# 30 Gallon Tank Fish Ideas



## Cody (Dec 22, 2007)

I am going to be getting a 30gallon tank sometime over the course of the next few months, and I need ideas for fish. Here are some ideas I have thought of.

(What I want):
-1 albino bristlenosed pleco
-5 Tiger/Cherry Barbs
-Corys
-Angels?
-Peacock Eel?
-2 or 3 Dwarf Gouramis (Sp?)
-Endler's Liverbearers

I know I can't probably fit all of these into one tank, but those are my ideas for what I want.

(What I would be willing to add):
-Danios
-Tetras
-Platys
-Guppies
-Otos
-Any other fish (Suggestions please?)

I will take any suggestions.[/code]


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## rustyness (Mar 2, 2007)

i think dwarf gouramis and corys would be nice. that's what i want when i can upgrade in the future, not sure what else tho.


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## Little-Fizz (Aug 19, 2007)

Yay!!! I want endlers livebearers in my tank too! I'm not sure but I think you'll have to worry about nipping if you have the tiger barbs with the angels... Again not too sure.


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## Cody (Dec 22, 2007)

Little-Fizz said:


> Yay!!! I want endlers livebearers in my tank too! I'm not sure but I think you'll have to worry about nipping if you have the tiger barbs with the angels... Again not too sure.


What about Cherry barbs with angels?


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## Lupin (Aug 2, 2006)

My suggestion:
Ditch the peacock eel and angelfish. Both will eventually become a menace to smaller tankmates. The rest are fine but I would ditch the tiger barbs and put pentazona barbs as your alternatives to cherry barbs.

Unless you can find female dwarf gouramis, stick with only one or switch to other alternatives such as honey gouramis, sparkling gouramis and pearl gouramis. I wouldn't advise adding guppies with gouramis. Chances are the guppies will be severely harassed. I've witnessed this myself after trying out both guppies and sparkling gouramis. Risky business and should not be tried.


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## Cody (Dec 22, 2007)

Lupin said:


> My suggestion:
> Ditch the peacock eel and angelfish. Both will eventually become a menace to smaller tankmates. The rest are fine but I would ditch the tiger barbs and put pentazona barbs as your alternatives to cherry barbs.
> 
> Unless you can find female dwarf gouramis, stick with only one or switch to other alternatives such as honey gouramis, sparkling gouramis and pearl gouramis. I wouldn't advise adding guppies with gouramis. Chances are the guppies will be severely harassed. I've witnessed this myself after trying out both guppies and sparkling gouramis. Risky business and should not be tried.


Thanks. This is what will probably get so far.

-1 Albino Bristlenosed Pleco.
-6 or 7 Cherry Barbs/Pentazona Barbs/Tiger Barbs.

Would a Red-Tailed Shark work with these at all?

I need more ideas. Lupin, I like the ideas for the gouramis. 

What would you suggest for this now?


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## Lupin (Aug 2, 2006)

Looks good.

You still have space for corydoras or a _Sturisoma_ pleco. You could try pairing up your BN instead and who knows they could breed in your tank.

Give sparkling gouramis a try but be sure to plant your tank heavily because these are extremely shy fish. Croaking gouramis are also nice to add. 6 sparkling or croaking gouramis are fine or choose a pair of pearl gouramis or two pairs of honey gouramis.

As for mid level, harlequin or hengeli rasboras fit well. Maybe green fire tetras, green neon tetras, diamond tetras, kerri tetras, flame tetras, black neon tetras, neons, cardinals, emperor or rummies.


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## Cody (Dec 22, 2007)

Lupin said:


> Looks good.
> 
> You still have space for corydoras or a _Sturisoma_ pleco. You could try pairing up your BN instead and who knows they could breed in your tank.
> 
> ...


I have always liked Tetras, glad they could be possibly be in this.  

Would a Red-Tailed Shark be able to fit in with barbs and the pleco? I know they really cannot be placed with smaller fish, but it is just a thought.


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## Lupin (Aug 2, 2006)

Cody said:


> Would a Red-Tailed Shark be able to fit in with barbs and the pleco? I know they really cannot be placed with smaller fish, but it is just a thought.


Ah no.


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## Cody (Dec 22, 2007)

Lupin said:


> Cody said:
> 
> 
> > Would a Red-Tailed Shark be able to fit in with barbs and the pleco? I know they really cannot be placed with smaller fish, but it is just a thought.
> ...


Thought so.  

I like the Honey Gouramis.

So..my list.

