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I Need Some Fish Recommendations

3K views 15 replies 5 participants last post by  mHeinitz57 
#1 ·
Hello everyone!

I currently have a freshwater 90 gal tank and I'm looking to add some fish to it. It currently has:

1 White Sev
1 Leporinus
1 Krib
1 Blood Parrot
2 Black Skirts
2 Rosy Barbs
1 Very large Tinfoil Barb
2 Large Silver Dollars

I'm looking for some fish that are semi-aggressive, but not overy aggressive that will cause problems with the rest of the fish. But also some that aren't too docile that they get bullied by the Leporinus, Sev, and Parrot. Any suggestions?

Thanks :)
 
#2 ·
I would get some catfish species in there. Maybe a silvertipped shark or a pictus cat. If you can find a shovelnose cat, that would be awesome though he may suck up your tetras and barbs depending on their size. I'm a huge fan of bichirs, they have the most personality out of any fish i've seen. They grow quickly and are fun to watch. You'd probably be ok with some loaches too. Balas would go well in there too. Keep in mind, your rosey barbs and black skirts will probably get too small for some of those fish and may get picked on. You may want to consider moving them eventually.
 
#3 ·
Wow, your tinfoil hasn't eaten the tetras or other smaller fish?

Pictus cats are good, but they will need a daytime hiding spot. Rainbowfish are also pretty good in a semi-aggressive tank. Bala sharks would make a good addition as well. Some of the smaller knifefish would do well (be careful, several species get well over 24").
 
#4 ·
Thanks for the reply :)

However, I should clarify that I want to definitely continue to use flakes or some dry foods because it would be somewhat of a hassle to get feeder fish or live food because of where the closest lfs is located. I also do have a Clown Loach in there too I forgot to mention.

So really, I need some fish that won't be too inconvenient for me to care for, and that would bring some more character to my tank.
 
#5 ·
I would advise against using feeder fish anyways. As they are meant to be food, some places raise them in poor conditions so it's a risk to your fish. If you decide to do feeder fish, raise them yourself.

As for "live" food, have you looked at frozen? Even as a suppliment. It's always good to the fish to provide them treats every now and then.
 
#6 ·
Even something frozen would be difficult for me to keep. Anything dried that I can keep under the tank is perfect. I've always loved Bichirs and especially the Shovelnose, but I'm not sure whether their diet can be primarily dried foods - I'm really no fish expert ;) Also, I'm also a cichlid fan, so those I would be quite open to as well.

Edit: I also completely forgot to list my scavenger fish! I have a medium sized pleco, and some type of pleco/catfish that is very dark, almost black, with small white spots on him - he's very boney looking, but I'm not sure of the species.
 
#8 ·
yeah red tails are ginormous. You can try dry foods with teh species I mentioned but some prefer frozen or live. DO you not own a freezer at home? My bichir eats flakes and algea wafers and even veggies I put in there but that is really rare. I mainly feed him frozen but he pretty much eats anything. some bichirs will ONLY eat frozen or live though. A lot of them you can get to eat sinking shrimp pellets though.
 
#9 ·
I guess i could try to accomodate using some type of frozen food - just as long as I dont need to feed my fish 10 different things at night. lol

I really am somewhat stumped on what to get... A Bichir or large Cat might get too big for me to keep comfortably in my tank. I'm really leaning towards some semi-aggressive cichlid, but I'm not sure which.
 
#11 ·
Don't Orinates get like 2.5 feet long or something? I also heard they grow very fast. Since my Severum will probably be the biggest fish at 8 inches or so, I don't really want my tank overrun with such a huge fish. Maybe the smaller kinds will accomodate, but I also don't want to have to worry about my other smaller fish.
 
#15 ·
Fade2White12 said:
Yessir. I was aware they were brackish, especially as adults, but I've been putting salt in my tank for a while now - so there I don't predict any problems. They sure are beautiful fish though.
This is a mistake in my opinion. Adding salt is not a good solution on the whole tank's part. Take a look at your stocklist. Mono sebaes practically being brackish water will require gradual increase in salinity level as they mature. None of the fish in your tank will tolerate increased salinity levels nor are they adapted to living in brackish or marine conditions. I would recommend either getting a newer larger tank for the monos or get rid of the monos.

What leporinus are you keeping? The whole mid level should be classified as generally overstocked. All mid-dwellers that you own will need the remaining space to get around before they get crammed by more large fish. Adding monos is already pushing the tank's capacity. A krib, black skirts and rosy barbs should be given a new tank on their own. I would never recommend mixing small fish with very large and boisterous tankmates such as the silver dollars and tinfoil barbs. A 30 gallons will do the job for the 5 small fish.
 
#16 ·
yeah, good point Lupin. I wasn't sayng to go full brackish for all of those fish...but they will withstand a normal dosage of aquarium salt. (even though I rarely suggest that, lol). BUt Lupin makes great points about the stocking of your tank and the ideal environments for your fish.
 
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