Planning On Building Super Oddball Tank

[mark7616]

That tank will be a piece of crap 8ft long is great but 18" deep is useless it will look stupid for one and limits you as the fish will be swimming round one another with no space to go over or under.

 

[odettebottier]

Omgosh you lucky girl! when i was 13 i didn't even have one oddball! i only had common little schoolers and goldfish in 10g! and they finally got me one senegal bichir in 29 gallon tank when i was 14! wow, if i can get a tank like that now i'd be happy. i wish i was as lucky as you! and good luck! :]

p.s. always use subtrate, barebottom just seem wrong. :]

peace

p.p.s. i love how you love oddballs!

xoxo

 

[GobyMaster]

That tank will be a piece of crap 8ft long is great but 18" deep is useless it will look stupid for one and limits you as the fish will be swimming round one another with no space to go over or under.

I've been looking some more after figuring out that that tank is only 1.5" high, I've done some more searching, and found a 300 gallon (yes, I know I changed it again), same price as the 225, but 8x2x2.5'. It's a little bigger, and I think that it'll work. I'm still thinking about stocking a 300 at the moment, but I'll update soon.

Omgosh you lucky girl! when i was 13 i didn't even have one oddball! i only had common little schoolers and goldfish in 10g! and they finally got me one senegal bichir in 29 gallon tank when i was 14! wow, if i can get a tank like that now i'd be happy. i wish i was as lucky as you! and good luck! :]

p.s. always use subtrate, barebottom just seem wrong. :]

peace

p.p.s. i love how you love oddballs!

xoxo

I'm a dude. . . . . .

 

[§tudz]

I've been looking some more after figuring out that that tank is only 1.5" high

Thats one shallow tank

/me knows whats it like to dream and this thread is becoming more and more a dreamer thread...

your changing your mind about the tank constantly, and my point arises again about getting bored of fish... lol.

I am starting to doubt your comments and your edging into trolling me thinks

 

[Lhutch]

your 13 and your spending thousands on fishtanks?,im 16 and i think you should save for a car then putting a fishtank in your basement,i love being an aquariast but im drawing the line at any tank bigger then a 70gal

 

[GobyMaster]

I've been looking some more after figuring out that that tank is only 1.5" high

Thats one shallow tank

/me knows whats it like to dream and this thread is becoming more and more a dreamer thread...

your changing your mind about the tank constantly, and my point arises again about getting bored of fish... lol.

I am starting to doubt your comments and your edging into trolling me thinks

The reason I'm changing my mind constantly is that I'm simply looking for the best big aquarium for the least expensive price! And I'm not getting bored of fish! I'm getting bored of everyone saying that I can't get this tank, that what I want in my tank isn't what you think will look cool. See why I'm getting a little annoyed? Has it ever occurred to you guys that maybe the fish that I've listed are fish that I want? I don't care if you think that the fish I want will get ugly. Keep those comments to yourself, please.

Now so far, this 300 is the best option as it's big, and it's fairly inexpensive, so I've decided to go with that one for now as it's really what I want to do. Now my main question is about a fish I want to get.

Would a Clown Knifefish be fine in a tank of this size (if you forgot from a earlier post, it's 96x24x30"), or would I be better off getting a Black Ghost Knifefish? Now, I know that Clown Knifes are very aggressive fish, but would they get along fine with the Silver Dollars and Redhooks, or would they try to eat them? What should I feed them? In the fact sheet here, it says to feed them parts of fish. At my LFS, they have some frozen whole fish that are about 4-5" long, intended for larger groupers, arowanas, and small sharks. Would those work, or are they too big? What sort of decorations should I have in a tank with Clown Knifes? Sand or gravel substrate? Should I have rock caves, plants, and bogwood? In a book I have it says that Clown Knifes should be kept in a tank decorated with lots of roots and caves with sparse to medium plants. But, most of the stuff I've read in the book turns out to be wrong information pointed out by you guys, so I thought that I'd be better safe than sorry. Also, are Clown Knifes solitary of can two or three be kept in an 8 foot tank with enough territory? Thanks for any answers in advance.

Also, I was thinking about a different species of Bichir. Maybe Ornate or Armored? Would my other fish get along fine with one of the bichirs I've just listed? I'm mainly worried about the Ornate Bichir if I get it. I've read that they are extremely aggressive, and shouldn't be kept with small fish. Does that kick the Silver Dollars and Redhooks off the stocking list? Would the Ornates still be able to tackle the frozen fish (thawed, of course), or would they most likely choke? Armoreds are pretty attractive fish, too, but I'm sure that both of them would not get along well in a tank of even this size. Which bichir would be easier to keep? Would either of them go after Clown Loaches?

