Fish Compatability!!!

[masoud100]

Alright guys the tests that were done were by Big Als and they said everything is fine so I assumed everything was 0. But just came back from work and realized I had the test kit of water hardness, nitrate and ammonia. I did ammonia first and it was 0. Then I did nitrate at first looked 0, but after reading the manual it said wait 5 min and then check it against the chart. Well I did and it was measured at 5 out of a possible 110 I believe. So I am assuming everything is good.

Now referring to the chart. The chart makes almost no sense at all. If you look at it as a graph with x-axis and y-axis. Whether you start from the x-axis or y they contradict eachother or its incomplete. Like for Barbs if you follow the top part it says its compatable with Gouramis (so why did previous member say its not after posting this link to follow)? Second if you look at it from the side view Barbs it says C C C C C Y and then rest is blank. Why

I am not planning on adding fish until sometime 1-3 weeks from now due to saving up money for other reasons. Also by next week plan on buying easy plants and some java moss before any new fish is added.

Java Moss is a ball shape thing (but someone said to tie it around my driftwood?

So can someone tell me what fish I should have with Tiger Barbs, and Red Tail Black Shark and Hillstream Loach? I want someone to give me an input of what would look nice. I am thinking of selling my Bala Sharks.

[dpatte]

barbs, loaches and sharks are all asian fish, and do well together. i would add siamese (2-3) and chinese (1) algae eaters.
Then if you must add other fish, there are alot of nice barbs. Perhaps black ruby barbs or gold barbs.
keep your water around 25C/75F

[sylros]

Now referring to the chart. The chart makes almost no sense at all. If you look at it as a graph with x-axis and y-axis. Whether you start from the x-axis or y they contradict eachother or its incomplete. Like for Barbs if you follow the top part it says its compatable with Gouramis (so why did previous member say its not after posting this link to follow)?

Java Moss is a ball shape thing (but someone said to tie it around my driftwood?)

So can someone tell me what fish I should have with Tiger Barbs, and Red Tail Black Shark and Hillstream Loach? I want someone to give me an input of what would look nice. I am thinking of selling my Bala Sharks.

As barbs are usually more aggressive than not, fin nipping and such, hence none with long fins and pearl gouramis have long fins. It will all depend on the setup of your tank as well, if there are lots of hiding places that will help. There's also something about having the right number of fish. It was true with my serpae tetras, if less than 5, they just nip at everybody but now that I have 5 they just leave everyone alone. There's the size of the fish as well, either same size of bigger than them.

If it's in a ball, you must be talking about morimo balls, stuff will get caught into those if there's too much in the tank. If you didn't want to keep it as a ball, I've seen it attached to driftwood looking pretty neat!

I agree with going with Asian type of fish, that's another way to choose compatible fish.

[masoud100]

Regarding the ball thing I am talking about heres a link
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xeRj7JntLLQ

They sell that in all PetsMart stores and what do you mean stuff will get caught in it? The Petsmart girl told me that they will also help algae on your glass come off cuz its like a magnet.

So right now I got 10 Tiger Barbs, 10 Green Tiger Barbs, 1 Red Tail Black Shark, 3 Bala Sharks and 1 Hillstream Loach. I might get rid of the bala sharks. I used to have a big (8 inches or so) Chinease Algea eater but it would always ruin my plant setup and always hiding with the current tank mates I have. It was always picked on by the tiger barbs.

But say I get 3 small Siamese Algae eaters and add them to my tank first. What about Black Ghose Knifefish? I love how they look and I can get a decent size right now that is about 4-5 inches. Once it reaches too big for my tank I will give it to my friend who has a 120gallon or sell it to the store.

[Nerine]

you use the moss ball to wipe the glass with? It's easier to use a real magnet...but the moss ball is a good idea because it won't scratch the glass...

[masoud100]

No the moss ball/morimo ball just lays in the tank (bottom) and it is used like a magnet pulling algae off the glass. Thats what the girl said to me at Petsmart

[Fishnut]

Masoud100, do you read anything before you buy plants, fish or anything related to your aquarium?

That is THE MOST hilarious thing I have ever heard anyone say in regards to something that is added to the aquarium!!!!!!

Find someone else to talk to for the sake of your poor fish tank!  Wow...you have got a lot to learn.

Your barbs are going to kill the knife fish but you might have known that if you had picked up a book or simply typed it into google.

[Nerine]

ooh haha I thought that is what you meant but I wasn't sure

Marimo balls NEED agitation...they cannot lay on the bottom of the tank...if they don't tumble about then they won't grow and they will die. So make sure it 'dances' about your tank

It won't pull off algae off the glass!! they also need low light

[masoud100]

Well I use aqadvisor and when I put a Blackghost knife fish it didnt say its not compatable with tiger barbs. It just says it is not suited for your tank may eventually outgrow.

Plus I wasnt planning on buying it before knowing for sure. Also I do read and see, and everything conradicts each other. Like 2 yrs ago I had Bettas and I had all females about 14 of them in my 30 gallon tank never fought or anything. People said dont put them together.

