[QuoVadis]

So I just found someone on craigslist who is willing to trade a "150g cube tank" for my 72g bowfront. It's 48"x 30" (well he said 48" x 36" - , but if so it is bigger than 150 gallons he said it was, more like a 180). It's not a 100% yet, but it looks like it will work out. I am very excited because I had been setting up a 55g for an Elephant nose fish, but I really wanted to keep a group of them because in nature they school and have very complex social structures. This will give me the space to keep 7 or 8 of them. It also is big enough that I can keep one of my other dream fish, a fire eel.

Any other ideas? I'll probably just do a few other more medium size fish, so I don't over load the tank. Any ideas of peaceful, slower fish that fit that bill? I know this is early on, but I am very excited!!

 

[QuoVadis]

No ideas?

 

[adive]

No ideas?

Do lookup rainbow fish - you can go for a group of the relatively bigger types as in red irians (g. incisus), bosemani, etc. You can mix various types of bows. 15-20 of them should be just fine in that big a tank.

 

[QuoVadis]

Well, update, I found out it is definitely bigger than a 150g. He says it is 48" long x 32" wide x 48" tall (!!!). That's 320g!! I still have to confirm this in person, but if it is, and IF it fits through my doors - I have an old house- it will be plenty big for pretty much whatever I want to put in it! Haha. Maybe a big school of EN, a fire eel, some ropefish, Rosaline barbs, a big school of pearl gouramis, and some festivum? The eels are nice because even though they get HUGE, they are pretty much safe with anything over 4-5in, in my understanding.

Any other big, but gentle stock ideas? I like rainbows, but I wonder if they will just be too aggressive of feeders for the EN and fire eel. My turquoise rainbows are eating champs!

Either way though, that would be a sweet tank!!

 

[umarnasir335]

I would be wary of putting any fish smaller than 3 inches since Elephant nose fish can get around 8-9 inches. Try to maybe go for emperor tetras, bosemanis (as stated above), and my personal favorites, Rosaline Sharks/ Torpedo barbs.

You can probably get away with larger gouramis or a pair of golden/ german blue rams as well. Basically anything that can either bolt away or prevent a size disadvantage since these fish can get territorial.

 

[HybridHerp]

elephant nose? yes
fire eel? ever more yes

why not try looking into ctnepoma and other interesting oddball fish? sure, pearl gouramis and rainbows could work, but I kind of like the idea of doing odd things.

I'm almost required to tell you to add congo tetras, just because african tetra and they are absolutely one of my favorite fish.

Just research how to house a group of elephant nose...I've heard they can be aggressive with their own kind in smaller tanks but something tells me a group of 8 would be fine.

Sydontis cats would probably also be cool...no idea how they would do with more peaceful cichlids like angels or festivums or whatnot.

Look into upper jaw bichirs and rope fish maybe, for the whole african and oddball thing. Butterfly fish seem cool for those reasons as well...although if the tank is a few hundred gallons....maybe that'd be the time to go really big and look into an arrowana?

Is this tank going to be planted as well? I DEMAND to see pics of this tank as it is being set up, because this sounds like its going to be one sexy tank man.

 

[QuoVadis]

So i waiting to hear back from him on the exact measurements, because either he is very off on his guestimate measurements or very off on how many gallons it is. I really hope ot is less than 30" wide because if its not I cannot fit it through my door, which would kilI me. But my for sures are:

7-15 Elephantnose (how many depends on how big the tank actually is ~1 per 20gallons)
1 Fire eel *or* Dayi/favus eel, if I can find one.

On the table:
School of Denisons barbs, aka rosalines
6-10 Pearl gouramis (Ive always loved them, but could never keep more than a pair even though they shoal)
3 ish ropefish, if there is room
Festivums (how many?)
Real African leaf fish?
Leopard fake leaf fish? (heard mixed things on them)
Some plecos or SAEs?
Id love a suggesting for a PEACEFUL(ish) cichlid that gets pretty big. I kind of like Oscars but they are too big for what I want, and too potentially aggressive. Ideas?
Any more oddball ideas? I love them generally!

I dont want to do rainbows, because they are too active, and not the mysterious vibe I want for this tank. No bichirs though I like them, because Ive heard too many aggression stories. No synos, because I dont want the compition for food on the bottom.

 

[lauraleellbp]

Ropefish and eels are escape artists and will eat everything they can fit into their mouths. And have big mouths.

Leaf fish are generally very shy/reclusive, have very specialized water and feeding needs, and best for species-only tanks.

There aren't very many larger cichlids that are appropriate for planted community tanks. Most will eat the plants, dig up the plants, and/or eat the other fish.

Would you plant this tank? Lighting will be very challenging on a tank this large and deep.

If you don't plant it, there are several larger Geophagus species that are off the beaten path that I would be really tempted by... http://www.bing.com/images/search?q...AE167D5A9BE1C6337972B2CBF66BC11F6&FORM=IQFRBA

 

[QuoVadis]

Well, I am going to see/pick up the tank tomorrow, but he says after measuring it that it is 48x28x48, but I still have a hard time thinking it is actually that tall. Either way, it is a tall aquarium and I think I will just do lots of hardscape and surface/floating plants. Yeah, I know the eels and ropefish escape, but as far as eating things they will, but nothing very big considering how big they are.

 

[QuoVadis]

How peaceful are Geophagus?

