125 gallon tank ideas

[joshua752]

I used to have a 75 gallon with an adult oscar featherfin catfish and a convict cichlid the nitrates were never over 25ppm and they all lived imo good healthy lives. That's why I was thinking this might work in a 6 foot tank. But lmk what you think!

 

[Gourami Swami]

I think it's going to be heavily stocked, if you go that route will need a strong maintenance schedule. But I think it is do-able.

 

[joshua752]

Do you think something like 50 percent weekly water changes? And i could pull that off ?

 

[Gourami Swami]

Do you think something like 50 percent weekly water changes? And i could pull that off ?

personally I like to keep nitrates below or at 20ppm by water change day. Oscars, while super tough, are susceptible to HLLE/Hole in the head especially when kept without enough maintenance, so many people like to keep nitrates even lower for an oscar. Your test kit will tell you how you are doing. My guess would be once the fish are adults, a single 50 percent will not be enough, maybe a larger percentage or two a week.

 

[burntrubber]

Okay sounds good ! So any chance of the flagtail or would that up my bioload to much?? I will get 2 bristlenose then!

Flag tails grows to slightly over a foot in length if you are OK with that. They do get a bit nippy sometimes but great algae cleaners.

 

[Joshuakahan]

I have kept a red tail before he was sort of mellow mannered but I would gladly remove him if you all think its better off without him. I just enjoy the look of a male fire mouth how about some more pictus instead like the original list with 2 angels and 6 pictus cats? Or drop the firemouth and add a snakeskin gourami thoughts on this? And I'm thinking about going with serpae tetras, Congo tetras, odessa barbs or rainbowfish for the school.

I think you’re list is good, I like the idea of the gourami over the firemouth, none of your choices are very expensive so if you had to return one, it’s not a huge loss. Have you thought about columbian tetras? They’re pretty interesting

 

[Joshuakahan]

I do love oscars always have. The most personable fish ever to me. But could i do something like this.
1 oscar
1 red spot severum
1 acara
5 clown loaches? Or something that's a bottom dweller any ideas?
And some type of algae eating pleco?

You could do the Oscar, severum and a type of pleco, but I would stop there and be prepared for lots of WC. There’s a chance the Oscar and severum could fight at some point, but that’s always a possibility with cichlids, if that’s what you want, go for it and have a back up plan

 

[joshua752]

Yah my revised stock list will be
1 oscar
1 severum
1 smaller pleco like a rhino plec or green phantom or gold nugget
Then i will probably end up throwing in the electric blue acara or some denison barbs.
I will make sure to test often when they get large i will probably end up doing 2. 40 percent water changes a week

 

[Niki_up]

Yah my revised stock list will be
1 oscar
1 severum
1 smaller pleco like a rhino plec or green phantom or gold nugget
Then i will probably end up throwing in the electric blue acara or some denison barbs.
I will make sure to test often when they get large i will probably end up doing 2. 40 percent water changes a week

Not sure if you know how big rhino pleco get.... they are about a foot long. I seen one in a pet store adult sized and it was a beef Cale, I couldn’t imagine the mess it makes

 

[joshua752]

I've heard and researched and saw they max at 10 inches half the size of a common pleco. I wouldn't want to go much smaller i would think an adult oscar would kill any pleco smaller than that?