Exotic Tropical Fish that are compatible with what I have?

Question

Does anyone know what kind of exotic tropical fish would be compatible with:
2 Pacus, 2 Red Fin Sharks, 2 Silver Tipped Sharks, 4 Rosy Barbs, 2 Spinner Barbs, 2 Tiger Barbs, 1 Upside Down Catfish, 1 Raphael Catfish, and a Pictus Catfish?

I have a 55 Gallon and I want something exotic in there that can hold its own!

Thanks

I work at a petstore and have a lot of exposure to fish and I know that my tank can still hold some inches of fish, but I was just looking for something that is exotic because we don't order anything like that :D thanks so far though!

Answer 1

Well, I feel as though I am reiterating what others have already said, but here I go anyway. You need to take back your Pacus, Silver tipped sharks, and atleast one of the redtails. Then what I would do is get your barbs up to atleast six per species. The are shoaling fish and will do much better in groups of six. Pictus cats are also happier/comfortable in groups of three or more. Even with a sampling of what I have suggested you are going to be at maximum stocking potential. Even if you go by hte one inch per gallon rule, which is outdated and useless you are going to be over stocked and that is after getting rid of the fish I have suggested you get rid of. These are the adult lengths for the fish you currently have;

Pacus- 36 inches
Redtail/Redfin sharks- 6 inches
Silver tipped sharks- 14 inches
Rosy barbs- 2 inches
Spanner barb- 7 inches
Tiger barbs- 3 inches
Upsidedown catfish- 4 inches
Raphael catfish- 9 inches
Pictus cat- 4 inches

As you can see, even with the old rule you will be grossly overpopulated. If I was you I would keep my rosy barbs and tiger barbs and raphael catfish and increase your barb groups to atleast 6 each. This is just my opinion. I'm not trying to hurt anyones feelings, I'm just trying to help a fellow fishkeeper enjoy this hobby for years to come.

Answer 2

I hope people who read what you wrote steer clear of the store you work at since you know nothing.

Your tank is overstocked and you should not add anymore, infact you need to get rid of the pacus, 1 redfin shark and the silver tip sharks aka columbian sharks.

1. Pacus grow to 3 ft actually and they excrete ALOT of ammonia since they are vegetarians but they are also opportunist and will eat other fish.

2. Red fin sharks should be kept singly because they are territorial and will kill each other.

3. Silver tipped sharks are BRACKISH. They NEED salt in the water otherwise they get a skin fungus and DIE. They also can get upto 24 inches. The other fish you have in the tank DOES NOT like salt.

55 gallons is a dinky a** tank and people who think the tank is huge need to be smacked upside the head.

Also there are 2 different kinds of upside down catfish sold.
1 is synodontis nigriventris, the african upside down catfish and it would be fine with the raphaels and pictus cats and barbs because it only gets 4 inches.

The other is leucophasis mystus wich is the asian upside down catfish. It gets 12 inches and is a nasty s.o.b. It is jet black with white speckles on its back and has long wiskers. I should know because i have one that some lady was going to flush because it was eating her fish.

Tiger barbs also should be kept in groups of 3 or more and your tank will be at its capacity wth just the 1 red fin shark, 4 rosy barbs, 2 spinner barbs wich i am thinking are also known as tinfoil barbs with grow to be 13 inches and the 3 catfish.

Answer 3

Ok, you may work in a petstore, and if that's so, you are just as ignorant as the typical people that work there. You are overstocked. Let's take a look at the adult sizes of your fish, shall we?

Pacu - 12-24 inches at adult size, "Given their potential adult size you will need an enormous tank to keep one at home, at least 250 gallons (940 liters)". See source links for more information on all of your fish.

Red Fin Sharks - also known as Rainbow sharks, 6 inches at adult size, require 55-gallon tank.

