Is this going to work?

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Candiru
MFK Member
Oct 22, 2007
489
2
46
Michigan
I just bought a green terror and a tilapia buttikoferi. They are about 2 inches long and I got them from pet supplies plus for $2.99 a piece. I normally wouldn't be buying new fish and introducing them with my old but I never see buttikoferi for sale and I have wanted one for the longest time.

I am putting them in with a 5inch jack dempsey and 2 4inch convicts. That I just separated away from a 13inch midas. I've never had a problem with my smaller fish fighting and I was wondering if they were going to attack the babies I am putting in with them.
 
How large is the tank? That will be the number one factor in how much they get along. With that said, you're keeping a lot of very aggresive species together and taking a risk IMO.
 
only a 20 gallon. I understand the 10gallons per inch rule but I can't get rid of my jack.

I was just thinking about going out and buying some more stuff to fill my tank so that the little guys would have something better to hide behind. All I have right now is 2 plants, a skull, and a big coral bubbler thing. I will post pics in a couple of minutes.
 
I'm starting to change my mind about this already seeing as the convicts that rarely move around the tank are already showing interest in them. If worst comes to worst I guess I can just throw my jack dempsey and 2 convicts back in with my 13inch midas whom of which I need to get rid of because he has grown far too big for the 30gallon he's spent his entire life in.

Heres my baby butti (sorry for the bad quality of my camera phone, I couldn't figure out how to turn the flash off on my digital camera)
babybuttikoferi.jpg


heres the size difference between the babies and the convict thats pestering them already
convictandbabiessizedifference.jpg


and here is the pathetic 20g tank I have them in right now.
pathetictank.jpg
 
they've been in there like 2 minutes.. no problems and they have been bumping in to each other.. How long should I observe them for?
 
Simple answer to that is No. The tank is way too small and the Butti will tear the GT to bit eventually. BTW the 20 is way to small the Jack too, its barely large enough for the con on its own.
 
I thought he was a green terror but I guess hes just a green jewel. They've been fine for about 4 hours now and everybody seems to be getting along fine. Everybody seems to be moving around the tank more and every time the little butti sees anything floating by he eats it right up.

I decided that with the new fish it would probably be in my best interest and add some more/better decorations to the tank but I was strapped on cash so I ended up going to my local stone shop and buying a pile of slate rock at $.24 a pound. My total ended up being like $2.60 or something and then I went out and bought a bottle of gravel wash for like $1.47. I just set it up and all of my fish love it.

heres a pic of their slightly altered setup.
tankdeco.jpg
 
A 20g? I'm afraid the answer would be "No", a 20g won't work. You need to stop putting fish in that tank and start putting them all in something much larger. With the exception of the convicts all of those fish will outgrow that tank and it is only a matter of time before aggresion sets in.
 
mike dunagan;1222747; said:
I am amazed your 13 inch fish is fine in a 30... get a bigger tank soon.... all these fish need a lot bigger tank, and no 55 is not big enough larger...
Click to expand...

maybe I'm a bad measurer but my girlfriend is looking at him right now with a tape measure and saying hes only 10-11inches but I know I still need a bigger tank for him. I've had him since he was a baby (now he's 2years) and this is my first tank and never thought he'd grow this big, I always thought they grow to their environment. I really overlooked that fact that he does need more space and I guess it took him killing my 8inch jack to realize that I need to get him a better home. I've been looking on craigslist and hitting the salvation army's lately to find a good deals on tanks but haven't been successful yet. I don't have a lot of money to spend or else I would have had all of this sooner. Right now I am looking for anything above 80 gallons to put him in. When I find that I am going to move my jack and convicts back into the 30 gallon. Basically if the price is right I'll scavenge up enough money to buy it. I'm thinking about just selling/trading my midas for more fish stuff because I know its going to take a lot of time and money to find him a big enough aquarium and that my other fish are going to be grown up before I know it. If you guys have any suggestions on where to find cheap tanks/accessories please let me know.
 
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