New To Me Tank - 55 gallon

Hi, I'm to the site! I just acquired a 55 gallon tank with pre-existing residents: 2x bala sharks, 1x pleco (already 6 inches or so), a rainbow shark, and about 10x platys (2 adults and 8 babies).
I came here because I'm worried about the pleco and bala sharks and I'm worried about the nitrogen cycle in the tank.

Should I head over to the new to fresh water tank to post the details or just spit it out here?

Hi, I love to get some input about concerns I have regarding a 55 gallon tank with pre-existing residents that I recently acquired. It came with 2x bala sharks, 1x pleco (already 6 inches or so), a rainbow shark, and about 10x platys (2 adults and 8 babies). When I picked up the tank all the fish were in a bucket with some gravel, and the rest of the gravel was in another bucket with water. All the plants were in another bucket and all the fake stuff was in a box. The tank was scrubbed and cleaned for me . The dirty filters were in a plastic bag filled with tank water and the filter assembly was cleaned. So... not exactly ideal.

I put 3 bags of eco-complete and all the plants back in as well as 2 of the fixtures for the rainbow shark and pleco to hide in, and reused the dirty filters. Since I put in new substrate I bagged up a bunch of the old gravel to stick in there (down to one bag now) and dumped all the old water back in. I also squirted a bottle of stuff that is supposed to help cycle it, but I don't have the bottle anymore and I can't remember what it was. I also put all the fish in the tank since there was really nothing else I could do with them.
As of today, about 8 days later, the seachem ammonia alert has stayed good. I have been testing the water every day and nitrites seem to be low or none and nitrates are going up. I'm hoping that means I don't have to worry about ammonia spiking?

I am also pretty concerned about the two bala sharks and the pleco. I know this tank isn't going to be anywhere big enough for them, but I have to make due with it for now. Does anyone have an idea of how long they can hang out before they outgrow it and what size tank am I going to be looking at? The pleco is probably already 6 or 7 inches long and the sharks are maybe 3 or 4 inches?

Any advice is greatly appreciated!

Pictured: fatty

 

Well, Bala Sharks can get over a foot in length. I'd rehome if you can. They get far too big for most home aquariums, IMO.

If it's a common Pleco, it'll get too big as well. There are some smaller varieties that'd be fine. Post a pic if you can, and we'll see if we can't identify it for you.

Rainbow sharks only get about 6", but they're semi-aggressive as they get older. Definitely make sure there's minimal aggression with this guy. You may want to rehome.

Were the filter pads wet while you were transporting the tank? Any ammonia spike?

 

Baka sharks can get up to 12” and the pleco...2 feet.

You should rehome the fish now while you can. It will reduce problems in the long run.

Call the LFS and ask if you can get credit for them for new fish.

 

If you have nitrites then I doubt you’ll see an ammonia spike, maybe there’s a chance but seems unlikely.

 

Here is a picture of the pleco! He was in a little lidded tank someone gave us it because he was thrashing around and I was afraid he was trying to jump out and would hurt himself or the other fish.
I posted all the other details on the freshwater beginners board. But nope, no ammonia spike so far. The old dirty filters were in a ziplock full of tank water.




So, I'm hearing *more tank than I probably even have space for*. I will ask at the store by my house, I don't even need a credit, I just don't want them to suffer in a tank that is too small for them. Any other rehoming ideas? Seems like there isn't much of a demand for big fatty plecos.
Also, re:ammonia, that is what I was hoping!

 

Welcome to Fishlore!!!

 

Welcome to Fishlore!!!

Thank you! I have been looking around and it appears to be a very friendly and knowledgeable community

 

You have a nice sized tank you really have fun with utilizing the right fish. Unfortunately the fish you inherited grow to large for a 55.

I suggest rehoming the pleco and sharks. But have an idea of what you want to replace with. As you remove bioload via rehoming, replace it with something you want that is compatible.

Good luck.

 

Welcome to Fishlore! This is a great forum. Hopefully you can rehome your large fish to a fish store. People here can help you come up with a stocking plan for your tank. . I have learned so much on this forum, and I'm sure you will too!

 

Thank you! I have been looking around and it appears to be a very friendly and knowledgeable community

It is!!! You will enjoy it here!!!

 

You have a nice sized tank you really have fun with utilizing the right fish. Unfortunately the fish you inherited grow to large for a 55.

I suggest rehoming the pleco and sharks. But have an idea of what you want to replace with. As you remove bioload via rehoming, replace it with something you want that is compatible.

Good luck.

The tank seemed a bit understocked but I didn't realize there were 3 big fish when I got the tank. I have been eyeballing planted tanks for quite sometime and love that natural look! My original plan was to plant it first and let it grow in and add fish little by little but that pleco is foiling all my plans lol
I have some ugly fixtures in there right now (looking for a nice piece of driftwood) but the main problem with that plan is fatty comes out every night and digs up all the plants
I have a tiny tank that my son was given that I might use to try to get the plants to root in the new substrate and maybe he won't be able to dig them up so easily. I see why they had so many plastic plants in there though lol

 

Hehe I do love that pleco , a beauty. I have 2 BN in my 55 gallon. I love them.

They don’t grow as big as the common one.

 

He is very pretty and I'm bummed he is going to get so big. I was trying to identify him and I think he is a sailfin, which seem to be almost as big as common, like a foot and a half instead of two feet lol

 

As for your water perameters, it seems your doing ok. Don't let ammonia get beyond .25ppm. You have nitrites so it's converting, and even nitrates which are going up so seems like your safe. I have a 125g planted tank with three bala sharks, and I'm thinking of rehoming them. Definitely re home those guys. Unfortunately the pleco too. If your going with a planted tank, don't get large growing fish. Focus on the plants, make the fish the added decor. Plant's that are good however which you wouldn't plant in substrates are anything floating(obviously) and something with a rhizome. Anubias, African water fern...etc all the best, welcome to fishlore.

 

welome, if you hang around for a bit and participate in discussion, you will "unlock" the buy, sell, trade, free section of this forum. if you can find a nice home for the sharks or pleco, you can try there and see if someone wants to buy them or give for free. its just an option. but anyways welcome and have fun here, people on this particular forum are great and very helpful, so always ask even if you think it sounds like a dumb question... enjoy

 

You can look up your local aquarium club or society, they usually have biannual auctions where you can sell the large fish. If you’re in or near PA, the Bucks County auction is this coming weekend and it is apparently huge!

 

I would just turn them in to your local fish store, even without store credit, the pleco is currently destroying your plans and there are many that are better suited to a planted tank and look a lot friendlier (someone relinquished a foot long pleco that looks just like yours to my local petco, he is almost four inches wide and is in the turtle tank because it can't go anywhere else, they luckily don't have any turtles right now).
I have several types of bristlenose (the most visible ones that enjoy being out without worrying you are staring at them are albino, yellow blue-eye, and red marble). There are many other species that fit perfectly in a 55 without getting too big or too expensive.
How about you go look at the fish you like the look of, report them back to here and we can help you with a stocking plan that will suit your planted tanks wants. (You can only have one red tail shark, they are generally fairly aggressive to other sharks and sometimes to other fish, the platies likely are male and female so I would rehome the females and only keep males so you don't suddenly have a population explosion of 40+ fry every month.)