Stocking My First(ish) Non Nano-Fish Tank

[GoblinTheAxolotl]

Hello everyone! I am new to MFK, and mid to large sized fish. When I got into the fish keeping hobby 3 or so years ago I immediately gravitated to nano fish and have a number of tanks ranging from 5.5 to 55 gallons filled with them. So far I have stuck to nano fish in all of my tanks except for my second 55 that has 12 scissor tail rasboras.

I recently set up a 75 gallon and was wanting to branch out into bigger fish. The tank has been cycling for about a month now and is lightly planted with vallisneria and lots of floaters.
My stocking list:
3 ctenopoma acutirostre
2 severums

My questions are:
Is this alright for a 75 or will it be too much?
If there is still room, are there any other fish that you would recommend?
What are some good bottom dwelling tankmates? I have a sand bottom.
Could I keep a spiny eel in this tank as well? My LFS currently has some labeled as Leopard Eels.

Thanks!

 

[Deadeye]

Personally, I wound pick either the sevs or the ctenopoma, and only do 1. It would get rather large and be a good centerpiece. A ctenopoma would be a better fit for the tank. I don’t think they fight with each other (I could be wrong), but multiple would potentially take away room for other fish if you want a vaeriety/community setup.
I wouldn’t do a leopard spiny - those get pretty large. I would instead look into peacock or half banded spiny eels, which stay much smaller.
You could do some African tetras like African redeye tetras and some synodontis cats to make an African riverine setup (minus the spiny which is Asian, but subbing for some hard to source African species).

 

[GoblinTheAxolotl]

Personally, I wound pick either the sevs or the ctenopoma, and only do 1. It would get rather large and be a good centerpiece. A ctenopoma would be a better fit for the tank. I don’t think they fight with each other (I could be wrong), but multiple would potentially take away room for other fish if you want a vaeriety/community setup.
I wouldn’t do a leopard spiny - those get pretty large. I would instead look into peacock or half banded spiny eels, which stay much smaller.
You could do some African tetras like African redeye tetras and some synodontis cats to make an African riverine setup (minus the spiny which is Asian, but subbing for some hard to source African species).

Thanks! I quite like that idea. If I was to do one or two severums in another tank, what size would you recommend?

I also forgot to mention in my post I have a juvenile axolotl as well.

 

[SilverArowanaBoi]

Thanks! I quite like that idea. If I was to do one or two severums in another tank, what size would you recommend?

I also forgot to mention in my post I have a juvenile axolotl as well.

Like Deadeye@ said you could do an African setup with 1-2 ropefish or 1-2 Senegal (or any smaller breed of Bichir) bichir, a ctenopoma, and a syno cat.

Or if you wanted to go SA, you could do the sev with a Striped raphael Catfish or two.

As for the axolotl, I think it needs to be in its own tank, not with other fish. Maybe take out the rasboras from your 55 and make that an axolotl tank?

 

[Deadeye]

Axolotl don’t mix super well with others - they would either be picked on or eat their tankmates.
I’d love to have one though, but they’re illegal where I live.
I do have a severum in a 75, but realistically a 125 would be a better home for one long term as they are pretty big full grown.

 

[GoblinTheAxolotl]

As for the axolotl, I think it needs to be in its own tank, not with other fish. Maybe take out the rasboras from your 55 and make that an axolotl tank?

Axolotl don’t mix super well with others - they would either be picked on or eat their tankmates.
I’d love to have one though, but they’re illegal where I live.

My axolotl is in a 40 breeder by himself and is perhaps one of the the dumbest animals I have seen. I still love him though.

 

[Deadeye]

My axolotl is in a 40 breeder by himself and is perhaps one of the the dumbest animals I have seen. I still love him though.

I figured as much - just had to make sure as I’ve seen some pretty crazy stocking ideas in the past.
They don’t exactly strike me as an intelligent creature - not many amphibians do though.

 

[SilverArowanaBoi]

They seem delightfully dumb, the dumbness necessary in life, not the annoyingly dumb.

 

[GoblinTheAxolotl]

Update time.

I ended up getting two ctenopoma and they are both doing great so far. Both are somewhere between 2.5 and 3 inches.
I have not ended up getting any other tank mates yet so the tank looks empty but they will grow into it.
I am planning on adding something to the bottom still, possibly a peacock as I am not a huge fan of most of the synodontis I can find locally.
Any other African bottom dweller suggestions would be appreciated.

And lastly a question, would my ctenos benefit from or like leaf litter? I have a number of black water tanks and like the look of the leaf litter bottoms. I would probably run carbon on this tank as I don't really want a blackwater tank for them as I would never see them.

Will post pics if and when I remember to take some.

 

[Trouser Cough]

Rather than selecting fish at random that have a combination of traits you like I would first check pH to make sure you’re not selecting something that will be a long term problem.

You first keep water. Second to that you keep fish that will thrive in the water you have available . Ignoring that aspect can lead to a lot more work and expense. Medicating a big tank is more costly than medicating a smaller tank as well.

Enjoy the journey.