What would you add?

[namukoby]

It's time to re-stock my 120g.

It's been running for 8+ years, but over the last year or so, we've lost most of the fish that were in it - mostly due to old age. I still have an 8 year old pleco and 4 full-grown, 4 year old, 3" synodontis cat fish.

We just got some platys and rainbow fish at the request of my children. Mollys, neons and guppies are also on their wish lists, but they are up for discussion. We still have some room for some more, fun fish.

If you had room for 60+ inches of fish, what kind of fish would you add? Something colourful? Exotic? Fun? Interesting? Big schools?

 

[FreshyFresh]

Oh man.. lots of options, although you might wind-up with more platys than you want given you've got 8 at this point.

 

[namukoby]

Oh man.. lots of options, although you might wind-up with more platys than you want given you've got 8 at this point.

I think, for the most part, any platy fry will end up catfish food. They are excellent hunters. I have set up a couple of hiding places that the bigger fish can't access, so maybe a few more will survive, but it's a long shot.

 

[Charlie727]

How bout some dicus. I've never kept them, but they look like pretty cool fish. Just a suggestion

 

[namukoby]

How bout some dicus. I've never kept them, but they look like pretty cool fish. Just a suggestion

I love the idea of discus, but they scare me. From what I've read, they're pretty picky. I'm pretty busy with 5 kids between the ages of 3 and 15. Maybe I'm wrong?

 

[Thyra]

I would add some angels - but someone else will have to tell you how to deal with the problem is they pair up. Mine have not and they work well and there certainly are a variety of them. There are so many colors of both platies and mollies and the fry should get eaten. I am also a fan of the serpaes because they are so colorful and active. Your tank is also large enough for gouramis.

 

[Charlie727]

I love the idea of discus, but they scare me. From what I've read, they're pretty picky. I'm pretty busy with 5 kids between the ages of 3 and 15. Maybe I'm wrong?

You are probably right about the discus. They are pretty picky, especially when it comes to their eating habits.

Angles would be cool to. Gouramis are really pretty, but they are a little aggressive. You should be fine with your big tank though.

 

[CAPSLOCK]

I'd add a some of the more colorful rainbows - boesemani, turquoise, irian red, etc. Much more colorful in the tank than when you usually see them in stores (or many pics online too).

Personally I would add 3-4 angels as well, but that's just me since I love to watch the little babies grow up

Check out kuhli loaches (also called coolie loaches) - they have cool swimming habits like an eel and your kids would probably like them.

 

[namukoby]

I would add some angels - but someone else will have to tell you how to deal with the problem is they pair up. Mine have not and they work well and there certainly are a variety of them. There are so many colors of both platies and mollies and the fry should get eaten. I am also a fan of the serpaes because they are so colorful and active. Your tank is also large enough for gouramis.

I like the idea of having brightly coloured fish. The tank had mostly silver and black fish in it before. While it was quite stunning, it'd be nice to try something totally different this time.

I like angels. We had some in the tank before. We were given 4 large ones, and we had them for 5-6 years. One of the kids wants more, and another said they are just big bullies, and wants to try something else. One angel lived about a year longer than the others, and did become a real pain when he was alone.

I'm tempted to try gouramis. They look like fun. Are they aggressive on their own, or are they only aggressive when with other aggressive fish?

I'd add a some of the more colorful rainbows - boesemani, turquoise, irian red, etc. Much more colorful in the tank than when you usually see them in stores (or many pics online too).

Personally I would add 3-4 angels as well, but that's just me since I love to watch the little babies grow up

Check out kuhli loaches (also called coolie loaches) - they have cool swimming habits like an eel and your kids would probably like them.

I personally really like the rainbows. The ones we have now are supposed to be a dark purple. We had 4 boesemanis for a few years. I was a bit disappointed that they didn't get as bright as I expected, though. I haven't seen the red ones at all around here in the last 3 or 4 years - don't know why. One LFS does have some dwarf turquoise ones. I'd love to fill the tank with different kinds of rainbows, but I'm not sure my kids would like that - I want the kids to have some ownership of the tank. I can make it mine when they are gone.

I also like the kuhli loaches. My 15 year old wasn't impressed with them at the LFS. They are high on our list, though. My biggest concern is all of the bottom dwellers we already have. Is there any way to calculate the amount of bottom dwelling fish I can have?

 

[lauraf]

I'm tempted to try gouramis. They look like fun. Are they aggressive on their own, or are they only aggressive when with other aggressive fish?

There's lots of peaceful gouramis. In a large tank, several pearl gouramis would be stunning, and they are quite docile.

 

[CAPSLOCK]

I also like the kuhli loaches. My 15 year old wasn't impressed with them at the LFS. They are high on our list, though. My biggest concern is all of the bottom dwellers we already have. Is there any way to calculate the amount of bottom dwelling fish I can have?

Really the same with other areas - as long as everyone has space and comfortable quarters, they are fine. Kuhlis are so long and slender and like to hang out with each other, they really don't take as much space as you might think. You could easily do 6-8+ in there and I doubt the catfish would care at all.

 

[namukoby]

There's lots of peaceful gouramis. In a large tank, several pearl gouramis would be stunning, and they are quite docile.

It would be stunning. I'll try to sell that to the kids.

 

[namukoby]

Really the same with other areas - as long as everyone has space and comfortable quarters, they are fine. Kuhlis are so long and slender and like to hang out with each other, they really don't take as much space as you might think. You could easily do 6-8+ in there and I doubt the catfish would care at all.

Cool. I'll look closer at the kuhlis.