75 gallon tank fw stocking ideas

[mantisfan101]

I have a 75 gallon freshwater tank and I can’t decide what to put in it. I still haven’t added water yet si I still have time to decided but I’d at least like to narrow my choices. I would prefer a large and robust breeding pair if some sort of south or central american cichlid. I also want a flowerhorn too since their personalities are phenomenal but I also want to try and breed them, and it seems like many flowerhorn males are infertile. I was also thinking of nandopsis tetracanthus or perhaps crenicichla sp.

 

[l4nsky]

Any plans on upgrading tanks in the future? A flowerhorn and a pair of large central/south american cichlids is a lot of fish and potentially a lot of aggression for a 75g. Ideally, you'd want 120g+ for a semi-aggressive cichlid community like that, or for any larger breeding pairs (the female needs to be able to get away from the male's advances) like managuense or dovii. There are a lot of Crenicichla to choose from, I'm sure you can find a few for a 75g. If you're looking for a single, predatory display specimen for a 75g, a Asterophysus batrachus is a good choice. Hoplias curupira could be considered as well, but may eventually need larger accomodations. Want the excitement of piranha without only being able to keep three RBP's in a 75g? A school of exodons has all the attitude and teeth, but only max at 3". Or you can go the peaceful route. My last 75g was a rainbowfish community and was probably my favorite tank I've ever created. You have a blank slate here, time to paint your masterpiece.

Thanks,
--Matt

 

[The Seraph]

I agree with Ifournskie that you do not necessarily need such large cichlids with the tank size you have. I would recommend Carinotetraodon travancoricus. They have a ton of personality and in such a large tank you can keep a decent amount. Just remember to keep the water very clean and neutral. They also enjoy life food like snails, bloodworms, brine shrimp and daphnia. They will also except frozen foods, though not always. They are aggressive and territorial, so you want to give them space and a lot of plant cover which would not be hard. If you do not want such a small thing and want something that will breed easily, there is always good ol (if somewhat very boring [in terms of options of fish]) Pterophyllum scalare.

 

[mantisfan101]

Forgot to mention but I’d also prefer if they’d be compatible with a delhezii or senegalus bichir.

 

[l4nsky]

Forgot to mention but I’d also prefer if they’d be compatible with a delhezii or senegalus bichir.

Hola,

Answer the question regarding future tank upgrades and I can give you all sorts of answers. Predatory fish was my hobby long before tarantulas and I used to be a global moderator on one of the boards devoted to the hobby back in the day.

Thanks,
--Matt

 

[The Seraph]

Forgot to mention but I’d also prefer if they’d be compatible with a delhezii or senegalus bichir.

A carnivorous eel/coelacanth thing that gets over a foot long vs an aggressive inch long puffer fish? Hmmm, what a thinker. I am actually not sure as I am not familiar with bichirs. Do they eat active things? I imagine it would just gulp the puffer up. As for the angel fish, it should be fine as long as it is not too small. They will probably give the bichir (along with everything else in the tank) hell while they are spawning though. They are practically the swans of the Amazon (swans will die for their young btw).

 

[l4nsky]

A carnivorous eel/coelacanth thing that gets over a foot long vs an aggressive inch long puffer fish? Hmmm, what a thinker. I am actually not sure as I am not familiar with bichirs. Do they eat active things? I imagine it would just gulp the puffer up. As for the angel fish, it should be fine as long as it is not too small. They will probably give the bichir (along with everything else in the tank) hell while they are spawning though. They are practically the swans of the Amazon (swans will die for their young btw).

Polypterus will eat almost anything that will fit in their mouth. If it isnt food, then they usually leave it alone and are good choices for predator communities, provided their tank mates aren't too aggressive.

 

[mantisfan101]

Sorry about that but I don’t really have any plans to upgrade in size but I do have a spare 55 gallon that I can also use. In regards to the pea puffer I had one before but it really didn’t eat and I became too paranoid about any potential poisons or toxins that it cod release instead.

