Suggestions for a planted 65 overhaul or addition

[magpie]

Hey all,

I have a 65 gallon low tech planted tank with mostly SA community fish. It's been stable for so long that I'm kind of just wanting a change. I'm writing in this forum because I am a sucker for oddballs.

I am currently stocked with 12 rummynose, 5 huge 5-year-old cardinals, 8 white tipped tetras, a handful of kuhli loaches, a BN plec, a para plec, a solo goby, and some marbled hatchets and nannostomus eqqus.

I am just ready for a change. I had an awesome pair of wild laetacara araguaiae, but when they spawned they got aggressive to my other inhabitants and stressed them out too much, so I rehomed them. I don't really want angels, though they make a lot of sense for my tank, I don't really like the look of rainbows, and gouramis (other than chocolates, which really need their own setup) don't really appeal to me either.

I seriously thought about transitioning to a discus tanks, but the people on the discus forum seem to think that planted tanks are a bad idea for a new discus owner, and my dimensions might not be right for them anyway. So despite a lot of research I am just going to scrap the discus idea.

I love unusual fish and personable/interactive fish, and I could do a group of Bolivians or Keyholes with maybe a single angel, but again that's not super exciting for some reason. Or I just rehome some of these fish and start over with a different group of larger type fish.

I have always loved rope fish and leopard ctenopoma, so I could go that route.

I would love to have a single severum or a pair, but my tank is too small for a pair long term, and maybe even for the single. Plus... I really do love plants. Most people say they are horrible with eating them, with a few outliers saying it works when you start with babies and have floating plants for them to target.

Any ideas for me, either just to add to this tank of mostly small fish, or as an entirely new stocking setup?

I would happily rescape. I'll post a tank photo later once the light timer comes on.

 

[magpie]

Also, we will be moving in 1-2 years, and I will be upgrading to a 75 or 90 at that time, which will give me more options, and give my potential additions more future room IF they are slow growers.

If I had only known how much the 3-foot footprint would limit me, I would never have gotten it.

Tank is 36 x 18 x 24tall

 

[magpie]

If I were to go leopard ctenopoma route and transition out the small fish, how many would you get for my tank? 3?

 

[magpie]

I got a single 1.5 inch tank-raised ctenopoma today. They've been feeding them live and frozen black worms and bloodworms so far.

The rummynose will now need to find a new home. Right now they're all as long as he is now so the killing won't likely start right away. The LFS will take them immediately if needed.

 

[magpie]

Here's the tank. I just ripped out a ton of vals. They will fill in more, don't worry. I'm definitely open to rescaping suggestions.

And here's the new guy - sorry for the crappy phone photos. I'll have to break out the real camera soon. He is just SO cool. Loves to explore. He has been a little shy at feeding time so far but I've been trying to use a pipette to blow the frozen blackworms and brine shrimp his way. I'll get some live of one or the other tomorrow - the store I got him from was out of live black worms.

He did go after a shrimp wafer left for my bottom feeders, carried it off and then dumped it. So maybe I can get him onto shrimp pellets and Repashy (EVERYONE loves Repashy!) I prefer to feed all different kinds of things, so we'll see what he will go for over time.

 

[magpie]

I'll just keep talking in here.

The leopard has settled in nicely and is now out and about at feeding time with everyone else. I guess there is some sort of blackworm shortage (?) so I fed live brine and it was really fun to watch him hunt them.

I had read that they become interactive little food-beggars, and he is well on his way.

I realized, seeing him next to the Para pleco, that I must like spotted fish. I do also love jaguar cichlids.

 

[Hendre]

Jags het huuuuuge.
If you had the 90 now i would of advised you to an african knife, awesome fish and i plan on getting one soon for my 75 when i get tropicals to go with a bichir and pink tail chalceus

Other oddballs for your tank could include:
African butterfly fish, hangs on top, looks badass and loves floating insects

Centipede knife, similar to the african with more patterning

Ropefish,will outgrow a 65 possibly but 90 will be great.

Your tank looks awesome man good luck

 

[Fish Tank Travis]

I would reconsider discus. They require great water conditions but I believe they are much easier once they are grown out. The real work and crazy water changes are usually done during the grow out time. If you go ahead and buy adult discus then they should do well if you keep up with your water changes and keep the filter(s) clean.

 

[magpie]

Jags het huuuuuge.
If you had the 90 now i would of advised you to an african knife, awesome fish and i plan on getting one soon for my 75 when i get tropicals to go with a bichir and pink tail chalceus

Other oddballs for your tank could include:
African butterfly fish, hangs on top, looks badass and loves floating insects

Centipede knife, similar to the african with more patterning

Ropefish,will outgrow a 65 possibly but 90 will be great.

Your tank looks awesome man good luck

I know jags get huge, but they are so cool looking!

Thanks for the suggestions. Will a centipede knife work now, or also only after an upgrade? I like the idea of the butterfly fish, maybe once my last two hatchetfish are gone to fish heaven.

I would reconsider discus. They require great water conditions but I believe they are much easier once they are grown out. The real work and crazy water changes are usually done during the grow out time. If you go ahead and buy adult discus then they should do well if you keep up with your water changes and keep the filter(s) clean.

You know, I was on the discus forum and they were just basically telling me it was a bad idea for a bunch of reasons.
Essentially:
A new discus owner shouldn't do planted.
If you did do planted, you'd have to do adult fish 5" or so
So I was ready to do that... but then one peson said that the larger 5"+ fish would not have much room to move around in a 3 foot tank. To assure there was no aggression I'd want to do 5 or 6. A single discus is supposedly not happy? Otherwise you'd get a proven pair and they might get aggressive - no guarantees.

Maybe someday I'll revisit the idea.

 

[magpie]

PS - the little leopard eats directly out of the bottom of a pipette for frozen food now.