Looking to add new more interesting fish

[caliskier]

I just found a 125 gallon tank and stand at a garage sale and wanted to do saltwater but after realizing the cost I will probably stay freshwater. My current setup is a 55 gallon tank with:

1 - 8” pleco
2 – bala sharks
2 – tiger barbs
5 – clown loaches
2 – leporinus fasciatus
1 – bicher
1- rainbow shark

Does anyone have any suggestions on some more active interesting fish that I could add? Maybe something that most stores don’t carry, that you have to special order? I am looking for a fish that has personality, it seams like there aren’t many out there.

 

[xxSarahxx]

So is this tank going to be non-connected to your 55gallon?
Active fish could include...harlequins, and a varietu of tetras...there'a recent post all about a large planted tank with mainly tetras in and it looks stunning...worth a thought maybe? You could get some stunning fish like congo tetra too - long finned though so be careful!

 

[colen]

Have you every kept any african cichlids before? There are many options if you choose that route.

 

[caliskier]

Cichlids, I'm glad you brought that up. I have always liked the small bright blue ones, but the store owners have always warned me to not get them because they will kill my fish. But now I have a 125 gallon tank, won’t that be big enough space to keep those guys cool and calm? Besides that, most of my fish are 3” plus in length.

That other post, I will look for it, but incase I can’t find it can you provide it, I am interested in seeing what it says.

 

[fish_keeper2]

what you could do is transfer all the fish from the 55 gal to the 125 gal and get more TBs as they like to be in a school, and i beileve balas are schooling too so maybe a few more of those...BTW what are leporinus fasciatus

as for the 55 then you could make that into a african cichlid tank. personaly i like yellow labs, those blueish purple kennyi, and this albino verity that my lfs cariies(its name is snow m.... sc.... i cant remeber the whole name)

as for aditions to the fish you already have: maybe an eclispe catfish, moss and albino tiger barbs.....im not sure whats compatible with those guys so i cant help much there


lucky....u get to have a 55 and a 125 gal ........lol just joking

 

[caliskier]

leporinus fasciatus is a black and yellow striped fish, it is long and narrow I bought it when it was 1 1/2 inches long, now 8" long.

Can small cichlids get along with my other fish in the 125 gallon?

For cheep big tanks, search garage sales, people don't know what they have. I passed over 2 55 gall tanks with stands a couple of weeks ago. Both were $50. Wish I would have bought and fixed them up, could have sold them for $150 each.

 

[Jephex]

i think it would be great to let your pleco grow huge and then throw him in the 125 gallon...but id throw some cool plants in there, make it look good, and then maybe throw a few red oscars and maybe a few other larger growing fish...cool stuff man

 

[pseud]

Out of interest, how much did you pay for the 125 gallon and stand?

 

[Fishy411]

dude you have a SERIOUS problem with all your tanks unless you have a 300 gallon your not telling us about.

balas need to be kept in schools of at least 3. get to 10-12" not good in a 55.

clown loaches get to a foot. you have 5 in a 4 foot tank.

depending on which bichir you get it can be 12" or much more.

the pleco is probly gonna get around a foot or more like most plecs.
leporinus are schooling fish. you need at least 3. they get to a foot

you have around 120 inches of fish in a 55 gallon tank. your supposed to have no more than 1 inch of fish per gallon. you have 2+ inches of fish. you should put all your big fish in the 125. its about the right size and you cant really add any more to it but youre fish will be in an adequate environment.

 

[freddyk]

Should you decide to go with cichlids, make sure you start looking into them - they are an incredibly diverse group of cichlids that require incredibly diverse needs. There are some that would go with your current fish, but most certainly not anything from the African Rift Lakes. The 125 offers lots of opportunity though, keeping in mind that "throwing in a bunch of large growing cichlids" is a good opportunity for disaster!


Africans like the blue ones you are probably referring to are very aggressive, very active, and share absolutely nothing in common with other fish and most other types of cichlids, Even among the same types of cichlid from the same lake you'll find species that are incompatible. They are very rewarding fish to keep, but the tank and tankmates must be planned around them. The 55 and 125 can both be used for them.

