Breeding pair or a single Monster?

[magpie]

Ooh, a puffer - that's a great idea.

 

[DaveyOZ86]

Thanks for all the replies. I really don't know at this point which direction I'll be heading in. 2 things I'm sure of is I'll be getting a 75g and that I'll be keeping CA or SA Cichlids. I won't be setting it up until after the new year so I've got plenty of time to make my mind up. 1 thing I won't be doing is cramming a fish into a tank to small for their eventual size.

Thanks again to everyone for giving me more to think about. It's always a tough decision when setting up a new tank especially taking into account how long a lot of these fish can live for.
Cheers

 

[Frank Castle]

Hi all, after years of keeping planted tanks, rainbowfish, shrimp etc I'd like to get into keeping Cichlids.

Here are the 2 types of setups I'm trying to decide between.

40g breeder or 55g for a breeding pair of Firemouth

or

75g for one single fish like GT or something of similar size.

My question to people is from their experience what is more enjoyable? Breeding or concentrating on 1 monster growing big in the tank. Just interested to get some points of view to help me make a decision on what I should start out with.
Cheers
Dave

both. lol

 

[Fishguy679]

Do a 75 with a single monster and a 30/40 gallon with a pair of convicts or something small like that.

 

[Fishguy679]

Btw An oscar is a great wet pet for a 75 gallon. They grow fast eat like pigs and are a great fish.

 

[Stanzzzz7]

Oscars grow too big for a 75.

 

[Fishguy679]

I think a 75 Is the minimum for a oscar to be happy. I had a 14 inch one in a 75 gallon a few years back. It's really debatable but i think 75 is enough if you can handle the bio load. It's wide enough for it to turn around comfortably and is long enouf for it to have adequate swimmibh space.

 

[Fishguy679]

If you wanted an oscar and a significant amount of tankmates you would need a 100+ gallon that's at least 5 feet long and 18 inches deep but for just an oscar and maybe a catfish or something 75 is adequate imo if you can handle the massive bio load.

 

[kewpiefishypewpie]

I recently heard something, and I've only heard this from one source but seems like a reputable one, that it's not only about the bio-load or the fish having sufficient space to turn around. It's also about how fast nitrITE's are being converted to nitrate in your tank. In a smaller tank the nitrites are converted more slowly, resulting in nitrite poisoning and poor health.

 

[Stanzzzz7]

There is also exercise and mental stimulation to think about.
There is no way an Oscar could swim even close to full speed in a 75.