

dcorrea

Yes, I was reading up on that too, but for some unexplainable reason, they seem to get along very well, except, like I mentioned earlier, for the occasional chase. And even that seems to be only about the time I'm about to feed them, after which they all seem to be relatively calm. They pretty much keep to themselves for whatever reasons! I kind of get a kick out of it!

Yes, Amanda has been very helpful with all her wonderful advise! I am very appreciative for it!

dcorrea

Off the top of my head, I'm at work right now, I couldn't say, but after I bought them I researched them to find out exactly what they could and couldn't do. One is a water conditioner, the other is for the pH balance and a slime coat aid. I'll have to get all that info and check it out again, but that's about it.

Amanda

Those should be added after every water change.
A water conditioner will remove hard metals from water that are harmful to fish.
The slime coat will help the coats of the fish.
The pH balence is usally not recommended. It may fluctuate your pH and stress out the fish.

dcorrea

Ok, all this info is really good to know, I was figuring that they we're doing ok so I didn't really need to do much.

So the ph balance should be ok as is? They all seem to be in the same ph range. And their all a rather lively bunch, that's good, isn't it?

Amanda

I wouldn't add any more pH balence.
It's very good that they're active, that's a good sign.
But testing your water & doing a water change would be a very good idea.

Red1313

Like it's been said before I'd be leery about the RTS and the Rainbows. Even in a 100 gal that you say you're planning to get that's only leaving 25 gals of floor space for each of them and Reds get nasty when they get older. However with careful observation and good aquascaping you might be able to pull it off. My advice would be to pick two that you like best and send the rest back. However at this point that might upset the balence in the tank as it is now.
I wish you the best of luck.
If you want to do some more research about you're fish I'll recomend. www.fish.mongabay.com ... (I think that should be it... let me know if it doesn't work)

dcorrea

I will keep that in mind! I appreciate everything!

Anything else you remember, don't hesitate, let me know!

Amanda

Will do!

dcorrea

That's what I was wondering too, but as it is right now, it's like they've all found their own little space to occupy. It's kinda cool how they all have their own little "home" in there. Some one had suggested that I put those "caves" in there for that purpose. But, yeah, I check on them frequently to make sure everyone is behaving!

Thanks for everything, I'll check out that link see what I can find.

Thanks again, and I will!

dcorrea

Ok, now on to my next question! What kind of plants are recommended? Any suggestions?

Amanda

This should help:

http://www.plantgeek.net/plantguide.php

dcorrea

So pretty much I can put any kind of plant in with the sharks, right? I thought there were shark specific plants, you know, plants especially for sharks.

Amanda

Not really.
They're freshwater fish, and none of them will eat the plants.
Good beginner plants are java fern, java moss, anubias, anacharis & amazon sword.

dcorrea

Wow! You really know your stuff! Are you a professional?

So any of these, or a combination there of, are ok? Do they aid with anything as far as the sharks health is concerned?

Amanda

No, far from a pro. Just learned (and still learning) through experience, and through the help of the great people on Fishlore.
A combo of these low-light plants would make a great looking planted tank. They will help your fish out, as they feed on the nitrates/nitrites in the water. They also release
O2 into the water, and remove CO2.

Shawnie

the "sharks" you have are actually in the catfish family...they are just called sharks because of their looks...I cant get a plant to grow in a tank other than java moss and im not sure if that is a plant or just a blanket per say LOL..dont forget to share pics with us!