Fish Suggestions for 100 Gallon Tank

kimjoshbri

We are looking for new fish for our tank. We had tetras and our last one passed away. We are looking for bigger fish but not too big. We like the Bala Sharks but are worried that they will out grown our tank. It is 6 feet long.

Thanks for any suggestions!

Canadian Fish

I keep baby Balas in a 6 foot tank. As you can see in the Bala Shark profile, some people suggest an 8 foot tank for them. So they may outgrow it. How wide is your tank? Length is by far the most important measurement but if they get to around 12" they'll need some width to comfortably turn too.



I have a poll going in my thread (link below) that is all about setting up and stocking large, 6 foot tanks. Welcome to the forum, and enjoy your new set up!

fish monger

Take a look at the Pictus Catfish in the fish profiles. They're big, but not too big and they swim in a very interesting manner.

Canadian Fish

Cichlids would also be nice in that tank, but I have no experience keeping them myself. Lots of people here do keep them and could help out if you went that route.

Rainbowfish don't get huge, but they are a beautiful fish and you could keep a nice size school in a tank that size. They are friendly and can be kept with any friendly fish that don't mind their energetic movement and are fast enough at feeding time. I keep mine with zebra loaches but in a 6 foot tank you have many more loach options.

Another great idea for a 6 ft tank is Discus. They are pricey but a group of them would look amazing in a 6 foot tank. They come in many gorgeous colors and patterns. They are timid so should not be kept with boisterous tankmates. They are in my opinion the closest freshwater fish to saltwater colors.

As per your original idea of Balas. I find them to be an active and striking fish. They are peaceful, but when large enough will eat fish small enough to fit in their mouths (as with most large fish) but they don't have giant mouths, so it is only an issue with very small tankmates) They are sutiable to keep with many different community fish, which is unusual in many of the larger fish.

People complain of them being skittish when you approach the tank but I got mine as babies and it has never been an issue.

Fish Monger, do Pictus Catfish come out in the day at all, or are they mostly nocturnal? I agree they are a great fish, and I've wanted to keep some, but after we turn out the tank lights we go to bed so we'd never see strictly noctural fish.

fish monger

When I had Pictus, under the totally wrong conditions (single fish or two), they were not solely nocturnal at all. They were fairly active when the lights were on and I would expect that to be especially true of a group of 5 or more. According to the profile, it seems like you might be able to somewhat reprogram them to be active at feeding time. Dim lighting is mentioned and that is easy to provide. Given the proper environment and viewing set up, I've found that fish can be interesting to watch in all of their stages of activity.

kimjoshbri

Looking at getting

12 tiger barbs
6 emerald tiger barbs
1 pleco
1 rainbow shark

any suggestions?

Byron

OK as far as this list stands now, but the question is what other fish might be considered? Presumably you will want more fish, as this is a 6-foot tank. The fish named will limit future options, as it notes in the respective profiles. [You can click shaded names for that profile; profiles are under the second tab from the left in the blue bar across the top of the page.]

Byron.

kimjoshbri

We have decided against the rainbow shark. Still looking at the tiger barbs. The tank is for my son now and the tiger barbs and pleco are the only two fish he wants. He is a vanilla ice cream kind of kid. ;) He also liked the tinfold barbs but I think our tank is too small for them once they are fully grown. Since the tigers are a middle level fish were trying to find a top level fish. Would zebra danios be a good choice? A few websites say yes but a few sites also say that angels and tiger barbs are ok together.

Byron

Yes to the danio and barbs. All barbs and danio are active fish, meaning they swim around a lot. So combining such fish is usually fine. By contrast, combining slow sedate fish with active fish is usually not good because depending upon the species involved the active fish can stress out the sedate fish just by their constant swimming.

The main issue with the Tiger Barb is their notoriety to fin nip. However, as it notes in the profile, when kept in larger groups and in sufficient space this is often negated, or confined within the group. But here again sedate fish are problematic, this time because they usually have long fins (gourami, angelfish, many other cichlids) and this is like waving a red flag in front of the bull. So we avoid such combos.

This is what I meant by future fish being limited. With the TB, other peaceful active fish will generally be fine.Just avoid sedate fish and long-fin fish.

Personal note, I too think Tigers are very beautiful little fish. But I got around them by having Black Ruby Barb which are similar but very peaceful (for a barb anyway). And I have these in with Congo Tetra, Emperor Tetra and Golden Pencilfish. All these species are very active. But in spite of the long fins on the male Congo, fin nipping is not an issue [though there can always be exceptions, fish can be individuals] with the particular species. This combo (along with a couple of peaceful loach species) makes up my 90g tank, and it has worked well for over a year now. Previously however, the Emperor were in another tank, with slower fish, and became real terrors. Which only shows how important the right combination of species is to a successful community aquarium. It is no fun watching fish being shredded and killed over and over.

Byron.

Tracy Bird

How about 10-12 Denisons Barb's

Very pretty fish and 6 foot gives them nice range to school.