Am I doing anything wrong?

Question
QUESTION:   I was wondering if I'm doing anything wrong with either the space in my tank or which species I put into my tank's community.  Right now, I have 5 zebra danios, 4 rainbow fish, a blind cave fish, a Columbian shark and a rope fish.  I am especially worried about the rope fish, I just got him today and he isn't doing anything but hiding away inside a fake stump.  My tank is a 25 gallon tank and I'm worried that I'm doing something wrong since I am an amateur at fish keeping. Can you help me?

ANSWER: Hi Michael;

I can definately help you. Looks like you had little to no help from the fish store. That's really a shame. They could have done much better and helped you avoid trouble. Here's what I recommend;  

You really should return the ropefish. He needs a tank twice the size you have because he gets very big and he will soon eat all your smaller fish too. His mouth opens pretty large. It's hard to see that while it's closed, but it does open big like a snake and your fish will start to disappear at night when he hunts. Here are web pages about ropes;

http://badmanstropicalfish.com/profiles/profile90.html

http://www.aquahobby.com/gallery/e_reed.php

Your Colombian Shark should really go back too. Those guys get very large and need more and more salt in their water as they grow. They grow to be over a foot long in captivity so even young ones need at least a 50 gallon tank.

You didn't mention what kind of filtration your tank has or how long it has been set up. Let me know and we can go from there. In the meantime, read my article on new tanks to familiarize yourself with "New Tank Syndrome" and how to manage the first 6 to 8 weeks of having fish in your tank. Here's a link to it;

http://www.xanga.com/Expert_Fish_Help

At Your Service;
Chris Robbins

---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: Well I have another fish tank around 35 gallons and it's just being stored in the basement.  If I set this tank up as well is it possible to still keep this amazing looking rope fish?  It's probably the coolest thing I have ever seen and I want to see if there's any way of making it happy in another tank.  Oh and if I can put it in the 35 gallon what fish should be best kept with the rope?  Should I also put the shark in it?

Answer
Hi Michael;

He's actually happy right where he is. You just don't want to leave him there because he will eat your other fish. Ropes hunt at night so it's very normal for him to hide during the day. It would only work for a little while to keep the rope fish in a 35. He needs a minimum of a 55 gallon just for starters. Read the profiles I gave you links for and you will see what you'll need for him. He also will probably need live foods such as baby guppies, tubifex worms, etc. Look into that as well. These guys often will not eat dried or frozen foods at first. They have to be coaxed into eating those more easily obtained foods later. Also be sure to keep every hole and slot covered. Once he gets used to his new home he will go exploring and slither out onto the floor. Many a ropefish has dried up before his owner can put him back into the tank. They can survive several hours outside the tank, but if you have other pets that might hurt him or he slithers off to an area you can reach him or find him, he won't make it.

Tankmates for ropes are any fish that isn't aggressive, but is too big to eat. Larger Gouramis, swordtails, silver dollars, pictus cats, etc. Again, anything roo large to be eaten but not aggressive.

The shark, which is actually just a catfish, needs salt in his water and as he grows and will need a higher concentration all the time. These condtions just aren't compatible with anything else you have. That is why we rarely see larger ones in captivity. They just often don't survive because they aren't provided with their basic needs.

At Your Service;
Chris Robbins