I want a fish for my 72 gal that I can keep as a wet pet. By this I mean one that I will be able to interact with like a puffer or cichlid. I was thinking if a jack dempsey or green terrotr but a gt would probably get too big for the tank or at least be really tight. I was also hoping for some sort of freshwater puffer but all of them seem to grow really big. If I’m going for a cichlid I want either a crenicichla sp. or some cichlid with the body shape and nuchal hump of a fh. I’m also tied into getting a community tank since some rainbows or tetras along with some electric blue acars would really look good in there but I also don’t want to go through the hassle of a planted tank again. What should I do?
Wet pet or community tank for 72 gal?
- Thread starter mantisfan101
- Start date
I love my electric blue acara, will eat out of my hand.
Fat Homer
can help you with puffer if you want to go that route, you can also read https://www.monsterfishkeepers.com/...fer-introduction-reference-guide-beta.711682/
Fat Homer
can help you with puffer if you want to go that route, you can also read https://www.monsterfishkeepers.com/...fer-introduction-reference-guide-beta.711682/
If you don't want a true FH, but want a fish with a nuchal hump, look into getting a Red Texas Cichlid. The nuchal hump is much smaller than a FH's. Petsmart sells them.
Since you dont want a planted tank, grow rocks like I do & start an African Cichlid tank.
Since you dont want a planted tank, grow rocks like I do & start an African Cichlid tank.
My advice would be to pick something you like and go with it. This hobby is a long haul, you will have time to try different setups and see what your favorites are. If you are more patient, growing out a wet pet can be very rewarding. But on the flip side if you don't want to keep a fish for 5-10 years, it can be difficult to grow attached to one fish and then rehome it.
How about a green terror with some dithers? will give you a "wet pet" with the ability to have some small community fish as well. GT's are not super fast growers, a 72 will last one a long time. Whether or not it's OK forever would be a topic of debate. Personally think you'd be fine for a couple years at least.
How about a green terror with some dithers? will give you a "wet pet" with the ability to have some small community fish as well. GT's are not super fast growers, a 72 will last one a long time. Whether or not it's OK forever would be a topic of debate. Personally think you'd be fine for a couple years at least.
I’m really leaning towards a gt or jd but whattypes of dither fish would work? Mollies(I’ve heard that they live in the same range in the wild)? I was also thinking a small shoal of giant danios because I love the classic “minnow” type look of them and their speed which would prevent them from being bullied bynthe gt.
GT's are from south America, JD's are from central America. For the GT I would go with large tetras like Colombian or Buenos aires. For the JD I would go for swordtails, mollys, or other livebearers like goodeids if you can find them.
Keep in mind if you grow out a young one, the fish may not have a "wetpet" personality right away, and might be pretty shy until it is an adult. Sometimes growing out a group of 5 or so until they are around 4" or 5" can be a good way to pick your favorite one, and also helps the young fish feel safer and come out more.
What is the hardness and pH of your source water like? This may help you decide, JD's prefer higher pH hard water, GT's prefer a bit lower and softer water, though aquarium strains of both fish will be pretty adaptable.
Keep in mind if you grow out a young one, the fish may not have a "wetpet" personality right away, and might be pretty shy until it is an adult. Sometimes growing out a group of 5 or so until they are around 4" or 5" can be a good way to pick your favorite one, and also helps the young fish feel safer and come out more.
What is the hardness and pH of your source water like? This may help you decide, JD's prefer higher pH hard water, GT's prefer a bit lower and softer water, though aquarium strains of both fish will be pretty adaptable.
I think a Congo puffer puffer might be good, they hit around 8 inches but are hard to come by. I feel you are willing to go brackish then a topaz would work or a green spotted. As for crenicichla, I find they don’t have much personality. I think for a 72 a blood parrot, green terror, or jack Dempsey would be good, they all stay under 10 inches
Water is a bit harder around here, maybe 7.5 or a little bit above so jd might be a better choice. I also plan on getting like 5 of them to try and single out a breeding pair and seel the rest when they get bigger. I also like the idea of using swordtails as dither fish which would make lots of little babies(and maybe some food for the jds). Are there any other viable options such as some other tetras? Would a smol poly like a senegal or delhezi work?
For a breeding pair you could go for convict cichlids, and I think a bichir could work, not sure how well their parameters would match up, though.