Also to Nerine how would you them make Marimo balls dance? And if I have strong light will it die

[Fishnut]

Japanese Moss Balls.  Google it.  They're not easy.  You'll need to get creative to agitate the moss balls.  They need to be like tumbleweeds in the desert.  

Black ghost knife fish.  Again...google the fish.  Learn about it's behavior and requirements as an individual species, then learn about the behavior and requirements for the other fish in your tank as individual species.  From there you SHOULD be able to figure out compatibility without relying on some online software telling you what to do.  Really...what does software know about mixing fish?  I googled Black Ghost Knife Fish and did not find too many contradicting pieces of information.  The more you read about different species, the more you'll find RELIABLE websites.  If all you're finding is contradicting info then go to fish shops and browse the books.  Heck, Chapters has books about fish!  

When you've read everything you can read about a fish (or plant), THEN go to the fish shops and ask.  THEN you seek advice in on-line forums  like this one.  If you don't even know the basics, you're never going to be successful.  You'll never know if someone is just telling you something to sell you something, giving bad advice or if they truly know what they're doing.  For example, someone out there has convinced you that a 0 reading for all water parameters is good.  You have been told repeatedly here that this is not true.  Researching the nitrogen cycle should have clued you into the fact that 0 on all parameters is not good and not possible.  Someone out there sold you bala sharks for a tank that can not hold them for very long...bad advice.  Researching the bala shark before purchasing would have clued you into the fact that they are not suitable for the tank.  Someone out there sold you an apisto, which your tiger barbs likely killed.  If you had learned about tiger barbs as a species and apistos as a species, you would have saved yourself the money for the fish and the poor fish's life.

See...whoever is giving you this advice is leading you down the path of a sucker...to aquarium keeping disaster after spending a lot of money.  If you had taken the time to thoroughly research the topic you want to learn about before moving forward with it, you would have avoided being suckered into all these incorrect decisions.

I know OVAS is a pretty good source of info because I've been keeping fish for such a long time that I can tell most of the people here are right on the money with their answers.  I also go to meetings and talk to a decent number of them.  As you've seen we're not shy about saying something even if it's not what you want to hear.  Read and understand as much as you can on your own, then seek help in filling in the blanks.  Be open to the fact that you just might have gotten some bad advice from somewhere else.  If you make a habbit of fluffing off the advice from the experienced fish keepers here, they'll stop helping and let you sink yourself.

When you get ridiculous advice like you did about 0 ammonia, Nitrites and Nitrates as well as the laughable advice you got about the moss ball, never return to shop at or seek advice from that place!  

I seriously don't know HOW some business owners can sleep at night knowing the advice their employees are giving customers.

[sylros]

The easiest thing for you is to come to one of our meetings and talk to real fish keepers. We also have some books to lend out if you can't afford to buy some. There's nothing like a book instead of the internet, pick one that you understand and stick with it.

Setting up a tank is a lot of research and it's easy to mix up facts but it needs to be done.

The next one is October 22nd, try and make it.

[masoud100]

Ya regarding bad advice. Before buying Apisto I told the guy would it go with my bala sharks, tiger barbs, etc. He said ya because they are all community.

And to come to the meetings do I need to be a member? I am thinking of my final stocking list to comprise of

10 Tiger Barbs
10 Green Tiger Barbs
1 Red Tail Black Shark
3 Siamese Algae Eaters
1 Golden Algae Eater


maybe keep my 1 HillStream Loach
and add possible some Cherry Barbs

any opinions

[Fishnut]

The question is...do you think this is a compatible list? If so, why?

No, you do not have to be a member to come to meetings but you do need to be a member to borrow books from the library, win door prizes and more.  Members also get discounts at some of our sponsor fish shops.  $20...that's all it takes to be a member.

[masoud100]

so for $20 what do I get? Also is it once yearly or monthyl $20? From my perspective I think the stocking is good

[Fishnut]

Well if you have done the proper research on the species of fish and how they interact and you feel confident that you're not sacrificing the lives of the fish by making poor choices (balas and apisto for example), then theoretically, you have nothing to worry about, right?  Are you SURE cherry barbs will be OK in that tank?

$20 for the year for a membership.

[masoud100]

Yes I think Cherry Barbs should be compatabile in my tank as I got Tiger Barbs (same family), and Red Tail Shark who will keep to himself in his area with future additions of SAE and Golden Algae Eater

[robt18]

I wouldn't add cherry barbs in there, they're slow and docile. The tigers will rip them up eventually.

Hillstream loaches tend to like lots of current and oxygen I believe, so a heads up with them too.

[dpatte]

I have kept cherries with tigers without an issue.

[Nerine]

I have a moss ball and it 'dances' about with an upside down internal filter!!! so that it pushes the moss ball about...lots of agitation at the bottom of my tank!!

[masoud100]

With my stocking how would Zebra Thorn Snails do? I read about them and found out they dont breed (YAAAAAAA! for me). Would Tiger Barbs or Red Tail Black Shark eat them? I am thinking of getting rid of my Hillstream Loach and my Bala Sharks so my tank would for now have Tiger Barbs, and Red Tail Black Shark. I am thinking of adding 6 Zebra Thorn Snails as my cleanup crew to clean my glass