Total N00b Trying To Start "Fish Keeping"

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Deftik

Feeder Fish
Jul 12, 2011
4
0
1
Scranton, Pa
I know what with all the fish psychopathes on here there must be some aquarium junkies too. I've always kept some sort of fish around in my house like a bullhead or golfish or two, but now I'm trying to branch out into more serious "fish keeping".

As of right now I have a 20 gallon long and I plan to get a 75 Gallon fish tank. The 20 long is for the living room and mostly for the amusement of my girlfriend and the little one, so I planned to get as many colorful variety of fish as it can sustain. Any suggestions?

For the 75 Gallon I wanted to go the cichlid or pacu route, however I'm glad I did some research because from what I gather online its only wise to have one cichlid per tank, and to not have any pacus at all seeing as they get two feet long. I'd still like to get an "exotic fish" for this tank, even if it has to hang by itself as long as its really cool.

So, with that said any suggestions on how to set these tanks up, what to include? Appreciate it guys. For any advice I promise to show the step by step process of me n00bing it up!
 
with the 20 gallon you can get a wide range of schooling tetras or rainbow fish that would really look great. Boesemani rainbows and congo tetras would be my favorites. You can even get some neat smaller catfish, such as driftwood cats. All very neat and lively, well maybe not the cats.

For the 75, I would suggest that you can get a wide range of exotic african cichlids that would look great and you could easily keep 4-6 in a 75 gallon. They do have some unique water specifications though (mainly high PH). Another thought is to look for smaller eartheater species (gymnogeophagus) that stay relatively small (about 5-7") and are somewhat peaceful. A severum could be added as well to a 75. I just got a basketmouth cichlid which is a great fish that stays about 5", big mouth, big personality. Some of the exotic dwarf species of cichlids could be kept in large numbers as well. A 75 could also house a tire track eel or something like that.

Are there specific "types" of fish you like? (puffers, angels, cichlids? etc.? cats?) is there specific biotopes you like? You have two blank slates, and really have a lot of options with the 75...you can't get the peacock pass, pacu and huge catfishes, or the highly aggressive cichlids, but there are a wealth of other options!
 
I like the tetras for the 20 gallon. How many would you put in it? I've heard anywhere from 1 inch of fish per gallon to 3 inches per gallon?

I like the idea of exotic african cichlids, I was leaning towards an Oscar but I think the ones I like are a little too aggressive to have more than one. I'd be willing to have a 1 fish 75 Gallon tank if the wish was cool enough to invest that much in, I guess I'm asking for input on that very subject, what would be an awesome fish to keep by itself in a 75 gallon or what species would look really neat if I had more than one of them (given they'd get along).
 
+1 on flowerhorn, you can get some incredible fish...but it's a tad bizarre. Google it first. Gotta love the hump.

If it was me on the tetras? Probably 7 on the Congo tetras, smaller types like neon or cardinal I would go as high as 15.



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Deftik said:
The 20 long is for the living room and mostly for the amusement of my girlfriend and the little one, so I planned to get as many colorful variety of fish as it can sustain. Any suggestions?
Click to expand...

20 gallon makes a great COnvict breeder.............
 
If you wanted the 75gallon tank to be african cichlids, you could easily support 15 or more Mbuna, or a few less peacocks, though I would stay away from the "haps" as many of them will outgrow that tank. Find some fish you're interested and ask about them in the African Cichlid section. many knowledgeable people there who can point you in the right direction.

If I had a free 20long laying around, I would do as others said and load it up with various tetras. If you want a bunch of fish that stay small, you can do 20 or so neon tetras or harlequin rasboras. If you stay with those type of small fish you can also add in lots of freshwater shrimp like Japonica or Cherry Red. Make sure you stay away from shrimp that look like they have really long arms (macrobrachium sp.) as they will eat your fish. I have seen a local pet store that sells these as "Freshwater Shrimp" or feeders. They are different than glass shrimp.

Also, try not to listen to the pet store guy who tells you "you need an algae eater". Common plecos grow huge, and the ones that stay small are usually quite pricey although they are beutiful. And just say no to Chinese Algae Eaters.
 
jrthor_85 said:
If you wanted the 75gallon tank to be african cichlids, you could easily support 15 or more Mbuna, or a few less peacocks, though I would stay away from the "haps" as many of them will outgrow that tank. Find some fish you're interested and ask about them in the African Cichlid section. many knowledgeable people there who can point you in the right direction.

If I had a free 20long laying around, I would do as others said and load it up with various tetras. If you want a bunch of fish that stay small, you can do 20 or so neon tetras or harlequin rasboras. If you stay with those type of small fish you can also add in lots of freshwater shrimp like Japonica or Cherry Red. Make sure you stay away from shrimp that look like they have really long arms (macrobrachium sp.) as they will eat your fish. I have seen a local pet store that sells these as "Freshwater Shrimp" or feeders. They are different than glass shrimp.

Also, try not to listen to the pet store guy who tells you "you need an algae eater". Common plecos grow huge, and the ones that stay small are usually quite pricey although they are beutiful. And just say no to Chinese Algae Eaters.
Click to expand...
+1
 
importracer said:
20 gallon makes a great COnvict breeder.............
Click to expand...


I got a pair of convicts when they were too young to tell gender....then they started breeding like rabbits...oh well, it feeds the rest of the fish, and it's certainly interesting to watch the behavior.
 
Id make it a planted odball tank, african butterfly fish, a school of glass catfish, and maybe three cory cats. And then either expand that with the 75 or keep the 20 and get an oscar, gt, or flowerhorn in the 75


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