 

[caliskier]

dude you have a SERIOUS problem with all your tanks unless you have a 300 gallon your not telling us about.

balas need to be kept in schools of at least 3. get to 10-12" not good in a 55.

clown loaches get to a foot. you have 5 in a 4 foot tank.

depending on which bichir you get it can be 12" or much more.

the pleco is probly gonna get around a foot or more like most plecs.
leporinus are schooling fish. you need at least 3. they get to a foot

you have around 120 inches of fish in a 55 gallon tank. your supposed to have no more than 1 inch of fish per gallon. you have 2+ inches of fish. you should put all your big fish in the 125. its about the right size and you cant really add any more to it but youre fish will be in an adequate environment.

[snapback]865347[/snapback]​

Yes, I realize all these things. Note that Clowns take forever to grow that long. They are some of the slowest growing fish, 4 are 2” one is 3”. Also the bicher is only 5” long along with one of the bala sharks the other is 2”. Yes they need to be in schools of three, however one of them exited my holding tank when I was moving the larger tank and we lost him. You should know that you do not have to have a larger tank if the fish aren’t full grown yet. Keep that in mind before you go out and buy something you do not need. Here is a website that will help you.

http/fins.actwin.com/index.php

 

[caliskier]

Out of interest, how much did you pay for the 125 gallon and stand?

[snapback]865338[/snapback]​

$100 I searched a long time for one not wanting to spend a whole bunch of money, as I didn’t need it with my fish the size that they are. Mostly eBay on my lunch break at work, but that only yielded high prices at distant locations. I recently turned to garage sales. This tank included the stand lights and two Emperor 400 filters.

 

[caliskier]

Should you decide to go with cichlids, make sure you start looking into them - they are an incredibly diverse group of cichlids that require incredibly diverse needs. There are some that would go with your current fish, but most certainly not anything from the African Rift Lakes. The 125 offers lots of opportunity though, keeping in mind that "throwing in a bunch of large growing cichlids" is a good opportunity for disaster!

[snapback]865353[/snapback]​

I don't know very much about cichlids, can you name any species in particular that would not cause problems?

Africans like the blue ones you are probably referring to are very aggressive, very active, and share absolutely nothing in common with other fish and most other types of cichlids, Even among the same types of cichlid from the same lake you'll find species that are incompatible. They are very rewarding fish to keep, but the tank and tankmates must be planned around them. The 55 and 125 can both be used for them.

[snapback]865353[/snapback]​

Really, I was afraid of that, I will have to do some research then. I was actually thinking of selling off the 55, maybe I should reconsider. Thanks, for the input!

 

[Fishy411]

dude you have a SERIOUS problem with all your tanks unless you have a 300 gallon your not telling us about.

balas need to be kept in schools of at least 3. get to 10-12" not good in a 55.

clown loaches get to a foot. you have 5 in a 4 foot tank.

depending on which bichir you get it can be 12" or much more.

the pleco is probly gonna get around a foot or more like most plecs.
leporinus are schooling fish. you need at least 3. they get to a foot

you have around 120 inches of fish in a 55 gallon tank. your supposed to have no more than 1 inch of fish per gallon. you have 2+ inches of fish. you should put all your big fish in the 125. its about the right size and you cant really add any more to it but youre fish will be in an adequate environment.

[snapback]865347[/snapback]​

Yes, I realize all these things. Note that Clowns take forever to grow that long. They are some of the slowest growing fish, 4 are 2” one is 3”. Also the bicher is only 5” long along with one of the bala sharks the other is 2”. Yes they need to be in schools of three, however one of them exited my holding tank when I was moving the larger tank and we lost him. You should know that you do not have to have a larger tank if the fish aren’t full grown yet. Keep that in mind before you go out and buy something you do not need. Here is a website that will help you.

http/fins.actwin.com/index.php

[snapback]865379[/snapback]​

ok you dont NEED a tank big enough for the full grown fish but its a bad idea to not have one. what if something happens and you cant get a bigger tank. you have a 5" bichir that should be growing around an inch every month. and banded leporinus are some of the most aggressive fish ive ever seen. and some of the most active. i still recommend putting the fish you have ion the 125 because most cichlids do NOT tolerate new tankmates well. my Nw cichlids are the most passive species possible and they still get into liplock fights and go after my new fish. i've had 2 angels and a bichir killed before i could even get the net out to rescue them. so i'd recommend putting the fish you have in the 125 first. and then anything else you put in there would just be overstocking

 

[Irishlax627]

Some African Cichlids Ive had success with the past are
Electric Yellow Cichlids and Bumble Bee's both are not extreamly aggressive and dont get excessivly big.