# community fish tank compatibility



## Toasterbaa (Jun 25, 2013)

Hello i have 5 guppies, 6 mollys, 4 plecos, 1 semenise fighting fish 3 columbian tetras, 4 gourmais, 1 golden barb, and 1 black ghost knife fish. im wondering can all these fish live peacefully without any problems? sorry for wrong spelling on some words. thank you


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## Tracy Bird (Sep 20, 2011)

A few questions:

What size tank are they in? Gallons and Dimensions of tank...

Why type of pleco's do you have? 

What type of gourami's do you have?

You may want to do a search through TFK and have a look at the profiles for each of the fish you are keeping and try to determine the needs of each species. If one species prefers 82 degrees and another 77 degrees it would be difficult to keep each species together based on the difference in their water temperature needs. That's just an example....

I did look up the Golden Barb in the TFK fish profiles, they require a minimum school of 8 fish in order to feel secure. So having one is not a good idea and its likely the fish will live in stress.

This site has some tremendous resources....

Post up the size of your tank and list the exact species if you can, that way some of the great keepers on this site can give you proper advice.

Thanks for posting...


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## jaysee (Dec 9, 2009)

Welcome to the forum

Without out knowing all the information, I am going to say no they won't live happily ever after.


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## Toasterbaa (Jun 25, 2013)

The measurements of my fish tank in inchs is L=42 W=13 H=16. I dont know how many gallons is in it. can someone tell me?


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## jentralala (Oct 5, 2012)

Inches, right?

That's about 38 gallons.

Starting from just fish, no, that isn't a good mix. The knife fish will eventually eat the smaller fish (mollies, guppies, barb, tetra, betta (fighting fish)), as well as outgrowing the tank. Knife fish get quite large, needing a tank over 100 gallons to be comfortable. 

What species of gourami? Pearl, blue, kissing, dwarf...?


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## Toasterbaa (Jun 25, 2013)

I have 4 dwarf gourami 2 blue with red stripes and 2 orange with silver head. il bring back the bgk when it outgrows the tank or if it starts eating fish but now i have no problems with him. do you think i have enough fish? i was thinking about getting a few more columbian tetras. my tank has plenty of hiding spots like caves and bogwood it also has a few plants in it. except from the knife fish is the other fish a good mix. i have had no problems with fish being aggressive except from when i had 9 tiger barbs they kept killing guppies so i brought them back


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## Toasterbaa (Jun 25, 2013)

The plecos are 2 small Bristlenose Pleco, 1 medium size common pleco and 1 large common pleco


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## Tracy Bird (Sep 20, 2011)

You have selected a nice variety of very unique and colorful fish.

However, I think you have too many species with different needs to provide a viable and thriving habitat for the fish

*Black Ghost Knife Fish* - they are so cool and so unique... but jentralalala is correct they can grow 16-20 inches which is obviously too big for your current tank. Eventually the fish will require a 6' tank. So as much as I like the fish it is not suitable for your current arrangement....

*Pleco's* - medium and commom pleco's will grow 10 inches or more and like the BGKF will require a much larger tank. You will not be able to properly house these fish in the current set up.

*Bristlenose Pleco's* - 4-6 inches, you could probably keep two, but plec's are poop factories. I think one would be a really good fit for your set up. You have an unusual species, they stay relatively small and one would not overwhelm the variety you desire - it would be a nice compliment to your other fish.

*Dwarf Gouramis* - you _may_ be able to get away with four if you have good cover. However males can get aggressive with other males. You could try it, watch them carefully and see how it goes... but you may have to trim it down to 2-3.

*Golden Barbs* - you would need to add 8-9 to the one you have for a proper shoal.

*Columbian Tetra* - you would need to add 4-5 to your 3 for a proper shoal

*Siamese Fighting Fish* - If you keep the G-Barbs and Columbian's the Siamese will probably be stressed and get fin nipped to the point of demise. I do not think the SFF will work well with the Barbs and Tetra's. 

*Molly's* - probably would work well.

*Guppies* - same as SFF, might get nipped up by the Tets and Barbs.

Nothing is certain with this hobby, what works in one set up will not work in another....

Here is what I would do with your tank and the fish you have.

- 4 Dwarf Gourami (cross your fingers, may end up with 2-3)
- 1 Bristlenose Pleco
- 9 Golden Barbs
- 8 Columbian Tetra's
- Lots of live plants (nice fake are ok too) that are various sizes with some that are tall to the surface. 
- Several Pieces of Driftwood for the Pleco

I think this arrangement would provide you with a nice variety of fish, lots of active fish, a good chance of compatibility and some uniqueness within the aquaria. 

I also ran the fish through AQADVISOR which suggest with this stocking that you are 88% stocked - perfect... While AQADVISOR may not be perfect, it gives you an idea...