 

[l4nsky]

Alright let's see now. It seems you're wanting to lean more towards cichlids. If you want a breeding pair for a 75g, Jack Dempsey cichlids would be a good choice, although I would hesitate to keep anything else with them. If you're leaning towards a community tank, Severums, Geophagus sp., convicts, or Uaru are other options to consider as they aren't too aggressive. Dwarf Crenicichla or the smaller sp are an option, but I've never kept them so I dont know about compatibility. African cichlid communities are another popular choice, but I dont have the experience to suggest particular species. If you want more oddball predators, Polypterus senegalus, palmas, and palmas polli all stay close to a foot in max length. H. odoe and A. falcatus are two pike like characins that stay small, although they are quite delicate and flighty and probably wont mix well with more robust cichlids. I wish Channa were still legal or easy to come by, because a community of gachua would be perfect for a 75g. You could try a community of Erythrinus erythrinus if you heavily decorate the tank and give them plenty of places to hide from another. A small predator african biotope would be amazing, with african butterfly fish, reedfish, Ctenopoma, and congo tetras. If I were to setup my 75g as an aquarium again, I'd definently go with a school of Australian, turquoise, boesmani, and New Guinea red rainbows with some pictus and a designer angelfish pair or a planted amazon biotope with discus, altum angels, rummy nose tetras, flag tail catfish, and Hognosed Brochis.

Thanks,
--Matt

 

[mantisfan101]

Thanks for your contributions; that helped me narrow my list down a lot. Right now I’m really considering maybe a pair of electric blue acaras, crenicichla saxitilis, maybe some flag tail catfish or hoplos, or some bichirs. I also want to breed these fish as well which is why Iw as leaning towards cichlids and I don’t necessarily have a green thumb so a planted aquarium is sort of off the list. Now I’m maybe thinking about somes eba’s, geophagus topajos red, or some rainbow cichlids along with a couple hoplos and bichirs.

 

[Dry Desert]

Thanks for your contributions; that helped me narrow my list down a lot. Right now I’m really considering maybe a pair of electric blue acaras, crenicichla saxitilis, maybe some flag tail catfish or hoplos, or some bichirs. I also want to breed these fish as well which is why Iw as leaning towards cichlids and I don’t necessarily have a green thumb so a planted aquarium is sort of off the list. Now I’m maybe thinking about somes eba’s, geophagus topajos red, or some rainbow cichlids along with a couple hoplos and bichirs.

Why not go the marine route and have lovely vibrant corals, crimson shrimps, mandarin fish, the world is your Oyster, so to speak.

 

[l4nsky]

Thanks for your contributions; that helped me narrow my list down a lot. Right now I’m really considering maybe a pair of electric blue acaras, crenicichla saxitilis, maybe some flag tail catfish or hoplos, or some bichirs. I also want to breed these fish as well which is why Iw as leaning towards cichlids and I don’t necessarily have a green thumb so a planted aquarium is sort of off the list. Now I’m maybe thinking about somes eba’s, geophagus topajos red, or some rainbow cichlids along with a couple hoplos and bichirs.

My experience with flag tail cats is that they are rather sensitive to water quality. The last small school I purchased all died within a week. It may have been a bad import, but I think it was they had trouble adjusting to my more basic water parameters. The next time I attempt them will be in a tank that I use RO water for and can easily control the pH with. Just words of caution.

Thanks,
--Matt

 

[The Seraph]

Why not go the marine route and have lovely vibrant corals, crimson shrimps, mandarin fish, the world is your Oyster, so to speak.

That takes a lot of work and also he it used to be a saltwater tank until now I believe.

 

[mantisfan101]

Why not go the marine route and have lovely vibrant corals, crimson shrimps, mandarin fish, the world is your Oyster, so to speak.

My dad’s got a 55 and 40 gallon saltwater upstairs. Personally I don’t want to go down that route because fo the high cost and maintenance. I’ve helped my dad change the water for the 55 and it just seems to be way too much work. Also I’m still in school so I won’t have enough time to care for it.
In regards to the flagtails I did notice that there wasn’t much info on how hardy they were. Also I apologize for asking so many questions but this is what I’ve managed to narrow my options down to and I’d like some criticism-
- group of 5-6 geophagus topajos red and maybe 3-4 hoplos catfish(maybe either one’ll breed?)
- pair of nandopsis tetracanthus(if I can find one)
- some sort of amphilophus sp. They seem to have the same amazing personality of a flowerhorn with a lower chance of infertility
- Pair of rainbow cichlids and maybe some bichirs
- neolamprologus shell dweller tank(75 gallons worth of simillimus or multifasciatus would look super cool)
- 1 flowerhorn and a few bichirs
- a bunch of apistogramma cacatuoides or whatnot in a blackwater biotope with some upper to midwtaer tetras and some smaller pleco species

 

[l4nsky]

