75g Stocking Suggestions

[Ninjouzata]

Hello again! It's been a while since I last posted here.

I feel sort of bad putting this up, as it's an imaginary tank. Sort of.
I'm asking for this for my Christmas present, and very excited so I'd really love to start figuring out the stocking if I do get it.

Even if I don't get it for Christmas, this will still definitely be a future tank plan, so any information given to me is not going to waste!

I imagine it'd be a standard 75g, which If I'm not mistaken, is 48x18x20 LxWxH, right? I just want to make sure as I know usually it's the dimensions that matter, not just the volume of water.

I already have an idea of the fish that I want, but I'm not sure if they can all go together, or if they are even suitable for this size tank.

Brown Ghost Knife (Apteronotus Leptorhynchus)
Armored Bichir (Polypterus Delhezi)
Leopard Bushfish (Ctenopoma acutirostre)
African Butterfly Fish (Pantodon buchholzi)
Striped Raphael Catfish (Platydoras Armatulus)

If a different bichir would work, like the senegal, that'd be fine too..but I imagine it gets too big for this size tank? The only reason I say that one is it's cheaper, from what I've seen.

Also wondering if the delhezi would actually be too large for this tank. Are there any smaller ones?

I'd also be happy if an Angelfish could work with them, but from reading around it sounds like that is a no. Or maybe I'd need to get a bigger angel, after reading a thread where a bichir bit a small ones dorsal fin?

Imagine I'd just want one knife, but not sure on the other fish.
I've found that bichirs like company, so they can pile on top of each other. Not sure how many I should have for this tank.

What are some good schooling fish to go with these guys, if any?

Another issue I'm thinking of is their environmental needs.

It seems that the knife would prefer a higher current, while the ctenopoma, butterfly, and raphael would like very little flow.
I'm having trouble finding what the bichir would prefer, but I'm guessing low.

Could I achieve pleasing both parties by having a moderate flow, and one side of the tank with lots of floating plants to create a still area? Or would that end up restricting the fish to each side of the tank, and result in having less room to move around?

It would most definitely have sand substrate.

Would also appreciate suggestions on filter(s) for this, as they're larger fish (for me anyway) and so make a large mess.

I'd also love to hear about anyones experiences with these fish, as well as food recommendations. What type of food, how much, how often, etc.

And lastly..I'd like to know what you all think of if I'm ready to care for these sorts of fish.

My current tanks:
55g - 1 Golden Gourami, 1 Albino Longfin Bristlenose Pleco, 11 Rummynose Tetras, 7 Albino Cories, 7 Khuli Loaches
20g Long - Crowntail Betta {Discord}, ~10 Corydoras Habrosus
20g Flatback Hex - 9 Pseudomugil Gertrudae, 9 Neon Tetras, 2 (1M:1F) Peacock Gudgeons

I've only been keeping fish since May of this year.

I've tried my best to look up the compatibility for the fish but still would rather hear from others, as the information I was looking at could've been wrong or outdated.

(?) Means that I've seen some cases of it not working/really not sure
Y = Yes, N = No, although didn't have any N's.. This is at least as far as compatibility goes, from what I had found. I'm still really not sure what to do about them preferring different flow rates.

Knife x Ctenopoma = Y
Knife x Bichir = Y
Knife x ABF = Y
Knife x Raphael = Y
Knife x Angel = Y

Ctenopoma x Bichir = Y
Ctenopoma x ABF = Y
Ctenopoma x Raphael = Y
Ctenopoma x Angel = Y

Bichir x ABF = Y(?)
Bichir x Raphael = Y
Bichir x Angel = Y(?)

ABF x Raphael = Y
ABF x Angel = Y(?)

Raphael x Angel = Y

Thank you very much for any responses, I look forward to reading them!

