New tank with tinfoil barb, bala shark and tiger barb..

Question
QUESTION: I recently set up a 55 gallon aqairium and put a tinfoil barb, bala shark and tiger barb in it ogether and I found out online that tinfoil and bala sharks aren't very hardy for the set up of a new tank so I was wondering if and when I should change some of the water for ammonia purposes, we plan on taking a water sample to petsmart or somewhere to get it tested this weekend, the fish have been in the tank for two days now and seem to be doing just fine...any suggestions would be very helpful...
ANSWER: Hi Gennie,
Since your tank hasn't had the 3-6wk period to cycle you will have to feed your fish lightly and do partial water changes at least twice a week or more if the ammonia and nitrite start to get dangerously high. I would remove at least 1/3-1/2 each time since it will be hard on your fish if the ammonia gets very high. Also you might want to get a water test kit yourself instead of depending on the petstore. I have had alot of complaints from people that the petstores either gave them wrong information and created alot of problems for them and or their fish. Just thought I would suggest the test kit to help you out.
Be sure to really keep an eye on your water over the next few weeks. If your fish act abnormal or the ammonia or nitrites get the least bit high do a large water change of at least 50% to bring down ammonia to avoid serious problems. Oh, another thought is that you shouldn't need to replace your filter just check it and if it appears to be dirty rinse in aquarium water not tap since your beneficial bacteria will be trying to get established in your filter and rinsing in tap water will destroy them.

Best of luck with your new tank,
Karen

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

QUESTION: hello! I have a simple question ( I think ) What would be some big fish I could EVENTUALLY put in my freshwater tank that would be compatible with the ones I already have in there? The tank is 55 gal. I know we can't put alot of them put I think a few med-large fish wouldn't hurt right? Any suggestions would be helpful...thanks

Answer
Hi Gennie,
There is just one problem that I don't know if you have thought about. Tinfoil barbs get very large and so do bala sharks. They like to be in groups of at least 3 or more. I have had tinfoil barbs before and they need alot of swimming room.  They can get up to 14 inches and they will need a larger tank.I didn't know if you were aware of this and I thought you might want to keep this in mind when thinking about adding more larger fish. The main problem I see with the barbs and the bala sharks is having a tank that gives them enough room to turn around. They are really gorgeous fish when they get large and they are very fast swimmers. They do have a tendency to get scared easily and crash into the sides of the tank. I have lost two from this. I had to put plastic plants on each end of my tank to slow them down and also be careful what fish I put with them. They were very stressed by the severums  and oscar that I put with them.
Possible  fish that would be compatable are Silver dollars,clown loaches-they can get big,and small sized catfish. Watch out for the size of some catfish in pet stores since some will get huge. The small cory cats would be good as bottom feeders and you could get about 3-4 of them.Larger gouramis and some of the larger barbs such as rosy barbs-they get around 5 inches.
You can keep these fish together as long as you keep the water really clean and realize that when they grow you will need a larger tank so they can turn around better. I kept mine in a 55 gallon for quite a while then moved them into a 75 gallon.
Hope this helps,
Karen