My dad’s got a 55 and 40 gallon saltwater upstairs. Personally I don’t want to go down that route because fo the high cost and maintenance. I’ve helped my dad change the water for the 55 and it just seems to be way too much work. Also I’m still in school so I won’t have enough time to care for it.
In regards to the flagtails I did notice that there wasn’t much info on how hardy they were. Also I apologize for asking so many questions but this is what I’ve managed to narrow my options down to and I’d like some criticism-
- group of 5-6 geophagus topajos red and maybe 3-4 hoplos catfish(maybe either one’ll breed?)
- pair of nandopsis tetracanthus(if I can find one)
- some sort of amphilophus sp. They seem to have the same amazing personality of a flowerhorn with a lower chance of infertility
- Pair of rainbow cichlids and maybe some bichirs
- neolamprologus shell dweller tank(75 gallons worth of simillimus or multifasciatus would look super cool)
- 1 flowerhorn and a few bichirs
- a bunch of apistogramma cacatuoides or whatnot in a blackwater biotope with some upper to midwtaer tetras and some smaller pleco species

They mostly seem like good options. Cuban cichlids are pretty easy to find online, you shouldn't have a problem there. I'm not too familiar with Amphilophus, but if you're thinking a Midas or Red Devil, a pair will need a 125g+. I'd rethink the rainbow cichlids and bichirs. When the Polypterus get to adult size, the rainbow cichlids would probably become a snack. Reedfish probably could cohabitate with them. A colony of shelldwellers would be a neat sight and could be kept with other smaller Tanganyikan cichlids. A blackwater tank might be your next step, they take a decent amount of work unless you have naturally soft tap water. Personally, I'd lean towards the Geophagus and Hoplos. It would be a nice community and both have a decent chance of breeding for you. Would look really nice with a sand bottom, driftwood center piece and some floating plants (for the hoplos bubble nesting behaviour). If you want the "pet" fish, go with the flowerhorn and bichirs. My favorite fish I've ever had was a male Managuense and that big cichlid was like a dog. Wish he was still around.

Thanks,
--Matt

 

[moricollins]

My dad’s got a 55 and 40 gallon saltwater upstairs. Personally I don’t want to go down that route because fo the high cost and maintenance. I’ve helped my dad change the water for the 55 and it just seems to be way too much work. Also I’m still in school so I won’t have enough time to care for it.
In regards to the flagtails I did notice that there wasn’t much info on how hardy they were. Also I apologize for asking so many questions but this is what I’ve managed to narrow my options down to and I’d like some criticism-
- group of 5-6 geophagus topajos red and maybe 3-4 hoplos catfish(maybe either one’ll breed?)
- pair of nandopsis tetracanthus(if I can find one)
- some sort of amphilophus sp. They seem to have the same amazing personality of a flowerhorn with a lower chance of infertility
- Pair of rainbow cichlids and maybe some bichirs
- neolamprologus shell dweller tank(75 gallons worth of simillimus or multifasciatus would look super cool)
- 1 flowerhorn and a few bichirs
- a bunch of apistogramma cacatuoides or whatnot in a blackwater biotope with some upper to midwtaer tetras and some smaller pleco species

I love the apistogramma route, but I'm biased, they are be favorite fish

 

[mantisfan101]

Ok so I finally decided to go for the cuban cichlids. Someone on ebay’s selling a group of four of them but for whatever reason they appear to be orangish red instead of the typical grey or silver. As for the apisto tank I think that’s what I’ll do with my 55 gallon tank. I just did a massive water change to my cacatuoides wild tank and it seems that the female was flirting with one of the males more than usual. She also seemed to display her typical female colors more prominently but it seems that for whatever reason she stopped. @moricollins , do you still keep and breed apistos? I really want to try diving into(pun intended) more species like agasizii, borelli(although fry take forever to grow up), and trifasciata if I can.

 

[moricollins]

Ok so I finally decided to go for the cuban cichlids. Someone on ebay’s selling a group of four of them but for whatever reason they appear to be orangish red instead of the typical grey or silver. As for the apisto tank I think that’s what I’ll do with my 55 gallon tank. I just did a massive water change to my cacatuoides wild tank and it seems that the female was flirting with one of the males more than usual. She also seemed to display her typical female colors more prominently but it seems that for whatever reason she stopped. @moricollins , do you still keep and breed apistos? I really want to try diving into(pun intended) more species like agasizii, borelli(although fry take forever to grow up), and trifasciata if I can.

I don't keep them any more. Mine passed away about 10-12 years ago and I've had a hard time finding them again. I have a 75 gallon tank in my garage that I'm getting cleaned up, it'll likely (hopefully!) be for apistogrammas.

I used to have cacatuoides and Agassizii, they were both fun to observe and keep