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If I had a 220 Gallon Aquarium, I would stock....

On my way to getting my dream aquarium...

122K views 1K replies 53 participants last post by  djembekah 
#1 ·
We have a 20, 35, and 2 x 55 gallon tanks. Today we took the plunge and put a 6 foot, 125 gallon tank with stand on layaway. It will be our last tank.



It'll take a couple of months for me to pay off the tank, stand, heaters, filter, etc which gives me plenty of time to figure out what kind of substrate I want, whether or not I am finally going to try live plants, and what kind of fish to keep. Actually, i'm not even sure what kind of filter to get yet.

Our current tanks are very colorful and artificial looking (think Vegas, tacky but entertaining) as you can see in these pictures:





I'm thinking I would like the new tank to look more natural. We're going to use it as a room divider in our basement so it will be visible from both sides of the tank, we won't be using a background. So far I'm leaning toward some Balas, Barbs, and Loaches, if the tank is big enough.

Can't wait to get the sucker home and set up! Going to be a long couple of months. My 3 year wedding anniversary is July 18 and I'm hoping to have it then, as this is my anniversary gift.
 
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#386 ·
yes you should put something in there asap because the good bacteria will die off if there is nothing producing poop -> ammonia. Even a platy or guppy or something till you get the puffers or who ever is going in there.
 
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#387 · (Edited)
I'll put a molly. They are dirty. Just have to get the temp right first.

They easier to catch than the Balas. THEY FAST! Man, they were darting around avoiding me like crazy.

Edit: Ok, the temp in the two tanks was the same so I added a Molly to the 10. Poor little bugger is going to be lonely.

Holy cow, he was easy to catch. He practically swam into the bag.
 
#394 ·
Congo Tetras!









Added some color to the 220 today! Congo Tetras!

Unfortunately, they only had three large ones. So I got three big males, plus 3 small males and 2 small females.

Good looking fish!



This video has some good footage of the Balas too!

Our LFS got in a shipment of clown loaches today, and some Bettas. So we might add some clown loaches to the 220 later this week, and my son can pick out a Betta for his 5.5
Good thing they got some Bettas, as they only had blue ones left. My son is obsessed with getting an orange one, even though it won't show against his red substrate. If they don't get any orange ones in, they've got one in a display tank I think they'll sell us. He might change his mind by then. But he does love the orange.
 
#395 ·
Yeah for Congos. They have a fairly decent personality and will chase each other but I've not seen anything aggressive in my tank. Wondering how your ratio of 6M to 2F is gonna pan out. You have a Rainbowfish tank right? If you see anything horribly aggressive you can always move a couple over there. They get along well with RBF.
Great videos. Love the Puffers.

Hope they have an orange Betta!! There is one in our LFS right now. Not very common.
 
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#396 ·
Oops, missed this in the profile:

" The male is the more colourful and a mix of equal male/female is best, though a slightly higher ratio of females is advisable"

I just went with what looked better. Surprised the LFS didn't tell me, they let me know in the past when I bought other fish that required a higher female to male ratio. Hopefully the tank is big enough that the aggression is kept to a minimum. I can always add some females, though they only have them in the smaller size.

Go figure the kid would want a color that is harder to find, lol. Stupid Bettas.
 
#398 ·
Exactly Byron, I could not have explained it better. It is easy to see (hear) how much you love this species! I do believe this might be your favorite. :lol:

My 3 females also hover around at the top of the tank in utter boredom. lol. They don't school, and the guys don't bother with them.
Generally it is always a good rule to follow... 2M/3F but this species is so easy going and fun loving.
Ready, set,... go!!! The games never end. They race with my Boesmani and Lake Kutubu's who will join in on the fun.
 
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#399 ·
They have some Congos in a display tank at my LFS and they are always chasing each other when we're there. I have often commented on how beautiful they are, and active. Love the colors and the fins. I didn't realize they were congos until last night in chat it was suggested I look into them to add color to my tank. I was pleasantly surprised at my LFS today to learn they were the fish I had been admiring, and they had some in stock.

Anyone have any idea how long it takes for them to grow to the size of the three big ones I got?

Once I get some bottom feeders, the tank will look even better, though the Balas and the Congos quickly brought it to life.

I have wanted Clown Loaches ever since we started keeping fish, but never had a tank large enough. I think they're beautiful fish and very entertaining (like the Congos) and I look forward to bringing some home!
 
#402 ·
Ok, tried feeding the dwarf puffers for the first time. One of them ate a bunch! I don't think the others ate any. Hopefully tomorrow.

I had to edit out half of the video where he's eating because Charlie is prancing around naked on the other side of the tank, which my wife, who was filming, didn't notice.

The little punk had clothes on five minutes earlier!!

One of the fish has been winking at us!!

 
#407 · (Edited)
I have...

