What Would You Do With An 8x2x2 Tank

[mattsilvester]

Hi everyone,

This is my first post on this forum...... I'm a long standing member on a couple of well know Salt Water Boards..... so some of you may (or may not) recognise me.

So - my first post is about whether or not I will convert my 8x2x2 marine tank to freshwater? I have over 20yrs experience in the hobby - 10 fresh - 10 salt, but in the last year alot has changed, and my hobby budget is about to be reduced yet again........ and rather struggle with a failing mairne tank on a limited budget, I'm thinking of going back to freshwater.....

So, to that end, what would you do with an 8x2x2 tank?

I like big fish..... chiclids etc...... character fish...... also like malawi's etc. I'm not into tetra's and guppies and barbs etc.

So, if you had a nice big tank like this, what would you put in it......

I had thought about a pair of wolf chiclids.......
I has also thought about a general mixed chiclid community..... oscars etc.
I have thought about a giant gourami (Osphronemus) .......
Big catfish have also occured to me......

So - lets have it - what would you do with this tank?

Cheers,

Matt

 

[shroob]

You seem to like the sort of fish I like, NW cichlids. I would do a community of them personally, though I could never make my mind up on the stocking.

1 x Gold Saum
1 x Herichthys carpintis ‘Escondido’
1 x Vieja argentea
1 x Jaguar cichlid
1 x cuban cichlid.

That would probably be my stocking for the tank, though you could probably add more.

If it was wider I would do my dream fish, a jardini.

 

[simonas]

an amazonian tank with lots of wood plants and loads of plecs to hide in all the hidey holes with a shoal of discus and lots of tetras!!

a guy I know on plecofanatics website has a 10ft amazonian tank and on pics it looks amazing

 

[ALW]

think, how many tetras would fit in that tank. we can only dream

 

[Davo86]

If it was me i'd probably go with an american theme of medium sized cichlids, catfish and plecs,
although a tank with a shoal of large clown loach and a centrepiece giant gourami would be tempting

 

[Esfa]

reedfish, birchirs, a few african butterfly fish, congo tetras, elephant noses...

 

[simonas]

oh and by the way welcome to the forum!!

 

[emmsy]

Hi mate, and welcome to the forum. I have a 9x3x3 on order, which should be with me a week today. I have not totally decided what I'm gonna have in it yet, and still have time to decide even when the tank arrives, cos there is still some building work to do.

I have decided to go with Haps. There are very few tanks around that can fully accomodate such large fish. I want to use my tank to create a complete habitat, and try to replicate their native environment.

We both find ourselves in the fortunate position of owning an exceptionally large tank, and have the oppourtunity to make the setup absolutely amazing.

Hope that helps

Emma

 

[wendywc]

I'd have that brackish. A group of big monos (at 6" to 8" each) and a group of big scats (at 10" to 12" each).

 

[mattsilvester]

Well my goodness - thanks for all the replies, and so quickly!

Yes, I prefer "bigger" fish shall we say. Discus - done them many moons ago..... so not keen on them.
Yes - its looking like chiclids..... probably singles though, not pairs..... too much aggression when they start spawning......

Big gourami and a shoal of clown loach...... that sounds cool.......... something different anyway.

Easy maintenance is key also....... I don't mind large scale water changes and the like - but pruning plants, watching pH, specialist diets...... that sort of thing I'm looking to avoid...... i.e. chiclids fit the bill nicely, feed, vacumm gravel, thats it........

Are there any other big character fish that I am overlooking (at this early stage)....... arowana's, snakeheads, that sort of thing......

Thanks everyone,

Matt

 

[shroob]

If you're tank was wider than 2ft I would have done arowanas, I saw a jardini at a LFS and it was stunning, I've wanted one ever since.

EDIT: If you wanted african cichlids, I would have a frontosa colony. They're pretty much the only rift valley cichlids that I've been interested in.

 

[Tobigara]

You seem to like the sort of fish I like, NW cichlids. I would do a community of them personally, though I could never make my mind up on the stocking.

1 x Gold Saum
1 x Herichthys carpintis ‘Escondido’
1 x Vieja argentea
1 x Jaguar cichlid
1 x cuban cichlid.

That would probably be my stocking for the tank, though you could probably add more.

If it was wider I would do my dream fish, a jardini.

Shroob basically reccomended what i would. Swap the Carpintis for a JD or 2 and that's what i'd do
I would add bichirs with the cichlids as well. big, predatory and full of character

 

[Esfa]

Shroob basically reccomended what i would. Swap the Carpintis for a JD or 2 and that's what i'd do
I would add bichirs with the cichlids as well. big, predatory and full of character

She doesnt like long, wiggly things... hence why she doesnt like me...

 

[dthoffsett]

Yes, I prefer "bigger" fish shall we say. Discus - done them many moons ago..... so not keen on them.
Yes - its looking like chiclids..... probably singles though, not pairs..... too much aggression when they start spawning......

Since you like cichlids and prefer to avoid spawning, I'd go with an all male hap tank. I've seen a few and they are quite beautiful. I don't know if you've kept haps before, but they can range from peaceful (by cichlid standards) to highly aggressive. They prefer lots of swimming space, so you don't have to do much with decor, and if you like plants they should leave them alone. Here's a great link for species profiles.
[URL="http/www.cichlid-forum.com/profiles/category.php?cat=1"]http/www.cichlid-forum.com/profiles/category.php?cat=1[/URL]

There are also quite a few New World Cichlids that would go well in a larger tank, I've never kept them so I can't give any suggestions.

 

[darknirvana217]

I would do brycon.