# New tanks



## chelsxo (Mar 28, 2012)

I just bought a 38 gallon aquarium the other day. It came with 2 Tinfoils, 2 Angel fish, 4 Parrot fish(cross between a red devil and a convict) 1 catfish, 1 pleco and one small algae eater. 

Should I try and add anymore fish to this aquarium with all these guys in there?And does anyone know the ideal temps for these guys? We've had it set between 76-78 degrees. 

Also, we just bought a 30 gallon tank and were setting it up soon. What're the ideal pH levels for a tank? And how long should we wait before the tank is completely cycled? Anything else I need to know before completely setting up this tank. Do i need to add anything to the water? I'm completely new to this so any help would be great. Thanks! 

Oh, also what types of fish should we add to this 30 gallon tank when it's completely cycled?


----------



## navigator black (Jan 3, 2012)

I'm sorry to say you have inherited a disaster. Those fish won't work in a tank that size. Tinfoils get huge - I wouldn't keep them in less than a 240 gallon. They get a foot long, heavy, and need room to run. 
The parrots will kill everything else (solving a problem, I guess), and then grow. Red devil genetics mean a big, mean fish - one could live in that tank, alone. Plus the average common pleco gets to 18 inches.
The better the care you give them, the quicker they'll grow. And you'll be surprised at how quickly young fish grow. Unfortunately, you have to find homes for some fishes, fast.


----------



## chelsxo (Mar 28, 2012)

Well I guess I forgot to mention that they look to me like they're fully grown(fully grown meaning yhr parrots and angelfish) I think the person we got the tank from has had this tank for a few years atleast. The angels are fully grown and she said they were really small when she bought them. She also told us the parrots would be pretty expensive at the size they are now, don't know if that's true or not, but I'm pretty sure they're all fully grown.
So far they seem like they get along pretty well. I don't think we'll add anymore fish to the 38 gallon with now knowing how aggressive the parrots can be, also knowing how big the Tinfoils and pleco could get 
Do you think the small algae eater should be okay with all these bigger fish?

You're right about the Tinfoils- I think we'll have to get a bigger tank for them. :/


----------



## navigator black (Jan 3, 2012)

A full grown red parrot will hit 8-10 inches total length, plus at least six inches plus high. Because of their deformities, they are very wide too - a very heavy-bodied, chunky fish. The heavier the body, the more the pressure on the filtration system. About the only thing going for them is that their deformity reduces their ability to kill as much as they would like. They are slow.
Your tank is probably four feet across the front - less than five times the body length of a full sized parrot. So it won't have that much trouble killing. The only thing that will stop it is the inevitable bacterial diseases that will hit a tank that overloaded.
I know that sounds harsh, and that you didn't overload the tank yourself. You bought it in good faith and probably like all those fish. But the fate of the algae eater is the least of your worries. You have fish for at least a 450 gallon tank, shoehorned into 38.


----------



## chelsxo (Mar 28, 2012)

Wow, that's crazy. I have a 29 gallon tank that we're not using at the moment. Would that help the situation anymore by maybe moving the parrots or the tinfoils when they start getting a lot bigger? We could buy a 125g tank. I'm not sure what to do. Is there anyway I could send you a picture of the tank and the size of the fish?


----------



## Crazy (Mar 1, 2012)

If they are what you say they are I would definitely get the 125g, if the woman did have them for years in that tank chances are the fish may be stunted. What I mean by stunted is that the skeletal system of the fish will no longer grow. Unfortunately although the bones of the fish are stunted it's organs are not and will compact causing health problems. I hate that you had to enter into our hobby with so many problems, but we all hit the learning curve a bit differently. Hopefully you will be able to get the 125g and be able to enjoy and expand upon this hobby. Remember you get out of it what you put into it.


