# Will I have any issues??



## fry1goat (Aug 3, 2007)

I am new at this whold fish hobbie. I have been doing it almost a year now. Let me know if this is an ok setup in my 40 gallon tank. Thankyou!

40 Gallon Tank:
4 Sunburst Mollies
4 Red Barbs
2 Apple Snails
2 Silver Tetras
2 Red Mollies
2 Columbian Sharks
2 Angel Fish
2 Lace Catfish
1 Upside Down Catfish
1 Bumble Bee Catfish
1 Striped Rapheal Catfish
1 Spotted Rapheal Catfish
1 Unknown Fish Shiney Red fish
1 Plecko


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## fish_4_all (Nov 13, 2006)

Hi and welcome, and boy oh boy, where to start.

First off, don't feel too bad, I would venture a guess that your LFS said this would work fine. I hate to be the bearer of bad news but you are destined for a tank full of fighting and overcrowded territorial problems. 

1st question is: Are these fish already in a 40 gallon? If they are, watch them closely for fins disapperaing and fighting as well as fish eating fish. If not, I am so glad you asked before stocking with that plan. 

We here at FF try to help the best we can and try to keep our advice friendly and helpful so I hope we can help you get on the right track and make the hobby a little more enjoyable in the process.


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## willow (Sep 9, 2006)

fish_4_all said:


> We here at FF try to help the best we can and try to keep our advice friendly and helpful so I hope we can help you get on the right track and make the hobby a little more enjoyable in the process.


i couldn't agree more.


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## Lupin (Aug 2, 2006)

fry1goat said:


> 40 Gallon Tank:
> 4 Sunburst Mollies
> 4 Red Barbs
> 2 Apple Snails
> ...


These ones are okay but the Raphaels(_Platydoras costatus_) will eat your small fish if given the opportunity. May I know what these silver tetras are?


> 2 Columbian Sharks


You have to get rid of this fish I'm afraid. Not only should they be rather placed in the public aquaria for their potential size but these alone are brackish water fish while the rest of your fish are not.


> 1 Unknown Fish Shiney Red fish
> 1 Plecko


I need more information and even pictures on these fish. There are plenty of plec species available in the trade and they vary in size.


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## sweetwaterarabians (Nov 1, 2006)

*??*

Have you already bought these fish for your 40 gallon or thinking of buying these fish? I wouldn't get the sharks or the raphaels either. As pretty as the raphaels are they are tough to keep unless you really know what you're doing. I'm not familiar with the bumble bee catfish. But the other fish sound great to me.


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## Lupin (Aug 2, 2006)

*Re: ??*



sweetwaterarabians said:


> I'm not familiar with the bumble bee catfish.


There are lots of catfish that fall under that name, bumblebee catfish. Common names are quite useless without a scientific name imprinted next to it.

http://www.planetcatfish.com/cotm/cotm.php?article_id=147
http://www.planetcatfish.com/cotm/cotm.php?article_id=91
http://www.practicalfishkeeping.co.uk/pfk/pages/item.php?news=1047

Do a search on Yahoo under the name 'bumblebee catfish' and you get plenty of results without being specific.


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## fry1goat (Aug 3, 2007)

My fish have done very well together. Most of these fish I have had 6 months or more. I have not noticed any bite marks. Sorry about saying silver tetras. I ment Blood fin tetras. The tetras seem to be the only 2 fish that appear to be agressors. The bumble bee catfish i was sold is called an African Bumble Bee Catfish. I had horrid luck with the rapheal catfish at first. I had tried them before but they died within 2 months. I did not know they were so senceitive to water changes. Luckly the two that I have know I have learned enough to keep them healthy. Did not know they were one of the most sensitive fish when it comes to ick away. The raphaels I have now had for about 4-5 months. The only think i worry about is the smaller fish. Yesterday I added a butterfly fish to the aquarium. I hope I did not make a mistake. I found that the local fish guy did not tell me the truth about this fish. I should have researched first before i purchased this one. I usually do. It was a spur of the moment purchase. Was between the flying fish, and a couple of leaf fish. I think maybe I made a wrong choice. Thus far no signs of aggression.


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## Lupin (Aug 2, 2006)

What pleco do you have? Please get rid of the columbian sharks while you have time.


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## fry1goat (Aug 3, 2007)

The columbian sharks are my babies. I have now had them over a year. I know they eat smaller fish. They have yet to do it. Maybe I can move him, but I dont have another large tank. Im not sure what kind of pleco it is. I know its the most commont kind.


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## smartt-fishy-2007 (Aug 6, 2007)

Well just watch that the plec dosn't out-grow your tank, because if its a common plec,it can grow pretty fast in such a big tank.


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## fish_4_all (Nov 13, 2006)

Well what is done is done. You can expect some problems down the road but that can be expected in any tank. The sharks could become aggressive and take out most of the other fish and they may not, you never know. As for the pleco, he will get huge eventualy but not overfeeding and keeping his diet low will keep him small for a while. Make sure that your LFS or someone you know will take a huge pleco off your hands in trade for a smaller one down the road. 

Another problem you might run into is making sure that everyone gets their share of food but sometimes that is the fun of having so many different types of fish.


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## fry1goat (Aug 3, 2007)

Lupin, Just looking over this old post. You were speaking about my bumble bee catfish. I guess mine is more like the second link. The South American Bumblebee Catfish - Microglanis iheringi Gomes. How big do they tend to get? [/i]


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