Sharks and ???? - fish choices needed

[ErnieB]

Just starting a tank... its a 37 gallon. I would like fish that are active at different heights of the tank and colorful. My son wants a "shark".... SO.... what are some recommendations of fish choices? I think most of the fish i like are ok community fish but from what i gather sharks are semi aggressive so im not sure what i could have with them and how many/what type would be good to get.

Thanks for any help offered

 

[Newman]

dont get any sharks for a 37 gallon...
what community are you going for? mobile one or colorful one?
and what fish do you already have in the tank, and would like to keep?

 

[ErnieB]

tank has no fish yet. can i not have fish that are colorful AND active? lol

Its a pretty tall tank so i would like fish that would occupy different levels of the tank if possible

 

[bassbonediva]

I've heard that most of the "shark" species get massive (as in 2 feet plus), so they aren't suited for the "smaller" tanks (I think someone on here mentioned they wouldn't put them in anything less than a 100gal).

I have to recommend a school of female bettas. They do well with most non-aggressive tropical tankmates (mollies, platies, tetras, etc). I have nine in my 45gal and they're all over the place as far as their swimming height. Sometimes they chill on the bottom, other times they are cruising around mid-level. And you can find some absolutely gorgeous colors out there (I have blues, turquoises, crimsons, and a couple that are dual-colored...none of them washed out or marbled like some females can be). Also, if you want fun, quarky algae eaters, I would recommend otocinclus catfish. They don't get any bigger than 1.5-2" and they are active in larger schools (usually of 5 or more).

Use AqAdvisor.com to check your stocking levels when you decide what you want and are trying to decide how many of each to get.

 

[Newman]

i didnt mean you cant have active and colorful fish lol. i dont even know what i meant by that haha.
can you tell me one thing though? what is the pH of your tap water (age it overnight in a container then test it with either a liquid or test strip test)

 

[ErnieB]

i didnt mean you cant have active and colorful fish lol. i dont even know what i meant by that haha.
can you tell me one thing though? what is the pH of your tap water (age it overnight in a container then test it with either a liquid or test strip test)

I just had the tank water tested yesterday after a few days of everything running ( filter and heater - had to keep adjusting the heater to get it down to green range ) I want to say it was 7.6 I was told everything was good and i asked about the PH... They had a color chart on a card and tested the water in a vial and added liquid chemicals to it and it was a pretty blue color lol.

Heres a pic of the tank

 

[Kissyboots]

FW sharks: Freshwater Sharks

Redtail shark (5 inches): Redtail Shark

Rainbow shark (6 inches): Rainbow Shark

Looks like those two don't need to be in groups since they become aggressive toward their own species.

If you're looking for "shark type" fish, you might check out loaches. They would act as your bottomfeeders, stay smaller, and be in groups: Loaches

EDIT: Don't forget to cycle your tank! Just letting everything run for a while is not sufficient.

 

[Newman]

yah makes perfect sense. i happen to also have tap water that has 7.6pH lol. i do the same liquid test, though i dont bother with the pet shop doing it for me cuz i do it right at home with a water testing kit. i advise you get one if youre gonna get serious with tank keeping lol. if you dont think youll have much time for this tank, and would just liek to throw food into it once in a while to feed your fish and would do water changes when ever you actually have spare time, then get a test strip kit. itll fit your time shcedule better becuase results are instant, but are very inaccurate. liquid tests are more accurate if you use them according to the directions lol.

I'd say you can keep any livebearer, smaller african cichlids, and brackish water fish like mollies, if youre into that.
that said, fish like bettas, corydoras catfish, otocinclus, raphael catfish, rainbow fish,and goldfish could all do fine in your water. though if you go with goldfish id say get only one for that tank...so that might not be what you wanted to hear lol.

since you want a community see if this fits your style:
Livebearer: 7 platies OR 4 mollies OR 4 swordtails OR 10 guppies, 5 corydoras catfish, and a few snails.
Random community: 4 dwarf gourami (1 male 3 female) 12 neon tetras or smaller tetra/rasbora species, and around 12 pygmy corydoras.
Radom community: 6 dwarf rainbow fish, 5 otocinclus, 5 pygmy corydoras.

i just gave some radom ideas. if you wanna go with the gouramies you may want to get some floating live plants for cover as well...
also like Kissy mentioned make sure you read up on cycling fish tanks.

 

[ErnieB]

yes i know all about the cycling. And i planned on weekly tank maintenence ( 10% water change is what i was told would be good )

I read that corydoras wouldnt be good with my gravel that sand is better for them?????

I like bettas and would like to have a male, could i keep females with the male? ( If i can find some decent looking females, yours sound like they are as beautiful as the males )

I dont really want a snail but do like the khuli loach.

Arent the different catfish mostly bottom dwellers? I would like to find some that prefer the middle and the top area of the tank to hang out as well so i dont have alot of "empty space".

 

[bassbonediva]

Nope, no females and males together in the betta department! The females would most likely kill the male. I know everyone thinks that the males are the aggressive ones, but only with other males or fish they see as a "threat" to their territory. But, the females would gang up on the male and nip his fins to shreds. You'll have some in-fighting with the females to establish who is dominant, but after that, they'll pretty much get along. What's great about my females is that they don't "school" like a lot of other schooling fish do. They don't swim in a pack or anything, they just hang out wherever they want in the tank, so there's little spots of color everywhere. The main thing with finding well-colored females is being patient. So many times people will buy the "ugly" females 'cuz that's all there is, when in the next shipment there might be tons of color. Also, being there the day the fish store (especially Petsmart) gets their shipment helps 'cuz then you have first choice. That's how I got several of my girls.

