Rekindling the hobby

[lingi]

Hello MFK community, i hope everyone is doing well, im new here so i guess an introduction is necessary, im Bernard from Malta, i was a very keen aquarist with 7 aquariums and owned many types of fish, most aggressive being, oscars, clown knifes and a couple of red bellies.... i quit the aquarium hobby a couple of years ago since i had to move my home and we also had a heat wave killing most of my fish with the 36degrees(celsius) temperatures i experienced.

Anyways i would like to get back in the game slowly - what i can place in my living room at the moment is a 250ltr tank roughly(dont know how much that is in gallons). Im looking for something aggressive and ive been doing a lot of reasearch lately, im really not too much into chichlids, ive taken a look at snakeheads, redbellies, hoplias(wolffish) but im also not too fond of the idea of a species tank or an aquarium with only one fish in it (but still i might go for it). I have a reservoir/pond 300,000gallons with a hell of alot of mosquito fish(gambusia) and goldfish that i can feed.

I tought id ask you guys over here for any ideas of setups that i can go for with a 250ltr. Id like to have some live plants in it and a half sandy bottom with alot of bogwood for hiding places. I was thinking of getting a f/w stingray and maybe two gars(not sure) and form a small community of semi/mildly-aggressive fishes tough im not sure what exactly i can put with the ray so it wont get harrrassed, but the idea of a stingray appeals to me. A friend also suggested i go for an african aquarium with butterfly fish, leaf fish, bush fish, catfish(chaca chaca).

Sorry for giving you a long read thanks for any constructive help you may give me and have a nice day lads!

Bernard

PS: Id like to know the names (preferably scientific) of the types of gars,snakeheads and f/w stingrays that stay small because this is of utmost importance to me when i order my fish. By small i mean under 1foot/30cm/12''

 

[Oddball]

Welcome to MFK!!!

You can place lots of nice and/or aggressive species in a 65gal. Gars and rays won't do for such a tank. These require much larger systems for even the smallest species. Also, rays are out for any tank you wish to cultivate plants in . They'll rip them out simply because they're there. As for snakeheads, there are dwarf and smaller species that would do well in a 250l. I suggest checking out the snakehead forum and see what members are raising and which species may appeal to you.

 

[lingi]

Thanks for your reply mate, i was told that the smallest ray only reaches 30cm/1foot diameter so a tank which has a width of 3times more than that is ok, and they also told me that it doesnt matter how many water the tank can hold if it is distributed along a shallow tank, thats why rays came to mind, and i am not sure about which gars you were referring to but 250ltr isnt small for 30cm fish as far as i know. I may be wrong of course and will keep every suggestion in mind, thanks for replying!

 

[krichardson]

Welcome,what's the fish scene like in Malta,are there many good stores there?

 

[West1]

Welcome

Rays are out of the question. Sure you can get one but it wont last more than a month. The small Rays need atleast 150gallons (I think thats like 520Liters or so) and thats is still probly to small. Will it fit, yup... what makes it a "No"... the way they Piss. They will mess up your water so bad and eventually kill itself from the Amonia and Parameters going crazy (but you wont see it cause its in the water they breathe).

I would stick to small fish. Not even a Oscar is big enough for a 60gl (250lt) tank by himself.

Its best to save more money and buy the tank... folowed by the filteration system... then the fish you planed to buy. Otherwise your waisting your money bro
Just My Opinion but it sounds like there is no changing your mind (oh yeah, dont get a gar. It would be a good grow out tank till they are about 9" or so. then you might have a Broke-Back-Gar from running into the glass and then die or look funny)

 

[lingi]

Hey there, thanks for your replies, as i said i was just asking for your suggestions and doing some research, money isnt the problem but space is so i guess rays are out of the question, @west1 - my mind is easily changed thanks for your info i wont be getting gars/rays i guess, so that leaves me open for ideas, id like suggestions on what i can get in a 250ltr(preferably with a couple of plants here and there) and would also like to know if Co2 is a necessity or not.

The local fish scene here in malta is pretty limited and there arent may reliable petshops, but the guy at my local store told me that he imports from germany/malasia/thailand/singapore and told me to send him scientific names of the fish i might be interested in so he can check if they are available for him to get me....

 

[Cichla dude]

a at dat shoal tank!
Happy thanksgiving!