Frequent Aquarium Questions

• I originally had two blue gouramis, and one of them died unexpectedly. The night before, it's tail appeared as if it had been nipped on. Do you know what the problems is?
  
  
• Recently, I introduced 1 spotted puffer and an algae eater to my tank with tetras and gouramis. A few fish died in the next few days. What could of happened?
  
  
• I'm setting up a 75 gallon tank and plan on getting about 5 or 6 clown loaches to start it off. Is there a type of frog or shrimp that I can put in there with my clown loaches?
  
  
• Do invertebrates count in the "one inch of fish per gallon" rule? If not, is there an invertebrate rule?
  
  
• I bought 1 large goldfish and a smaller one. The larger one is bumping the smaller one. Will I have to permanently seperate the fish?
  
  
• I have a clown trigger, porcupine puffer, yellow tang, blue tang, wrasse, and a volitan lion in a 55 gallon tank. The fish sizes range from 3-5". Is that to many fish for my tank?
  
  
• Can I put another porcupine puffer or another species of puffer in the same fish tank?
  
  
• I recently put a betta in my 12 gallon aquarium with 6 tetras. The betta's fins appear ragged. I removed the betta and placed him in another tank. Was this the best thing to do, or would he be ok in the aquarium?
  
  
• Can you put a frontosa, fire eel, and/or barracuda in with an oscar?
  
  
• I would like to know if my choice of fish will work well together: bristlenose catfish, angelfish, bloody parrot, white gourami, pearl gourami, royal pleco, tiger barb, yellow cichlid, frontosa, danio, and discus.
  
  

• I originally had two blue gouramis, and one of them died unexpectedly. The night before, it's tail appeared as if it had been nipped on. Do you know what the problems is?
  
  You are experiencing some aggression from the blue gourami. If you decide to keep the gourami, you can disperse the aggression by stocking the tank with other fish, keeping in mind not to overstock the tank.
  
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• Recently, I introduced 1 spotted puffer and an algae eater to my tank with tetras and gouramis. A few fish died in the next few days. What could of happened?
  
  A spotted puffer is not a good choice for your aquarium. They are predatory by nature and are notorious fin-nippers. There is a good chance that the puffer was the culprit.
  
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• I'm setting up a 75 gallon tank and plan on getting about 5 or 6 clown loaches to start it off. Is there a type of frog or shrimp that I can put in there with my clown loaches?
  
  There are African clawed frogs that are fully aquatic. Be careful because their aggression will grow as they increase in size. There are no freshwater shrimp that would survive with clown loaches and frogs.
  
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• Do invertebrates count in the "one inch of fish per gallon" rule? If not, is there an invertebrate rule?
  
  If the invertebrate is of comparable biomass, they do count as one. There is no reliable stocking rule that pertains to small ornamental shrimp and crustaceans.
  
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• I bought 1 large goldfish and a smaller one. The larger one is bumping the smaller one. Will I have to permanently seperate the fish?
  
  This does not seem like overt aggression. Look for damage to the smaller fish. Also, make sure the smaller fish is eating properly.
  
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• I have a clown trigger, porcupine puffer, yellow tang, blue tang, wrasse, and a volitan lion in a 55 gallon tank. The fish sizes range from 3-5". Is that to many fish for my tank?
  
  You definitely have too many fish that grow large. If they all get along now or are small enough where they have room to swim, it will only be a matter of time before the predators outgrow your tank.
  
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• Can I put another porcupine puffer or another species of puffer in the same fish tank?
  
  You can not put another porcupine puffer in the tank. I have known hobbyists who were able to keep some of the Arothoron species in a tank with a porcupine puffer. Just make sure the Arothoron is close in size to the other puffer.
  
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• I recently put a betta in my 12 gallon aquarium with 6 tetras. The betta's fins appear ragged. I removed the betta and placed him in another tank. Was this the best thing to do, or would he be ok in the aquarium?
  
  It is common for newly introduced fish to show signs of aggression from other fish. There is a chance that your betta would of survived in the tank if the aggression from the tetras would of subsided. This is impossible to know without leaving the betta in for a period of time.
  
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• Can you put a frontosa, fire eel, and/or barracuda in with an oscar?
  
  The fire eel and barracuda should be fine as long as the oscar can't come close to swallowing them. There is a good chance that there will be aggression towards the frontosa from the oscar. You should introduce the oscar last and make sure that it is not the largest fish.
  
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• I would like to know if my choice of fish will work well together: bristlenose catfish, angelfish, bloody parrot, white gourami, pearl gourami, royal pleco, tiger barb, yellow cichlid, frontosa, danio, and discus.
  
  You should stick with the community tank theme and refrain from introducing discus, and the other cichlids.
  
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