New Guy needs Help Please...

Hi People,

I'm new here and have done a short intro post ...I'll get some pics up here too but have a few questions if you guys can help...

Ok I'll start from the start..

I set up my tank a Jewel Lido 120 litre. I put in some gravel substrait artificial plants and a main wreck helicopter ornament. I let the tank cycle like that for 3 weeks and then went to get some fish. I asked in my local pet shop what was best to start with and was recommended some Zebra Danio. So they supplied me with 9 Danio's (whick looking into it since I think was a bit much ?? ) 4 were Zebra, 4 leopard and 1 unknown to me Danio. I let the tank cycle with the Danio for a further 4 weeks with no problems. They seem to be thriving and I think have grown some. Oh i also done 10-20% water change weekly and kept testing the water. With the Danio in for 4 weeks without problems I figured it would be ok to add another fish so I bought a Leopard Pleco. Thats where I am to date the Pleco has been in about 2 weeks now and all seems well.

What I want to ask about is adding other fish , I know its not a huge tank and am thinking about bringing the danio back (or some of them although there best kept in groups of 6+ right ?) to make room for what I've listed below..this list is based on what I want without knowing if they mix well etc so advice here would be really appreciated.

Leopard Pleco (already in there)
5/6 Tiger Barbs
1 Angel Fish
Neon Tetra (quantity??)
1 Bala or Red tail Shark

^^ thats what I'd ideally like , based on returning the Zebra Danio or could I keep some of them too - would that be too many in the 120litre ? Would all those mix well / is that a good mix ??

Bit of a long winded post there but cheers for looking/helping if you can..

I'll throw up some pics of the tank shortly too.

Paul.

Hi Paul,

All I'm gonna say at the moment is 'welcome to the forum'.

There are others who will cast some light on this one. (if they don't then I'll be back !!!)

ian

welcome to the forum mate

from my experience it would be better to stay away from the red tail as they are a very aggressive and also him and they bala would quickly grow out off a 120L

also angles a best keep in a group so 2 ta 4 would be great cause have one on its own but thats just me

best off luck sean

Angels possess nice long flowing Fins, something I know the Barbs will adore nipping, Angels are timid when lone Fish, personally I'd avoid mixing them with boistrous sp like Tiger Barbs.

I have had a Lido for quite a while now, I love the Lido, there is something really cool about them, if you really want to get the best out of it, treat it like a Nano Tank and buy small species Fish, like, Chili Rasboras, emerald Rasboras, Galaxies etc, you'll fit more in and have something really natural

I think that Fish should be kept in an environment suitable to their behaviour, Leopard Danio and Zebra Fish, deserve long tanks where they can fly up and down the length of the Aquarium , displaying their beauty properly.

Kev.

Kev.

Hi and welcome. Keep an eye on those tigers with that angel, they may strip it of its fins if they get nippy. You may need to consider adding a few more to the shoal or removing them or the angel. Are you unsure wether you have a bala or red tail shark? The red tail shark is jet black (if in good nick) and sports a bright red tail. The bala shark are also known as silver sharks as they are mostly silver.

Edit, my apologies Paul, I just re-read your post to answer another of your questions and realised that you havnt actually housed these fish together yet, sorry about that. Personally I love Tiger Barbs and in a tank that size I would make them the star attraction and stock it accordingly. Heres a clip of my old Tiger Barb setup in a 120ltr tank. Just to give you an idea of what can be done with them despite their reputation...




Jay

Cheers people

Ok so far the Angel and bala/red are out then.

Seems like the Tiger barbs will be ok which makes me happy as there about my fav fish. Neon tetra without the Angel there will work well too I take it .

Should I take the Danio back then ? Can you even take fish back lol ??

Viperbot wrote:

Edit, my apologies Paul, I just re-read your post to answer another of your questions and realised that you havnt actually housed these fish together yet, sorry about that. Personally I love Tiger Barbs and in a tank that size I would make them the star attraction and stock it accordingly. Heres a clip of my old Tiger Barb setup in a 120ltr tank. Just to give you an idea of what can be done with them despite their reputation..

Jay

Hi Jay, The barbs in your tank look awesome. I'm the same boat I really like the Tiger barbs just a bit unsure of what to keep them with and how many to keep. My new ammended list I'm heading towards with all the help I'm getting here is as follows..

Tiger barbs ( quantity? )
Neon Tetra ( again quantity?? )
2x Bristlenose Catfish - thanks Draco
**if I can add anything else help appreciated **

...and return the Danio.

Paul.

paulfluke wrote:

Cheers people

Ok so far the Angel and bala/red are out then.

Seems like the Tiger barbs will be ok which makes me happy as there about my fav fish. Neon tetra without the Angel there will work well too I take it .

Should I take the Danio back then ? Can you even take fish back lol ??

Set-up a second little tank for them

(whoops....soz, this was meant to be advice on what to do and not advice on how to increase your fish-keeping addition )

igmillichip wrote:

Set-up a second little tank for them

(whoops....soz, this was meant to be advice on what to do and not advice on how to increase your fish-keeping addition )

Haha I don't think i'd get away with that They'll find a new happy home if I bring them back or if anyone's in the Donegal area and willing to home them

there are allot of different comments i see but all i will say is in my experience in having lots of different tanks! i would say stay clear of angel fish and bala shark for certain.
Your best bet would be keep the dianos as they usually swim on the upper levels of the tank ,get some neon tetra maybe 10 which will take the middle and then maybe some corys for the bottom or ancitris as was said.
Also tiger barbs will be fine but then the neons will not be good for them as they will hide and not shoal in my experince. i would personally go with 10 tiger barbs , 3 or 4 corys , leave your zebra fish and consider choosing a dwarf cichlid speices and add 3 females and 1 male.there are many great dwarfs to choose from.Also ancitris are nice fish so 1 or 2 would be good.You need to choose fish that are not going to outgrow your tank unless you are willing to upgrade in the near future good luck in what ever you do