Are you keeping the Oscar in the 125 if you are that limits your options. Oscars are also super messy nd require a lot of filtration most people recommend 10x gph for oscars.
Newbie to large aquarium...suggestions please!!!!
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Hi Dj. I am actually getting rid of the Oscar(sale). He's great, but like you said my options are limited. There are so many cool fish I'd like to check out....btw, for now he is in the 55 gallon, that is being sold sans filtration units. I'm also thinking of building my own trickle/tower/wet dry (?) filter unit.
Welcome to the boards! Good luck on your new tank... there are so many possibilities it can be hard to decide on what to put in a tank, but you're doing the right thing by planning it out in advance. The longer you spend here the more you'll learn, and research is key in this hobby. It is a bit nerve wracking but so much fun to "dive" into. Best of luck with everything!
My suggestion would be to start out with something you can easily get rid of, in case things don't work out right away. From what you were saying, it sounds to me like an African or an American cichlid tank is what you're after(size, color, aggressive). Africans in general will have more color but there are notable exceptions when it comes to Central America that I'd like to tell you about. Cuban, Texas, Pearlscale, Jaguar, Chocolate, Flowerhorn, Black Belt etc are very colorful.. but don't expect the same chasing behavior that you get out of Africans. One plus about Americans over the Africans is the choice of fish that can live with them. I'm not saying Africans can't live with cats etc but they need specific water parameters based on where they are from and it can be difficult for a beginner to pick the right fish and have the right parameters based on what lake they are from. An example of this is the Tilapia Buttikoferi which likes neutral PH, then there are some that want a PH in the low 8's high 7's. If you research how PH effects fish you'll quickly realize why this can be a problem
My suggestion would be to start out with something you can easily get rid of, in case things don't work out right away. From what you were saying, it sounds to me like an African or an American cichlid tank is what you're after(size, color, aggressive). Africans in general will have more color but there are notable exceptions when it comes to Central America that I'd like to tell you about. Cuban, Texas, Pearlscale, Jaguar, Chocolate, Flowerhorn, Black Belt etc are very colorful.. but don't expect the same chasing behavior that you get out of Africans. One plus about Americans over the Africans is the choice of fish that can live with them. I'm not saying Africans can't live with cats etc but they need specific water parameters based on where they are from and it can be difficult for a beginner to pick the right fish and have the right parameters based on what lake they are from. An example of this is the Tilapia Buttikoferi which likes neutral PH, then there are some that want a PH in the low 8's high 7's. If you research how PH effects fish you'll quickly realize why this can be a problem
i have cichlids and felt the same way man, i had people telling what i could and could not do. but when it comes down to it you just have to make some decisions. if you like the fish try it. i made some $7 mistakes (one fish killed the other) but it was part of learning with cichlids. dont let people tell you what you cant do. for me if i see a fish CA or african i get it and try it out, i have take a few back to the store because it was getting beat up or gave to a friend. just experiment. but i would def advise on upping the filtration if you want more fish especially messy eaters like some cichlids
Update: thanks for all the advice! I have my 125 up and going and got rid of the 55 to my neighbor,along with the Oscar. What's funny though is that in changing out the 55 gallon, and as I'm telling my neighbor about this site, I found that small BGK that I had long ago thought became a midnight snack (which made me research and join this site,btw) came swimming out, which made me change up my processes a bit. I did cycle the tank for 3 days, and I kept the BGK in a small 1/2 gallon tank. My cycling was short because I didn't want the BGK todie from stress or lack of oxygen. So far he is ok, but now I have to rethink my stock. Since the first initial advice from the forum, I decided to go with fronts.... But I really want to keep the BGK...so does 3-4 baby Fronts and the BGK, and one Ornate Bichir sound feasible? Thanks sooo much guys!
Get a Senegal bichir too. They have so much personality and are very active. I have one of those and an endli in my semi aggressive tank. Be warned. Bichirs are eating machines. Anything that can, or they think will, fit in their mouth, will end up there. My bichir just tried to snack an angel twice his size. He would have killed it had I not been right at the tank when he snatched him up. I love my bichirs, but anything under five inches will eventually be food. They also nip long fins, so keep that in mind. If you have any bichir questions feel free to pm me. I know a bit about African cichlids too, as I have a tank of them as well.
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I agree with African cichlids when it comes to color and aggression!!! I have a tank full of them and they are non stop swimmer!!! Not monster fish, but have monster heart, not scared of anything!!! And you can over stock them, so you can do like 80 mbuna in a 125!!!
