90 gallon stocking/setup suggestions anyone?

[OtterSocks]

Hey guys, I'm new here as of today. I am going to be buying a 90 gallon tank soon, upgrading from my biggest tank being 25 gallon. Naturally I am hoping to get into keeping some monster fish.
I filled out my bio with some info about my past experience if you're interested.

I am hoping I could get some suggestions on stocking this bad boy. I know I want big fish, but I also don't have the budget for any rare or exceedingly expensive fish, nor do I want extremely delicate fish for the same monetary reasons. $$
The fish I am thinking towards are things like...
- Oscar
- Severum
- Green Terror
- Jack Dempsey

A pair of firemouth cichlid would be awesome as well.
Also thinking about a school of some sort. 4-5 Silver dollars? Clown loaches if possible.
I know that is too much for one tank, but I am only asking about some combination of those fish. Not all.

So then the last question is setup. I will probably use one of my smaller tanks for a sump and possibly run a canister as well. Decoration is my main concern.
In the past I've grabbed a rock or two and sterilized them to use for decorations so I will probably be doing natural rocks. But plants tend not to be my friend because I build my own lights from pvc and they tend not to have the power or the right spectrum or something.

So to sum up my current decoration plan: black sand, black background, natural rocks, and limited plants (most likely fake)
Any other suggestions are welcome

If I left anything out, let me know. I'm not much of a forum guy so this is new. Hope to hear some fun ideas from you guys.

 

[Angelphish]

Hey guys, I'm new here as of today. I am going to be buying a 90 gallon tank soon, upgrading from my biggest tank being 25 gallon. Naturally I am hoping to get into keeping some monster fish.
I filled out my bio with some info about my past experience if you're interested.

I am hoping I could get some suggestions on stocking this bad boy. I know I want big fish, but I also don't have the budget for any rare or exceedingly expensive fish, nor do I want extremely delicate fish for the same monetary reasons. $$
The fish I am thinking towards are things like...
- Oscars
- Severum
- Green Terrors
- Jack Dempsey

A pair of firemouth cichlid would be awesome as well.
Also thinking about a school of some sort. 4-5 Silver dollars? Clown loaches if possible.
I know that is too much for one tank, but I am only asking about some combination of those fish. Not all.

So then the last question is setup. I will probably use one of my smaller tanks for a sump and possibly run a canister as well. Decoration is my main concern.
In the past I've grabbed a rock or two and sterilized them to use for decorations so I will probably be doing natural rocks. But plants tend not to be my friend because I build my own lights from pvc and they tend not to have the power or the right spectrum or something.

So to sum up my current decoration plan: black sand, black background, natural rocks, and limited plants (most likely fake)
Any other suggestions are welcome

If I left anything out, let me know. I'm not much of a forum guy so this is new. Hope to hear some fun ideas from you guys.

You may want to take the 's' off 'oscars'.

 

[Angelphish]

The only fish on that list that I have experience with are Severum. They get around 8-12", so you'll want to make sure any tank you buy will have enough room to support one. They're great fish when it comes to personality and color, but they like to nibble on plants.

 

[OtterSocks]

You may want to take the 's' off 'oscars'.

Thank you, I thought that might be an issue.

 

[OtterSocks]

The only fish on that list that I have experience with are Severum. They get around 8-12", so you'll want to make sure any tank you buy will have enough room to support one. They're great fish when it comes to personality and color, but they like to nibble on plants.

I definitely love the idea or Severum. Getting ahold of one gold, and one green would be amazing

 

[Angelphish]

I definitely love the idea or Severum. Getting ahold of one gold, and one green would be amazing

I like the red ones the best.

 

[OtterSocks]

I like the red ones the best.

I didn't know there were red ones! I'll check it out. Also I am just getting around to checking aqadvisor and I seem to be overshooting what I can keep in this tank. What is your opinion of a Severum or two in a 90 gallon?

 

[Angelphish]

I didn't know there were red ones! I'll check it out. Also I am just getting around to checking aqadvisor and I seem to be overshooting what I can keep in this tank. What is your opinion of a Severum or two in a 90 gallon?

I'd say about 3-4 fish that size would be all you keep. It depends on how many water changes you plan on doing.

 

[jeaninel]

Hi and welcome to the forum!

For your 90 gallon here's some suggestions:

1 Oscar (fake plants with these guys. Mine likes to drag his fake plant around)

Or
2 severum (yes, they'll munch on plants)
5-6 cories
6 larger bodied tetra such as Diamond tetra or Columbian tetras

Or
A pair of green terrors

Or
A pair of Jack Dempseys

It's hit or miss on adding some smaller tankmates with the green terrors and JDs if you do pairs. You might be able to get away with a Firemouth or convict or something like a Raphael catfish. The Oscar you might be able to add one other fish along that same line but you'll need to be diligent on weekly water changes.

Another nice cichlid for that size tank are salvini. Beautiful fish but aggressive and can tend to be shy but not always.

Texas cichlid is another possibility. Again hit or miss on keeping any tankmates with it in that size tank.

 

[jeaninel]

Also, here's a pic of one of my red severum just to give you an idea.