Stocking A 72 Gallon

[mislisa]

Ok, some of you may remember that i was planning on getting a new 46 gallon tank in January and helped me with my fish stock... i've been given the 'ok' for a 72 gallon instead!!! I'd really like to get either a red tail black or a rainbow shark in there, so help planning tankmates would be greatly appreciated! I have a stock list so far as:
6 Kuhlis
15 Cardinals
1-2 bristlenose pleco
1 Red tail black Shark/Rainbow shark

possibly: 2 german rams
1 pearl or banded gourami (depending on lfs)

If anyone has comments on this stock list, please let me know!

 

[KittyKat]

Why do you want the shark? They're more pain than worth (in my experience).

If you have the shark, you can't have the rams and the cardinals will probably suffer. I will assume you are talking about a standard layout aquarium.. how about this:
* 1 shark
* 15 tiger barbs
* 1 gourami
* pair Kribs

..although even with that you might have problems.. personally, I would take the following:
* 6-8 khuli loaches
* 15-20 cardinal tetras
* 1m 2f bristlenose plecos
* pair Bolivian rams
* 1 gourami

 

[mislisa]

Why do you want the shark? They're more pain than worth (in my experience).

If you have the shark, you can't have the rams and the cardinals will probably suffer. I will assume you are talking about a standard layout aquarium.. how about this:
* 1 shark
* 15 tiger barbs
* 1 gourami
* pair Kribs

..although even with that you might have problems.. personally, I would take the following:
* 6-8 khuli loaches
* 15-20 cardinal tetras
* 1m 2f bristlenose plecos
* pair Bolivian rams
* 1 gourami

The main reason i want the shark is that i really like the way they look... also, this is a favorite fish of my mother's which she requested. i'll try to find out if there's another that she's like instead. the cardinals were requested by my father, so i'm trying to be fair here.

 

[rob158]

Dwarf gouramis are nice, mayby you could get some of them,

 

[drobbyb]

With a tank of that size, there are plenty of other inhabitants that will co-exist with the shark. The problem with the sharks is that they are territorial. They do not do well with other placid or slow moving fish. However, you can put a shark in with some medium sized cichlids as long as you provide enough "real estate" for them to form territories. The reason I say cichlids is that they too are territorial (well most of them) and they can handle the shark's aggression.

 

[mislisa]

Would the fish i have listed get along with my shark if i make sure that it's the last fish i add? i'm going to have lots and lots of caves in this tank formed from rocks, wood & plastic aquarium caves (natural looking ones), as well as many plants (real & fake) I'm really hoping to make this work.

 

[roadmaster]

In a 72 Gallon tank with caves, wood, etc for shark to establish it's territory it is possible.The problem I see is with the Kuhli loaches.They might not respect the area the shark has claimed and the shark could inflict damage to the very small Kuhli loaches who do a fair amount of exploring mostly during the evening hours after lights are off.
If your water is soft,acidic, then cardinals could work along with the German blue rams both of which appreciate soft,warm water.The bolivian rams are more forgiving with respect to hardness of the water and are far more hardy and they are relatively peaceful for cichlids.
If gourami are considered,I would maybe consider the Honey gourami or the Pearl gourami, both are far more hardy than most gourami, and aren't as suceptible to Mycobacterium or Irodovirus that other Gourami are (google,Irodovirus among Gourami).
YoYo loaches might be a fish to consider ,they rarely exceed six inches long and might be better equipped to deal with the Shark for they are larger. Hope some of this helps.

 

[ddgbumblebee]

My aquarium use to be set up in a rather similar way that you are wanting yours. I had a Rainbow Shark, 10x Khuli Loaches, 1 Bristlenose Plecostomus, 3x Swordtails and 6 Silver Sharks. However, my tank is a 90 gallon, so is bigger BUT I still think your setup would work as long as there is enough territory for the shark and I also don't think you should house the tetras with him, they probably won't get along.
Dylan
Have fun deciding!

 

[mislisa]

Thanks everyone for your help... i've decided not to get the shark for now. hopefully in the future i'll have a tank that i'll be able to put one in. instead, i'm going to go with Kitty Kat's idea of
6-8 khuli loaches
15 cardinal tetras
1m 2f bristlenose plecos
pair Bolivian rams
1 gourami

I'll probably look into getting another type of schooling fish as well, such as cherry barbs or zebra danios. haven't decided on which yet. fish suggestions are welcome!

 

[KittyKat]

Excellent, I look forward to photos

 

[drobbyb]

I would add 3 male and 5 female Melanotaenia Praecox aka Dwarf Neon Rainbowfish.

If that would be too much blue for you, replace the cardinals with rummy nose tetras.

 

[mislisa]

I would add 3 male and 5 female Melanotaenia Praecox aka Dwarf Neon Rainbowfish.

If that would be too much blue for you, replace the cardinals with rummy nose tetras.

They are very pretty, but i think that, like you said, it would be too much blue in the tank. i can't replace the cardinals, as this is the fish requested by my father. is there a similar fish with red or yellow?

Edit:

That being said, i do really like the Melanotaenia duboulayi (crimsonspotted rainbowfish), the Melanotaenia parva (Lake Kurumoi Rainbowfish) and the Melanotaenia trifasciata (Regal Rainbowfish)

Would any of these work? i don't have much time to research atm, so any input will be appreciated. i will be researching when i can, but i figured someone might have some advice. also, are these fairly easy to get? or are they rare?

Thanks!

 

[drobbyb]

The problem with them is that the rainbows would see the cardinals as a snack when they got large enough. How about a group of Psuedomugil furcatus?

 

[mislisa]

The problem with them is that the rainbows would see the cardinals as a snack when they got large enough. How about a group of Psuedomugil furcatus?

They are quite nice, but i was hoping for something a bit larger. oh well, i have lots of time to decide!

 

[OldMan47]

If you really want the blue tint of cardinals, why not try a nice stocking of Ataeniobius toweri, blue tailed goodeids? They are fast enough to deal with the RTBS and at about 2 inches are large enough not to become instant snacks for it. They are very energetic fish that put on a nice show of energy for anyone who tales the time to watch them. There are few pictures of them that I could find but this is a decent picture of one by the renowned fish keeper Joanne Norton. I find them to be easy care fish in my own tanks. I have a breeding colony of them in a 29 gallon tank but have no pictures of my own.
http/www.desertfishes.org/na/goodeida/ataeniob/atoweri_/atoweri2.jpg