Tripling tank size, fish suggestions?

eDavid

AC Members
Jun 20, 2012
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I'm back to the hobby after a couple decades, and quickly am close to going from the 40gallons bough a few months ago to a 125g, 6ft tank. I am currently packing community fish, cherry barbs, glofish tetras, a betta (my fav), couple ottos, 2 siamese algae eaters, and some neons, which could go to the new owner of my old tank.
I want a happy tank most of all. I'd love to hear any suggestions on some colorful fish, larger/centerpiece type fish (I would love that) Help me fill my space with some groovieness, but keep it a happy place :)

Also, I read a few notions that rainbow cichlids would be ok solo, is this true? I know angelfish would be unkind to my betta, shame, but I want to keep him so they are out.

Lay your wisdom on me :)
 
Unless I have to give away my betta to a good home if it totally blocks all my options. I love the little guy though, he's my only fish with an individual personality, vs the schoolers
 
I've said this a couple of times before, so forgive me if I sound like a broken record, but a 125 gal tank would make a superb showpiece and home for up to a dozen good-sized, high personality, discus, along with a couple of reasonably-sized schools of other fish, e.g. Cardinals, Rummy-Noses, Lemon Tetras, Cories, that is if your wallet allows you to do that.
This album of pics may give you a little inspiration:

http://s1105.photobucket.com/albums/h357/discuspaul/lolliblues2

Hard to tell I'm a discus lover, huh ? LOL
 
Those are gorgeous discuspaul, and honestly I was hard looking at discus today, they are gorgeous and peaceful, but they seem to need much higher temperature than the rest of my fish. What would I do with them all?
 
You did say in your first post that your existing fish could go to the new owner of your old tank.
Having said that, some of your fish could co-exist happily with discus, as well as tolerate the higher discus temp, say 82 to 84F.
The glofish tetras and the cherry barbs could work out ok, as could the Otos and the SAE's.
At times though, some Otos & SAE's, as they get larger and lazier, could possibly take a liking to discus' slime coats as part of their diet, so you need to be careful with those - observing them carefully at first. Doesn't happen very often, but it can.
Neons do not fare well at discus temps (but Cardinals do), and neons can become snacks for discus.
As for the Betta, I know of some discus-keepers who have successfully kept a Betta with Discus, but generally, a Betta may be intimidated and harassed by Discus - it happens. Try it, see how it works out. If it doesn't, you could keep him in a separate bowl though, if you don't want to part with him.
Does this help your thinking?
 
So everything but the neons can take that temp? I can pawn a few fish off to the new owner (brotherinlaw) but he wants to create his own tank naturally, not fill it with fish i've chosen. Those discus do look glorious. Expensive! Do you buy them online? How many do you need?
 
Just a small qualifier - most of those fish can readily tolerate the higher discus temp, particularly if it's not over 82-83, which is quite ok for discus. It MAY tend to shorten the lives of some fish, but not to a great degree - the Otos & SAE's in particular, would have no problem with that temp. As would many species of Tetras - to repeat: Cardinals, Rummy-Noses, and Lemon Tetras, or even Rasboras, should be just fine. And as would GBR's and most Cories.
Getting back to discus, the most important thing to ensure success with them is to get reasobaly good-sized fish (say juvies at least 3" or larger) from a well-known, experienced, reliable & reputable source (not usually a LFS), to ensure you are getting good quality, healthy, well-shaped fish.
These can be had on line from a number of high quality suppliers, air-shipped to you, or from local, reputable, quality breeders. A little research will point you in the right direction (e.g. sponsors on simplydiscus.com) - I could name several for you if need be.
You could start out with as few as 5 or 6, say 3.5" juvies, which can be obtained for around $30. - $40. each or so, or slightly smaller ones from a good breeder for around $20.-$25.
5 is the minimum number suggested to start off with, to ensure social compatability, and minimum 'pecking order' agression issues.
Hope this helps.
 
Thanks discus! I would be interested in discus. Are they still hard to keep? I have read conflicting information. The idea of something so big gorgeous and peaceful seems perfect. Could you tell me the sites of some online sellers that you think are reliable? Can you mix colors, or would that constitute a different group in the tank?
 
82-83 is fine, they require a little more effort than your average fish but they are wonderful. If you start with juvenile ones it requires a lot of feeding and cleaning but I think it is quite the rewarding experience
 
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