-1 Albino BN Pleco
-6 or 7 Cherry Barbs/Pentazona Barbs/Tiger Barbs (Most likely not the Tigers).
-2 Honey Gouramis? (4 if I have enough space.)
-Some sort of Tetra that isnt the plain Neon (Like 4 or 5).


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## LincolnS (Dec 24, 2007)

id add the corydoras. Their antics are fun to watch and they are really peaceful, Ive never had any problems with them. They also scavenge so if you overfeed a little bit they will pick up some (not all) of the leftover food. Try a snail if you wish they are a change in scenery..just make sure you only get one otherwise youll be infested.


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## Cody (Dec 22, 2007)

LincolnS said:


> id add the corydoras. Their antics are fun to watch and they are really peaceful, Ive never had any problems with them. They also scavenge so if you overfeed a little bit they will pick up some (not all) of the leftover food. Try a snail if you wish they are a change in scenery..just make sure you only get one otherwise youll be infested.


I might add them.

Would they do good if I had two?


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## Cody (Dec 22, 2007)

One last thing....

Substrate: Sand or Gravel?


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## Lupin (Aug 2, 2006)

Cody said:


> One last thing....
> 
> Substrate: Sand or Gravel?


Sand.


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## crazy4fish (Dec 31, 2007)

dont put angels with tiger barbs cuz the barbs will eat their tails and if you put angels with neon tetras they will get eaten. larger tetras should be ok. i would definatly get cherry barbs! i have them and they are great! they are some of the few barbs that wont nip at other fish. gouramis sound great! good choice about the neons. i personally think they are a bit boring and would perfer something more interesting. good luck :wink:


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## Oldman47 (Sep 7, 2007)

On the corydoras, I would suggest at least 3. They are very active when in a group and their antics can be entertaining. I've watched them play water slide with the filter return and similar games.


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## Cody (Dec 22, 2007)

crazy4fish said:


> dont put angels with tiger barbs cuz the barbs will eat their tails and if you put angels with neon tetras they will get eaten. larger tetras should be ok. i would definatly get cherry barbs! i have them and they are great! they are some of the few barbs that wont nip at other fish. gouramis sound great! good choice about the neons. i personally think they are a bit boring and would perfer something more interesting. good luck :wink:


I'm not going to add any Angels.

This is another idea.

-7 or 8 Tiger Barbs
-1 Leporinus? (I do not know if that will work. I just like the way they look. I have heard mixed things about them)
-1 BN Pleco
-1 Rainbow/Red Tailed Shark? ( I have heard they get along well with Plecos and Corys, and they wouldn't be able to catch Tiger Barbs)
-2-4 Corys
-Any other thing.

I really like Tiger Barbs, but I would be willing to put Cherry Barbs if I had to.


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## crazy4fish (Dec 31, 2007)

i think that sounds good. im pretty sure the tiger barbs would be ok with the sharks, but you might want to reseaech a bit more. i have never had sharks because my lfs says they wouldnt get along with the rest of my fish, so i cant say if they are good or not. i like tiger barbs too and plan on getting some when i get rid of my guppies. i found some info on black banded leporinus, i dont know if its the exact fish you were talking about but they probably act the same. it said they are peacful WHEN KEPT WITH FISH THEIR SIZE. they should be kept in groups and like to have lots of plants and rocks to play in. there is more info in this link if you wanna look.  

http://www.fishpage.info/behavior/556/Black-Banded-Leporinus.html

and just to fill in the "any other thing" space i think you should get some gouramis. i think they would look nice in that mix and are big enough so that the leporinus shouldnt bother them, but im not sure about the red tailed shark. just something to think about :wink:


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## Lupin (Aug 2, 2006)

Cody said:


> I'm not going to add any Angels.
> 
> This is another idea.
> 
> ...


If you are talking about black-banded leporinus, they aren't exactly community fish especially when they have the tendency to harass other fish. A 12 inches boisterous fish can be very intimidating to the rest of your fish.


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## Cody (Dec 22, 2007)

Ok, no Lepornius then. :roll: 

I still really want to add a Shoal of Tiger Barbs with a Black Tailed Shark/Rainbow Shark. That would probably work, right?

I checked the compatibility chart, and it said that barbs, sharks, cories and plecos all get along with each other.


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## Lupin (Aug 2, 2006)

Cody said:


> I still really want to add a Shoal of Tiger Barbs with a Black Tailed Shark/Rainbow Shark. That would probably work, right?


It'll work.

