sveeral troublels

Question
ok, hi. i just set up my first tank. it is 29 gallos, fresh water, has a extenal filter taht hangs ove the side and i keep the temp about 78 of 80.i have a dinosaour bichir, a bla shark, 4 giant danios, anm algfea eater, a red tailed shark, and a rainbow shark. i feed sinking canavor sinking wafers, flake, and frozen blood worms. ok now that u now about the tank ill tell you the problems... i got a silver tipped shark ctfish, after 2 weeks it died for no reason. i returnrd it because htey said my water was fine  and i got new one. hte next day it died too. =[. my bala shark will only eat blood worms, the rainbow shark chaases the red tailed sharkm and took off a bit of its tail. i want everyone to get enoug food, but the danooos eat most, and aloot goes ignored (except the boodworms). i had a whit fluffy thing, wich u said was due to over feeding. waht do i feed each of my fish? i never see the red tail eat, the bala shark is very picky, and so id the bichir. pleas help me, thanks

Answer
Hi Mike;

Your tank is actually overstocked and the fish are really stressed. It's going to get worse as they all grow larger, especially since most of them will get too big for your tank. Here's the rundown of the future sizes of your guys with links to more info about each one;

Dinosaur Bichir - 12 to 18 inches

http://badmanstropicalfish.com/profiles/profile41.html

Bala Shark - 10 inches or larger

http://badmanstropicalfish.com/profiles/profile21.html

Giant Danios - 5 to 6 inches

http://www.fishprofiles.com/files/profiles/202.htm

Redtailed Shark - 6"

http://badmanstropicalfish.com/profiles/profile10.html

Rainbow Shark - 6"

http://badmanstropicalfish.com/profiles/profile85.html


It's hard for the types of fish you have to feel comfortable when they don't have enough space to establish territory and move around actively. Your redtailed and rainbow sharks will constantly be fighting for dominance of territory because that's just what they do. They are very closely related and just won't tolerate each other in such a small tank. Some need to be the only one in the tank no matter what size the tank is. It depends upon the individual. What you really need is a tank at least twice the size you have now.

Balas should not be in anything smaller than a 55 gallon while young and a 100 gallon or larger when they approach 8 inches or so. They are hyperactive and can be nervous with fits of energy so they need lots of swimming room. It helps to have two or more because they are schooling fish. It helps calm them but your tank is too small for even one bala.

The silvertip shark cats are actually a brackish species, which means they need some salt in their water. They do okay in fresh water with a little salt as babies but their need for salt increases as they grow larger and need halfway between salt and fresh to full saltwater as adults. They are a cool looking fish but it's best to avoid them. Most fish stores either don't know enough about silvertips to tell their customers about their needs, or they don't care and just want to make a few bucks. In my opinion they should not be sold as pets at all. Here's a profile page about them;

http://badmanstropicalfish.com/profiles/profile63.html

With your tank overcrowded, you might want to have the ammonia and nitrite tested to see if they are elevated. Make a 25% water change right away and vacuum the gravel if they are up at all. Both should be "zero" in an established tank. If you have the fish store do the tests for you find out what the readings are. Don't let them say your water is "good" or "off a little". We need numbers so we can tell if there's been improvement the next time we test. Have them test the nitrate too. It's the end result of your biological filtration and indicates just how much waste is in the system. Get your own kits so you can do the tests at home. Sometimes daily testing is needed while we continue to make water very frequent changes until things get better.

It can be a real challenge to get food to certain fish sometimes. Most of your fish will do just fine on a basic flake or pelleted diet with good variety in adding treats. Give them a basic food and don't mix it with worms. Give the worms another day instead of the flakes or pellets. Your fish will pick out the "tasty stuff" and leave the rest to rot in the tank. They're just like kids. You may have to get creative in order to get food to all without overfeeding.

Bichirs are picky because they are nocturnal feeders and they are carnivores. Feed him at night so the other more boisterous fish don't steal all the food. They like whole meaty foods such as earthworms, tubifex worms, bloodworms and shrimp. They like fish too. Chop the earthworms, shrimp or fish up if he's small. I think the bala shark is picky because he's uncomfortable and alone. Provide more hiding places and get him to a larger tank and he should do better. It's easier for each fish to get it's portion when the tank is large enough for everyone too. If there are toxins elevated in there the fish will not want to eat as much too. Test the water to find out.

I hope I was able to answer all your questions and address your concerns. Let me know if you need more help...

At Your Service;
Chris Robbins