 

[Newman]

helpful site:
AqAdvisor - Intelligent Freshwater Tropical Fish Aquarium Stocking Calculator and Aquarium Tank/Filter Advisor

 

[Ninjouzata]

helpful site:
AqAdvisor - Intelligent Freshwater Tropical Fish Aquarium Stocking Calculator and Aquarium Tank/Filter Advisor

Thank you, though I already knew about the site. It was shown to me when I first came here a while back.

Unfortunately, it doesn't have Brown Ghost Knife (Apteronotus Leptorhynchus), but I'll put in the African Brown Knife (Xenomystus Nigri) since I think they get the same size and have similar temperament.

It also doesn't tell me if the African Butterfly would like buddies or not, and same for the Leopard Ctenopoma. Nor does it help me in knowing if they'll all be happy together regardless of having a few environmental differences. Then again that may be because these are all from near the same area, except for the raphael.

And it says 33% W/C weekly. (This isn't an issue, just thought I'd let you know what it said)

I also can't make full of use of it as I'm not sure what sort of filtration I should be getting. I'd assume a canister, but I don't know which one.

Hopefully I don't come off as rude, I just want to get my head around all this!

*Edit* Oopsie, I forgot the angel. Going to add that, and just for the heck of it will add 2 more bichirs that I'd really like.

I find it odd that it warns of the congo tetras going after the angelfish, but apparently they won't go after the butterfly which has just as much dangling finnage.

Without the added bichirs it ends up being 107% stocking & 37% weekly W/C.

Weekly W/C of 52% I put two Penn Plax Cascade 1500's on there. -Shrug- This is why I need help.

 

[FishDad]

I have redecorated my tanks countless times (since I'm not allowed to redecorate the house) always trying to find that perfect display look. What I have found to work the best is to start with the environment. What sort of substrate, décor and backround do you want or if you prefer, what part of the world do you want to display. Then pick one or two prominent fish that will be the eye catchers and will also compliment the display. Then lastly find some filler fish that will compliment both.

That's just what works for me. BTW if you can afford it canister is way better that HOB. Also I think you will likely have some aggression issues with those fish, not a huge deal. But just be prepared to deal with some bullying. You may want to have a spare tank ready to go in case you have to rescue one of them.

 

[Newman]

the first stocking you had is very well stocked, but i deffo would not run that second stocking as it is quite overstocked (I wouldn't want to be doing anything close to 50% water changes weekly lol!)

if the program does not show any warnings at the bottom (it will show in red) then you can assume the fish will live well together. usually it warns you if parameters are not compatible, or some fish can eat others. sounds like you're good!

 

[Ninjouzata]

I have redecorated my tanks countless times (since I'm not allowed to redecorate the house) always trying to find that perfect display look. What I have found to work the best is to start with the environment. What sort of substrate, décor and backround do you want or if you prefer, what part of the world do you want to display. Then pick one or two prominent fish that will be the eye catchers and will also compliment the display. Then lastly find some filler fish that will compliment both.

That's just what works for me. BTW if you can afford it canister is way better that HOB. Also I think you will likely have some aggression issues with those fish, not a huge deal. But just be prepared to deal with some bullying. You may want to have a spare tank ready to go in case you have to rescue one of them.

Not sure if you remember me, but you helped me with my first 55g tank. I like to choose the substrate and background etc, around the fish.
We unfortunately wouldn't have an empty spare tank, but perhaps I could pick up a rubbermaid storage tub, just for an emergency?

On another site I've been recommended a Fx5, or Eheim 2260. Using the Eheim 2260 for my AqAdvisor thingy.

the first stocking you had is very well stocked, but i deffo would not run that second stocking as it is quite overstocked (I wouldn't want to be doing anything close to 50% water changes weekly lol!)

if the program does not show any warnings at the bottom (it will show in red) then you can assume the fish will live well together. usually it warns you if parameters are not compatible, or some fish can eat others. sounds like you're good!