 

[lauraleellbp]

Roasaline barbs would be awfully expensive snacks.

 

[HybridHerp]

oscars are pretty peaceful man, so are chocolate cichlids and blood parrots

I find the thing with cichlids is that you'd want a balance of power between cichlids...a single cichlid of any kind might become a bully but have like 6 individuals and the aggression is spread between them and creates a steady balance of power.

Geos are nice, super nice in fact, you could probably just do all geophagus and be fine. I wouldn't do an oscar with ropes though, just out of fear of the oscar thinking the rope is a worm and trying to eat it. Bichirs aren't all that aggressive, I have them in my tank, but you gotta get the smaller species like delheizi and senegalensis, they stay under a foot long generally and have smaller mouths, meaning they will eat less.

I think, btw, that the eel with plants won't end well just cause most eels like to dig. So that is something worth potentially noting. The african leaf fish (ctnepoma) are super slow growers btw, so its something you'd want to grow out or get first. They are nice looking fish though, and pretty passive in general. If doing pleco's, can't go wrong with some bristle nose pleco varieties....medusa's are larger, rarer, and pretty sweet looking if you can find them.

Festivums are nice...maybe you would want to do a thing like a pair of festivum and a pair of geophagus and then a pair or single of a larger cichlid like a chocolate or something? AN oscar will probably be a digger on second thought so maybe avoid it...or just do more geophagus as one can never have enough geos.

Pearl gourami are nice though, I have 6, you can totally handle 6-10. I'd suggest doing either an even split of male to female, or doing 2 females to every male, I feel it helps bring out the males color. And don't forget about those congo tetras...they might be a little more active but I find its nice having some sort of active group fish amongst cichlids. Seriously, I would suggest looking at my 75 thread, I might be able to give you better opinions and experience related ideas since I'm into the same kinds of fish as you (it seems to me anyways). I started the hobby learning from MFK and being into the bigger fish, oddballs, and cichlids, then worked my way towards plants and have decided to try combining the two schools of aquaria into one super awesome idea.

tl:dr you have a TON of options, and I am getting way too excited FOR you

 

[umarnasir335]

I hope this tank goes well for you, but I am going to be BRUTALLY honest here:

The fish that you suggested and the mere idea that you want to keep such a large and deep tank planted will pose a lot of problems for you.

Your fish choices are also unrealistic. Heck, if I could have it my way, I would love some dwarf gouramis with my bettas, but that is simply NOT going to happen. You need to evaluate whether you can even add smaller fish with elephant noses and eels (which will dig up most of your plants) and pose problems for all smaller, schooling fish. An oscar might just exacerbate this problem: you'll be introducing fish from different parts of the world and once that oscar gains size, it'll be a guessing game on who gets attacked first.


From the get-go, your stocking options are looking troublesome. Like someone else said, forget the elephant fish and eel, and instead go for 2 pairs of Geos with 3+ inch fish such as gouramis. I have to warn you that you will need A LOT of light if the tank is actually 3 or even 4 feet tall.

 

[adive]

Always love the pearl gouramis. A group looks great. But as pointed above, dont know anything about their compatibility with eels and ele noses....

If you want the relatively bigger fish, how about evaluating blue acaras too?

 

[QuoVadis]

To be clear, I am NOT planting this tank, only growing frogbit, water lettuce, hyacinth, salvia, etc. on the surface. Also the EN especially and the fire eel are what I am basing my decisions on. I am very familiar with their care, especially the EN, and they are my "for sure" species. I am getting this tank specifically so I can keep a group of EN in a tank dedicated to them, with a few other selected species. So they are not going, any species that dont' work with them I wont have. And both ENs and eels have very small mouths for their size. They eat mostly wormy, invertebrate stuff in nature. I know the EN would be fine with anything over 2inches, and I have heard the eel will be ok with anything over 4-5inches.

 

[QuoVadis]

If you want the relatively bigger fish, how about evaluating blue acaras too?

I actually really like blue acaras, but I thought they'd be too aggressive. Any thoughts? I will be adding the EN first so they can get established and eating before I add competition, but still EN are pretty defenseless, thought they are territorial with each other if not kept in large groups.

As far as Oscars, again, I am not going to do Oscars, I know they are peaceful for their size, but when they are so big and as adults get more territorial, so there is just too much a chance they will hurt the eel or ENs.


I like they idea of chocolate cichlids, are they more peaceful than Oscars would you say, and do they stay a bit smaller?

 

[HybridHerp]

Chocolates get the same size as oscars tbh

Maybe look in MFK, people there would have more experience than most here with elephant nose fish.

 

[adamprice271]

Geophagus are typically pretty peaceful. Altifranz, and surrinemensis, for sure, blazoni have been pretty mean from what I've seen. I really like the satanoperca daemon but they can be pretty tough to keep long term. A nice tank like that would make me want a stingray instead of a fire eel, but it is your tank!

 

[QuoVadis]

Well, I looked at it, and its actual dimensions are 48"x24"x31" = 155g. It is pretty scratched up, so Im torn as to whether to get it or not. Im going o see if he will take my 55g instead of my 72g because it is kind of beat up.

@adamprice271. I do love string rays, but with only being 4ft long I thought it would be too small. Dont even teacup stringrays get huge, and obviously not just long but wide?

 

[QuoVadis]

I looked up geophagus altifrons amd I am im love! Definitely doing them!