rope fish or no?

hi howzit professor

I need sime help urgently on whether or not to buy a rope fish..i really like the snake fish and would really like one although ive been reading all sort of things about them i stii cannot reach a conclusion

so basically i got a 55gallon aquarium with the folowing fish:
1 siamese fighter
2 rainbow sharks
2 red tailed balck sharks
1 bala shark
15 tetras ( 5 are neon , 15 are glow tetras)
1 albino ancistris pleco
2 raphael pleco
1 khuli loach

all the above has been added recently my tank is around 2 months old.
can you tell me what is the pros n cons of this fish with the fish that i have please?>

Thanks alot & Regards

 

Without going into your new fish I would immediately relook at your stocking list! Siamese fighters are not suited to community tanks because they either have there fins nipped or mistake other fish for rival males and will fight with them. Rainbow and red tail sharks are extremley aggressive as they grow and will also be to large for your tank at full size. Bala sharks grow huge and require at least another 5 to school with so they require at least a 2m tank. Your tetras will nip your siamese fighter's fins leading to disease and ultimately death. Not much issue with the ancistricus. I have never researched the raphael plecs so I cant help there. Khulis require a school of at least 4.

My advice to you is to google each and every one of your fish read up on temperment, water parameters, size etc. Then plan your list accordingly. If you still have questions post them in the main forum unless they require the Profs expert knowledge. He is an extremly busy man

 

oh okay! will do that right away..thanks again!

 

Good reply FishRMan. +1

 

I am extremely busy and can only respond very quickly.

Rope fishes are carnivorous and will eat all your other fishes starting from the smallest to the biggest. They must be kept in a species tank and only with other much larger fishes, so this is not going to work at all.

Fisherman's advice is very good as you should actually keep fishes together that are compatible. I only keep fishes together that come from the same system and do not mix then all in one, this normally ends up with the one or the other being eaten, or bullied, so you need to do your homework carefully.

My advice is also not to just go to the internet, buy yourself a decent book or two on the topic, even the local bookshops have good books. I have seen some good general books in Exclusive Books and do your homework thoroughly.

Kind regards,

Dirk