75 Gallon, need suggestions on what to stock it with (newcomer)

  • We are currently upgrading MFK. thanks! -neo
It might be easyer if you decide on either 1 large cichlid or more smaller ones. A single trimac would be cool they have personality.
 
decide what you want, either a pair, community, or single fish. thats going to narrow down exactly what you can go with.

the best one-fish-only you could go with is a flowerhorn, a black belt or a red devil. their extremely colorful and filled with personality. they can however reach over 12", so theres a slight chance they may require a 110g or so eventually. just another excuse to get a new tank and new fish ;)

oscars can be a good choice, but its hit or miss with them if they will co-habitate in a 75g once they grow. theres a decent chance they will, so you could just get them from juvi's and grow them out together. kept well fed, chances are you should be ok with 2 oscars, altho a bit cramped for them if they both break 12" eventually.
 
hey man im from the charlotte area and go to fintastic on tryon they are a little expensive but the fish are always beautiful and the staff there is pretty knowledgable when it comes to fish, and if i were you id get a trimac i have one and its a great fish to have
 
i would do a pair of escondidos, or a big single cichlid like a midas, jag, vieja synspilum, or a red terror
 
bl00;2996996; said:
Oscars are nice, but long-term, you should only have 1 in a 75 gallon tank. I'd look into severums, hrp convicts, sajica, cutteri, pasionis, and acaras...I'm not familiar with your area but they shouldn't be overly pricey fish.
You might also enjoy a group of geophagus or gymnogeos as another alternative stock list.

I agree w/ this. Oscars get big fast, and a 75g starts to look small. I can't wait to give my oscar more swimming space.
Other great cichlids for a 75g would be JDs, salvinis, nics, robertsonis, GTs, smaller pikes, and texas.
 
teqvet;2997139; said:
Escondido all the way ;) or Green terror. Throw in a few striped peacock eels or loaches and plecos and you've got a nice tank :)


Being in the NC area you have access to a lot of options really. Some local vendors on this forum could give you a bulk deal if you got a few juvies to grow out and got some eels or plecos and loaches as well. Shipping you're looking at about 20-30$ for your area and a local vendor. Depending on the plecos you went with, they could range from 15-30$ a piece and loaches (not clowns!) will range from 1-4$ depending on the vendor. 2-3 small size fancy plecs would run you about 45-90$ depending on price + 20-25$ for 4-5 juvie growout cichlids.. striped peacock eels will run about 4-9$ depending on vendor. These prices are usually 1/2 the cost what you'll find retail or the same cost as other fish in retail but ones you'd never see due to them generally being rare in the mainstream trade.

If you do go via an online vendor, it's best to find one that carries most/all the fish you want as you save paying only 1 shipping charge. Doing this, I save over 100$ easily as opposed to going to one of the local stores.


Also, another idea I just thought of, $200 to ken at Fish Farm (vendor here on the forum) will send you either juvie fish or grown adults at a fair value.. you'll likely get a better deal in the long run with this idea. Now you aren't able to pick the fish when you do this, but give him an idea of what you're looking for and goals for the tank and I doubt you would be unhappy with the purchase! ;)

Awesome man!

You guys are right, the kids would get bored with just 1-2 fish. So a community tank sounds good. The eels sound very cool as well.

So....

Escondido or Green terror (how many exactly? Great suggestion, the wife will love these..)

(2-3) Striped Peacock Eels (this number correct?)

*or*

(1-2) Loaches and 1 (Plecos) (these numbers correct?)
 
dbcb314;2997580; said:
id go with a community. one fish would bore the kids IMO


I disagree. My kids love my Red Devil wet pet. When she attacks them through the glass they think it is the coolest thing ever. Just make sure if you get a big glass banger the kids know not to put their fingers in :D.
 
MonsterFishKeepers.com