Greetings and Options..What did we get??

[NandM]

Hi There,

I'm new to this board, new to fish, new to all of this. So we just basically received a free 180 gallon tank stock full of 8 fish. Based on their pics and an Aquarium store employee, we have found that we have the following fish: I have not measured any of them so the sizes are just best guesses at this point.

1- Jack Dempsey (about 5")
1- Bala Shark (about 12")
2- Tin Foil Barbs (about 6-7")
2- Pleco (about 8"- they stay hiding so no clue really)
2- Paroon Shark (about 8")

We were told not to worry about any of the fish except the Paroon Sharks which just so happened to be my favorite and we call them Marge and Homer...not knowing if they are even male or female. Here is a pic of what they look like, but not our actual fish...they move too much but I'm working on it.

So, what do you think of the tank and what should our next steps be? All thoughts are welcome...we have 2 cats and a dog and fish are brand new, but we want to keep them for as long as we can...

They are all eating flakes or pellet food.

TIA

More pics...these are of the actual tank and fish...

 

[cichlaguapote]

Very nice.. the paroons will get big. And eventually need a bigger tank. But nice. Very good deal getting them for free. Looks like you have them id'd right.


You meant "opinions" not "options" right? lol

BTW Welcome to MFK!

 

[cassharper]

If you really like the paroon sharks... get a lake. The foot print of their tank at full grown adult is absurdly large.

 

[NandM]

Opinions AND Options LOL...we have no idea those were going to get THAT big...so we really don't know what to do. We don't want to lose the other fish in the tank, and we certainly have no plans on getting a larger tank or building a lake....so we're kind of wondering how long do we have before this becomes an emergency situation...

We don't know where they got them, but they must have gotten them when they were pretty small because they look to me like there is no way they're going to get that big..then again, I'm trying to convince myself because they are so cool!

So how big..I was told 10ft-13 ft...seriously??

 

[Dr Joe]

First step is to learn everything you can about the fish you have, including recognizing illnesses and their proper diets.

You've taken on a very big responsibility abet a rewarding one, the will become you 'other' children, with vacations being worked around them and grocery shopping will now include their tastes too.

I hazard a guess that whatever filtration you got with the tank will soon have to be improved on. Post what you have and we can the you if and how to improve on it.

You should be able to find out everything that you'll need to know within these electronic wall.

There is a search function up in the top bar.

The people are friendly here and very knowledgeable.

If you do have questions that the search doesn't turn up the answers you need just ask away

Dr Joe

.

 

[NandM]

I have no clue what filtration system I have...this weekend I'll go through everything and post it up so we know what we're dealing with. I doubt my husband had any idea what he was getting when he was asked if he wanted a "fish tank with some fish in it" Moving a 400 pound tank empty was something he probably didn't count on, but now that we have them, we can't help but want to do the best we can for the fish.

The original owners just left the tank and the fish behind, so we don't even know where they got them, how they got them, ages, nothing...

Thanks so much for the support and the more information I get, the more I will post to see what we should be doing.

 

[Dr Joe]

paroon sharks will get to be 3ft-3.5ft. You've got a year at most to panic .

Piece of advice...get rid of them before you become too attached or you'll be making an addition to your home (you just can't give up one of your kids).

Find a good LFS (Local Fish Store) that will take them in on trade or sell them for you, you can sell them in our Buy/Sell section too.

Are you sure you didn't really want a pond out back?

Dr Joe

.

 

[Dr Joe]

And if you can't find names, post pix.

I'd love to take the cats for my pond, but it's just a little to far to drive.

 

[cichlaguapote]

I'll agree with joe. You have some great LFS in MD(I'm in PA and have been to a few), also members in MD with larger tanks/ponds, or might think about a indoor pond yourself if you like the paroons that much. You have time to learn/think about options though.

 

[pwmin]

welcome. good luck with the fish and building your new pond


do the barbs and the bala school together?

make sure you feed the pleco and don't count on it to eat algae for a living