I have a 65g tank that has undergone a number of changes in the past year.
Last November, it was a small-fish tank that was a bit sparse after I lost a number of fish to old age. Nothing but 12 glowlight tetras. And then I found a small (2.5") green sunfish at Petsmart. It had come in with their goldfish, and they didn't know what it was. I wasn't sure either, but I thought it might be a sunfish of some sort (I thought maybe pumpkinseed) so I took it home in hopes of giving it a good home or at least ensuring that it didn't end up in a 10g with an oscar and a goldfish. And then, a few days later, I went on vacation for a week.
I came back to 3 glowlight tetras and a just-slightly-larger sunfish. Not entirely sure how he downed that many adult (1") glowlights in a week. And then I did some research and found out that I had one of the most aggressive sunfish species it's possible to have. I didn't keep the sunfish, of course, but I fell in love with how much personality it had.
I moved the glowlights out, caught a few shiners instead, and (after more research) caught 6 young longears.
A couple of months after that, I caught a 3" warmouth sunfish and decided that I wanted to keep it. Beautiful little thing.
And then, a few months later, all the longears hit puberty.
Over the course of September, I thinned them out until I just had one nice sunny left. I first tried keeping a M/F pair, but the male didn't like the (possible) lady sunny, so now I just have a pretty male.
I couldn't keep the shiners in there because the warmouth started to threaten them, so I took them out and started looking for a replacement. Namely, something that a fish with a golf-ball-width mouth can't eat.
In November, I got some little silver dollars. They're spotted silver dollars, which are about 4-5" at full size. They're somewhat experimental, as I'm not certain how they'll act. The tank has very little hardscape up high, so plenty of space, and I'm going to see if they have enough swimming space. I couldn't find a definitive size range for them- some sites say 45g minimum, some say 75g minimum, some say between. If they start acting like they need more space, there's a LFS near me that can take them.
I also tried a cuckoo catfish and a twig cat, and they did fine, but they died of a (half-strength) dosage of what turned out to be re-named Malachite Green.
In December, I added a male Mexican molly. Mexican mollies are a very large livebearer species, and the males get at least 4" long. Females can top 6". The male is probably temporary (warmouth will grow big enough to eat him), but I may add a few females as long as I can grow them big first. I think they'll be large enough to not be swallowed.
About a week ago, I added a single angelfish to the tank. It's a bit of a risk, I know, but it seemed worth a try- especially since angels can stick up for themselves. I only got one to avoid breeding fights and territorial squabbles.
Summary:
One 5" longear, one 4" warmouth, five 1.5-2" silver dollars, one 3.5" mexican molly, and a 3" (length, not height) angelfish in a 65g. Temp is about 76F. Will be adding a redbreast sunfish when it grows big enough.
No major issues so far. Longear is the most aggressive. He tried to eat one of the silver dollars (left a mark around its dorsal fin) and then mostly left them alone when he found out that he couldn't. He occasionally likes to herd the school across the tank, but it's not real aggression, more like play. He gave the angel a "wtf are you" look when it was first added, but since it's not a sunfish or small enough to be edible, he doesn't seem to care about it.
Two of the silver dollars cautiously went after the angel when it was added. I didn't notice that its fin-tips are the exact color of the fragments that break off of krill when I feed them. They took half an inch off each feeler and a tiny bit off the tip of his dorsal, but they left him alone once they realized that he wasn't very edible. I've been monitoring the angel's fins, and there's been no reduction in length since the first two days. If they go after him again, I'll remove one or the other species, but so far it seems to be fine. I think they've decided that he isn't very interesting.
The angel doesn't seem to care about much of anything, and neither does the molly. The dollars mostly just dart around the tank being little veggie piranhas.
The warmouth is a bit like an oscar crossed with a leaffish. He doesn't much care about anything unless it's edible or invading his space.
TLDR: I have two sunfish, an angelfish, an oversized molly, and five silver dollars.I'm gonna see what happens. If they really start not liking each other, I'll remove something, but so far it seems to be working.