I use a siphon attached to a faucet so water changes are easy, I do 50% on my other tanks at least once a month, and then 25% weekly. So 50% a week would be fine with me, the only issue might be my dad getting upset over the amount of water being used.

The only warning it had was the butterfly jumping out of the tank.

I agree, that was a bit much. Sorry.

I have this thread up on 3 sites, including this one. Have done some thinking and gotten more responses. Now looking at something like this..

This results in 40% weekly W/C.

Have taken the butterfly out, as just reading too much about it being nipped. Also think the flow of the water isn't as much of an issue when taking the butterfly out, since it prefers very little flow to almost stagnant. Also took out the raphael as I likely wouldn't see it much anyways, and want to free up space for the bichirs. Reduced the congos as 12 is a bit much with how chunky they are.

The angel is iffy. I'm not actually wanting it that much, but I did want to put it in there for my dad. If he is okay with not having that then it will be taken out and that'll put the stocking at 105%, with 36% weekly W/C.

Wondering if should do upside down catfish rather than the congo tetras. When put into the calculator it results in 120% stocking with 43% weekly W/C.

I think I'll be using black sand, as darker sand apparently brings out the bichirs colors? Any thoughts on what type of background I should do? Normally I'd do black but most of these guys are brown so I think I'd lose them in the darkness of the tank.

Also any plant suggestions? If possible anyways. Hard to give suggestions when I don't know what kind of lighting I'll have..

And huge thanks to both of you, for responding. I very much appreciate the help! <3

 

[FishDad]

Well I must have given you good advice because your tanks look fantastic, if I do say so my self. When it comes to your water changes I always feel like anything less than 50% is just a waste of energy. You go through all that trouble of doing a water change, what's an extra couple of minutes. On my fresh water tanks I do 50% weekly and am happy with the results.

You can't go wrong with eheim or fluval. Both equivalently good working. I have personal experience with an FX5 and would recommend it to anyone. It handled a huge bio load with my cichlids. Just don't get coaxed into using the polishing pads, they restrict the flow way to much for the unit to be effective. I did ceramic rings on top, purigen in the middle and floss on the bottom. Once every couple of weeks I just rinsed the floss and regenerated the purigen and it was good as new.

 

[Newman]

water change % can be personal preference (I like to do less, fishdad likes to do more) but some tanks really do need it.

a good plant would be a simple amazon sword. plus plenty of driftwood. don't ignore plecos unless you don't like them they can be nice display fish depending on which ones you go for.

i think the 105% stocking one is good!

 

[Ninjouzata]

Well I must have given you good advice because your tanks look fantastic, if I do say so my self. When it comes to your water changes I always feel like anything less than 50% is just a waste of energy. You go through all that trouble of doing a water change, what's an extra couple of minutes. On my fresh water tanks I do 50% weekly and am happy with the results.

You can't go wrong with eheim or fluval. Both equivalently good working. I have personal experience with an FX5 and would recommend it to anyone. It handled a huge bio load with my cichlids. Just don't get coaxed into using the polishing pads, they restrict the flow way to much for the unit to be effective. I did ceramic rings on top, purigen in the middle and floss on the bottom. Once every couple of weeks I just rinsed the floss and regenerated the purigen and it was good as new.

I personally would love to do 50% each time I do a W/C, but my dad is not a big fan of using so much water. *BOUNCINGS Thank you so much for the compliment!
That's great that it was able to handle your cichlids, that makes me feel a lot more confident in it. And really glad you've told me what order & what to use to put in it! That is the kind of information I am seeking.

water change % can be personal preference (I like to do less, fishdad likes to do more) but some tanks really do need it.

a good plant would be a simple amazon sword. plus plenty of driftwood. don't ignore plecos unless you don't like them they can be nice display fish depending on which ones you go for.

i think the 105% stocking one is good!

Agreed!
Here is a very beautiful pic I made of my idea for the tank. I think instead of the very middle plant it'd be good to put an amazon sword there.

