Single Species For A 6X2X2 180G?

[Rust]

Hi folks, i sold all of my cichlids and other oddballs to make my 6x2x2 a planted geophagus tank...but ive now decided that setup looks smarter in my 3fter lol...so i now have an empty 6ft...

I would prefer either one fish, or a couple of large fish...
Im not 100% sure on these, so please feel free to put your input in...
Filtration is a FX5 and a 300w and 200w heater..sandy bottom...2 x 5ft glo light tubes (unsure of wattage tho) weekly water changes preformed...i needs to be a spectacular fish as the tank is right in the middle of my living room lol...so let me know what you think of the following, i know a few i will either have to upgrade or sell in the future:

> Red tail giaint gourami?
> Redtail catfish (yep gets big, eats lots, will scare my girlfriend and ill have to sell later on)
> Tiger shovelnose catfish (same as above, not quiet as big tho)
> Mbu Puffer?
> Perruno catfish?
> Arownanas??
> Large Snakehead(s)?

Im stuck for ideas tbh....im easy going....let me no what ideas you have, its boring looking at a fish tank with just water lol

Thanks

 

[MOW4T]

young group of green terrors? see if u can get a pair formed

 

[nmonks]

A tank this size is a cracking project. I was lucky enough to maintain two such tanks while at university, and kept all sorts of things in them.

As for your selections. I'd strike the mbu puffer. They're sensitive, sometimes aggressive, and eventually become too large for tanks this size and almost impossible to rehome properly. On the catfish front, I'd look at Sorubim lima, probably the best "big cat" in the trade. It is the perfect size for this aquarium, and you could keep a group of them as well, which will result in more settled, more outgoing specimens. They are very hardy, peaceful towards stuff they can't swallow whole, and not expensive. I can't honestly see any of your other choices being better.

Small snakehead species like Channa stewarti are certainly options. Do review the Wildwoods selection for example; Keith routinely gets in some cracking small to medium sized species that are fairly peaceful if kept with sensible tankmates.

A really good selection might be 3 x Sorubim lima, a pair of showpiece (friendly!) cichlids like Hypselecara temporalis or Rotkeil Severums, and a school of dither fish that would encourage the catfish and cichlids to swim about in the open. Silver dollars are the obvious choices, but anything of similar size and shape would be fine, Red-hook Metynnis for example. In a tank this size you could keep 10 or 12 such schooling fish, which would mean they would school together properly, and the contrast between the silver characins and the colourful cichlids would be amazing.

That's a South American theme, but you could add a bichir species like Polypterus palmas if you wanted an oddball. A school of freshwater archers (Toxotes microlepis) would be just as good as the Silver Dollars for use as dither fish.

Decorate with big boulders and some driftwood, add a few clumps of Indian fern for shade, maybe some giant Vallisneria around the edges, and some centrepiece Java fern mother plants, and off you go!

Cheers, Neale

 

[KittyKat]

What about large Rift Lake cichlids? Champsochromis caeruleus for example and a school of large Syno. cats?

I would argue that your tank is too small for redtail catfish (even short-term), tiger shovelnose and arownanas, while the rest are really on the limit of what that tank will take (given that they will reach their full potential).. although, I have to admit, the puffer, gourami and Perruno catfish all sound cool.

If the tank was my own and this was a year ago, I would have popped my green terrors in there and added a school of large, rareish plecos to breed.

 

[holidayinn]

Considered a pair of SA/CA cichlids? I.e. Vieja, Festae, Parachromis species? Can be very interesting.

 

[dave_oddballs]

rust, do you not like the pink tailed characin you saw in my tank? im not selling it lol im just suggesting them as a group in your tank, they look absolutely stunning in a group, bright silver with the bright pink/red tails look amazing. they stay around the top, mine barely ever goes more than a few inch's from the surface so you'd need som middle dwelling fish, as mentioned severums would be good, big enough to be a centre piece but not too big for the tank, id recommend rotkeils, i have 10 at the moment growing on and 1 pair (if and when thy form) will be going into my big tank. and for the bottom maybe a smaller SA catfish, jaguar cats are stunning and will live in your tank for life, not cheap but by no means expensive on average around £40-£50, or a plec or 2? if you could get a nice one like L024 or L025 or similar that would be stunning.
so a group of around 6 pink tailed characins, a pair of rotkeil severums, a jaguar catfish and a nice plec! perfect! lol
i find in tanks that are in constant view, i.e. in a living room if the fish in them have a common colour, like the characins with the pink/red tail, severums (or the mentioned red hook dollars) with their red markings and especially if you could get a L025 with its bright red markings would look stunning!

