Min tank size for life for a few natives.

[Push]

Ok guys, first off I want to introduce myself as I am somewhat new (haven't been here in many years), I joined up around here back in 2005-2006 under the name LMB guy and used to have a 90 gallon that I had stocked with quite a variety of fish. (LMB, Crappie, Senegal Bichir, Shovelnose Catfish/Sorubim Lima, marbled gobies, Channel catfish, Convict Cichlids, Pacu, Chain and Grass Pickerel and not all at one time) I have however gotten more joy out of keeping natives rather than the tropical fish.

With all of that said I had a catastrophic tank failure (Leaking seam) that caused me to get rid of my tank and all my fish, and I am looking to get back into the swing of things and looking to get an Acrylic 330 gallon tank measuring 96x30x30 and looking to stock this with natives again.

However I have a few questions as I am slightly concerned about the fish that I want to keep and housing them for life in the 330 gallon. The first fish that I am contemplating is a single Chain Pickerel as I have had one before and unfortunately didn't get to keep him long because of my tank failure, my friend took him in and unfortunately he didn't make it past 18 inches before dying from a disease that affected his entire tank.

I know that the pickerel has the ability to grow up to about 30 inches (that is in extreme cases) but I am almost positive that a single Chain pickerel in the size tank that I am looking at would be set for life considering how docile they are.

Other combinations I have been looking at were some sort of bass (LMB is out of the question as I am positive I will NOT be able to keep them for life in the 330 gallon) maybe small mouth, or redeye/spotted/guadalupe if I could find them.

My question is with the list that I have provided do you guys think that any of these fish will be set for life given the dimensions of the tank that I am looking at?

Thanks, I appreciate any help.

 

[warmouth]

Spotted size wise would work in a 330g for life, but they are very aggressive the pickeral should definatley be bigger than the bass. Another fish that would work for life in that setup would be a large bullhead or a white catfish.

 

[Push]

Spotted size wise would work in a 330g for life, but they are very aggressive the pickeral should definatley be bigger than the bass. Another fish that would work for life in that setup would be a large bullhead or a white catfish.

Yeah, I know with atleast the Smallmouth/Spotted or other black bass would be set, or atleast theoretically should be considering the footprint. If I do the pickerel I HIGHLY doubt anything else would be going in the tank with it. Considering the sheer size that they get to, and anything that I am likely to put in other than maybe a very large plec would get eaten. I was thinking maybe a endlicheri bichir, but even if it was 18 inches it's a recipe for disaster considering the Pickerel can get up to 25-30 inches and the size of it's mouth.

I was thinking maybe a bullhead or two and some large sunfish but I am serious concerned it will probably eat either of the two and the catfishes spines pose a serious threat if the pickerel were to try to get ahold of them.

 

[Noto]

Pickerel do not like boisterous tankmates such as sunfish. I suggest you plan on either a very quiet pickerel tank, or a rowdy sunfish/bass/catfish tank, but not both together. By the way, which 330 are you looking at? If you go with Tenecor, get the one drilled for a sump and not the one with the filtration in the back. I have that model and it's a huge pain to clean and maintain the filter area.

 

[Push]

Pickerel do not like boisterous tankmates such as sunfish. I suggest you plan on either a very quiet pickerel tank, or a rowdy sunfish/bass/catfish tank, but not both together. By the way, which 330 are you looking at? If you go with Tenecor, get the one drilled for a sump and not the one with the filtration in the back. I have that model and it's a huge pain to clean and maintain the filter area.

This is the tank that I am looking at right now http://www.fishtanksdirect.com/browseproducts/330-Gallon-Aquarium-96x30x30.HTML, I actually was debating on the sump system or actually just getting the standard show aquarium and using 2 Fluval FX5s or Eheim Pro 3e.

Also on the note about the pickerel believe me I learned the hard way they don't really like active tankmates, I had two grass pickerels before I had my chain and neither really did well because of some of the other fish in the tank. However the Chain was much hardier from my experience and was actually much more agressive and less caring about his tankmates than either of the grass I had.

If I do decide on the Chain I do believe it will be alone just because of the sheer size of it, and the fact that whatever I put in with him would probably end up as lunch except for a large pleco.

 

[Push]

Back to the top, do you guys think the 30 wide tank will be enough for a chain for life? I did the one inch per gallon rule and came out to a rough guestimate of the fish needing atleast 324 gallons at 27 inches long, 4 inch wide, and 3 inches tall. However I am not sure how often it is that chains break 24 inches.

 

[Dark Jester]

Back to the top, do you guys think the 30 wide tank will be enough for a chain for life? I did the one inch per gallon rule and came out to a rough guestimate of the fish needing atleast 324 gallons at 27 inches long, 4 inch wide, and 3 inches tall. However I am not sure how often it is that chains break 24 inches.

Potential problem there is a 25"+ long fish in a 30" wide tank. You want the fish to be comfortable turning around or facing the front without worrying about bumping the sides. For a 27-30" fish I'd be looking for something with a width around 45" (48" would probably be more 'standard'). Take the fish's length and add 50% to it to get a guideline width. Granted if you get it young it will be happy in that 330 for a very long time. You won't need to think about upgrading til it starts to get over 20".

 

[Push]

Jester thanks for chiming in, I think I may go about trying to get a 96x48x30 especially considering the pickerels are not known for their flexibility like aros. Atleast with the 30 tall format I could still get it in the door way

 

[warmouth]

Jester thanks for chiming in, I think I may go about trying to get a 96x48x30 especially considering the pickerels are not known for their flexibility like aros. Atleast with the 30 tall format I could still get it in the door way

Sounds good.....keep us posted on your progress!

 

[Push]

Sounds good.....keep us posted on your progress!

I'll make sure to post pics of the progress when I get the ball rolling, however I have changed my mind and decided to go with a slightly larger tank, I believe I will actually be going with the tenecor 420 gallon (96x48x30) as it is cheaper and has a better footprint for the pickerel that I am planning to stock it with. I do however need some help on the filtration side of things.

I have been debating between a wet/dry (which I have absolutely no experience with) or 2 FX5s, I do think I want to go this route however I am not sure how this will work on the acrylic tank because from what I have been hearing is the FX5s couplers/clamps are set up for glass tanks and not really meant for the larger lip on acrylics. If anyone has any experience and would care to lend a few words I would be greatly appreciative.