Im back. New tank...need suggestions 125g

[mitchkulis]

I don't think we had a heater in ours. The common pleco is pretty hardy. Our tank sat in our livingroom and was usually in the low 60's for temperature. The Pleco was giant, he had to have been over 12" long. He ate all the fish poop and grew super fast. I don't think we ever fed the pleco. We w

I don't think we had a heater in ours. The common pleco is pretty hardy. Our tank sat in our livingroom and was usually in the low 60's for temperature. The Pleco was giant, he had to have been over 12" long. He ate all the fish poop and grew super fast. I don't think we ever fed the pleco. We would just drop-in our extra minnows from a day of fishing. probably once a week.

ould just drop-in our extra minnows from a day of fishing. probably once a week.

Thats awesome i will def look into the sunfish and pleco combo. Thanks

 

[mitchkulis]

I’m in the process of transferring some that I grew out in a 55 over to my 125. I have a Longear Sunfish from Zimmerman’s that’s a knockout and rivals the look of some tropical fish. A Warmouth that has a lot of personality and makes a good tank mate. A pumpkin seed that honestly isn’t what I’d hoped for, very bland color so I’m guessing maybe female, and no real interesting behavior, she’s not aggressive so there’s at least that. A yellow perch which adds a very different body shape and color to the tank, also a good tank mate. A brown bullhead catfish, that is getting big enough it can’t hide all of the time like some smaller cats will. Also, I kind of wanted to stick with a N. American theme so I also have a Green Texas that adds nice color and interesting behavior. Not much aggression from the Texas after it established dominance in the tank. The main challenger was the Pumpkinseed, so maybe losing that challenge has contributed to the Pumpkinseed being drab and uninteresting now? Anyway that’s my lineup for my 125 and I don’t plan on adding anything else.

That sounds like a great line up. I like the diversity. I cant wait to see what i can find. I like the idea of having a bullhead too. So many great natives that rival tropicals its hard to choose

 

[mitchkulis]

If you are in the Milwaukee area, check out BT Darters.
Brian has a lot of tank bred very colorful species(not just darters), and can often be found at Milwaukee Aquarium Society meetings.

Duanes thanks for the heads up. I am in Milwaukee so I will definitely check BT darters out.

 

[nhwn915]

Hey everyone,

I was fortunate enough to pick up a 125G for a steal so now Im ready for your stocking/aquascape suggestions. I have a ton of cichlid experience, but have never kept natives. I was thinking of this...

Pumkinseed, sunfish, bluegill, maybe perch, creek chub, minnows.

With scapes of river rock and driftwood. Sand or soft substrate. Easy plants such as anubias or colder hardy species

Filters came with it and theres one diatom canister and one hang on filter waiting to be used. Lighting looks like compact fluorescent but i may upgrade. Stand will be stained and i wanna cover up that hideous gap at top. Here it is...View attachment 1361122View attachment 1361121View attachment 1361123

If you are looking for pretty natives: longear sunfish ,dollar sunfish, green sunfish, rainbow darter, brook trout,
if you are looking for hard hitting fish: green sunfish, bass, creek chubs (<--always hungry)
Good luck!

 

[mitchkulis]

Update
Hideous gap covered up.
Placed extra side braces on .
Stain and top coat.
Moved to final resting place.

Side note: if anyone has suggestions on shimming or leveling Im all ears. Its not by a lot but it will need some help leveling.

 

[mitchkulis]

Update of tank with water filled and cycled for 7 weeks. Water perameters were checked and nitrate and ammonia are next to nothing. So i decided to go with some hybid bluegill for now. We will see what happens. Everyone looks like they are getting along so far. Possibly will add more plants and rocks. Also i have try and anchor the driftwood. I might add some small school of bait fish but thats about it for now.

 

[mitchkulis]

Few more shots

 

[DRC]

Few more shots

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If nitrates were low or 0, it doesn’t sound like it cycled. Were you providing a source of ammonia to feed the bacteria during those 7 weeks? If it didn’t cycle you should expect an ammonia spike, and you will be doing a fish in cycle. Test ammonia and if you see it rising add Prime it’s either 4x or 5x the regular dose to detox ammonia. The detox only lasts up to 2 days, so retest and re-dose with Prime every 2 days. Also if you have access to some substrate from a cycled tank, that’s the best jumpstart for adding some good bacteria to your tank or cycled media from a cycled filter. There is a good chance that you will lose some fish during a fish in cycle, so hopefully you don’t have anything that you value too much in there. But good luck!

 

[mitchkulis]

If nitrates were low or 0, it doesn’t sound like it cycled. Were you providing a source of ammonia to feed the bacteria during those 7 weeks? If it didn’t cycle you should expect an ammonia spike, and you will be doing a fish in cycle. Test ammonia and if you see it rising add Prime it’s either 4x or 5x the regular dose to detox ammonia. The detox only lasts up to 2 days, so retest and re-dose with Prime every 2 days. Also if you have access to some substrate from a cycled tank, that’s the best jumpstart for adding some good bacteria to your tank or cycled media from a cycled filter. There is a good chance that you will lose some fish during a fish in cycle, so hopefully you don’t have anything that you value too much in there. But good luck!

No, dont worry when i meant low I meant nitrates were under 40ppm. But i have been monitoring them and they spiked at about 5 weeks. I used some large goldfish for the cycle but now they are gone. Im a water chemist so I got the equipment and know how.