3 replies to this topic

[Leo1234]

I recently got 3 red shiners for my 150... so... 1 was attacked I think and 1 was just eaten overnight...so now I have 1 left. How big of a tank will this 3/4in red shiner need until I can grow him to about 2-3in? I could eventually go to the fish store that sells them to get some more shiners, but it is 1.5 hours south of here and about 50+ miles. 

I have a 2.5 gallon, and a 20 gallon that are available for him.

[WheelsOC]

Minnows are gregarious fish, and need more of their own kind to shoal with or they will get stressed out. Keeping just one is a bad idea.

In fact, keeping just three red shiners is probably still a bad idea. They need bigger numbers for their security, and for healthy interactions among themselves.

 

I would go pick up some more red shiners as soon as you can. Set up the 20 gallon tank for at least half a dozen of them, eight would be better. The more of them there are, the less any individual fish will be the target of aggression by the other red shiners. And with that many active minnows in a 20 gallon tank (hopefully a 20 long, they need the "legroom"), you're going to want to make sure you have some good filtration to handle their bioload. Some plants would help with that, too. Might want to throw in some hardy and cheap aquarium plants, like some Java Fern or Java Moss (both attached to wood or rock). Even duckweed would be good; it would soak up nitrogen wastes from the water, which you can remove by scooping some of the duckweed out (trust me, it WILL repopulate), while offering some cover and a place for tiny critters to grow in the rootlets that hang down into the water.

[Leo1234]

yeah... I would have bought more, but they didn't have too many and I didn't have the money at the time. They will eventually go back in the 150 where there are many minnows to school with ( unless they don't school with dace and other minnows). I'm trying to get a larger school. I could add some hornwort. I have too much because I grow it in 30 gallon ponds outside. I'm just mainly concerned about if I can grow him fast enough.

Would giving him a school of fathead minnows be enough temporarily? They are closer and easier to get and it would be a substitute until I can get the other shiners.

[gerald]

Almost any minnows will school together if they dont have others of their own kind, and are vaguely similar in size and behavior.  You could even keep him with giant danios or rosy barbs.  Red shiners (and most other Cyprinella) can get quite aggressive.  They often end up as a lone fish in a tank anyway, because they attack everything, unless you start with a BIG school.   I dont think a lone one would be too stressed out.