Now, I've come to my stocking list:

• Either Clown or Black Ghost Knifefish x2 or 3
• Ornate or Armored Bichir x1
• Silver Dollar x8
• Redhook x10
• L128 Blue Phantom Pleco x1
• L200 Green Phantom Pleco x1
• Needle Nose Gar x1
• Maybe Clown Loach x7

Would those fish live peacefully together?

Also, would Silver Dollars and Redhooks school together?

Thank you for all answers in advance!

GobyMaster

Edit 1: Hey, Lhutch you posted while I was working on my post, so I didn't see that you posted. Let me clarify: I'm not earning up all $3,000, I should have explained. This is going to be a family project, so everyone in my family will be earning up money. So, if I'm doing the math right, I only need to earn up $850, not several thousand. Sorry for my confusing choice of words.

 

[§tudz]

Pictures speak louder than words... so here we go...

 

[GobyMaster]

Pictures speak louder than words... so here we go...

What do you mean

GobyMaster

 

[§tudz]

What do you mean

GobyMaster

My point exactly

 

[GobyMaster]

Huh?? Your point is that it's easy to confuse me? WTF man! What do you mean by what do you mean is your point!!!!!!??

GobyMaster

 

[Maximus]

Pictures speak louder than words... so here we go...

 

[pica_nuttalli]

96x24x30"

Now, I've come to my stocking list:

• Either Clown or Black Ghost Knifefish x2 or 3
• Ornate or Armored Bichir x1
• Silver Dollar x8
• Redhook x10
• L128 Blue Phantom Pleco x1
• L200 Green Phantom Pleco x1
• Needle Nose Gar x1
• Maybe Clown Loach x7

Let's do an exercise in visualization:

• 2 Clown Knives/ BGK = 2 24" fish
• Ornate Bichir = 15" fish
• 8 Silver Dollar = 8 5" fish
• 10 Redhooks = 10 5" fish
• Needle Nose Gar = at least 12" (did we ever get a scientific name for this one?)
• 7 Clown Loaches = 7 8" fish (clowns are slow growers, so lets offer a little benefit of the doubt)

sum total length: 221" (i omitted the plecos because they'll be hiding most of the time anyways)

with this stocklist (containing many bulky fish), you could literally fill the entire length of the tank with nose-to-tail fish more than twice over. does that sound like very much swimming room? the tank will be overstocked, especially when you consider the needs of the territorial clowns and bichir.

this is what i would recommend for a stocklist:

• Black Ghost Knifefish x3
• Silver Dollar x7
• Redhook x7
• L128 Blue Phantom Pleco x1
• L200 Green Phantom Pleco x1

this is why i would recommend it:

• BGK are smaller and more even-tempered than clown knives, but they're also a bit shy. you should get a better response from them by omitting highly active fish (like clown loaches) and aggressive fish (like the ornate bichir)
• the silver dollars and redhooks should be great dither fish, but you don't have to add so many to get a proper schooling response
• i'm just not sure about the needlenose in general. i almost seem to recall that its a brackish water fish.
• those are nice plecs, but i recall them being fairly slow growers. unless you can get find larger adult specimens, i wouldn't mix them with toothy ground predators such as bichirs or clown knives.
• the stocklist that i've suggested should give you some physical room to add more fish over time. it's much easier to buy fish than it is to return them. so i would recommend that you start out slow.

have you given any consideration to filtration and lighting for this tank? decent canister filters can get pretty pricey... and hood/lighting costs are miserable.

 

[cheesy feet]

Goodluck on it will be awsome if it's set up...Not as awsome as my 270 though

Oh, yeah?

Since I've upped the tank size to a 240, I've done some re-thinking about the stocking:

• Black Ghost Knifefish x1
• Silver Dollar x5
• Redhook x8
• Surniame Geo x4
• Senegal Bichir x1 Pair
• L128 Blue Phantom Pleco x1
• L200 Green Phantom Pleco x1
• Needle Nose Gar x1
• Green Terror x1 Pair
• Clown Loach x8

What do you think?

GobyMaster

Yupo it will still be nicer ...imo.My 270gal only cost 200 pounds.

 

[nano]

I suggest starting out with and sticking with a tank size ....
then choosing a centerpiece fish / or fish(plural)
such as redhooks or silv dollars

and then filters/hood/lighting etc.

and then working ur stock around the centerpiece.


Because what ur doing right now (no offense) is making everyone angry by switching tank sizes and stocks every other post trying to make this thread go on forever, when u said ur actually gonna be getting the tank next year.
No one posts 1 year in ahead in so much detail ... with the stock etc.

And anyways in my opinion its much more fun when u get the tank and havent decided on most of the stock.

 

[-germ-]

Pictures speak louder than words... so here we go...

Agreed.