What to stock 3 90 gallon tanks with

[GDominy]

Ok.. heres the scenario.. I have 3 90 Gallon tanks on teh way for my new fish room. Tanks are 48" long 24" tall and 18" deep.

I have NO idea what to stock them with.

So, what would you guys do?

I'm thinking maybe something with personality..... And maybe one tank as an african setup... but really.. the sky's the limit.

[scott]

I would do a breeding pair of escondido in one. A big solo guapote in another, and some geophagus and maybe a pair of nics with some colorful dithers/targets in the third.

[peifc]

:D I like the idea of breeding pair of Herichthys Carpinte 'Escondido' (very beautiful and colorful when fully grown). The next one...I will either have Jag, Trimac, Midas, Haitiansis, Vieja bifasciatus, Festae, or any of the aggressive cichlids. The third one...well, I possibly will go for something colorful and small (max size of 5").

[DarthV]

I think I'd go along with the escondido pair in one for sure. For the other, a breeding pair of smaller guapotes... salvini or preferably motaguense. The 3rd tank would be for some of the more laid back cichlids...maybe a breeding pair of nicaraguense, severum or jack dempseys...or single specimens of nic, severum, blue jack dempsey and maybe a sajica...

[Harry Tolen]

Nice tanks. The depth and front-to-back dimensions give you a lot more flexibility than you would otherwise get in a 4 foot tank (like a regular 55). You could do a Vieja synspila in one (more on that in a minute), a pair of slightly smaller cichlids in another (buy 4-5 and then give back the remaining 3 when you get a pair), and a community tank with dwarf cichlids in the third. Additional comments:

01. In the first two tanks, you can use synodontis cats as your cleanup crew. I have kept specimen fish and pairs in those sized tanks, and plecos sometimes get too beaten up. But synodontis can take care of themselves. As an example, I have (3) S. ocellifer in a tank with a 12" V. synspila and he never bothers them at all.

02. Some of my favorite mid-sized cichlids that would do well in your second tank: Blue acaras, Herotilapia multispinosa, most of the Geophagus and Gynmnogeophagus species, or a colony of Tropheus moorii or Neolamprologus brichardi (Tanganyikans that would do well with a lot of rocks).

03. In the third tank you could do a lot of tetras (Rummynose, cardinals, garnets, etc.) with a colony of dwarf cichlids. Some of my favorites are (all Apistogrammas): panduro, borelli, cacatuoides, nijsseni, and pertensis.

I don't know what you've got up there in Canada, or how hard it is to get fish across the border. If it were possible, I could give you a couple of synspila myself (you'd have to drive south to get them, however, because I don't ship fish). I'm always looking to give some of my offspring away to good homes.

Anyway, good luck with your new tanks. Sounds like you'll have some fun deciding what to do and setting them up.