Unfortunately you do need to rehome some of your fish - don't feel bad, you are not alone it happens often. I see common pleco's and Black Ghost Knife Fish sold regularly at all the chain shops in my area. 

Sure the tag say's they'll grow to 24 inches, but I'm not sure it's emphasized to perspective purchasers - they are so cool and they are little when you get them - it just doesn't register that they will sooner than later be 24 inches!!!

If you really love your Siamese, Mollly's and your guppies, start a 20 gallon and keep them - welcome to Multiple Tank Syndrome (MTS) :-D


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## Toasterbaa (Jun 25, 2013)

The columbian tetras dont seem to mind the simense fighting fish or any fish from my experience. but barbs thats a different story. the fighting fish could't come out of his cave without being harassed by the barbs and they kept killing guppies so im glad i brought them back and exchanged them for more guppies and fish food. thanks for your help and next time im going into my town il bring the bgk back to the pet shop and exchange it for guppies or mollys or maybe golden barbs or columbian tetras


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## NewFishFiend (Feb 21, 2013)

Toasterbaa said:


> I have 4 dwarf gourami 2 blue with red stripes and 2 orange with silver head. il bring back the bgk when it outgrows the tank or if it starts eating fish but now i have no problems with him. do you think i have enough fish? i was thinking about getting a few more columbian tetras. my tank has plenty of hiding spots like caves and bogwood it also has a few plants in it. except from the knife fish is the other fish a good mix. i have had no problems with fish being aggressive except from when i had 9 tiger barbs they kept killing guppies so i brought them back


Anytime you have a fish in a tank too small for it (even if it is small now), you are causing the fish irreparable damage. The fish will not grow correctly and will have damage to it's skeletal structure and organs. Housing a fish that needs 100 gallons in a 38 gallon tank cruel. I'm glad you decided to rehome him 

As far as fish go, I would like to know what filtration you have running. Assuming you are running a filter that came with the tank (ie a tetra whisper 30) this is what aqadvisor.com listed as warning:

Suggestion: If you want to keep more than 1 *Guppy*, minimum recommend male to female ratio is *1:2* (M:F). You will be less likely to experience problem if you get even more females. 
Warning: *Guppy* is not recommended to be with *Betta [Male]* - male betta may attack a male guppy by mistake thinking he is another male betta.</B> 
Suggestion: If you want to keep more than 1 *Molly*, minimum recommend male to female ratio is *1:2* (M:F). You will be less likely to experience problem if you get even more females. 
Note: *Bristlenose Pleco* needs driftwood. 
Warning: At least *5 x Golden Barb* are recommended in a group. 
Warning: At least *5 x Colombian Tetra* are recommended in a group. 
Warning: *Colombian Tetra* will likely to fin nip *Guppy*. Try increasing the number to *6*. 
Warning: *Colombian Tetra* will likely to fin nip *Betta [Male]*. Try increasing the number to *6*. 
Note: *Betta [Male]* may jump - lids are recommended. They can become stressful under presence of too many shoaling species. Try to keep under 1 shoal if the tank is small. Individual bettas may exhibit varying degrees of aggression and care should be taken that exceptionally aggressive/territorial fish be separated from a community before any damage may occur. 
Warning: *Betta [Male]* will likely to fin nip *Guppy*. 
Warning: *Betta [Male]* is not recommended to be with *Guppy* - further research is highly recommended.</B> 
Warning: *Betta [Male]* is not recommended to be with *Bristlenose Pleco* - further research is highly recommended.</B> 
Warning: *Betta [Male]* is not recommended to be with *Colombian Tetra* - further research is highly recommended.</B>
Recommended temperature range: 24 - 24 C. [Display in Farenheit]
Recommended pH range: 7 - 7.8.
Recommended hardness range: 11 - 15 dH.




Warning: You NEED to add more aquarium filtration capacity!!!

Your aquarium filtration capacity for above selected species is *37%*.
Recommended water change schedule: *41%* per week.
*Your aquarium stocking level is 104%*. [Generate Image]Maybe you could tell us a little more about your tank and your water and we can help you with fish selection.


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## Toasterbaa (Jun 25, 2013)

I cant tell you ph or water hardness because im new to fish keeping only have a year experience and i dont know how to. My fish tank is a juwel make and i have a aquael 180 US gallon filter and a juwel built in filter. i cant give you details about the built in filter because it doesn't say anything on it just juwel. i bought the aquarium second hand so i didn't get a notebook or page about it. I also have a water pump in it


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## rexpepper651 (Dec 25, 2012)

lol i had one common pleco in my 55 and i had to rehome it at 12 inches in size. which was hard to do not many people have the ability or want to keep such a large beautiful fishy


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