Upgrading From 125L To 240L - But What Fish Can I 'upgrade' To

[ZoddyZod]

I'm hopefully upgrading to a 240L from a 125L, but before I spend the money I want to make sure the extra size gives me sufficienct scope to change my stock and make the process worthwhile.

I guess what I would like to know is what fish can you keep in a 240l 4' tank that can't be kept in a 125l 3' one?

 

[james_fish]

Is the tank 2' width?

James.

 

[KkAaNnEe]

Is this a Rio?

What sort of fish are you into Zoddy?

 

[ZoddyZod]

I am looking at the jewel or fluval 240 tanks and i am really open to any type of fish as suggestions although i do have a soft spot for cichlids

James the tank will only be about 15" deep

 

[holidayinn]

Roughly a 50g tank, it would give you the option of larger cichlids but not many in terms of numbers, for example a Green Terror wet pet, possibly one of the smaller Parachromis species e.g. Motaguense, again strictly speaking only as a solo occupant.

 

[james_fish]

My personal views are this, whatever width your tank is. Max fish size should be half of that. So in your case 15" biggest fish you could get would be let's just say 7-8". Green Terror's just as an example. This tank would allow for a nicely sized dither fish aswell, say 4-5"

What fish have you been looking at Zod?

James.

 

[ZoddyZod]

I have not been looking at anything in particular, just want to make sure the upgrade is worth doing. If there isn't anything i am keen on then I.will just stick with the 125. Green Terror is interesting. I am keen on the idea of a "wet pet" and possibly a breeding pair if possible of any type of

 

[KkAaNnEe]

I think we can also add that it can allow you to have two pairs of dwarf cichlids for example, increasing your chances of a breeding pair

 

[james_fish]

A pair of Convicts would be nice, and they breed readily in an aquarium.

If you want other fish though make sure they are a tough, fast dither.

James.

 

[holidayinn]

I had an Oscar as a wet pet for many years (with a plec in the tank), was very good fun and very people friendly, highly interactive for a fish. Many would say 75g minimum for an O, Red Devil/Midas also 75g.

Green Terror and e.g. Red Tiger Mota, Loiselli grow smaller overall compared to O, RD and Jag, imo they would be suitable for 50g as solo occupants.

There are others, but these come to mind as I've kept them in the past.

 

[elisew]

Are you thinking along the lines of SA/CA cichlids or African? 240L would be a good size for some of the african Mbunas that would give you a lot of action but mainly lots of colour
Mpangas, Jalo reefs, acei, neon spots etc would be extremely compatible

 

[ZoddyZod]

Multiple dwarfs is interesting but not sure if it justifies the upgrade to me. Do enjoy my current rams social.interaction though and would love to see full breeding behaviour.

Not sure about convicts due to their apparent excessive young. Not sure what my plan would be to manage them.

As for Africans i had not considered them As i was thinking about a gradual change of stock rather than a fresh start. But if i am looking at larger SA fish the that would be needed anyway. Would also be a better fit for my ph as well. Hmmmm

 

[elisew]

Multiple dwarfs is interesting but not sure if it justifies the upgrade to me. Do enjoy my current rams social.interaction though and would love to see full breeding behaviour.

Not sure about convicts due to their apparent excessive young. Not sure what my plan would be to manage them.

As for Africans i had not considered them As i was thinking about a gradual change of stock rather than a fresh start. But if i am looking at larger SA fish the that would be needed anyway. Would also be a better fit for my ph as well. Hmmmm

If the breeding behaviour is interesting to you then I can say for definite that the mbuna`s would without a doubt hold your attention. Apart from the compatibility issues that you`re already fully aware of I would strongly suggest the ratio of 1m:3f should be what you`re looking at as some of the mbunas (if not the majority) can be prolific breeders and it`s always better to be able to spread the breeding harrassment amongst as many females as you can.

I can honestly say that in the time I`ve have malawi/mbuna, there hasn`t been a single day where I haven`t found their breeding and general behaviour fascinating. Plus the ph can range between 7.6 and 8.4 for the mbuna without any problems

 

[ZoddyZod]

Thanks Elisew. I will look into a mbuna set up. I know very little about African cichlids. Lots of rock and plenty of filtration?

 

[elisew]

Thanks Elisew. I will look into a mbuna set up. I know very little about African cichlids. Lots of rock and plenty of filtration?

Yep you got it, lots of rocks for shedloads of cave areas, as with the mubuna it`s better to overstock to reduce aggression and lots of filtration to cope with the overstocking

Have a good read through the African cichlid section, you`ll also see a few good threads in the journal section there too

You may decide not to go down that route but at least you do have the option there with a 240L