Last November, it was a small-fish tank that was a bit sparse after I lost a number of fish to old age. Nothing but 12 glowlight tetras. And then I found a small (2.5") green sunfish at Petsmart. It had come in with their goldfish, and they didn't know what it was. I wasn't sure either, but I thought it might be a sunfish of some sort (I thought maybe pumpkinseed) so I took it home in hopes of giving it a good home or at least ensuring that it didn't end up in a 10g with an oscar and a goldfish. And then, a few days later, I went on vacation for a week.
I came back to 3 glowlight tetras and a just-slightly-larger sunfish. Not entirely sure how he downed that many adult (1") glowlights in a week. And then I did some research and found out that I had one of the most aggressive sunfish species it's possible to have. I didn't keep the sunfish, of course, but I fell in love with how much personality it had.
I moved the glowlights out, caught a few shiners instead, and (after more research) caught 6 young longears.
A couple of months after that, I caught a 3" warmouth sunfish and decided that I wanted to keep it. Beautiful little thing.
And then, a few months later, all the longears hit puberty.
Over the course of September, I thinned them out until I just had one nice sunny left. I first tried keeping a M/F pair, but the male didn't like the (possible) lady sunny, so now I just have a pretty male.
I couldn't keep the shiners in there because the warmouth started to threaten them, so I took them out and started looking for a replacement. Namely, something that a fish with a golf-ball-width mouth can't eat.
In November, I got some little silver dollars. They're spotted silver dollars, which are about 4-5" at full size. They're somewhat experimental, as I'm not certain how they'll act. The tank has very little hardscape up high, so plenty of space, and I'm going to see if they have enough swimming space. I couldn't find a definitive size range for them- some sites say 45g minimum, some say 75g minimum, some say between. If they start acting like they need more space, there's a LFS near me that can take them.
I also tried a cuckoo catfish and a twig cat, and they did fine, but they died of a (half-strength) dosage of what turned out to be re-named Malachite Green.
In December, I added a male Mexican molly. Mexican mollies are a very large livebearer species, and the males get at least 4" long. Females can top 6". The male is probably temporary (warmouth will grow big enough to eat him), but I may add a few females as long as I can grow them big first. I think they'll be large enough to not be swallowed.
About a week ago, I added a single angelfish to the tank. It's a bit of a risk, I know, but it seemed worth a try- especially since angels can stick up for themselves. I only got one to avoid breeding fights and territorial squabbles.
Summary:
One 5" longear, one 4" warmouth, five 1.5-2" silver dollars, one 3.5" mexican molly, and a 3" (length, not height) angelfish in a 65g. Temp is about 76F. Will be adding a redbreast sunfish when it grows big enough.
No major issues so far. Longear is the most aggressive. He tried to eat one of the silver dollars (left a mark around its dorsal fin) and then mostly left them alone when he found out that he couldn't. He occasionally likes to herd the school across the tank, but it's not real aggression, more like play. He gave the angel a "wtf are you" look when it was first added, but since it's not a sunfish or small enough to be edible, he doesn't seem to care about it.
Two of the silver dollars cautiously went after the angel when it was added. I didn't notice that its fin-tips are the exact color of the fragments that break off of krill when I feed them. They took half an inch off each feeler and a tiny bit off the tip of his dorsal, but they left him alone once they realized that he wasn't very edible. I've been monitoring the angel's fins, and there's been no reduction in length since the first two days. If they go after him again, I'll remove one or the other species, but so far it seems to be fine. I think they've decided that he isn't very interesting.
The angel doesn't seem to care about much of anything, and neither does the molly. The dollars mostly just dart around the tank being little veggie piranhas.
The warmouth is a bit like an oscar crossed with a leaffish. He doesn't much care about anything unless it's edible or invading his space.
TLDR: I have two sunfish, an angelfish, an oversized molly, and five silver dollars.I'm gonna see what happens. If they really start not liking each other, I'll remove something, but so far it seems to be working.
