Stocking idea for 300-500 gallon Aquarium
- Thread starter SmokyCartoon
- Start date
My apologies for the cryptic response. There is a fish commonly called a giraffe catfish that is from in and around the Nile region. I have a few and in my experience they can grow larger than 24" and they add a lot to a bioload so supporting a fish like that in a 200g +/- tank could lead to water changes that were more frequent than you might like. They're also very social so having one would be suboptimal for their nature. It's pretty common for me to notice multiple times during the day that they're all in the corner stacked on top of each other and they like it that way.
Every morning though the substrate is full of craters where they've sucked the entire floor of the tank up and spit it back out looking for and enjoying something the rest of the fish would find far too disgusting to eat. Their mouths are big enough that you could slide a 50 cent piece through it the hard way but they don't look to eat their tank mates which is a bonus as many catfish are fond of harvesting the occasional fish when the lights go out.
When I was young I would go through cycles of taking crazy care of my tank and then extended periods of less care than it needed. In the last 50 years or so I've come to believe that over filtering is good and polishing is good and UV sterilization is good and that a properly set up tank shouldn't need water changes as often as every week as they can be tedious and aren't part of what I enjoy. There's a balance that you will find suits you and it's hard to understand what that might be until you discover how to design a tank that meets your time constraints, budget and maintenance tolerances. Understanding hinges on a few aspects you need to experience at least a little before you can decide.
You can understand much of what you need to know through the kind of Q&A you're doing. Then after you have cared for a tank for a year or so you'll look back and realize that you couldn't have known what you didn't know and with experience you'll discover what's important (to you) and maybe how to achieve it. At this point though getting a good grip on all the facets to be balanced would be a little like trying to learn to drive over the phone.
You'll figure it though. Don't worry about that.
Assuming you're not in an area that's too rural for it there's a high likelihood you'll find someone that will be helpful at a fish shop you frequent. Those guys can be a huge asset and a monstrous help. If you get the chance to volunteer at an independent LFS or maybe snag a few hours part time work at one you can learn a huge amount as well. By doing that you can sometimes learn how things work best w/out having spent your own money getting the education.
Been looking at the Harlequin Lancer Cat, do y'all think this fish could be compatible with the Oscars?
I've never had one but I do know that there will always be a possibility for something to go sideways and there's nothing quite like being a beginner and noticing one of your favorite fish half hanging out the mouth of one of your others and when it's a fish w/ barbs or serated whiskers, etc. there's a good chance that both will be lost.
A different question that might bring some interesting responses might be to find out what some of the posters on here might recommend as a first tankful and why. I'd bet a nickel the responses you rec'd would be interesting and probably more likely to get along better (and probably be less expensive to maintain / purchase ) than you might expect.