The floaty plants are amazon frogbit, the big leafed ones between the PVC pipes are banana plants, the fuzzy green on top of the PVC pipes is moss, the plants above the moss in the middle are a plant that is in the back corner of my 55g that I don't remember the name of (http://i114.photobucket.com/albums/n255/ninjouzata_2006/55g Tank/100_1295.jpg if anyone wants to ID it for me), and the reddish brown ones are red crypts (wendtii?) I know placing them like that would look really unnatural but I'm a fail when it comes to aquascaping.

I'm not sure how much driftwood I can do with the pipes though, which are there for the bichirs & knife. Actually that is another thing I'm wondering, what size pipes to go with.
I want them to have a good bit of width, since bichirs like to pile on top of eachother, so they may like to share one pipe. But lengthwise I dunno..maybe 10"-12"?

I've read that plecos usually end up going after the bichirs, otherwise I'd think on having one. I love my BN in my other tank
I like the 105% one as well, just like said, my dad's opinion is heavily considered. I showed him these fish and didn't mention an angel and he liked the bichir.

Thank you both again for the help!

 

[FishDad]

I never really did planted tanks, but I would imagine big water changes aren't necessary if they're heavily planted.

 

[Newman]

place the sword off-center. you wouldn't want something right in the center of the tank.
otherwise just put in a lot of driftwood to cover up the PVC, leaving just the entrances, and even those can be in the shadows of the DW so that you don't see the white pipe.
pile the DW onto the pvc like this:

but don't do it so linearly like this guy did. then plant the moss like you wanted, on top of DW and the other plants can go around that.

your plant is water wisteria.

plecos like BNs don't care for other fish except other males. and once you give them a cave (they'll take up on PVC pipe) they won't really go far from that and won't cause trouble. they will ward off other fish from their cave but that's about it.

you can also do something like a sunshine pleco or green phantom or blue phantom. though the former takes up a lot of space.

 

[FishDad]

Yep use the 5:3 ratio when decorating. It works well.

 

[Ninjouzata]

Can you explain more about this 5:3 ratio? Think ya'll are right on making sure the sword isn't dead center.
And sorry I didn't explain about the PVC pipes, I'm going to coat them in silicone and roll them in sand so they blend in a lot better.
Great idea about piling the driftwood on top of the pipes, I hadn't thought of that. Seems there is a few things I could do for the scape.

Thanks for the plant ID!

I think a BN may eventually get eaten, not sure.. The others are a bit big and messy and are more likely to go after the bichirs, I'd think.
I believe the reason plecs go after them was something like..ganoid scales? I don't know I really don't want to risk it though.

Thank you both again

 

[FishDad]

Here's a good article about the 5:3 decorating rule. I used this this as a source for my aquascape. Its written for reefs but I think the suggestions are universal.

 

[Ninjouzata]

Here's a good article about the 5:3 decorating rule. I used this this as a source for my aquascape. Its written for reefs but I think the suggestions are universal.

Did you forget to link or am I blind?

 

[Newman]

lol we're both blind

 

[FishDad]

Sorry, here it is...
Reef Aquascaping

 

[Ninjouzata]

Sorry, here it is...
Reef Aquascaping

It's okay, just picking!
My, that made my brain hurt a bit. Hopefully I can put this to good use when scaping the tank! Thank you~

Oh, what are your thoughts on what order to add the fish to the tank? I would think the bichirs last to allow the other fish to gain some size?

 

[Newman]

sounds like a plan.

 

[Ninjouzata]

Have found a decent deal I think, 75g tank, stand, lid, lights for $100.
Since my father is buying this though, I'm thinking I need to go with a cheaper canister. Do ya'll think I'd be okay with one Penn Plax Cascade 1500?

If not okay for the adult sizes of the fish, how long do you think I'd have til I needed to get a better or second canister? I am having trouble finding used ones in our area. Thanks~