 

[Rust]

Thanks for the replys guys, im really after a single large fish, or a large catfish and mid/ top dwelling fish...ive had severums, a large shoal of silver dollars, and green terrors (all of which i have JUST sold lol...im looking for large individual fish, maybe a red tail GG and a perruno catfish?? i do still have my silver arowana, hes about 9"....im dont want a busy tank as such...just a couple of large fish really...any other ideas??

 

[KittyKat]

"Super Red" arowana?

Why only one fish, if you don't mind me asking? I find that most do better in groups, or at least with company of another species if they have high con-specific aggression..

 

[Rust]

Well maybe a large centre piece, such as an asian arow, then what dither fish?? (other than silver dollars and red hooks and tinfoils lol)....really i just want a fish that will stand out over the others and be like whoaa when people walk in lol

 

[nmonks]

A big tank with just one fish gets boring very quickly. Most people end up disappointed with this sort of aquarium. I'm assuming you're quite young (surely no-one above the age of 15 uses "lol") in which case this boredom factor will likely be very important. If you're a teenager, think about what happens when you leave home. An arowana or a mbu puffer involve substantial financial commitment, and you'll be looking after them for something like 20 years.

A 6 x 2 x 2 aquarium isn't big enough for an arowana (of any species) so that's not an option.

Arowanas don't need dither fish. Dither fish are surface swimming schooling fish that convince benthic fish (like catfish and cichlids) that it is safe for them to come out. Since benthic fish can't see aerial predators such as birds, or fisherman on the riverbank, they rely on surface swimming fish for this information. The best dither fish are mindless things like silver dollars precisely because they're always out and about.

Do look at Sorubim lima. I'm telling you straight, there is NO BETTER large catfish out there. It's a good size, 45 cm, peaceful, can be kept in groups, and looks good.

Cheers, Neale

Well maybe a large centre piece, such as an asian arow, then what dither fish?? (other than silver dollars and red hooks and tinfoils lol)....really i just want a fish that will stand out over the others and be like whoaa when people walk in lol

 

[always4lora]

+1 for the sorubim lima, will look awsome when fully grown and are not to expensive, i got a foot one from Carlise maidenhead for £20 should get to around 18inch or larger think in the wild it's around 2ft.
You could always go with the Polypterus for the bottom of the tank , theyre fast growing look smart and dont hide when you go near them (although this is probly because they havent seen you!)

 

[AdamM]

how about a piranha tank?

 

[simonas]

I have to agree with Neale Monks although at 33and educated I am guilty of using "lol" lol!!!

I recently had a giant gourami on its own in a tank and as lovely a fish as it was it was a very dull tank

Larger silver dollars do look great ina group and would compliment a larger specimen fish

just a thought look into Giraffe cats? I'm not sure if your tank big enough but they are great looking fish when bigger with bags of personality

 

[nmonks]

Had forgotten about these. Yes, cracking fish. There's a "dwarf" Giraffe cat (Anaspidoglanis macrostoma) as well, which only gets to 25 cm. Could easily be kept alongside a school of nurse tetras, some Ctenopoma, and one of the middling sized bichirs. Maybe even a Synodontis of some kind, but giraffe cats are a bit territorial, so you'd need to be careful.

Cheers, Neale

just a thought look into Giraffe cats? I'm not sure if your tank big enough but they are great looking fish when bigger with bags of personality

 

[Rust]

Yes i am a teenager lol, im 19, and i have my own house, soooo what your saying wouldnt be an issue, i have 4 other tanks, so bordum isent a problem, i had a packed 6ft tank, then a planted 6ft tank (as stated above i have moved it to my 3ft tank, and some into my jewel 96) so i just want a centre piece, as all my tanks are within view of my living room...what about a sturgeon catfish (ithink thats what they are called lol)?