Loosing my mind trying to decide

[HazMatt]

I recently moved and I only have room for one aquarium in this small apartment. I'm thinking about getting a 75 gallon aquarium (48" X 18" X 20") which would be the largest tank I've ever had. I've had a 55 gallon in the past. I'm in the same city so I assume the water will have the same parameters. Ph- 7.4, Gh- 9, Kh- 8

My dilemma is, I can't decide how to stock it. You can help me decide or, add to my growing headache.

Do I want...
Tiger barb community (a long time favorite of mine), possibly with zebra loaches (which I've never kept)
or,
Arulius barbs community (another long time favorite), I would want an equally colorful bottom feeder if one exists (suggestions welcome)
or,
Scores of tiny fish, CPDs and friends (never kept)
or,
Anglefish community (I've kept one "centerpiece" angel in the past). I prefer Marbled angels and would possibly keep with yo-yo loaches (kept before). I like the similar color scheme though I worry the yo-yos might nip the angel's fins.
or,
Buenos Aires (never kept) with gold line corys (never kept this specific Cory)
or,
Rummy nose Tetra with zebra Danio (never kept either) with some type of Cory.
or,
a hodgepodge of tigers barbs, Buenos Aires, loaches and corys (Asia meets South America)
or,
An Oscar (or other single large fish, suggestions welcome)
or,
Your suggestions


Edited to protect Rummy nose from possibly being nipped

 

[HazMatt]

How could I forget this option...

Pair of electric blue Jack Dempsey

 

[Colin_T]

Double tier stand and 2 tanks, one above the other.

Beunos aires tetras are fin nippers and should not be kept with smaller tetras like rummynose, cardinals, neons or other small tetras.

Tank of Australian and New Guinea rainbowfishes. There's heaps to choose from and more info at the following link.
http://rainbowfish.angfaqld.org.au/Melano.htm

And a coral reef tank

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On a side note, when you are online your avatar has a green dot above Pepe Le Pew's tail and the dot gets bigger. Looks like his tail is emanating odour

 

[HazMatt]

I've never been a fan of rainbows for some reason.

Hmm, I didn't think of the Buenos Aires nipping the Rummies. Nice catch.

The green dot is an unintentional bonus. It almost indicates the frequency of me passing gas. lol

 

[Colin_T]

What about a barb tank, ruby barbs, filament barbs, gold barbs, rainbow shark, Odessa barbs and a few corydoras

 

[HazMatt]

What about a barb tank, ruby barbs, filament barbs, gold barbs, rainbow shark, Odessa barbs and a few corydoras

Nice suggestion. Now you're adding to my headache.

 

[seangee]

CPD don't cope well with active fish or fish that are bigger than them, so your options for tank mates would be pretty limited. It would cost you a fortune on initial stocking to make a good display - I have 25 in a 15G

 

[HazMatt]

CPD don't cope well with active fish or fish that are bigger than them, so your options for tank mates would be pretty limited. It would cost you a fortune on initial stocking to make a good display - I have 25 in a 15G

Ive researched them an I think I'd keep them with bumblebee shrimp, rosy loaches and/or orange chela

This would definitely be an expensive setup. 20+ CPDs, another 20+ rosy loaches/orange chela and a dozen shrimp...ouch

 

[seangee]

Celestichthys erythromicron is another option (assuming you have done the research on water parameters). There is some debate over whether these would cross breed with CPD. I initially planned to put these in with my CPD in the nano but decided I would rather have a large group of a single species. Not a problem in a 75G though

 

[HazMatt]

The more I think about it, the more I narrow down the prospects. I want fish that are large enough to see from across the room. That eliminates the smaller fish. I also like lots of activity, that eliminates the one or two large fish idea.

This leaves me a few ideas but, I have a front runner in mind...
Arulius barbs with similarly sized loachs and some panda garra.

 

[Colin_T]

Arulius and rosy barbs, and a group of Botia lohachata

 

[HazMatt]

I like the idea of roseline/torpedo barbs also but, I've read conflicting info. Do they reach 4" or 6"+

 

[TekFish]

If you want mid-sized active fish, you want Barbs all the way. Tiger barbs especially come in a variety of colour morphs with the Wild and Green forms probably being the most common, but you can also get albino ones. As for the bottom, in a 75g, Clown Loaches are really nice, or even Corydoras if you're not worried about biotope or anything like that.

 

[Essjay]

As for the bottom, in a 75g, Clown Loaches are really nice

But not in a tank the size HazMatt has in mind. He is thinking of a 4 foot tank and clown loaches need 6 foot. http://www.seriouslyfish.com/species/chromobotia-macracanthus/

 

[HazMatt]

Clown loaches are beautiful fish but, they definitely grow too large for my future tank. I'm thinking more along the lines of zebra, reticulated or polka dot loaches.