10 Gallon - Dwarf Puffers
20 Gallon - Harlequins, Neons, Platies, Guppies, Cories, Nerite Snails
55 Gallon - Silver Dollars, Pearl Gourami, Hillstream Loach, Peacock Eel, Mollies, Serpae Tetras, African Dwarf Frog, Leopard Bush Fish and Bala Sharks (moving to 220)
55 Gallon - Red, Blue, Boesemani Rainbows, Zebra Dainos, Zebra Loaches, Platies, Moonlight Gourami, Bristlenose Pleco
35 Gallon - Red Tailed Shark
220 Gallon - Black Skirt, Lemon and Congo Tetras (Some nice big colorful ones), Bala Sharks

and tomorrow adding Clown Loaches to the 220



My buddy is hooking me up with an old crappy CPU for the basement and we're gonna live stream every day. Hopefully within the next two weeks.
 
#409 ·
Charlie's Betta!



Charlie finally got his fish today! After all the "orange one" talk, he picked a blue and red one. They had a huge shipment of Bettas in, never saw that many at the store before. I can't believe how much some people will pay for a freaking Betta. Needless to say, we got one of the cheap ones.

I forgot to my camera to get a video of Charlie picking out the fish, but it is just as well, because it took forever.

He had named it Mary Poppins, for now. But I figure that will change many times.

 
#410 ·
Clown Loaches!!

We got six.



Not buying any more fish for awhile!!

Though, they did get a bunch of cool weather loaches in at our LFS this week....

At first three of the Black Skirts attacked one of the poor little Clowns, but I chased them off and now they're leaving him alone. I got lots of video of them, good thing too. The next time I went downstairs they all hid under a piece of driftwood.
 
#411 ·
woohoo!! MR Mary Poppins to you!!

Great videos. I wonder if the Black Skirt Tetras will end up remaining in the tank over time growing only to 2 1/4 inches and possibly need to be moved. The Loaches and Balas will get huge as you know... likely the Congo's will then end up the smallest in the tank. Interesting to see where this will go over time. Looking forward to seeing how this all looks a month from now!! Let alone 6 months. Good job!!
I love the "follow the leader" game they play.
 
#412 ·
The Skirts may get relocated before that, if they pick on the loaches again. I'd like to see the clowns grow up to get a little retaliation.

I have no idea how fast Balas grow. I know the loach growth slows like crazy after 5 inches or so. I figure the balas have small mouths and the clowns grow slow so if the Skirts behave themselves they should be able to stay in the tank for a good length of time.

I am loving the look of this fish mix!

Edit: Yeah, Charlie isn't big on Genders specifics.
 
#414 ·
ICK in the 220!!

Yeah, yeah, I know, Quarantine Tank. I was just talking to my wife about one yesterday, and asking about it in chat. Probably jinxed myself.

The store called this morning because a couple of clown loaches in their tank have started showing spots. Sure enough, ours have ick too.

I only had Ick once before, some Silver Dollars I got from Petsmart. This is the first time I got them from Big Al's. At least they called.

So apparently I can't use salts because of the plants, so it's raise the temperature and treat 'em. Apparently he has something that loaches can withstand, but it turns the water blue. I don't care about blue water as long as my fish are ok. Especially those HUGE Congos. They'd be a pain to replace. Probably impossible around here.

Now, the only question is, will he charge me for the medicine or not? Petsmart gave it to me for free.

Earlier this week, as I mentioned in chat, the switch went in my lightstrip. When we bought it, we got the great deal because it was a display model. The switch was shot, stuck in the "on" position. So we used that until they brought us in a new one. Now the new one is shot! I've heard those switches go, but that fast? So they're bringing me in another one. In the meantime, the tank is on a timer now, and I'll use the timer with the new one too, so hopefully the new one lasts forever.

What a week! We were really looking forward to NOT driving to Kanata today. We've been there every day for a week. Blech. And not nearly as fun going for medicine as it is for fish.
 
#415 ·
Oh Bummer!!!!
That is awesome that they called you too! It is quite likely considering they are taking responsibility for you having the ich to give you the meds free. Let's hope.
I remember having ich a couple of times and I do remember the blue water.
Keeping my fingers crossed that all come thru this.
Lesson learned on the QT tank.
My QT is down and empty right now... the leaking tank. I have the new silicone but need to spend time cutting out the old stuff.
 
#416 ·
I have a 10 gallon I could use, but it has no lights. It had a hood, but it's used and it looks like the lights almost caught it on fire once. I could quarantine fish in it, I suppose, but they will be in the dark.

We seem to be catching it early so hopefully everyone survives. Who knows, maybe blue water will be cool for a little while. Makes me want to experiment with other colors. JUST KIDDING!

Charlie turned the light on in Mary Poppins tank this morning by himself!

I'm gonna teach him how to feed her later. I didn't feed him yesterday because he looked pretty stressed when he got here, hiding in a corner all day.
 
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