Stock List for 75g tank.
- Thread starter K9Decoy
- Start date
OK, IF I choose to make this an African tank with Malawians instead, how many of these 5-6" fish could I safely keep in 75g? There will be plenty of rock formations and caves for them.
Not to get too far off topic here, but your fish are only half-grown, and probably will quadruple in volume over the next couple years. Even making the assumption that they maintain a peaceful relationship, it's going to be a real strain to keep up with their waste output in that volume of water.
id stick with an oscar, theyr great fish that are worth getting rather than many small fish imo. besides, theyr much more personnable when you keep them alone.
See, I'm happy with having just one Oscar in there with like a Pleco and that would be it. However, my wife's opinion on how the tank should look is "colorful with lots of plants and lots of fish". She says "why would you have that huge tank and only keep one fish in it?" I suggested making a beautiful planted discus tank, but when she saw that discus cost $40-60 each, she immediately frowned on that idea. I then of course thought of African cichlids instead. If she wants color and plants, I can always go with a Malawi tank.
I'm definitely NOT going to have just a run-of-the-mill community tank with tetras, barbs, etc. This WILL be a cichlid tank.
However, I really like the idea of just one big, bad fish who rules the whole tank by himself. One problem is, my LFS only sells Oscars that are like 4-5" MAX, so I just hate to stare at an "empty" tank for months until it would grow up. See my dilema?
Latest Options:
1) Single Oscar Tank
Pro - Cool factor of having a large fish with a great personality.
Con - Not much color or plant life in the tank. Lots of money to spend on just one fish. Wife sees this as "boring".
2) Planted Discus Tank
Pro - Beautifully colored fish with lush greenery throughout the tank. Bigger visual impact in the living room.
Con - Expensive individual fish, and lots of money spent on plants, substrate, etc. Wife likes colors, but not the high cost.
3) Malawi Cichlid Tank
Pro - Lots of color and motion in the tank. Big "Wow!" factor.
Con - Not many plants, less attractive rocky aquascaping.
4) Smaller S. American Tank (Jack Dempsey, 1 Severum, 3 firemouths, other "dither" fish)
Pro - Lots of motion and variety.
Con - Worries about aggression, territorial disputes. Can't have plants.
I now see why so many of you have 2, 3, 4, or more tanks at home. It's so hard to decide on just one type of setup!!
Fortunately, all I've bought and put together is the stand. I haven't even bought the tank or any other dry goods yet. So, I still have plenty of time to think about it. Decisions, decisions.
More suggestions are welcome. Thanks for reading all this.
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That seems to be my best option right now for lots of color and motion without going too broke.
On a side note, where do you buy your aquarium livestock/drygoods Slappy? My wife and I just moved to Raleigh from Ft. Lauderdale a few weeks ago and I'm looking for some reputable places. Thanks.
well, i really love the discus, and am going to start a discus tank myself. I am also worried about the cost factor, but my honest plan is to purchase the discus last..... Im going to have a large group of tetras, a large group of corys, probably a plec or 2 (not the common type) a few otos and a lightly to moderatly planted aquariam. My plan is to set up the tank with adequate filtration and lighting first. After that i would then add the group of tetras, so the tank would no longer be bare 8). Then work in the co2 system as well as live plants and otos. Then add the corys and plecs. Then the discus and were all done 8)...... however im not planning on doing this in a short ammount of time.... and i do have a bit more tank space to work with that you... i have a 115g but you could do the same with a 75g, just lower the numbers.
Jay
Jay
Here's another option that lets you have all the live plants you want and no "sissy" fish.
2 angelfish or festivum
4 med peaceful cichlids (keyhole, curviceps, etc)
6 blue or Bolivian rams
a handful of cory cats
Setup with a couple of rockpiles (for spawning territories, just in case), a nice big piece of driftwood (or two) whatever plants you want. If anyone spawns, there'll be some localized plant trauma, but it shouldn't be devastating. Personally, I would probably add a school of tetras, maybe bleeding hearts, which would provide more "motion" and keep the wife happy.
2 angelfish or festivum
4 med peaceful cichlids (keyhole, curviceps, etc)
6 blue or Bolivian rams
a handful of cory cats
Setup with a couple of rockpiles (for spawning territories, just in case), a nice big piece of driftwood (or two) whatever plants you want. If anyone spawns, there'll be some localized plant trauma, but it shouldn't be devastating. Personally, I would probably add a school of tetras, maybe bleeding hearts, which would provide more "motion" and keep the wife happy.
