new to aquarium - fish question - potential problems

HI peeps,

New to the forum, aswell as the Hobby

Having a Fluval Edge 12 galon (46 Liter) aquarium that I have started up a couple of weeks ago.

I have some snails (Posthorn) and cherry shrimps in it and got the fish yesterday.

I was in a well recommended store that is driven by a enthusiast.

We came home with five 5band barbs and two dwarfclaw frogs.

When I read up on the barb I realise that it should have 80 cm and 100 L aquarium. My Fluval is like half the size of that. So, to big fish for the aquarium, and also overstocked according to aqadvisor.

I'm a bit confused why the barb was one of the recomended fishes by this enthusiast. Also, how do I take it from here? The fish is still very small, and I guess that the real problem starts when they starting to hit full size, right? Can I keep em for now and then sell/trade later on if I notice that they don't do well in the aquarium? Or should I just kick em out right away?

Thanks in advance! (sorry for my english, from Sweden)

BR
Magnus

 

Even in a LFS owned by fish enthusiasts, I still see overpriced tools and supplies. In other words, they still need to sell things and move stock to make money to keep the shop going. For example, no fish store is going to tell you to come back in 4-6 weeks to buy fish if they find out you have just started your tank.

Also he may not be deliberately trying to deceive you, but just from his experience, he feels those fish are still OK in the tank you have. That's why it's good to be an aquarist to get info from many sources.



If he will take it back, I think returning it now is better. You don't know for sure later if you can rehome the fish before they suffer needlessly. Usually we react to the fish's conditions, which may begin to be too late already.

 

thanks for swift reply!

He actually told me that I shouldent start with to many fish and come back later to buy more
This guy is alone and have a great reputation in Sweden, so guess its your second thought, that he think that they work good from his experience.

I feel that returning them is a bit of a hassle as hes located in a way that make it a bit hard together with the overall life puzzle. Earliest this weekend.

Hmm, need to sit down with my better part and discuss how to act


Would Galaxy rasbora work instead, and how many if so?
There is also a very red Rasbora? Chilli? Could it be combined chillI and Galaxy perhaps? How many of each?

oh, both Galaxy and chillI (was Mosqito I was thinking of) seem to outgrow the aquarium..... is this correct?

found a stocking that worked.

1 Pygmy gurami (sparkling gurami)
10 Dario Dario
2 dwarf claw frog

would this be an valid stocking?

Any tip if I want to replace the sparkling gurami ?

 

Could you summarize what your stock is again without the barbas?
Is it
a few snails
some shrimp
two dwarf frogs (could you give me the species name please?)

How many snails?

I think galaxy rasboras(aka celestial pearl danio, CPD) would be a great addition to your tank if compatible with your other inhabitants. Barbs can be aggressive and CPD are shy to begin with, so make sure you rehome the barbs before getting anything else.
I think with your size tank you could keep a school of around 10 CPD.

Other opinions?

 

awesome, what an active forum!

For now it looks like this:
around 8 cherry shrimps (allthough 2 fems have eggs)
around 3-4 posthorn snail (not sure to be honest)
2 dwarfclaw frogs (Hymenochirus boettgeri)
5 five banded barbs


the 5 five banded barbs need to go if so. And I need to replace them. Would be great to have two different spicies together with the shrimps/snails and frogs.

2 schools of Dario Dario and CPD would be cool, but that would be overstocking, right ?

 

Yeah, I think it would be.... maybe not if you got 6 of each, but since they're both small fish they tend to be more comfortable with more of their own kind.

 

mmm, figured.

So conclusion - better to take 10 of one, than 5 of two ?

must ask, no mather what small fish I try I get (for example) when I try AQ advisor

Warning: Dwarf Rasbora is not recommended for your tank - it may eventually outgrow your tank space, potentially reaching up to 2.5 cm.

Looking at other sources on diffrent Rasboras for example they say it fit without a problem.
2-3 cm can't be "to big" for the tank... ?

 

It's because they need to be in groups and as a group they're too big and too active. You might be able to have one 3cm fish as a centrepiece but not a group of them

 

I think you can put dwarf rasboras in your tank without a problem. We're talking about tiny fish here. Seriously Fish recommends a 45cm long tank, and yours is about 43-44cm. Take AqAdvisor's recommendations with a grain of salt...