Frequent Aquarium Questions

• How much salt should you add to a fresh water tank, to mantain the quality of the water?
  
  
• If a fish nips off the tail of another fish, will the tail grow back, if and so about how long does it take?
  
  
• What kind of fish can I put with a male betta?
  
  
• GOLDFISH: What live plants are suitable for a 50 gallon GF aquarium? I only have Java-fern and Hornwort which are not nibbled at and eaten by the fish.
  
  
• I'm a first time fish owner and have a Betta Fish. Do I need to have corals and do fake corals work just as well?
  
  
• I have had an aggressive 30 gallon hex tank for years but have been wanting Oscars. Over the years, everyone has died except for our Turquoise Jewels. Will Jewels eat an Oscar?
  
  
• How do you know if your Betta is a male or a female?
  
  
• I keep trying with male and female Bettas, sometimes singly or together. They are in a community 10 Gal. tank. Both get their own food. Both stay active and happy for 2-4 months, eating well. After that time, they start to fail, and are soon dead. All other fish are doing fine. What's wrong?
  
  
• I have a 55 gallon tank, with 3 pictus catfish, 2 silver dollars, 2 colombian sharks, 1 plecostomus, 2 bala sharks, and 2 irridescent sharks. I will be getting a 100 gallon tank next year but am worried the Irridescent sharks are going to get too large after doing some reading. Am I OK with them in a 55 gallon tank?
  
  
• I purchased two Colombian Sharks, about April of this year. I have them in a established fresh water tank with Silver Dollars, Pictus catfish, Plecostomus, Irridescent Sharks, African Cichlids, Bala and Red-tailed Sharks. After buying them. I found out that Columbian Sharks may be a brackish water fish. Will the other fish in my tank tolerate brackish water?
  
  

• How much salt should you add to a fresh water tank, to mantain the quality of the water?
  
  Salt does not maintain the quality of the water. Though aquarium salt does help prevent disease, not all freshwater tanks should have salt added. Some fish are salt sensitive such as Clown Loaches, and some Tetras, and there are many others that cannot tolerate salt. You should study the species you want to make sure they are not sensitive before adding salt. Aquatic plants also do not tolerate ANY salt. For fish that can tolerate salt in non-planted tanks, the most recommended amount is one teaspoon per ten gallons.
  
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• If a fish nips off the tail of another fish, will the tail grow back, if and so about how long does it take?
  
  The tail is actually the caudal fin of a fish, and fins are dermal tissue. They will grow back quickly provided they are not being continually nipped on.
  
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• What kind of fish can I put with a male betta?
  
  Good question but it is easier to tell you what not to try! Bettas in the wild are solitary, and most people keep them by themselves. A male Betta can make a good community fish provided it is not kept with other Bettas, many Gouarmis, or any fish with long flowing fins, such as fancy guppies. These fish may get attacked by the Betta. Also avoid very fast moving fish such as Danios, as these fish may intimidate the slow-moving Betta and make it hide all the time. Good companions are most medium sized Tetras, Platys, Swordtails and some of the smaller peaceful Barbs such as Cherry Barbs or Gold Barbs.
  
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• GOLDFISH: What live plants are suitable for a 50 gallon GF aquarium? I only have Java-fern and Hornwort which are not nibbled at and eaten by the fish.
  
  You have chosen plants well for your goldfish tank, but there are not many choices left that will not get eaten by the fish. Other possibilities include: Anubias species Aponogeton Species Cryptocoryon species
  
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• I'm a first time fish owner and have a Betta Fish. Do I need to have corals and do fake corals work just as well?
  
  Bettas are a freshwater fish, so you do not want to use coral in the tank, as coral slowly dissolves and will raise the pH in the tank to levels the fish could not tolerate. If you want the look of coral in the tank, artificial coral would be fine. Plastic plants would be more natural for the Betta.
  
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• I have had an aggressive 30 gallon hex tank for years but have been wanting Oscars. Over the years, everyone has died except for our Turquoise Jewels. Will Jewels eat an Oscar?
  
  Your question was edited as the limit of the FAQ question is about 250 characters. Oscars are fairly peaceful fish, but grow quite large and in our opinion, will not survive long-term in that small tank. You really need a 55 gallon tank for Oscars. The Jewels will not "eat" your Oscars, but Jewel cichlids are very territorial, and given that you will have to get small Oscars for that size tank, the Jewel cichlids may very well simply kill the Oscars, as they now rule the entire tank.
  
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• How do you know if your Betta is a male or a female?
  
  Male Bettas have very long flowing dorsal, anal and caudal (tail) fins and are usually much brighter in color. Females have very short dorsal, anal and caudal fins and are usually not as colorful.
  
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• I keep trying with male and female Bettas, sometimes singly or together. They are in a community 10 Gal. tank. Both get their own food. Both stay active and happy for 2-4 months, eating well. After that time, they start to fail, and are soon dead. All other fish are doing fine. What's wrong?
  
  You should not try to keep a male and a female Betta together in the same tank as the male will usually injure or kill the female. A male or a female Betta may be kept in many community tank situations, but there are many fish whose presence will stress Bettas or that may fight with them. Another factor is that if you have a lot of water circulation, this too will eventually stress Bettas and their health will fail. Bettas do not like a lot of water movement. Bettas are not very "active" fish, and like to remain still most of the time. If your Bettas were constantly swimming and active as you say, we suspect that they were either being chased by other fish or were swimming to try to fight strong water current.
  
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• I have a 55 gallon tank, with 3 pictus catfish, 2 silver dollars, 2 colombian sharks, 1 plecostomus, 2 bala sharks, and 2 irridescent sharks. I will be getting a 100 gallon tank next year but am worried the Irridescent sharks are going to get too large after doing some reading. Am I OK with them in a 55 gallon tank?
  
  We think that you'll make it with the Irridescent sharks. They do grow very fast, but a 55 gallon tank should be OK until you get your larger aquarium. However, we would not recommend waiting any longer than 8 months.
  
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• I purchased two Colombian Sharks, about April of this year. I have them in a established fresh water tank with Silver Dollars, Pictus catfish, Plecostomus, Irridescent Sharks, African Cichlids, Bala and Red-tailed Sharks. After buying them. I found out that Columbian Sharks may be a brackish water fish. Will the other fish in my tank tolerate brackish water?
  
  The Columbian sharks should eventually be moved into a brackish tank. The African Cichlids and Irridescent Sharks can tolerate some salt but the others cannot. Most brackish tanks use about two tablespoons of aquarium or marine salt per five gallons of water. You should set up the new tank as a freshwater tank, and allow the sharks to live in it for a month, then slowly add salt over a four week period to acclimate the fish to the water.
  
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