[FreshFish25]

I'm new to freshwater fish, I've been doing saltwater for about a year now and have decided to try fresh because I have an empty 70gal tank sitting here and want to put something in it. I've done a little bit of research and I've come up with a list of fish and some plants to put in my tank. I will also have a refugium with it because I have an empty one of those as well so I figured why not? I will more than likely go with a sand substrate, about 70lbs of it. The plant pack I will be getting is the 55gal standard pack from liveaquaria.com, it comes with 2 micro swords, 3 anacharis, 2 anubias nana, 2 cabomba, 2 java fern, 2 water sprite, 2 red cryptocoryne. Aquatic Plants for Freshwater Aquariums: Aquarium Plant Pack - Standard
For lights I have 36" panorama marine LED lights from ecoxotic.
I made a list of fish and I was trying to find out if these were good or not and if I had to many. I don't plan on adding all of these fish at once but eventually i'd like to get them all. The fish I were thinking of are:

1 Electric Yellow Cichlid
4 Otocinclos Catfish
6 Golden White Clouds
5 Green Barb Tigers
8 Harlequin Rasboras
6 Mickey Mouse Platties
8 Neon Jumbo Tetras
1 Sparkling Gourami
6 Head and Taillight Tetras
4 Gold Longfin Danio
4 Blue Cobra Guppies
1 Indian Dwarf Puffer
6 Red Platies
3 Redtail Sharks
5 Painted Swordtails
3 Assassin Snails
6 Ghost Shrimp
2 Red Lobsters
4 Freshwater Clams

Also I was wondering if I could add a betta to the mix or not? Thanks for any help or information in advance. I'm completely new to freshwater so any input would be greatly appreciated.

 

[jaysee]

I'm just gonna tell you straight up that that is an insane, impossible list. It's really important to do research on the fish you are interested in keeping. That right there will cut your list in half. From there, we can help narrow things down to a workable list. As it is now, it's so far over the top that I couldn't even begin to give you advice as to what direction to go in.

Pick your 5 favorite fish and we will see if we can't get 3 of them in the tank.

 

[FreshFish25]

Sorry my list is a bit out of control, I thought since I had a 70gal I could put more fish in it. If I had to pick 5 fish I would go with the Electric Yellow Cichlid, the Jumbo Neon Tetras, the Indian Dwarf Puffer, the Redtail Sharks, and the Painted Swordtails. Was hoping I could add the Otocinclos Catfish for algae control as well.

 

[jaysee]

Sorry my list is a bit out of control, I thought since I had a 70gal I could put more fish in it. If I had to pick 5 fish I would go with the Electric Yellow Cichlid, the Jumbo Neon Tetras, the Indian Dwarf Puffer, the Redtail Sharks, and the Painted Swordtails. Was hoping I could add the Otocinclos Catfish for algae control as well.

It's okay, happens a lot. Initial stock lists usually look more like wish lists. You can keep a lot of fish in a 70 gallon, as long as they are the right fish.

Okay, the yellow cichlid is out because it's an African cichlid. They don't play well with others, except for other African cichlids. You could keep a single shark, if you wanted to go with a more aggressive tank. The dwarf puffer may not do well in a community tank. I have no experience with them though.

I would stick with a peaceful community tank, which will include the neons and swordtails. Otos would also work, but I would not get them unless you actually have an algae problem, with an algae they actually will eat.

You could also add the guppies, danios, rasboras, ghost shrimp, and another tetra from your list.

For the bottom I would suggest Corys or loaches.

 

[FreshFish25]

It's okay, happens a lot. Initial stock lists usually look more like wish lists. You can keep a lot of fish in a 70 gallon, as long as they are the right fish.

Okay, the yellow cichlid is out because it's an African cichlid. They don't play well with others, except for other African cichlids. You could keep a single shark, if you wanted to go with a more aggressive tank. The dwarf puffer may not do well in a community tank. I have no experience with them though.

I would stick with a peaceful community tank, which will include the neons and swordtails. Otos would also work, but I would not get them unless you actually have an algae problem, with an algae they actually will eat.

You could also add the guppies, rasboras, ghost shrimp, and another tetra from your list.

For the bottom I would suggest Corys or loaches.

