Fish Thread

[My2butterflies]

I've been offered a 75 gallon tank complete with heater, background, and lighting hood. What would i put in it? I was thinking an oscar but then I realized that they're aggressive and hard to find tankmates for.

Nice!
Yeah, better to pass on the oscar. It would eventually need a tank 150g+ .
There are so many options with fish. It just depends on how much work you want to put in and what you are interested in.
Schooling and shoaling fish are the easiest to care for. Rainbowfish are gorgeous and some stay small enough to keep in a 75 for life.
This was one of my favorites.
View attachment 2523238
Males might fight with each other around females, but you could keep only males(great for their showy colors) to keep fighting to a minimum.
Then you could have bottom dwelling fish and snails if you wanted. Rainbowfish have always gotten along with everyone I’ve kept them with.

 

[RiverOtter]

I'd take the tank, because having it and setting it up are different things. You can have it for a while and take your time deciding what to do with it before setting it up.

And never be scared off from people who say "X needs at least xxx gallons" I've kept LOTS of goldfish very happily in a 10G ... because they were a half inch big when I got them. They grew = they moved (usually out to my stock tanks) I've had 40 bettas in a half full 10g ... because they were spawned there and that's all the space they could handle at the time.
If you put a tiny baby fish into the tank that a maxed out adult needs, poor thing will find a place to hide, terrified, waiting for the bigger fish that MUST be there to eat it. Never feel bad about putting a fish in a tank that suits it now, so long as you can upgrade or rehome when the time comes.

So if you want an oscar, get one! A small one, and watch it grow. And when you pick out your little one, think "Ok, if this exact fish gets to 12 inches, will someone else want it if I can't get a bigger tank?'
If it's a common tiger, probably not, so pass on that. If it's a lemon oscar or a long-finned albino (neither of which get as large as the tiger and may well be happy adults in a 75), then yes, someone will want it.

Off the top of my head, if I was stocking a 75 and water conditions weren't an issue, I would go with a pair of angels, a small shoal shoal of larger cories, and a shoal of pearl danios. Danios have very, very little bioload, so you could have a bunch, and the pearls are irridescent and very pretty when they grow (They'll get half again as large as the size they are sold). I'd round it out with a small group of brightly colored mid-dwellers; like 5 or 6 long fin cherry barbs.

This would give a centerpiece fish, in the larger angels, and activity top, middle and bottom, without being too crowded or busy, of all hardy, easy care species that can live in a wide range of conditions.

Alternately, if I had harder water, I'd hardscape and plant a lot, have two trios of sailfin mollies as my centerpiece, a pretty pleco and some dwarf crays for the bottom and a large school of dither fish, like 30 white cloud minnows or common/wildtype guppies if you can find them.

If I had soft water and experience (LOL, and I do, if you can't tell, I used to set up large tanks for offices) absolutely a blackwater tank with discus and a scad of neons.

And when in doubt, there's always the go-to of either fancy goldfish (fantails grow slowly if you aren't managing them HARD for fast growth and show and will definitely be wanted should they outgrow the 75) or fill that baby with livebearers. Those are always both fun tanks.

Lots of options!

 

[black_cat]

I'd take the tank, because having it and setting it up are different things. You can have it for a while and take your time deciding what to do with it before setting it up.

And never be scared off from people who say "X needs at least xxx gallons" I've kept LOTS of goldfish very happily in a 10G ... because they were a half inch big when I got them. They grew = they moved (usually out to my stock tanks) I've had 40 bettas in a half full 10g ... because they were spawned there and that's all the space they could handle at the time.
If you put a tiny baby fish into the tank that a maxed out adult needs, poor thing will find a place to hide, terrified, waiting for the bigger fish that MUST be there to eat it. Never feel bad about putting a fish in a tank that suits it now, so long as you can upgrade or rehome when the time comes.

So if you want an oscar, get one! A small one, and watch it grow. And when you pick out your little one, think "Ok, if this exact fish gets to 12 inches, will someone else want it if I can't get a bigger tank?'
If it's a common tiger, probably not, so pass on that. If it's a lemon oscar or a long-finned albino (neither of which get as large as the tiger and may well be happy adults in a 75), then yes, someone will want it.

Off the top of my head, if I was stocking a 75 and water conditions weren't an issue, I would go with a pair of angels, a small shoal shoal of larger cories, and a shoal of pearl danios. Danios have very, very little bioload, so you could have a bunch, and the pearls are irridescent and very pretty when they grow (They'll get half again as large as the size they are sold). I'd round it out with a small group of brightly colored mid-dwellers; like 5 or 6 long fin cherry barbs.

This would give a centerpiece fish, in the larger angels, and activity top, middle and bottom, without being too crowded or busy, of all hardy, easy care species that can live in a wide range of conditions.

Alternately, if I had harder water, I'd hardscape and plant a lot, have two trios of sailfin mollies as my centerpiece, a pretty pleco and some dwarf crays for the bottom and a large school of dither fish, like 30 white cloud minnows or common/wildtype guppies if you can find them.

If I had soft water and experience (LOL, and I do, if you can't tell, I used to set up large tanks for offices) absolutely a blackwater tank with discus and a scad of neons.

