New tank.... what fish???

[siang]

ok, so i am soon acquiring a 4 foot tank. its 4 foot long, 18 inches wide and 2 foot deep with a bowfront. tops out at 300 litres or 80 us gallons. i am putting my plec in there. he is a 6.5 inch albino sailfin plec (i think) he is orange. and i am going to put my fish from my 3 footer in there too- 8 assorted mollies, 3 adult platies (and the 2 babies and however many more are born in next week or two) 1 bronze and 2 peppered cory's and 5 silvertip tetra. i am think of getting another 5 tetra and a couple more cory's. other than that, i'm not sure what else to get. i quite fancy a silver shark, or maybe a couple of silver dollars. it has a decent external filter although i am unsure what exactly it is.

also, i will be overhauling my 3 foot 110 litre tank. i have some fish to go in there. 3 tiger barbs (i was given them) 3 danio's (also given them) 5 cherry barbs and a bristlenose plec. i want to get a couple more bn plecs, but not sure what else to put in there. it has a fluval U3 filter, and i have a U2 that i can use as well if nec.

 

[Lupin]

Which silver shark are you talking about? The balas? Your tank is not big enough for a group of them, let alone one. Ditch that one off the list.

Any pics of your pleco? Your pleco will easily outgrow that tank if it's one of the Pterygoplichthys species. I'd just replace that pleco with some bristlenose plecos, whiptails or clown plecos (Panaque maccus).

If you're really up for a community setup, try blue rams, Bolivian rams and angelfish for centerpiece. With angels though, you need to be very careful in selecting other tankmates as they will quickly eat tank mates that fit their mouths well. Neon tetras in particular are out of the question if you wish to keep angels.

 

[siang]

ok, no i am talking about the little silver sharks, they look kind of like rts only silver. dont want rams or angelfish, i have small fish that will get eaten, and its a peaceful setup.
i have no intention of getting rid of my plec, in a 300l tank he will have a while until he gets too big.

 

[siang]

ok, so it appear that that shark i was talking about is a bala shark, i was told they stayed small. maybe not one of them then

 

[Lupin]

Have you researched either rams I mentioned? Blue rams will be fine. They grow no more than 2 inches. Of course, they are more delicate and your best source is always the local breeder if you can find one. They're shortlived at 2-3 years.

Why won't you get rid of the sailfin? The issue is it will take up too much space in time. Either that or it will end up stunted. Your other fish will not be able to tolerate it once it becomes territorial. Commons and sailfins are prone to this behavior in small quarters.

 

[siang]

i did look into bolivian rams originally when i got my second tank and decided they were not for me. also, they are difficult to get hold of where i am (uk).

i know eventually i will have to get rid of my plec, but he is not too big at the moment, and i like him. he will be in a peaceful tank, the other fish will leave him alone so i dont see why i cant keep him until he outgrows it then sell him.