Could I put a beta in as well? I've seen some people have success with them in the community tank but that may not be the norm, also is there any fish I could add as an algae preventative? Also are the clams okay too? I saw they only got up to 3"

 

[Agent13]

Okay.. Now this is narrowed down enough for me to know what to say lol. Well aside from the stocking wish list I'll say that light may cause havoc on a freshwater setup. If you're trying planted ..well or just plants really shoot for a 6500K fixture. LEDs are great ..and Fluval has a nice one out now I have on my 75g ( Aqualife & plant LED) .
But back to the fish.
The puffer is out. They are nice fish yet they really don't fare well in large aquariums or with too many other types of fish. And the Cichlid (Electric yellow) as stated is out for multiple reasons. You want plant..They destroy plants..and other fish and need specific water perimeters for African cichlids. I wouldn't do the shark either.. they are pretty mean and unless you want a mean tank( my specialty ;-)..yet I still personally would never stock them). So we are left with exactly what Jaysee said. A school of Jumbo neon tetras, swordtails then a handful of otos. And you could throw in the assassin snails if you aren't wanting them for algae as they eat other snails or can be fed pellet or other sinking meaty fish foods.

Betta would be a gamble and certainly would be risky with tetras. I have one in a community but it isn't the norm..and with none of the fish you've listed.

 

[jaysee]

Could I put a beta in as well? I've seen some people have success with them in the community tank but that may not be the norm, also is there any fish I could add as an algae preventative? Also are the clams okay too? I saw they only got up to 3"

Yes it's possible to keep a betta in there too. It's also possible that it will fail. There's only one way to know; should you choose to try, make sure you have a backup plan. While it may work at first, and for a while even, it's no guarantee that it will work forever. Things can change, sometimes overnight. That's one of those things that will work until it doesn't.

The problem with getting fish for algae prevention is that you are not guaranteed to have algae problems. Trust me, it is best to get something to eat algae if/when you have algae. What happens often is people put otos in a new tank with no algae an they starve. Too, what fish to get for algae control depends on the type of algae you have. The only way to know what kind of algae you will have, if any at all, is to set up the tank and wait and see.

You really have a lot of options if you go the peaceful community route. Almost endless possibilities in a tank of that size. Speaking of size, what are the dimensions of the tank?

 

[FreshFish25]

Yes it's possible to keep a betta in there too. It's also possible that it will fail. There's only one way to know; should you choose to try, make sure you have a backup plan. While it may work at first, and for a while even, it's no guarantee that it will work forever. Things can change, sometimes overnight. That's one of those things that will work until it doesn't.

The problem with getting fish for algae prevention is that you are not guaranteed to have algae problems. Trust me, it is best to get something to eat algae if/when you have algae. What happens often is people put otos in a new tank with no algae an they starve. Too, what fish to get for algae control depends on the type of algae you have. The only way to know what kind of algae you will have, if any at all, is to set up the tank and wait and see.

You really have a lot of options if you go the peaceful community route. Almost endless possibilities in a tank of that size. Speaking of size, what are the dimensions of the tank?

I think going the peaceful community route is the best choice and the one I will most likely go with, thanks for all this advice you have both been giving me. The dimensions of the tank are 3ft long, 18in wide and 2ft deep

Also I think I will try putting in a betta as it will be easy enough to put it in a different tank if things do not work out well with it.

 

[jaysee]

I think going the peaceful community route is the best choice and the one I will most likely go with, thanks for all this advice you have both been giving me. The dimensions of the tank are 3ft long, 18in wide and 2ft deep

Also I think I will try putting in a betta as it will be easy enough to put it in a different tank if things do not work out well with it.

Yup, that's what most people do - have a tank available to put the betta in. I honestly believe that anyone keeping a betta in a community tank should have a tank put away just in case, because the harmony can come to an abrupt halt at any time. Best to be prepared rather than be caught unprepared.

I think your tank can ultimately accommodate 4 schools (8-10) of fish, plus a couple small groups and a few solo fish. As per your original plan - not all at once

 

[FreshFish25]

Is there any certain order as to how I should add the fish? Is it better to add certain types first to set up their spots in the tank or can I just add any them in any order?

 

[jaysee]

I think the only thing that may matter is when to add the betta. There are strong cases made for both adding the betta early/first and adding it last. When i did my betta community, I added the betta last and it worked out well for me. Of course that doesn't mean it'll go that way for you. I think that would make a good poll. You'd get a lot more responses on the matter if you started a new thread, I think. Don't forget the poll