And when in doubt, there's always the go-to of either fancy goldfish (fantails grow slowly if you aren't managing them HARD for fast growth and show and will definitely be wanted should they outgrow the 75) or fill that baby with livebearers. Those are always both fun tanks.

Ok I feel really bad now because you just wrote out an extremely detailed and helpful response, because since posting that I've established that A) I might not be able to take the tank, B) it's probably much smaller than a 75, and is closer to a 29, and C) if I was able to take it I'm totally considering just putting a betta in it with a bunch of plants

 

[RiverOtter]

The beauty of tanks is you can do what you like with them! It's like creating your own little world.

One thing to know, in spite of what people online rabidly scream, bettas Do Not Like huge amounts of water, any current, or deep water. Many of them actively suffer in a big tank. It's water depth that is the main issue. They really don't want the water more than 6 to 10 inches high.

I love bettas. I breed bettas. My current betta tank is a half-full 20 long, and they are very, very happy. And it's a spawn of plakats, who do best of all varieties in deeper water. But just because plakats can. doesn't mean they want to.

Never, ever feel bad about keeping a betta in a lovely little desktop 5G. He will be happy and use most of the space. More than that for them is often wasted, or even stresses them. If you see a betta in a big tank, you'll notice he finds something to rest on as close to the top as he can get and spends most of his time within 6 inches of that spot.

 

[black_cat]

The beauty of tanks is you can do what you like with them! It's like creating your own little world.

One thing to know, in spite of what people online rabidly scream, bettas Do Not Like huge amounts of water, any current, or deep water. Many of them actively suffer in a big tank. It's water depth that is the main issue. They really don't want the water more than 6 to 10 inches high.

I love bettas. I breed bettas. My current betta tank is a half-full 20 long, and they are very, very happy. And it's a spawn of plakats, who do best of all varieties in deeper water. But just because plakats can. doesn't mean they want to.

Never, ever feel bad about keeping a betta in a lovely little desktop 5G. He will be happy and use most of the space. More than that for them is often wasted, or even stresses them. If you see a betta in a big tank, you'll notice he finds something to rest on as close to the top as he can get and spends most of his time within 6 inches of that spot.

Ooooooooooooh, ok! I didn't know that!! Is a 10 gallon tank ok?

 

[black_cat]

I haven't brought any of this up to my parents and don't intend to until I have $300 saved up for a 5-10 gallon betta setup. (I intend to have the fanciest 5-10 gallon setup you ever did see) But assuming I could keep the tank for use in the future, what would you put in a 29 gallon tank?

 

[black_cat]

I haven't brought any of this up to my parents and don't intend to until I have $300 saved up for a 5-10 gallon betta setup. (I intend to have the fanciest 5-10 gallon setup you ever did see) But assuming I could keep the tank for use in the future, what would you put in a 29 gallon tank?

I'm very very sorry to take advantage of your fish knowledge, I know I'm being a hassle, please by all means ignore this if it's any inconvenience.

 

[Halfpasthen]

The beauty of tanks is you can do what you like with them! It's like creating your own little world.

One thing to know, in spite of what people online rabidly scream, bettas Do Not Like huge amounts of water, any current, or deep water. Many of them actively suffer in a big tank. It's water depth that is the main issue. They really don't want the water more than 6 to 10 inches high.

I love bettas. I breed bettas. My current betta tank is a half-full 20 long, and they are very, very happy. And it's a spawn of plakats, who do best of all varieties in deeper water. But just because plakats can. doesn't mean they want to.

Never, ever feel bad about keeping a betta in a lovely little desktop 5G. He will be happy and use most of the space. More than that for them is often wasted, or even stresses them. If you see a betta in a big tank, you'll notice he finds something to rest on as close to the top as he can get and spends most of his time within 6 inches of that spot.

I definitely don't think a planted 5 gallon is abuse for a betta lol. I would argue that a plakat style betta (I don't morally agree with the breeding of extreme finned bettas) can do just fine in a large tank. I kept a sorority of females in my 90 gallon for 5 years without issue. That tank was at least 20 inches deep and they used every part of the tank.

 

[RiverOtter]

No worries! I'm online with some time to burn, it's why I'm here.
Yes, a 10 is fine, but a 5 is perfect for a single male. Any fin type will be happy in it. And you can certainly have a lovely, fancy 5g for around $50. I recently got my daughter a 5G kit with a filter, heater, LED hood and thermometer for I think 29.99 - it was on sale. Another $15 of plants and hardscape, and $8 for a lovely, rose-orchid looking halfmoon male and she's very happy with it. I don't know if she has any pictures. He shares it with a Chinese algae eater who will pass on to me and a series of bigger tanks as he grows.

@Halfpasthen , I never said a planted 5G was abuse, I said it was perfect. And you'll notice I used "he" exclusively, as female bettas are different enough in their activity and requirements to practically be a different fish. When most people think of a betta, they think of males.
I will say I'm impressed that yours used all the vertical space in a 90g. I've kept bettas since I was a child, and when I had a sorority in a 29 (my favorite tank size) they all stayed near the top, they only ventured to the bottom if food fell down that far.

 

[black_cat]

I've got a plan in my head for a 10g, and I'm pretty excited with it, so I'm going to try to A) secure the big tank for future use and B) set up a fancy 10 gallon. I don't mind spending more money than necessary, because it's not like it's money that could be going to food or something, because I"m still a kid.