Fish Content Planning

Criminal_Colt

Criminal_Colt

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Jan 28, 2005
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Well I am trying to figure out what I want to put in my tank. I'm not ready to start naming actual fish yet even though I know quite a few I want.

This post is really just for help in selecting the right kind of fish to compliment each other. I am aiming to to have perhaps two small schools of group fish and the rest paired or solitary fish. The tank is a 4'x2'x2' 120gal tank.

So firstly how would I decide how many fish I can fit in the tank? I know that there is no set rule as each fish is an individual. However some figure as a guide would help.

Secondly, I like most people here I assume want brightly coloured fish. However every fish that makes me go ooh and aah seems to be lethal to any other fish! So what would you recomend I do with agressive fish? Should you match them with bigger fish or similair agressive fish that will give back and establish some ground rules? This is perhaps my biggest issue, dealing with agressive fish.

The next problem is pH levels. How strictly do these need to be followed? I can understand that they are not there for fun but swinging one way or the other from neutral seems to place some serious limitations on your choice of fish.

Then finally there is the issue of actually aquiring these fish! How do you guys go about this? My LFS has a very limited collection of FW fish (better for SW). Perhaps they can order in but some guidance from you would be helpfull.

Currently I am making a spreadsheet of atractive fish for easy comparison Hopefully I can solve the biggest conflicts this way.

Thanks, again.

Colt :D

EDIT: What are you favourite fish?
 
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Fitting fish in: there is not a valid rule for this. You have to consider the adult size and behavior of the fish, plus all the tankmates adult size and behavior. It can be complex. For small fish , like neons, you can comfortably say one gallon per inch of fish. For larger, heavier bodied fish, bump that up to at least 2 gallons per fish. Use this as a minimum, and then factor in behavior. For example, you could easily have 50 neons in your tank. You could also comfortably have one oscar. But--one oscar + 50 neons = one fatter oscar and progressively fewer neons.

Start by picking the fish you want--list them here, and we'll help determine numbers and if the combinations will work.

Aggressive fish--depends on why they are called aggressive. Some, like bettas, are agressive to specific fish (other bettas, gouramies, guppies), some, like african butterflies, are called aggressive but really are not--they just will eat anything that fits in their mouth. Others, like many species of cichlids, are just pugnacious little buggers always looking for a fight. So, first--you have to know what type of 'aggression' you're dealing with, and what other fish this will impact. Then--plan around it. There are some combinations that just will not work, others that can vary with the individual fish, some that can be worked around. But--ultimately--putting an aggressive fish in with others means you have to monitor and be prepared to remove the aggressor if needed.

pH is often overestimated as important. Yes, it's good to know the value, and important to keep it stable--but really, fish can adjust to a wide range with no problems. Having the pH jump around is much harder on the fish than one that's not ideal. It can be very important if you're looking to breed fish, since pH does impact egg viability, but for a community setup, it's just not worth fussing over. Especially when the bottled adjustors usually cause fluctuations that can be lethal.

May want to check online--there are many reputable stores to purchase fish.

Also--if you really want SW, you can start there. The differences between the 2 setups are such that you basically relearn everything. What works for a FW tank--outside the basics of cycling and the nitrogen cycle--doesn't apply to most SW setups.
 
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I just want to second what Oriongirl said, prettymuch exactly what I was going to say. You've got a lot of room to work with and since you've got a long and wide tank, you've got plenty of surface area as well. You've been having the same problem I have, too many desired fish that won't be compatible. Is this your first tank or have you had others? Most people start with a 10 gallon or something small like that and it's easy to make suggestions because there isn't much that will live comfortably and healthily in a 10. with a 120, the door's prettymuch open to anything you can get. You can get one or two really big fish or you can get hundreds of tiny fish. Another problem I have had in the past was doing research and concluding with a stocklist only to find out I can't get any of my choices locally. Be sure and find any local clubs in your area as well as search around for different LFS's. Take a notepad and a pen and write down every common and scientific name of every fish that catches your eye, then do some research. Scientific names are much more intimidating and confusing for those who don't know fish but they are much easier to identify and research so do your best to get those over common names. Common names are often wrong or made up by the LFS so never assume you're talking about the same fish, always find photos on the internet to match up with the name you have. Do you want a few fish with lots of character or tons of movement? do you wish to have anything breed or just have the fish you are buying as a display tank? A few suggestions of color and movement would be a tankfull of rainbowfish or Malawi cichlids. Another popular choice would be some larger cichlids such as oscars, jack dempsey, firemouth, blackbelt cichlid, chocolate cichlid, etc depending on what's popular in your area. Oscars are probably the most commonly bought and returned fish because of their size capabilities. Many chain stores keep them smaller than 2" and people buy these fish thinking they stay 2" but end up over 12" when fullgrown. Your 120 would be great for a few of these fish and you might even get them for free if you can find some of these unfortunate individuals. You can also add several large schools of small fish as you mentioned. Neon, cardinal, glowlight, black neon, bloodfin and pristella tetras come to mind as well as harlequin, scissor-tail or brilliant rasboras. If you do end up with smaller fish, a large school of corydora catfish looks awesome in a tank like that but would be catfish-bits for a large cichlid like oscars. Groups of barbs, livebearers, a tanganyikan cichlid community tank, Angelfish, predatory fish, etc. all come to mind. If your LFS is limited and they're your only choice in town, make a list and that will be the best way to limit. If you're willing to spend the money and have them shipped to you, the limit is prettymuch the sky. Kyle
 
With a tank that size you could have clown loaches (4-5?) They are an attractive fish thats main claim to fame is personality. They're a lot of fun to have because they do strange things. A common pleco will keep your tank algae free and not usually bother whatever fish you have, however when they get big, they tend to uproot most plants. A school of turquoise rainbowfish are very colorful ( which doesn't really show up as young fish). If you are interested in smaller schooling fish, the rasbora espei are smaller than the harlequin and more brightly colored. They are much hardier than neon tetras or even cardinal tetras, with similiar markings as the harlequins but a lot more pink and in adults the pink is almost neon. A herd of cories roaming the bottom of a tank is very attractive, and again they usually have personality. If you get paired fish, chiclids will be aggressive and you could well end up with a very small number of fish in a huge tank.
Try to scout out clubs in your area, they usually have auctions a couple of times a year and in my experience, the fish you get at them are very healthy. I have also had very good luck buying through aquabid (aquabid.com)
 
OG said it. Just post what you like, and people will start helping you pick tankmates from that list and suggesting others. Everyone will want to stock your tank differently, I assure you. Which aggressive fish were you considering? Are you wanting to recreate a specific world region (biotope)? Or do you just want some colorful and fun fish?
 
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