75g Help~

[Ninjouzata]

I came up with more questions! I'm sorry I keep posting/bumping..

How does the substrate affect the bichirs coloration? And in what amount of time? I was thinking of doing part of the tank with light sand and the other part with black. I want them to have the best coloration they can have though.
Also wondering if any of the fish I plan on stocking have been known to bite. I think I read of at least one person getting bitten by their bichir. What's it feel like?

It seems like a lot of the ones I've seen on here are wild, how do you handle this when you get them? QT? Do they need to be given some sort of meds while in QT to make sure they aren't carrying anything?
Was also reading that there are different patterns/coloration between captive & wild? I want to try and get the best looking ones I can find but not sure how to go about that. I imagine that's partly why everyone has multiples of the same kind, since they all have something different about them

Thank you again to whoever responds!

 

[Ninjouzata]

Actually not sorry for bumping, as I want my questions answered lol. >.<
Perhaps I should make a separate thread for the sand and wild/captive questions..

 

[Ninjouzata]

I put the bichir questions on another thread in the appropriate section. I think I'll be adding them last so lots of time to get those questions answered.

In the mean time.. I believe we're going with a 75g, as met someone on another forum that lives near my siblings who is selling one. Tank, stand, lid, lights for 100$.
Seems a great deal to me I would really love if we could get an fx5 but I have not seen any for sale around here, so, am wondering, could the Penn Plax Cascade 1500 do for this tank? Please let me know. If it won't suffice you think for the adult sizes of these fish, could I maybe get an estimate on how long it'd be okay for? Can upgrade later, just money is tight now around Christmas, and my father is the one paying so I really don't want to blow up his wallet.

 

[convict360]

Be prepared to never ever see your Raphael Catfish when it finds a cave lol.

 

[Ninjouzata]

Be prepared to never ever see your Raphael Catfish when it finds a cave lol.

Cut the raphael out of the stocking to make room for the bichirs & you're right I'd probably never see it XD

Here is the newest stocking list
1x Brown Ghost Knife
1x Delhezi Bichir
1x Palmas Palmas Bichir
1x Palmas Beuttikoferi Bichir
1x Leopard Ctenopoma
6x Congo Tetras
1x Angelfish (Maybe)

I am still contemplating whether to do congo tetras or upside down catfish. Not sure which area those particular catfish tend to stay at.
Have heard the congos & USD both will mess with the plants, but wondering if it's so much that I may as well not plant it or..?

 

[Ninjouzata]

Some more questions..

I know I am really going back and forth here with the 75g and 5x2x2 thing. It's just hard to get a concrete answer out of my dad, at least right now with us being low on money from Christmas.
I was talking to him about it today and he seems very accepting of the bigger tank.. I most certainly wouldn't mind waiting til my birthday or something. Is glasscages a good place to order from, if going new?
I've seen a few 150g tanks on craigslist but none with the dimensions I want. ><

Along with that..would a fire eel be able to be housed for life in the 5x2x2? If seriouslyfish is anything to go by then yes, but as have said I much prefer hearing peoples first hand experiences.
Also would like to know how it'd fare with the other fish.

Do ya'll think there'd be an issue with having the 5x2x2 (If I can get it), on the second floor?
I've been told it may be good to get an engineer to talk about it with but am not sure what exactly I'm looking for or how much it would cost.

Would love some thoughts on a background, was thinking something more rock or cavelike would be best.
These are the only two I've found that I like.

1) http://www.thatpetplace.com/seascape-double-sided-background-24in-by-ft
2) http://www.petsmart.com/product/index.jsp?productId=12262501&lmdn=Fish+Decor&f=PAD/psNotAvailInUS/No

 

[Ninjouzata]

I hope no one minds these conversations with myself

Also meant to ask if the congo tetras will need to be kept in a certain male to female ratio, or if I can do all males.
I read that having females would make the males color up more, but since I can only get such a small amount of them I think I'd rather just do all males, if possible.

Still not 100% sure if I'd rather those over the USD catfish.. Havn't been able to find much info on what region of the tank the USD like. I'd think mid to top because of the way they are but whenever I think of catfish I imagine they're on the bottom.. ><

 

[Ninjouzata]

Bump

 

[Ninjouzata]

Nevermind about the fire eel. Looked in the eel section on here and apparently it should be kept in 72" long & 30" wide tank. I wasn't feeling right about possibly putting it in a 5 ft tank anyways.

I would love to do another spiny eel though, if I can. Can they be mixed with bichirs?

If I am asking stupid or annoying questions, would love to hear some suggestions on how to better my posting. Other than research more, of course.
I do try my best with that but I am not as good at it as I'd like to be, and as I've said I like to hear first-hand experiences.

Hope to hear from someone soon. Thank you for any and all responses!

 

[Ninjouzata]

Alrighty we have picked up a tank!

It is a ~130g if the calculator I used is right, and it is definitely one I trust. Dimensions are 72"x18"x23"

Due to this, what sort of stocking am I now looking at? Can I add more bichirs and up the number of schoolers? And if spiny eels can be mixed with bichirs..can I add a spiny eel too?

Again stuck on filtration, we can't get an eheim 2260 or an fx5. Can I get a penn plax cascade 1500 for now, and then another later on as they grow, or maybe one of the more expensive ones if possible?

Thank you again for any and all responses. It's appreciated