tankmate logistics and tank setup

[shekes]

An empty 135g (63”x 28”x 18”) is waiting to be set up in my living room. A 14” black arowana will be its main inhabitant. I need help to decide on its tankmates and need to redistribute my fish more or less permanently. I had some 30 fish die on me in the last few weeks (they were large discus, jurupari, pangasius a few Africans etc. etc. some due to aggression but most of ammonia poisoning.) and need serious advice only.

I was thinking of buying one or two Potamotrygon motoro (or hystrix) and adding it, the lonely jurupari and a few of the larger discus to the arowana. But I have everything ready to put in the UGF and no sand for the rays. So I am not sure whether or not the motoro can live on gravel, and, if I do get sand: How do I clean it?



Below is a complete list of my tanks and fish. My question concerns acquiring tankmates and redistribution of the fish I already have. I am not interested in advice on water quality.


My tanks:
- a few 5-15g with goldfish, frogs, newts, snails and stuff
- one 20g with 10 kuhli loaches and 30 tetras
- one 20g with a 5” Rafael cat
- one 30g with a 5” bala, 5” angel, 3 1”-2” Jds, tiger barb, $1 and some garbage fish
- one 15g with a very lonely 7” jurupari
- one 50g with around 10 African cichlids (8” Socolofi and smaller borleyi, lomardoy, etc) and an 8”female crenicichla semifasciata (overstocked)
- one 55g one with two adult Oscars trying to kill each other and a 11” hypostomus plecostomus
- one 55g with a 13” crazy black shark (MORULIUS CHRYSOPHEKADION) who is usually in the 95g but is now recuperating from the injuries he sustained in his acrobatic performances
- one 65g with 14 discus of different sizes and a blue shrimp (overstocked)
- one 95g with a 10” male crenicichla semifasciata (my favorite fish), 5 5”-6” sinspilums, a 14” sailfin pleco, a 8”cloudy doradid and the black shark who is now in the 55g hospital
- one 135g empty, to be set up and filled as soon as possible as a 14” black arowana is to be delivered (it is waiting in a 30g at the other guy’s place)

one of the 55g and the 65g (with discus) are exposed to a lot of direct sunlight. There are no plants, not many decorations. I will buy one or two at-882 filters on Monday and will change 80% of the water in all tanks every 2-4 weeks.

I am not interested in advice on water quality.

 

[sohfatfish]

Get bottom dwellers and mid level dwellers to go with your black arowana. You can get silver dollars for mid level dwellers, discus can also be used but that would have to be based on the temperament of your arowana. Rays are a good choice however i advise against UGF as the rays would mess everything up. Also i find UGFs inefficient as compared to cannister filters of overhead filters and they are a pain to clean. Just use a fine layer of sand(2-3mm in size) like maybe 1 cm thick or even lesser to cover the base of your tank. Make sure the sand has no sharp edges. Place a powerhead near the bottom of the tank to circulate water above the gravel to facilitate the removal of dead spots. This powerhead can also be used to push all the dirt into the intake of your cannister filter. Once a week before you do your water change, just use your hand or a net to swirl the gravel around to dislodge the dirt. Then just siphon the now suspended dirt away and you have a clean tank.

 

[piranha45]

Get all the oscars in the 135g asap. A 55g is not suitable for a grown oscar; too narrow. Throw out all but one synspilum as they mature. Give the other cichlids like the pikes and syn 55gs as they mature.