Silver Tipped Sharks - also known as the Colombian shark, reaches 20 inches at adult size, require salt in adulthood, needs a 75-gallon tank for a single fish

Rosy barb - max size 4 inches, will most likely be eaten by your larger fish, so I hope you're not too attached to them. Also should be kept in groups of five or more, or else they tend to become fin nippers.

Spinner barbs - I have no idea what the heck this kind of fish is, as I can't find any information on it online for you.

Tiger barbs - should be kept in groups of six or more, will grow to be about six inches each.

Upside-down catfish - 4 inches at adulthood.

Raphael catfish - about 8.5 inches at adulthood.

Pictus catfish - 5 inches at adulthood.

Now, let's add up all those numbers if you're going to follow the inch of adult fish per gallon of water rule, shall we?

48 (24 inches times 2 for the pacus) + 12 (2 times 6 inches for the red fins) + 40 (2 times 20 for the silver tips) + 16 (4 times 4 inches for the rosies) + 12 (2 times 6 inches) + 4 (upside-down catfish) + 8.5 (raphael) + 5 (pictus) = a grand total of 145.5, not including your spinner barbs.

So, yeah, I'd say you're a bit overstocked. But rest assures, although your pacus are primarily herbivorous, they'll take care of the smaller fish as they age.

Don't add anything else to that tank. Take most of your fish back to the pet store you got them from, and stick with smaller fish that stay small.

Answer 4

Sounds like your tank is pretty well populated at the moment. With the Pacus in there, you need to keep in mind that fish may "disappear" every now and then. Also, those barbs are eventually going to be around three inches each and I'm sure your other fish have room to grow too. It's one inch of fish per gallon....So you add up all your fishes potential adult size in inches...If you come up with over 55 inches then you will eventually have too many fish. Granted fish die off but you still dont want to over do it...It smells, gets dirty fast, they eat alot and you have more chances of fighting and disease.

Good luck!

Answer 5

You're tank is already WAY over crowded. Pacus alone can reach upwards in the area of 2' in length!

If I were you I would be thinking about buying another tank - not getting more fish.

*****EDIT*****
Um - yeah it is overcrowded for the species she has in there. You obviously do not know what you are talking about.

*****P.S.*****
If you work in a pet store then you should know that it's a bit cruel to think that you could house that many fish without stressing them out. The other person who shared the 1" of fish per G was correct, but it's up to you. They were also right about the fact that you will be dealing with a higher rate of disease (Ich, Bacterial infection, etc...). Regardless - Good luck either way.

Answer 6

You could do some sort of eel or maybe some semi-agressive gourami's like gold, blue, or opaline.
Don't forget fish grow. An adult pacu will get about 2 ft long. silver tiped sharks will get 14 inches and most the others are 4 to 6 inches. And fish will grow regardless of the size of the tank.

Answer 7

that one inch of fish per gallon of water is utter BS. 1 ten inch long oscar shits alot more than 10 one inch neon tetras. Some fishes like eels are long but narrow and some fish like Pacu's are fat and short. You can't tell me a 12 inch eel **** more than a 12 inch pacu.

Having said that exotic fish that can co-exist with what you got I would recomend congo tetras, any type of plecos like a gold nugget or imperial zebra pleco, Kribensis cichlids, German Rams, or pretty much any mild mannered fish. But do lose the pacu's since they will get huge later on while your other fishs will tend to stay small.

Answer 8

yea if you work with fishes all of the time, you should know that you are way overstocked with the pacus.

it u can return the pacus to your store and get a few more barbs.

Answer 9

Any thing that moves quick and isnt predatory! The sharks will slowly pick away at anything too slow! By the way, your tank is no where near being overcrowded! Um you obviously dont have a clue sly! I have been into aquariums for 40 years dipchit! 17 fish of those species in a fifty five gallon aquarium is more than enough space idiot!

Answer 10

Beautiful fish like the electric yellow and electric blue , rainbow ciclid or any ciclid as they are good in my tank with sharks and catfish