Denison's Barbs / Roseline Sharks

Brian Bivens

Brian Bivens

Labeotropheus Trawavasae
Jun 8, 2007
886
0
16
44
Colorado Springs
Hey everyone,

I am getting close to cycled on my 55 gallon (Ace pure ammonia, keeping the ammo and trites at about 4.0, starting to see some trates...)
IMG_0752.jpg

Now, I am strongly considering a school of 6 Denison's Barbs, but want to know a few things about them, if you would be so kind:

1. Fish compatibility, are they really a tropical community fish? Can they be placed with tetras, or CPD's what about Red Cherry Shrimp?
2. Are the ones at Petsmart of good quality (will they be as bright red and pretty)?
3. How do you like my stocking plan:

- 6 Denison Barbs
- 3 Silver Lyretail Mollies (1 male, 2 female) OR 3 Swordtails same ratio, OR small school of Cardinal's, Neons, or CPD's
- 1 Pearl Gourami
- 5 Kuhli Loaches
- a few mystery snails later on and
- RCS?


I would love to hear your thoughts, and experiences.

IMG_0752.jpg
 
I wouldn't trust kuhli loaches with snails or cherry shrimp. YMMV, but they ate snails and ghost shrimp quite happily in my tanks.

I'd probably go with a bigger school of the Denisons and skip the livebreeder/smaller tetra grouping completely. In terms of a source...well, Petsmart is never my first choice. Ever. But, you know your local market better, so the quality will be something you have to decide. Healthy fish that are in a clean environment with good food will always show their best color, no matter where your purchase...so it will be a matter of getting them healthy. I'd plan to quarantine them for 4 weeks before adding them to the main tank.
 
The main tank is brand new, so I plan on stocking from one source if possible. I don't want just Denison's, so I am very interested on their compatibility.

Instead of the Loaches, maybe some corydora?
 
You'll have to forgive my ignorance... I haven't kept a tropical community in nearly a decade, and recently I moved from PA to CO and got rid of everything. This is a brand new tank and I am looking to go friendly fish...
 
I would still say you should plan to quarantine, in another tank.

Treating with some form of anti-parasite agent in the main tank, especially if you plan snails + Shrimp, will seldom be a good idea.

IMO, if you have the patience to fishless cycle a tank, you should have the time to go and spend a day or 2 window shopping at as many fish stores you can find. take a camera and photograph everything you're interested in and document what you can (price, size, etc) and see what you have available to you.

I couldn't count how many locally owned pet/fish stores I have available within a 2 hour radius (as an example), as a result I haven't bought anything but feeder mollies from Petsmart in the past couple of years.

and if you want another potential source of stock, have a look for any aquarium societies, between great fish at auctions, discounts at pet stores and great speaker programs, they are a worthwhile activity too.
 
I agree with you, and after looking at the local fish shops around (30 mile radius) window shopping for about two weeks now, My local petsmart (brand new) has one of the nicest selections of fish, and by far the cleanest tanks. I used to live five minutes from the Hidden Reef in PA (which is the biggest and one of the nicest fish shops on the east coast), and I can say that most of the local fish shops around here seem to pale in comparison. With that said, and being that I have no QT tank, I am going to stock this tank, all at once, and see how it goes.

What I am looking for is information on Denison Barbs, not advice for quaranteen (not trying to be rude :)
 
I've heard that roseline sharks are great community fish, especially if they're in a school, unlike those other "sharks":D. Don't think they'll eat the tetras, maybe get the bigger ones just to be on the safe side. Mollies would not be a good idea because they need salt in their tank, so go with the swordtails/tetras. Yes, corydoras would be much better than the kuhlii loaches because you will see much more of the cories and the loaches will be hard to catch once they are in the tank and are also great escape artists. I've heard of people who got bad quality petsmart fish that give ich and stuff, but I get my platies from petsmart and they're great.
 
I haven't kept them personally, so hopefully someone has first-hand experience for you.

But from what I understand, they have been known to eat fry and shrimplets, which may or may not be an issue for you. As always this will be affected by diet and environment too.

Personally I'd be wary of having a fast-moving, 6" schooling fish in a tank that's 12" deep, which might be something to watch out for in the future, they might be happier in something with a larger footprint.

As for stocking, depending what your plan is for livebearer fry, I'd think something like a gold wonder killie would be easily available at petsmart, should bred in an aquarium without any effort and will likely keep numbers of fry down (shrimp too it has to be said)

As for Petsmart having the best color... that could be debatable, it's going to be a product of diet, environment, and initial stock. If you don't think you can do any better locally, and don't want to try mail order, then I suggest your mind is already made up.
 
dougall said:
Personally I'd be wary of having a fast-moving, 6" schooling fish in a tank that's 12" deep, which might be something to watch out for in the future, they might be happier in something with a larger footprint.
Click to expand...

That's why I don't have any. They'll probably be okay, but I'd rather they have room to be active than feel cramped.
 
Roseline's are very peaceful fish, and go great in a community tank. I've never seen one bother any other fish. They do get to about 6" at full maturity. They tend to stay in the lower third of the tank, so you might pick other fish that stay more to the middle and top of the tank. I have them with Rainbows, and find it a good combination.
 
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