my 240 gal dream team

[nate]

hopefully within the next 2-3 months i'll be moving into a bigger place and be able to re-establish my 240.

before i had to break it down and store about a year ago i had two 11 inch oscars and 18 inch clown knife 4 silver dollars all about 5 -6 inches a 9 inch bala shark and a 10 inch delhizi bichir.

this time i'm going to take my 5 bichirs my earth eater and my spotted gar from my 55 L and my frotosa my siamese tiger and 3 clown loaches from 55 hex plus i'm going to get a new arowanna silver or aust. i still haven't decided and possibly another clown knife but probably not.

what do ya think?
will it work out?

i would get the silver dollars againg but i'm planning on putting alot of plants along the back of the tank and i can't have them chewing things up like before.

i've been planning this for a long time, ever since i had to sell off all my old fish, and the anticipation is killing me. i've been on disability for almost 5 months now and i've been spending a lot of time with my fin kids planning out exactly what their new home is going to be like.

so exciting !!!!!!!!!!!!!!:D !!!!!!!!!!!!!

[125gJoe]

Pics please............. :cool:

[nate]

i'm planning to use i combination of crushed coral and sand for my substrate.

the interesting part is going to be my "garden"

the tank is eight feet long, my plan is to insert an eight foot long six inch tall piece of plexi six inches from the back of the tank. this is going to be where i'll plant my garden.

i really don't to much about plants. my experience is limited to the stuff you get at pet store that comes in the little plastic pots and has that stuff the roots are stuck in, loam i think it's called :confused: . i'm going to use some earth tone gravel, that's kinda on the dark side which i'm hoping will provide and attractive contrast with crushed coral and sand.

OH JOY !!!!!!!!!!!!!:D :D

[Frameshift]

Few problems...

1) Bichirs, earth eaters, spotted gar, clown loaches, and arowana all like a lower ph than fronts. (fronts like it 'bout 8.1 or so, for everyone else 7.0 is fine.)

2) Crushed coral substrate won't work well with most of the fish and the plants (boosts the ph up there depending on the amount used).

3) I would only do a single arowana for that tank...maybe a couple of bichirs. Arowana's get BIG (36+")

4) Clown knives get very large as well (36") so I'd say no.

5) Spotted gar will get large too (see a trend here?) (36" or so).

6) Siamese tiger fish do best when in a brackish tank.

What are the dimensions? Unless it is a very odd shape it won't be 36" deep, which will make it tough for the gar, clown knife, and arowana to even turn around in.

You have/will have lots of very large fish. I know 240 gallons seems like a TON of water but when comparing the fish you want to keep I think a tank in the realm of 1000+ gallons is reccomended. Sorry to burst your bubble a bit, but you have tons of options with 240 gallons. Just make sure you make the right one.

(Check out the cichlid forum for some great ideas. A community CA biotope would be awesome...drool :D ).

[nate]

i know that the conditions may not be ideal for each particular species but i'm hoping that a happy medium can be reached.

my 240 measures 8'x2'x2'

my siamese tiger is actually a fresh water version ( can't think of the scientific name of the top of my head though)

the gar is actually more of a cold water fish

there's a good chance when the arrowanna gets big it will eat my clown loaches

there's probably a thousand things that could be pointed out that make my ideas improbable for the best interest of any particular fish i plan on putting in my tank.

the thing is fish are more adaptable, in my experience, than most people give them credit for. and i'm not a species tank kind of guy. i know what i like and i know what fish i'd like to see together.

the crushed coral is something that will definitely cave on if anyone can tell me for sure that it will push the ph out of the 7-8
range.

please don't get me wrong and think i'm mindlessly throwing fish together without any kind of back up plans. all my fish are still quite young from a seven inch delhezi bichir to three one inch clown loaches. so i have time before anyone out grows the 240. and if at any point i feel like one of the kids isn't happy with the arangement in the 240 i have a 55 hex a 55L a 125 L and about half a dozen 12 gallon tanks to temporarily house said unhappy camper.

so don't worry about bursting my bubble i'm pretty thick skinned plus the only reason i posted my plans is because i was hoping a lot of people would chime in and poke holes in my bubble so i'd know what kind of repair techniques i would have to keep on hand to maintain a fishy equilibrium in the months and years to come.

so tank you very much Frameshift for your critique, keep the bad news coming... :D

[ChilDawg]

I think that, while fish are adaptable, keeping them closer to optimal conditions is most helpful.

Please consider not keeping animals that are completely incompatible together...Frontosas are not at all able to take water of low enough pH for the others. Maybe you would have more luck keeping incompatible fish together if they have been bred in captivity for some time.

[nate]

try as i have i haven't been able to get the ph in my 55 L below the 8 range and all the inhabitants of that tank seem to be doing really well, and i'm not just saying that.
about two weeks ago my smallest bichir got a good chunk of his tail fin bitten off and it's already grown all the way back the same sort of thing happened to my gar before if bought him except it was his pec fins and they're coming back like gangbusters. so unless you think the arrowanna (which is the only fish on my list that i don't own yet) is going to freak and die in 8 ph or be completely miserable like i believe you're saying the front will in 7, then i would certainly reconsider.

also do you think my mix is completely incompatable? if so can you school me. :D

thanx for the input.......

[ChilDawg]

Well, the Fronts are the biggest problem because of the pH that they need...

You mention that you think that the Aros will eat the Clowns, but you still plan on having the two together...if you have a tall tank, the 'twain may never meet.

I do not think that Aros will do well in water with pH of 8, and I think that many here will agree. Asking the folks at www.predatoryfish.net/ibforums would be a good idea as some of them even sell Aros and would tell you if they'd advocate having them in tanks that experience such pH.

[nate]

i think it would be best based on the feedback you guys have so generously provided that i should concede to eliminating the front option and the crushed coral ??? i'm still going to do a little more research before i completely dead that one though.

so thank you mucho chill and frameshift,
and i'm sure my front thanx you to :D

now any suggestions on a cichlid to replace the front. i could get another oscar. it's been so long since i had to get rid of my last two and i really to miss them.

also does anyone have any tips on how bolster the odds of my "garden" being succesful. i know there are things that can mixed in the substrate that can be benificial i just don't know what.

thanx.......:p

[ChilDawg]

Os can be compatible with Aros, but which type of Aro are you getting? Some of the larger ones can pick off Os and then beg for dessert!

Plants won't go well with many, if any, of the big cichlids as they are mostly inveterate diggers and/or herbivores.