My otos dart all over the tank (mainly at night because there's only three of them in the 45gal and they should be in bigger groups...working on it!). They'll hang on the side of the tank and eat the algae too, so you can see them quite clearly.

I had a khuli loach. He was an impulse buy and died within a few days. I think it was because he was alone and they're another schooling fish. But, they also like to bury themselves and usually only come out at night (yeah, found all this out AFTER I bought him and he died).

 

[Newman]

gravel will be fine for any corydoras. sand is recommended but not a necessity.

 

[Kissyboots]

I read that corydoras wouldnt be good with my gravel that sand is better for them?????

I had my peppered cories with gravel for a long time before I switched to sand. Can't really tell which they prefer but I heard they like sand more. Doesn't really matter IMO as long as the gravel is smooth.

I like bettas and would like to have a male, could i keep females with the male? ( If i can find some decent looking females, yours sound like they are as beautiful as the males )

You could. I did it in a 20g (by mistake) but it worked out. It really depends on the aggressiveness of the fish; mine didn't really bother each other. But to be safe, you can always go with a couple females instead.

I dont really want a snail but do like the khuli loach.

Yes!! I would have gotten those if I could keep my tank up and running...

Arent the different catfish mostly bottom dwellers? I would like to find some that prefer the middle and the top area of the tank to hang out as well so i dont have alot of "empty space".

I've never kept sharks, so I can't compare them to catfish, but yes, catfish are bottom dwellers. If you go with the bettas, a school of small tetras of some sort, and possibly a school of otos, the middle and top will be full.

 

[ErnieB]

Thanks for all the suggestions so far. I have compiled a list of "finalists" lol and wanted to get final opinions of compatability with each other ( as well as with my conditions - see photo of tank on previous page for aquascaping and with a ph of 7.6)

Male Betta ( Really hoping to be able to get a male that can co exist with any of these other fish - if its a definite no, then what about females? )

neon/cardinal/silvertip tetras ( I like all of these types would like to get a good amount for a small school)

pygmy corydoras ( would get a few to school together )

dwarf gourami ( 2-4 i think would be a cool amount )

kuhli loach ( get a few to school as well )

indian dwarf puffer ( really like this little guy and supposedly doesnt need brackish water )

 

[Newman]

puffer would be a no as they cant stand overcouded tanks with many fish, and id put the in a species tank anyway. they really like their space. sorry but you can always get them a species tank later when you have the time and money dont buy them until you have a tank dedicated to em...
rest sounds good but gourami and male bettas wont work. theyll just fight just like male bettas or male and female bettas would fight. I'd try female betta and gourami...but again i dont advise it. either go all female betta or all gourami. or just one male betta. cory count should be 5+ and tetra count should be around 10 for that sized tank

 

[ErnieB]

puffer would be a no as they cant stand overcouded tanks with many fish, and id put the in a species tank anyway. they really like their space. sorry but you can always get them a species tank later when you have the time and money dont buy them until you have a tank dedicated to em...
rest sounds good but gourami and male bettas wont work. theyll just fight just like male bettas or male and female bettas would fight. I'd try female betta and gourami...but again i dont advise it. either go all female betta or all gourami. or just one male betta. cory count should be 5+ and tetra count should be around 10 for that sized tank

Ok so either betta OR gourami... what about the kuhli loaches? can they go in?

 

[Newman]

i'd say either go with a good group of khulis or a big group of pygmy cories.

both are bottom dwellers that wont only compete for food, but the bigger loaches will prolly eat the tiny cories.

 

[ErnieB]

i'd say either go with a good group of khulis or a big group of pygmy cories.

both are bottom dwellers that wont only compete for food, but the bigger loaches will prolly eat the tiny cories.

Didnt think about both being bottom dwellers.... tho the khuli loaches i have seen are skinny and eel/snake like so i doubt it could eat a fish. ( i have never seen a pygmy cory tho )

My next question would be which order would be best to introduce them to the tank and how far apart would be good between introducing each species? And would it be ok to introduce the whole school of a species at a time or should it be broken up into smaller amounts?

PS thanks for playing along with the 20 questions

 

[Newman]

LOL
introduce each species two weeks apart from eachother.
Make sure you tank is fully cycled before doing each introduction (maning keep checking the water parameters each week)

Pygmy cories are tiny, so a khuli loach could prolly eat them when its grows up to being 4-5" long

 

[RexyTexel]

If you're looking for "shark type" fish, you might check out loaches. They would act as your bottomfeeders, stay smaller, and be in groups: Loaches

Actually I think Rainbow and Red tail sharks are loaches.

I'd keep an eye on the female bettas(if you go with those). They can be pretty aggressive towards eachother and other fish. Mine recently got into it pretty bad and one girl is in the hospital tank being treated! I still love their spunky attitudes though.

 

[Kissyboots]

Actually I think Rainbow and Red tail sharks are loaches.

I'd keep an eye on the female bettas(if you go with those). They can be pretty aggressive towards eachother and other fish. Mine recently got into it pretty bad and one girl is in the hospital tank being treated! I still love their spunky attitudes though.

They are? Lol, I've never kept them so I don't know.

As for the bettas, my friend bought my 20g and we put two bettas in it. After about a week or so of establishing territories, they are now fine. It just really depends on what you get I suppose.