What are some interesting/pretty large freshwater fish?

[JiddleFish]

The 2 must haves that I have selected for my tank are 2 Discus, and I forgot to mention earlier, ... ghost catfish.. i really want a school of those.

So being as inexperienced as I am, what do i have room for, after that?? Thanks guys, I really appreciate your help. Something with a strong color, like oranges or reds or yellows. I love the red sword tail but apparently they arent compatible with the type of water Id need for a discus.??

ps- I went to that site you told me about, but Im not understanding what to do with it?

 

[RazzleFish]

Alright, the glass catfish perfer a strong-ish current in the tank but the discus will not be able to handle that.

As for AqAdvisor.com
Starting from the top:

-Name: you do not have to fill this out
-Dimension: This is a scroll down widow. Click on it then scroll down to your tank size. If you have a 55 then select 55g.
-The length depth and hight should auto-fill
-Click "update" This will refresh the page
-Now choose your filter(s)
-Click "update"
-Now it's time to select fish
-If you click on the button about half way down the page that says "display only species suitable for your tank" it will narrow the list to the fish you can have.
-Scroll through the list and select your first fish (lets say discus)
-Click once on it so it turns green
-Then go to the window that says "Quantity" (to the right of the list of fish)
-Type the number you wish to put in the tank and hit "Add"
-This will put those fish in your tank plan
-Repeat these steps until you get the desired numbers and types of fish.
-Now scroll down
-There is a "Recommended temperature range:" that will tell you what temp range to aim for.
-There is a "Recommended pH range:"
-And a "Recommended hardness range:"
-Under that it will tell you how much water you need to change....... IGNORE THIS. Do 50-75% weekly water changes.
-Then it will tell you your stocking level. This is the most important part. If your stocking level is over 100% go back to the fish selections and click on one of the fish on the right side and enter the number you wish to remove and click "remove"
-Once you are satisfied you can print the page or post a link here to make sure the compatability is alright.

It's a great site and a very useful tool but it is just a tool it does not always give warnings to fish compatability issues nor does it take into accout territorial issues so that is why it is important to review it here.

Good luck and have fun!

 

[JiddleFish]

Alright, the glass catfish perfer a strong-ish current in the tank but the discus will not be able to handle that.

As for AqAdvisor.com
Starting from the top:

-Name: you do not have to fill this out
-Dimension: This is a scroll down widow. Click on it then scroll down to your tank size. If you have a 55 then select 55g.
-The length depth and hight should auto-fill
-Click "update" This will refresh the page
-Now choose your filter(s)
-Click "update"
-Now it's time to select fish
-If you click on the button about half way down the page that says "display only species suitable for your tank" it will narrow the list to the fish you can have.
-Scroll through the list and select your first fish (lets say discus)
-Click once on it so it turns green
-Then go to the window that says "Quantity" (to the right of the list of fish)
-Type the number you wish to put in the tank and hit "Add"
-This will put those fish in your tank plan
-Repeat these steps until you get the desired numbers and types of fish.
-Now scroll down
-There is a "Recommended temperature range:" that will tell you what temp range to aim for.
-There is a "Recommended pH range:"
-And a "Recommended hardness range:"
-Under that it will tell you how much water you need to change....... IGNORE THIS. Do 50-75% weekly water changes.
-Then it will tell you your stocking level. This is the most important part. If your stocking level is over 100% go back to the fish selections and click on one of the fish on the right side and enter the number you wish to remove and click "remove"
-Once you are satisfied you can print the page or post a link here to make sure the compatability is alright.

It's a great site and a very useful tool but it is just a tool it does not always give warnings to fish compatability issues nor does it take into accout territorial issues so that is why it is important to review it here.

Good luck and have fun!

thank you so much for your help with that. I will play around.

That sucks about the ghost catfish, and the discus. They are together in a tank at the store, and they look so great together. I was going to buy all those ones in that tank, minus the one discus that hasnt paired up with the other two.

 

[RazzleFish]

Maybe look into cardinal tetras, diamond tetras, emperor tetras, black neon tetras (not a black color morph of the neon so it needs it's own school), black phantom tetras, and bleeding heart tetras. Those are about the most colorful or IMO the most attractive of the tetras.

 

[Omega]

What about a different kind of gourami that doesn't grow as big?

Clown loaches take a long time to grow, do they not? I wonder how long it would take them to get to a foot. Anyway, how about just a group of the kuhli loaches instead?

 

[Davey_8313]

Small clown loaches won't outgrow that tank for a while though. They might grow to 6" in a year if you're lucky and after that, their growth slows even more.

 

[GuppyGirl1230]

How big is your tank? I never saw you mention it and someone said 55 gallons.

If it is a 55, it will not work long term.

-The discus would be fine.
-The clowns get far to large (1 foot +) and are schooling fish so they need groups of 6+ fish.
-The kuhlis will do fine but they are schooling fish so groups of 6+
-I would skip the elephantnose. They get quite large (13 in) and will out grow your tank.
-Kissers are too big and too agressive.
-Depending on the kind of tetras you get they could work but just remember if it will fit in the mouth of a larger fish (discus) it WILL be eaten.

Why not do something along the lines of a SA theme?

You could do:
a pair of discus
a school of bigger tetras like bleeding heart tetras, black skirt tetras or lemon tetras
then do a school of cories or you could substitute them for the kuhlis

Also I second the AqAdvisor.com idea.

I agree with this 100%

 

[user_name]

I never knew that elephant noses got that big. My LFS buddy had me conviced that they grew to 6". LIES LIES LIES!

Anyways, I'm a fan on black neons and black skirts, and I love all corys. IMO corys are much more interesting then kuhli loaches.

 

[captaincaveman9]

What about a different kind of gourami that doesn't grow as big?

Clown loaches take a long time to grow, do they not? I wonder how long it would take them to get to a foot. Anyway, how about just a group of the kuhli loaches instead?

the problem with even mixing gourami, is that they most likely will still be aggressive to each other.

 

[Kristinann]

I agree that the clowns are too large, plus hey like bigger groups. Kuhlis also like groups, but would fit. The elephant nose is way to large. The discus should fi, I've got a friend that is HUGE into discus, knows a ton, he keeps his 6 in a 60 gallon, so your two should be fine.

You could do some dwarf cichlids. Most are South American, and so would like similar water. Some nice colorful ones are Bolivian Rams, German Blue rams, and Apistograma species. I myself am planning on getting a pair (or maybe a male and 2 female) apistograma cacatuoides, which are very colorful with reds color varieties and orange color varities. Kribs are also very colorful.

I think that the pair of discus, a pair of apistos or rams, and a school of neons would make a great South American tank.