Rainbow shark > RTBS


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## Cody (Dec 22, 2007)

Lupin said:


> Cody said:
> 
> 
> > I still really want to add a Shoal of Tiger Barbs with a Black Tailed Shark/Rainbow Shark. That would probably work, right?
> ...


Ok, good.

So, this is probably my last list. This will have everything.

Fish:
-1 Rainbow Shark/RTBS
-6, 7, or 8 Tiger Barbs
-1 BN Pleco (Maybe)
-2-4 Cories

Tank:
-20-30 Gallon (Most likely 25 at the least)
-Black Sand
-Ornaments, fake plants, maybe some live plants.
-A thing of Driftwood my dad is giving to me.

Could I add a few snails (Or just 1), or would any of the fish eat it?
What about shrimp?


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## tophat665 (Sep 30, 2006)

Make sure you get a 30 with that mix. You want at least 30" and preferably 36" of tank length to get the best out of your tiger barbs. I'd skip the cories, not because they;re not neat fish, but because I would be a touch worried about bioload balancing with a good sized school of barbs. I mean, 8 tiger barbs at full growth is 24" of fish. A RTBS or Rainbow shark will get 6" and a bristlenose is a 5 inch long poop machine. I count a pleco of any sort as double its size for bioload purposes.

Also, if you go with the bristlenose, make sure you have some driftwood in the tank; they love to munch on it. And, with the BN and the shark, make sure you have at least 4 caves that'll fit either. If you decide to go with cories, up that to 6 caves.


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## Cody (Dec 22, 2007)

tophat665 said:


> Make sure you get a 30 with that mix. You want at least 30" and preferably 36" of tank length to get the best out of your tiger barbs. I'd skip the cories, not because they;re not neat fish, but because I would be a touch worried about bioload balancing with a good sized school of barbs. I mean, 8 tiger barbs at full growth is 24" of fish. A RTBS or Rainbow shark will get 6" and a bristlenose is a 5 inch long poop machine. I count a pleco of any sort as double its size for bioload purposes.
> 
> Also, if you go with the bristlenose, make sure you have some driftwood in the tank; they love to munch on it. And, with the BN and the shark, make sure you have at least 4 caves that'll fit either. If you decide to go with cories, up that to 6 caves.


Ok, thanks for the tips.

I am still trying to decide if I want cories or not.

I have been looking at 29-30 gallon tanks the past few days, and I have found some I like. I will need to contact some people soon.

I will be adding a medium sized piece of driftwood. I will get some caves and/or hiding places as well. 

I have seen fish using hamster/gerbil tubes in a tank as a hiding spot. Would I be able to use one of those if it pretty long?

And could I add snails, shrimp, or other inverts?


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## tophat665 (Sep 30, 2006)

Easy caves:
1) slate stuck together with Aquarium sealant (and fully dried) or reef epoxy.
2) Flowerpots or half flowerpots (half your cost if you hacksaw them in two.
3) PVC tubes. If you get 100%silicon caulk (w/o fugicide) from the hardware store, that's much cheaper than the same product packaged as aquarium sealant. Stick the tube in the oven at 150 to 200 and watch it closely until it sags a little. Then, wearing gloves, deform as you like. Then spread with sealant and pour gravel over it. Let dry for at least 2 days, then you can glue on larger pieces if you like. You can do the same trick with the sealant and gravel on the flowerpots too.

You really only need about 6 to 8" of cave length for 2 or 3 of them, less for the rest.


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## crazy4fish (Dec 31, 2007)

i think you should go with a 29-30 tank. you MIGHT be able to fit 2 cories in there if you get a large tank. and by the way shrimp and snails should be fine as long as they are big enough so that the sharks and barbs wont eat them. (i dont know if the barbs will be interested in the snails but they seem to bother everything else) :wink:


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## Cody (Dec 22, 2007)

I was thinking, and I thought that 8 Tigers, a BN Pleco, a RTBS and 3 cories would be pretty big. I really want to have the RTBS and Barbs, so those are in.

I kind of narrowed it down to 2, maybe 3 choices. What would be the best?

First Choice:
-6, 7 or 8 Tiger Barbs
-1 RTBS/Rainbow Shark
-1 BN Pleco
-Inverts?

Second Choice:
-6, 7 or 8 Tiger Barbs
-1 RTBS/Rainbow Shark
-2-4 Cories
-Inverts?

Third choice:
-6, 7 or 8 Tiger Barbs
-1 RTBS/Rainbow Shark
-1 BN Pleco
-2-4 Cories
-Inverts?