----------



## chelsxo (Mar 28, 2012)

Yeah, I'm gonna get a hold of her and ask her how long she had these fish in this tank. I wish I would've known all this before we bought this other 30g half moon tank the other day. lol. Instead of that I would've bought the 125g. If they do get much bigger sooner I'll just try and get the 29 gallon set up and put them in that one when it's cycled, then hopefully get a 125g or bigger. 
She told me that she bought the catfish a week before we bought the tank. I know the angels are fully grown, just not sure about the parrots and tinfoils. The tinfoils do seem kind of aggressive when I go to feed them. The tinfoils and parrots are a pretty good size right now. I can tell now that the tank is already to small for them.

I'm gonna upload a picture to this website and post the link on here when I do it, to see what you all think.
Keep in mind that we did just get the tank so all the decor is what they had before, we still have to re decorate it.


----------



## Summer (Oct 3, 2011)

Keep in mind that if the fish have lived in a too small space for their entire lives that their bodies may be stunted. It would definitely be in your benefit and in the fishes benefit to upgrade to a larger tank. Those fish at a full grow status would hardly even fit in there with any room left to swim, so I doubt they have reached their full growing potential.


----------



## chelsxo (Mar 28, 2012)

Here are photos of the tank. Remember that we still have to re-decorate the tank. So yeah lol It doesn't look very good atm but it will 
Lol

Pictures by chelsxox94 - Photobucket


----------



## Summer (Oct 3, 2011)

I do not think those fish are full grown, sorry. I think you're going to have more issues as time goes on and they continue to grow and mature. Aggression will make itsself present before long


----------



## Crazy (Mar 1, 2012)

as those tinfoils and parrots mature they will tear that tank apart so you may want to get a bigger tank pretty quickly.


----------



## chelsxo (Mar 28, 2012)

Yeah.. She said they've all been in the tank for over a year. She bought the pleco and the catfish just recently before I bought the tank.
I completely agree with you all.
So, when and if I get a bigger tank can the parrots and tinfoils be in a tank together and or/ with any other fish at all?


----------



## navigator black (Jan 3, 2012)

Honestly, those fish are like humans of say 9 years old - there is a lot of growing and some shocking developments to come. The parrots are still juveniles and the tinfoils are small ones.

If you're going to have fun with this, you need to find new homes for a lot of fish. Trying to keep that many brutes will not be a good time, relaxing experience, and this should be a relaxing hobby.
I would rehome the barbs and parrots, asap - before they become too much your pets, and before puberty hits those cichlids. Each one of those fish is going to want to kill its tankmates. If you move them, you'll have two tanks of murder and mayhem. 
I've had aquariums since I was 8, and I'm now in my 50s. I am an artist at quick and efficient maintenance - I can keep a tank clean just like ringing a bell. And I wouldn't want to take on cleaning even a 125 with tinfoils, hybrid parrots and a pleco. You can come home stressed and exhausted after work, but a tank like that will always be ten times more pooped than you.


----------



## chelsxo (Mar 28, 2012)

That all sounds terrible... But I think we're just gonna try to get a bigger tank and see how it goes. We really don't wanna re-home them. The lady I got them from said they have all lived fine together since they were tiny, so I think we'll just see how it goes. I think they should be fine.. Hopefully! lol
Do you guys have any advice for if I'm gonna try and keep them? :/
thank you all so much!


----------



## chelsxo (Mar 28, 2012)

As for my other 30 gallon half moon tank, we were thinking about getting a school of like 8-12 tetras, a few corydoras, and maybe gouramis. Id like to have an angel in there with these fish but idk if that'd work.
Would that be an overloaded tank if we got all those fish?


----------



## snail (Aug 6, 2010)

Speaking ideally I'm not really sure that 30 gallons is big enough for full grown angels but seeing as you already have the two angels I think I would move them to that tank and build your stocking list around them rather than filling it up with a whole new lot of fish.

As for the rest of the fish re-homing a large portion of them would probably be the most sensible option but I understand about getting attached to the fish. You can give them what they need for now by upgrading the tank. Just remember well cared for fish grow fast, often growing the most in the 1st 2 years. Badly cared for or cramped fish will become stunted but often unhealthy too. Sometimes fish that are brought up together will get along better than usual but some fish become suddenly aggressive as they mature.


----------

