Looking for ideas for a tank i'm building

[AdamZax]

Hi everyone, been lurking for a long time but first time posting.

I'm looking for some stocking ideas for an upcoming build. It will be a cube, 4'x4' with a height of 20-24" (not quite decided yet but can make it whatever)

I am interested in arowanas but i'm not sure if it will be enough space for one considering how long they get. Oscars are another fish that interests me.

Beyond that I will have a number of catfish such as raphaels and large plecos, so nothing that I will really need to worry about with aggressive fish.

So just wondering what other fish might work well for a cube shape of that size, to give me some ideas.

thanks

 

[fishhead0103666]

Well are you more interested in big fish, little fish, aggressive fish, peaceful fish, oddballl fish? Schooling fish, lone fish, toothy fish, rare fish, common fish, there are so many to choose from.

 

[Backfromthedead]

I love a nice square tank! Go for 24" tall and remember that your tank is considerable longer than 4' as a cube, but in fact close to 6' from corner to corner. With this in mind and a 24" height i think it would be a great size tank for a jardini aro perhaps. But good tankmates for them are few.

A few oscars would also work well with the catfish and plecos.

If its me, im setting up a black ghost knife tank. You could probably keep the bgk, an uaru, 6 angelfish, 6 blue acaras, 6 red head geos, a couple big plecos and a few raphael cats, and a couple dozen lampeye tetras.

 

[AdamZax]

Well are you more interested in big fish, little fish, aggressive fish, peaceful fish, oddballl fish? Schooling fish, lone fish, toothy fish, rare fish, common fish, there are so many to choose from.

Hah yes, I should have given a bit more info about that.

I'm more interested in having a few big fish rather than a bunch of smaller fish.
Temperament, rarity etc I don't have much preference on just looking for some good ideas.

For example some of the fish i have been finding interesting lately are oscars, pike, arowanas, bichirs. So that should give you an idea of around the size i'm looking at.

should also add, I adore any type of catfish, and also tend to prefer fish from the south and central american regions, but that's not a hard requirement.

I've had lots of tanks before but all smaller and this will be the first one i can realistically put in bigger fish which is why i'm looking for some ideas as to whats out there and what might work well for the square shape of the tank.

I love a nice square tank! Go for 24" tall and remember that your tank is considerable longer than 4' as a cube, but in fact close to 6' from corner to corner. With this in mind and a 24" height i think it would be a great size tank for a jardini aro perhaps. But good tankmates for them are few.

A few oscars would also work well with the catfish and plecos.

If its me, im setting up a black ghost knife tank. You could probably keep the bgk, an uaru, 6 angelfish, 6 blue acaras, 6 red head geos, a couple big plecos and a few raphael cats, and a couple dozen lampeye tetras.

That is a good point about corner to corner, I hadnt considered that actually, thanks!

 

[Jexnell]

Some other South American cichlids to think of.

Red Terror (Festae) m 16in f 12in
Green Terror m 12in f 10in
Blue Acura. m 6in. f 4in
Sevrums
Angelfish
Chocolate cichlid
Uaru cichlid
There are some bigger Geo's just not ever had or really looked into them.

Central American
Jack Dempsey. M 10in f 8in
Cuban cichlid. M 12in f ?
Black nasty cichlid m. 15. F ?
Green Texas. M 12. F 10
Midas. M. 14. F 10
Firemouth
Wolf cichlid
Convicts
Pearsei
The whole Vieja subfamily

Not sure if peacock bass could work, also look into pike cichlids.

And many many more, this should get you going. You could always google all the ones a reputable dealer has in stock to get ideas of whats commonly available if you don't mind paying for shipping.

http://www.wetspottropicalfish.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=2&Itemid=116


http://www.tangledupincichlids.com

 

[AnthonyFish20]

Id add 2-3 Oscars probably 2 but maybe if u dont get attached to them like I do buy a group of 6 grow them out and keep the best 2

 

[AdamZax]

Some other South American cichlids to think of.

Red Terror (Festae) m 16in f 12in
Green Terror m 12in f 10in
Blue Acura. m 6in. f 4in
Sevrums
Angelfish
Chocolate cichlid
Uaru cichlid
There are some bigger Geo's just not ever had or really looked into them.

Central American
Jack Dempsey. M 10in f 8in
Cuban cichlid. M 12in f ?
Black nasty cichlid m. 15. F ?
Green Texas. M 12. F 10
Midas. M. 14. F 10
Firemouth
Wolf cichlid
Convicts
Pearsei
The whole Vieja subfamily

Thanks for the list, it gives me a lot to read up on

 

[Gourami Swami]

The arowana will outgrow this size aquarium, Jardini might be possible as mentioned but they tend to murder their tankmates.

You mentioned you don't want to worry about aggressive fish. I would recommend South American cichlids- the centrals are generally more aggressive. South americans live in closer proximity in the wild and would be more likely to co-exist peacefully in this tank. 4x4 is a good tank size but still only leaves 4' in any direction for a targeted fish to run- wouldn't be great for highly aggressive CA's.
The list Jexnell gave is good, and there are hundreds more from SA that will work, though I would avoid the red terrors. Lots of Geophagus species would work, I'd look into them too.
Another note- SA cichlids prefer soft, lower-pH water, and often won't do well in hard water. If you have hard water with high pH, then some of the less-aggressive centrals would be better.

 

[Deadliestviper7]

Tank with:
firemouth (large)
Chocolate cichlid
1 gt
1 red pike
School of pictus
Trio of Lima shovelnose
Chocolate raphael
Centipede knifefish
Lone altum
Adonis pleco

 

[koipie doll]

I’d be careful with the plecos. I have a 6’x2’ with 1 galaxy pleco and 1 gold spot pleco. They’re both between 2 and 3” and the galaxy is already starting to chase gold spot. I’m hoping I don’t have to regime one.