What would be the best for a 29/30 Gallon?


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## tophat665 (Sep 30, 2006)

I'll see what's behind Door#1....

Option 1 is the way to go there. If you put in Ghost shrimp, and they get eaten or harassed to death, you'll be out a buck. If you feel like you have more space after a while, add some more barbs. Less is rarely more, but sometimes it's the right way to go anyway.


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## Cody (Dec 22, 2007)

tophat665 said:


> I'll see what's behind Door#1....
> 
> Option 1 is the way to go there. If you put in Ghost shrimp, and they get eaten or harassed to death, you'll be out a buck. If you feel like you have more space after a while, add some more barbs. Less is rarely more, but sometimes it's the right way to go anyway.


I was leaning towards the first one the most.

I was thinking of adding 1, maybe 2 snails. I really like Cherry Shrimp, but I don't know if a RTBS would eat it. :?


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## Little-Fizz (Aug 19, 2007)

I would just get a mystery snail. And leave it at that. No cherry shrimp because they cost a lot and will probably be eaten. Lol well yeah thats up to you. But I wouldn't.


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## crazy4fish (Dec 31, 2007)

i think the second or first choice would be good. i just think that it would be better to have cories to help with keeping the bottom clean(and they have great character!) :wink:


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## Cody (Dec 22, 2007)

Do live plants do better in sand or gravel (I would think sand)?

I want to add sand, but wouldn't it be very hard to clean the bottom?


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## crazy4fish (Dec 31, 2007)

i dont know much about live plants but i've seen some people who put some kind of special substrate(again i'm not sure exactly wat it is) in between 2 layers of the regular gravel. this way you can put the plant's roots in that and still have wat ever gravel u want.


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## tophat665 (Sep 30, 2006)

Cody said:


> Do live plants do better in sand or gravel (I would think sand)?
> 
> I want to add sand, but wouldn't it be very hard to clean the bottom?


Depends on the plant - Vals do best in sand, but I have always had better luck with crypts and swords in gravel. Your best bet is to get a really fine gravel/large sand. Eco-complete is good, and seachem just came out with several different grades of fluorite that should be a lot better than the sharp red stuff that used to be the only choice.


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## Cody (Dec 22, 2007)

Ok, but how would I clean the bottom? Wouldn't a regular Gravel Cleaner just suck the sand up?

I would need to know how I could remove the waste and uneaten food, without sucking sand up.


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## tophat665 (Sep 30, 2006)

Just hover the vacuum over open areas of sand. Don't worry about getting in the plants, and if you start to pick sand up, raise the vacuum a bit.

Also, to keep the sand stirred, throw in (and some people are going to call me an idiot for this, but it works for me) a half dozen or dozen Malaysian trumpet snails. I got them 10 a buck at my LFS. (If the population explodes, fish the extras out by hand and feed less.)


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## Cody (Dec 22, 2007)

tophat665 said:


> Just hover the vacuum over open areas of sand. Don't worry about getting in the plants, and if you start to pick sand up, raise the vacuum a bit.
> 
> Also, to keep the sand stirred, throw in (and some people are going to call me an idiot for this, but it works for me) a half dozen or dozen Malaysian trumpet snails. I got them 10 a buck at my LFS. (If the population explodes, fish the extras out by hand and feed less.)


Ok, thanks for clearing that up.

I have visited a lot of places around town, and I can't find one with an Albino BN pleco, and much less a regular BN pleco. I think I may just ditch that and go for something else.

I have looked at Lepornius's the last few days, and the ones at my LFS is not the kind that gets up to 12" long, but it only gets up to 6" long. I do not remember the name, but it was placed in a tank w/ Tiger Barbs and they all were doing fine.

They also have very small Rainbow and RTBS. Which one would do better in a tank with Tiger Barbs and a Lepornius?

Ok, I really hope this is my final list this time. :roll: 

-8 Tiger Barbs
-1 Rainbow Shark/RTBS
-1 Lepornius
-Mystery Snail and maybe Malysian Trumpet Snails
-Hopefully, Cherry Shrimp (Maybe 3 or 4)
-Array of Live Plants
-Black Sand or Regular White Sand, with a layer of gravel possibly.
-Driftwood and Rocks
-Hiding places for the Shrimp and Shark


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## tophat665 (Sep 30, 2006)

Cody said:


> I have looked at Lepornius's the last few days, and the ones at my LFS is not the kind that gets up to 12" long, but it only gets up to 6" long. I do not remember the name, but it was placed in a tank w/ Tiger Barbs and they all were doing fine.


