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13 days of peace now MAYHEM AND SLAUGHTER!!

2K views 11 replies 11 participants last post by  PlantedTankLover 
#1 ·
I am new and desperate for an answer...and with that I want to learn anything and everything I can...hence learning from forums. Please forgive me if it is wrong to seek answers within two different forum sites. But because my tank is planted I thought I would find some insight here too...


My tank is stocked with:
4 green tiger barbs
4 gold barbs
1 BN pleco
3 petricola catfish or the L'something kind...(bloody expensive so they might be the true petricola?)
and one MEAN ASS red fin shark.

I did my research for a year, made notes and finally got brave and filled my tank. My first fish were the green tiger barbs, got 5 and one died day 2 in my tank. A week later I got the 4 gold barbs and red fin shark. and just 2 days ago I got my 3 catfish and pleco.

I was a little worried that my RFS was unhappy because he was in hiding for a week while my tank was peaceful. So I go down to feed them this morning and two of my GB have nipped top fins (I was told that the GTB would leave the GB alone (remember I had 5) and the RFS is terrorizing all the barbs!! Like serious bashing them into the tank glass and everything.

I honestly can't handle the stress my fish are going thru. :-( Especially my gold barbs. I am thinking of taking all the barbs back and going ciclid. Apparently the catfish and shark and ciclids do well together...from what I'm reading...but I REALLY want a planted tank.

Another thing...I found a snail today :-/ How many more millions do you think I may have?

My questions are:
Will my GBs with missing tope fins die?
Why is my RFS so nasty as my research said they were the most peaceful of the sharks...(I even read that here)
Who should I take out?
What should I add?


my tank stats are:
Tank meduim planted 33g long
6 week fishless cycle (cycled 2 times)
8 weeks and 3 days old
canister filter
daily AM, NI, NA readings of 0
 

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#2 ·
Red fin (or red tail, which ever you mean) are NOT AT ALL peaceful. I have had them in the past, and I ended up having to rehome them due to constant aggression issues. Sharks of all kind, when kept singly, are territorial and get worse with age. The only time this gets better is when they are kept in groups, and, considering their large size, this isnt exactly easy to do.

If you really want a planted tank, I would take back the shark. they are just too much of a gamble, especially in a smaller tank. Now, dont get me wrong, I have a rainbow shark, which is supposed to be a more peaceful specie, in my 65 gallon and he is doing fine, no aggression at all.

I think it just really boils down to tank size and the persona of the particular fish you got. And I think that you got an angry little bugger. Also, 33 gallons seems a bit small to me.
 
#3 ·
My questions are:
Will my GBs with missing tope fins die?
Why is my RFS so nasty as my research said they were the most peaceful of the sharks...(I even read that here)
Who should I take out?
What should I add?
1. No, but you need to keep the tank water real clean while they recover.
2. I've read the opposite on RFS. From what I've read, they get more aggressive as they get older.
3. RFS
4. Nothing else. Maybe trade out one set of those barbs and increase the school of the other.
 
#6 ·
+1 to red fin sharks being crazy aggressive. Mine was cool for a while when I got it, usually just wanted his space but then he got more and more crazy. He beat up everything in the tank from silver dollars to buenos aires tetra. I would only keep one in a tank all by himself if I was to get another.
 
#8 ·
I agree with everyone here. Red tailed sharks are aggressive fish and a 33 gallon tank isn't going to give him enough room. I think he will only get worse. I would recommend you get rid of the shark.

Also, if you have a 0 Nitrate reading then your tank is probably not cycled. You should have some nitrates in a cycled tank. I wouldn't add anything though until you resolve whatever is going on with that cycle. In fact, the more fish you can remove until you get that settled the better off they will be.

I wouldn't consider 4 fish a school. Someone somewhere came up with the number 6 as a minimum and...well...six isn't really a school either but it is better than 4. So, if you want to keep both the tiger barbs and the gold barbs, then I would say you should get 2 more of each. But, I personally wouldn't do that. I think your tank is rather small for two barb schools. If it were me, I would return the gold barbs and get 8 more tigers. If you want variety, then get 4 albino and 4 regular. Twelve tiger barbs are a lovely site and they are very active and playful. But, again, don't add anything until you are sure your cycle is good.
 
#9 ·
If you heard that RFS are peaceful, that experience from that person was the "exception to the rule" as these guys are very aggressive and territorial. I would rehome the RFS, because you can have a planted tank with barbs (who will recover) but it is challenging to have a planted tank with cichlids (depending on the type). Good luck to you and your fishes!
 
#10 ·
Yeah... redtail sharks are kick-A bullies. If you like the look, the rainbow shark is much more peaceful.

And I'd have a school of 12 or so of either the gold or tiger barbs. Snails... the barbs might eat them, might not. If you don't overfeed the fish, then you shouldn't have a snail problem.
 
#11 ·
I'm personally looking into getting an RFS and the research I have done thus far suggests it is an aggresive fish and territorial. Although I can't speak from experience, the reading I have done online suggests ways to reduce the severity of this by:

(1) Introduce the RFS last. Lets say by introducing the RFS 3 months later the other inhabitants have had the chance to claim their grounds. The RFS introduced later on will still be territorial, but will claim a much smaller ground compared to an entire tank if this was the first fish introduced to the tank.

(2) Provide hiding spots and a heavily planted tank.
 
#12 ·
I would rehome that shark asap. I had one in my planted tank about 2 years ago. He was great for the first 9 months or so, then went nuts ant started killing everything. Keep that water clean so the other fish can recover. What is the current tank temp? You may want to turn it up a little as well.
 
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