first post, a few questions

Ronin

Ronin

Medium Fish
#1
Jan 27, 2006
90
0
0
Toronto, Canada
www.recdir.com
#1
my bro bought me a 25gal for xmas, and so far everything has been dandy.
i currently have 12 fish, 4 aquatic frogs, a rock, and a plant.
1)i actually had 2 bala sharks for about a week, they then contracted a form of fungus called cottone fungus i bleive. are my other fish at risk of getting it too within a few days or a week?

2)is there such thing as aquatic turtles...ones that dont need air for a long time, or do they all need to get out of the water and on solid ground once in a while.

3)catfish and sharks.....do they mix....or should i have 1 or 2 of either shark or catfish rather than both.

4)i have a zebra tetra that im told is is pregnant, but its been like that for about a week now. how llong does it usually take to give birth.

this might seem like a big tank for a beginner, but my brother is very experienced and actually has about 5 tanks himself. so he pops in once in a while to give me advice, and make sure i aint doing anything wrong. so far so good*thumbsup2 thanks for taking the time to read this.
 

homebunnyj

homebunnyj

Superstar Fish
#2
Jul 13, 2005
1,299
4
0
Western NC
#2
Congrats on breaking into the wonderful world of fishkeeping, and on having somebody who is interested in seeing you succeed. I'm sure you'll enjoy your time here; the people are very nice and always helpful.

I really like this page http://www.timstropicals.com/Compatibility/CompatibilitySearch.asp for getting an idea if a fish I'm considering may work out or not. (What kind of catfish and sharks? It helps to know the specific types of fish when you are trying to figure out if two fish are compatible, since different species may be referred to by the same general name, like catfish.)

Has your brother been helping you out with water testing? Do you know if your tank has cycled? If your water parameters are not good this may put your fish at risk of getting sick.

A bigger tank is actually easier to keep stable. It's a good size for a beginner, IMO. :)

I have two tiny african dwarf frogs in with my betta in a 10gal. How are you feeding yours? I'm using a turkey baster to feed them thawed frozen bloodworms. I haven't actually seen them eat, but they seem to be putting on weight.
 

CAPSLOCK

CAPSLOCK

Elite Fish
#4
Jul 19, 2004
3,682
33
48
39
Cape Cod
#4
1) Yes, your other fish are at risk for contracting fungus. If you can't put them in another tank (and it sounds like you can't), you should treat the entire tank with a fungus medication. Make sure to take any carbon out of the filter if you have any in there, it'll take the medication out of the water.

2) Aquatic turtles all need to get out and be able to sit on something occasionally. They also tend to get too big for a 25g tank and eat fish.

3) Some sharks don't do well with catfish (freshwater sharks are actually a type of catfish). If you're talking about your bala sharks, those should be fine with catfish because they aren't really bottom dwellers and they aren't aggressive like some of the other FW sharks (red tail, rainbow). Balas like to be in schools. Depending on the catfish, they might prefer groups too. Cory cats like groups, plecos like to be solitary unless you have a really big tank.

4) I have never heard of a zebra tetra. Is it a type of tetra, or do you mean a zebra danio? Both prefer to be in schools, and both are egg layers. Neither of them can be pregnant, but they can get fat with eggs. If it's a danio, it should get really fat and then get thinner, I think tetras tend to get fat and stay that way.

What fish do you have in your tank?
 

Salty Fishes

Salty Fishes

Large Fish
#6
Jul 6, 2004
240
0
0
36
Massachusetts
Visit site
#6
Its hard to tell from your picture, but it looks like a Julii Cory. They like to be in shoals, so you should have at least three or four of them. All cories are friendly, and would get along fine with bala sharks. Rainbow or red-tailed black sharks might be more of a problem, because they are very territorial bottom-dwellers.

Are the balas still in your tank or did they die from the fungus? I'm confused because you said you "had them" for about a week.
 

F

FishGeek

Elite Fish
#7
May 13, 2005
4,294
5
0
38
South Carolina
#7
That is not a Cory. That fish is a Pictus Catfish. I cant tell from your pic wether it is a 4-Line or a Spotted. http://www.thetropicaltank.co.uk/Fishindx/pictus.htm
Here is a link. If you do use a net to catch this fish I reccomend using the white nets. The fish dont generally get caught in them. This fish will/does grunt like a "wild" catfish too. I thought it was neat when I heard it the first time. Had my trio of them left my Lobsters alone I would still have them. They are pretty neat little guys.
 

Ronin

Ronin

Medium Fish
#8
Jan 27, 2006
90
0
0
Toronto, Canada
www.recdir.com
#8
yup, thats the closest one. im pretty sure it is a pictus....some of the pictus pictures ive seen have their spots almost random...but mine has 3-4 rows in single order going down the body as u can see in the picture, would that make it a lined rather than a spotted

and yes teh bala sharks did die unofrtunatly. about a week ago. the first one i didnt look for visable signs of death since i was a beginner, but on the second one i noticed it had a fuzzy white patch on one side then saw it slowly drift off. so far no other fish has contracted any visable illness thankfully.
 

F

FishGeek

Elite Fish
#11
May 13, 2005
4,294
5
0
38
South Carolina
#11
An ID Shark Catfish is NOT a fish for a home aquarium. This fish should not be sold in a fish store. Take a look here. http://www.fishinthe.net/html/fishguide/fishguide_fish.php?FC=34&nl=8&nt=5
In you tank I would probably go with Redtails or Rainbows. You really cant fit anything else in there. You tank is a good tank for a starter but you cant just put any fish in there. I reccomend looking around on this website. You will learn alot.
 

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