A survey of fishbase only turned up one Leporinus that sticks at 6" (L. maculatus), and it's spotted. The commonly traded ones, the ones with black stripes on a yellow background, get 1 foot long. If you saw otherwise at PetSmart, well, they are sometimes very very wrong about the size their fish reach. Honestly, I personally saw a Leporinus fasciatus last weekend that was all of a foot long.

There are several other species less commonly traded, but, with the exception of L. maculatus, they all get over 8".


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## Cody (Dec 22, 2007)

I knew it wouldn't work. They are just so neat-looking. :roll: 

I will need to add another fish/specie of fish then...

Suggestions please? I don't like the regular tropical communtiy fish, but I like fish that are a little more "exotic". Could i add any cichilds?


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## tophat665 (Sep 30, 2006)

If you're set on Tiger Barbs and an RTBS, then the only think I can think of that might work is to get a topwater fish to balance them out. I understand Asian Killifish are pretty tough customers. I'm thinking of the "Golden Wonder"/Blue panchax that show up pretty frequesntly, but I know little about them. I do know that they're not annual killies, so they'll last a couple of years anyway.

Anyone else care to jump in on these?


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## Cody (Dec 22, 2007)

I might add some Malyasian Trumpet Snails, but I would need to keep the population under control somehow...

I am open to all suggestions for another specie of fish.


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## tophat665 (Sep 30, 2006)

Malaysian trumpet snails are pretty easy to keep under control: don't overfeed.

If you do get a population boom, take a small cup (I use single serving jello cups), sick a couple of pebbles and an algae tablet in it, and put it on the substrate. Take it out when it gets full of snails and dispose in whatever method you conscious allows (I flush, others recommend freeze or clove oil), then put it back in and do it again. Repeat until leaving overnight only gets you a couple of snails. (Obviously, don't do this in a tank full of baby plecos, but you won't have that problem.)


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## crazy4fish (Dec 31, 2007)

for fish suggestions, you could get long nosed elephant fish if you are looking for something "exotic". 




















i dont know how well they get along with everyone so u might wanna check. i see them at my fish store and they are sooo cool. i'm thinking about getting some soon. i also had some macmaster's dwarf cichlids. they were awsome! i loved them. they are pretty and mine werent agressive either. here are some pics.



















there is also a fish called a cockatoo dwarf cichlid. i dont know much about these but they look awsome. here are some pics.



















this is a link that has some info about this fish.

http://badmanstropicalfish.com/stats/cichlid_stats/stats_cichlids1c.html
this one is more helpful :wink: 

http://fish.mongabay.com/species/Apistogramma_cacatuoides.html
it sounds like yopur tank would work well with this fish.


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## tophat665 (Sep 30, 2006)

Skip the elephant fish - the tank's not big enough, they need live food, they're noctornal and moody, prone to disease, and generally hard to keep alive.

If you're going with the RTBS, I would also probably skip the dwarf cichlids, though I am on less firm ground here. I don't know that the shark would harrass them, but they to are bottom dwellers and it might, particularly if they spawned and had tasty fry following them around. Flip side is, though they are more peaceful than most cichlids, it's possible that if they did spawn and the shark did go after the fry, they could conceivably beat the snot out of him.


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## Cody (Dec 22, 2007)

tophat665 said:


> Skip the elephant fish - the tank's not big enough, they need live food, they're noctornal and moody, prone to disease, and generally hard to keep alive.
> 
> If you're going with the RTBS, I would also probably skip the dwarf cichlids, though I am on less firm ground here. I don't know that the shark would harrass them, but they to are bottom dwellers and it might, particularly if they spawned and had tasty fry following them around. Flip side is, though they are more peaceful than most cichlids, it's possible that if they did spawn and the shark did go after the fry, they could conceivably beat the snot out of him.


But if I bought the Shark as a baby, and it grew up with small fish, would it still try to eat smaller fish as it grows up?

I know this is true for Oscars and other Cics, but I am not sure about sharks.

Because when I do buy the fish, I am getting all babies. The Tiger Barbs are like an inch long, and the RTBS is like 1.5-2" long.


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## tophat665 (Sep 30, 2006)

Somebody else needs to field that one. I just bumped up against the limit of my knowledge of this critter.

Hit google. Check out 6 or 7 write ups. You should be able to tell pretty soon if they'll give you trouble.


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