What To Do with My 75...

[pwmin]

I wanted to move a larger tank upstairs as a niece piece to fill out my new living room arrangement and both I was considering (210 long and 125) are just too big a/o long and would be too tight for getting to the hallway that goes to the bedrooms, so I'm stuck with using a 75 (a 120 would probably work, but I don't have one).

Anyway, the 75 is being used as a hospital tank for an azul right now, but it's going to be free pretty soon. I want some sort of characin for the tank, but I can't decide. It doesn't have to be a for-life tank. Here are some of the choices I've thought so far:

- red-tail 'cudas
- brycon
- group of tats and/or raphs
- small armatus (try again)
- small ATF
- piranha (an LFS has a couple Manueli or I could order a black mask elong or something else)
- group of small pygos
- wolf
- open to other suggestions

what would you stock it with?

 

[Otherone]

Nice stocklists - can't really go wrong with any of them as a life long or growout.
I guess with your choices - The Black Mask Serra. Elongatus would be my choice if I had it available to me. However Hoplias Malabaricus is one of the most impressive Characins I own.

 

[pwmin]

thanks for the input. I'm having a really hard time deciding. I really want to turn it into a salt tank and keep a trigger, but I can't afford to right now. It's definitely on my list for the future, so i guess the best thing to do would be to use it as a growout for and armatus or atf or something. I'm kinda leaing towards a piranha, though. A wolf would probably be a bad idea for the future as I won't want to put it with my other fish and might have a hard time selling a larger common wolf.

I had an elong before that died and I really like them as they're probably my favorite P, but I'd like to maybe get something different and I'd have to order from aquascape to get one right now, whereas I could get a 4" manueli right now. Good thing about getting a serra is it'll only become more valuable (to the right person, obviously) as they get larger since they grow so slowly.

I still have a little time as I still have a couple fish that need to heal up before they can be moved out of the 75 to make room for something else. I'd really like to do a group of tats, but finding them will be hard and expensive.

 

[pwmin]

should I put this thread somewhere else? I didn't know since it basically cover two forums, the P forum and the other characins forum. I know I usually don't visit this exact forum. I would think more people would have opinions.

 

[Angler]

Well, Serras take so long to grow. Do you think you would get bored waiting to grow out one?

Your choices are pretty much what I would have in mind. If it weren't for my wife hating "ugly fish", right now I would have either a small group of Pygos or a Wolf in my 75. Those would be my top choices. But, if you could get a Serra that isn't shy (I'm not real familiar with the personalities of Mannies or Elongs) that would be a pretty cool choice.

 

[pwmin]

Well, Serras take so long to grow. Do you think you would get bored waiting to grow out one?

that's what I'm worried about, lol

Your choices are pretty much what I would have in mind. If it weren't for my wife hating "ugly fish", right now I would have either a small group of Pygos or a Wolf in my 75. Those would be my top choices. But, if you could get a Serra that isn't shy (I'm not real familiar with the personalities of Mannies or Elongs) that would be a pretty cool choice.

it depends on the individual fish, but they're two of the most aggressive, so once they get used to the tank, they're usually pretty good. Have you seen the two manueli that Fish Palace has? I just might try a wolf. At least malas aren't very expensive.

 

[Angler]

Yeah, I've seen the two Mannies at FP. Are they kinda pricey?

Anyways, as I said, Serras just take so long to grow. Sure, you will have an awsome monster, but that will be several years from now once it grows out. I guess I'm just not patient.

Why do you like Serras more that Pygos?

 

[Otherone]

From what I understand Mani's have a hard time surviving transport which makes them very expensive and rare. As for personalities and interactive behavior the Elongatus and Maculatus are the 2 I've seen to have the most. Much more so than any shoal of Pygocentrus I've ever owned. Hoplias Malabaricus has the most aggressive growth rate I've ever seen in a fish - 4-12" in just a few short months however it's 50/50 that you get an outgoung mala like mine or one that hides until the room and tank are completely dark. I think it would be lame to have to stand there with a flashlight like some ppl do just to watch your fish.

 

[pwmin]

Yeah, I've seen the two Mannies at FP. Are they kinda pricey?

Anyways, as I said, Serras just take so long to grow. Sure, you will have an awsome monster, but that will be several years from now once it grows out. I guess I'm just not patient.

Why do you like Serras more that Pygos?

I'm not that patient, either. However, I wasn't getting impatient with the elong I had at all, so i might be okay. I wish the elong at fish palace was actually a black mask as it says. I'm thinking I'd like to try something different and a manueli would fit. I just don't care for most pygos, especially RBP's and if I got pygos, I'd want a shoal and caribes and others are a lot of money if you get more than one. There's just something about serras, I guess.

From what I understand Mani's have a hard time surviving transport which makes them very expensive and rare. As for personalities and interactive behavior the Elongatus and Maculatus are the 2 I've seen to have the most. Much more so than any shoal of Pygocentrus I've ever owned. Hoplias Malabaricus has the most aggressive growth rate I've ever seen in a fish - 4-12" in just a few short months however it's 50/50 that you get an outgoung mala like mine or one that hides until the room and tank are completely dark. I think it would be lame to have to stand there with a flashlight like some ppl do just to watch your fish.

That's what I hear, too. The elong I had was pretty strange; it was like skittish and bold at the same time.



I think I'm leaning towards a mala right now. It won't be that expensive and if I can afford one later and wan to lose the wolf, I'd most likely go for a "ruby red" spilo.