125. What am I doing with it

[Hybridfish7]

So as some of you may know I have plans to get 2 125s for my tank rack. I currently do not have enough money for the second so it will have to wait until winter.

Quick rant you can skip if you want, in my quest to get 125s for myself, I find myself digging deeper into my questions as to how people can just buy and bastardize 125s as easily as they do. Being a relatively common and accessible tank size (accessible as in, you can buy one from a petsmart, ignoring costs), I can understand why it's a go to for people looking to upgrade their fish. But it's always the same fish. It's always a pair of oscars that used to be in a 55 or something, a bunch of goldfish someone bought from the fair that somehow lived long enough to attain some size, or angels. I've even seen all three at once, on MULTIPLE occasions. Sometimes there's a severum, sometimes there's a bala shark, sometimes it's just a random mix of peacocks or petsmart strain mbuna. Maybe even a largemouth bass some kid caught. But 90% of them have little to no substrate, fake decor, and are cloudy as sh*t. Sometimes they're just empty. I even had a folder full of pictures of awful 125s a few years ago. I don't understand how you can spend almost a grand on a single tank and pull that bs. I don't understand how those fair goldfish people go from spending $5 on a bucket of balls to throw in a fish bowl at the fair to spending a grand on a tank for them, just to keep the tank exactly like they kept the bowl or 10 gallon they had the fish in before. I can count the number of nice 125s I've seen on my hands. I'm buying my first 125 from an lfs brand new without a stand or lids or lights or anything, and that's $550. The LID is $100. The biggest kick in the d*ck in this whole transaction however, is the fact that I have to pay $40 in sales taxes on top of all of that.

Anyway, that aside, I already know what I'm doing with the first 125, I don't remember if I've already said my plans with regard to that individual fish, but I've definitely mentioned it on here before. I won't say it again though, you'll just have to look out for the thread when it pops up in the next few weeks. The second 125 however, I am a little on the fence about. I have two options. Either I do a rio sucio biotope, with amatitlania septemfasciata (x6), cribroheros rostratus (x5), and hypsophrys nicaraguensis (x2), or I do a non biotope US native tank, with the intergrade longears I catch around here, luxilus cerasinus, and some other fancy colorful native fish. Both would be entertaining to me. The latter will cost $2-300 less than the former.

Rio sucio:




Native tank:

The darter is just a hypothetical. I don't actually know what darter I'd get, if any, but I would like some if I did go with this scape. I used etheostoma obama as an example in this visual. I don't even know the legality of it, but it would be pretty funny to have one of the (two) obama fish.

Pros and cons of each:

sucio pros:
cool breeding behavior in everything
bucket list tank
I get to be one of 4 known people breeding the sucio septemfasciata

cons:
can't put any little dither type species
additional $200 on top of the $700 tank
everything might be a bit crammed at full size

native pros:
cool breeding behavior in everything
free
everything fits
cool variety of species of different sizes and niches
don't need to buy a heater

cons:
some species might be illegal but I'll figure that out later (before getting them of course)
have to drive 4 hours to collect luxilus and chrosomus (cost is now gas money)
might need those blue chubs/sucker things to build mounds for the shiners/dace to show breeding behavior (I don't know if they're legal to keep/might be too big for a 125 too)

Seems like a pretty cut and dry choice, but I'll let you weigh the pros and cons. If you've made it this far, thank you for taking the time to read this.

 

[FJB]

It seems as if you already have some strong interest, preferences, and experience with the various possibilities. So I am sure you will end up what you like, prefer, and consider affording. The native tank sounds awesome, but the Rio Sucio does too.
Regardless, please make sure to share pictures here. Cheers!~

 

[jjohnwm]

I won't say which I would do...although I certainly would have no trouble making the choice...because it's not my tank. You should do what you want to do; if you're honest with yourself, you will admit that you likely already have a preference. Go with that.

In terms of costs, you are being realistic and considering the cost of not simply buying fish, but also gasoline costs for the collecting trips. That's great, but don't overlook the huge fun factor and the sheer satisfaction of catching your own aquarium fish; it's something I can no longer do and I am envious. Also, keep in mind that whichever way you go, you will likely be amortizing the costs over years, so an extra few hundred one way or the other is not as big a deal as it may seem at first. By the time you factor in the costs of fish food, electrical savings by not heating a "tropical" tank, etc. it will likely not be significantly different between the two choices you've laid out.

 

[duanes]

I used to collect as kid, now...6 decades later, I'm back at it again.
The most daunting hurdle I found if collecting and keeping fish from the US was keeping water cool enough.
For certain rapids and riffles darters, you may need to acquire a chiller.
Or if you can access southern variants, you may be better off.

Either bibotpe set up could be equally as rewarding.
In my current biotope, all species are found only in a small few hundred yard stretch of river, yet I find the variety totally interesting, and very diverse.Two species of cichlids.

2 species of Gobies.

Tetras, Plecos, and catfish

 

[Hybridfish7]

I think I will do the native tank. I think it might actually be more entertaining and definitely more viable in the long term than the cichlids. I'll still get my sucio septemfasciata, just at a later time, and the rostratus/hypsophrys will have to wait.

 

[Backfromthedead]

It would be interesting to finally see the mountain redbelly dace tank. Ive talked about it with several people but havent seen it accomplished yet. I have always wanted a shenandoah biotope with all the cool smaller fish like chub minnows, madtoms, darters, and the unspeakably gorgeous redbelly dace.

 

[Trouser Cough]

Consider letting someone else buy their tanks at full retail and you buy on CL. You’ll often find that you can save 75% or more and that will allow you more flexibility in the hobby budget for other fish stuff. I often find tanks for a buck a gallon.

 

[Hybridfish7]

Consider letting someone else buy their tanks at full retail and you buy on CL. You’ll often find that you can save 75% or more and that will allow you more flexibility in the hobby budget for other fish stuff. I often find tanks for a buck a gallon.

Unfortunately I've looked on CL and FB marketplace... my area isn't exactly the best for fishkeeping stuff, no 125s cheaper than what I'd get at the LFS, except for ones drilled for sumps or ones with wooden rims. The latter would be fine, if my rack wasn't painted black to match the rim of standard ranks.

 

[Hybridfish7]

It would be interesting to finally see the mountain redbelly dace tank. Ive talked about it with several people but havent seen it accomplished yet. I have always wanted a shenandoah biotope with all the cool smaller fish like chub minnows, madtoms, darters, and the unspeakably gorgeous redbelly dace.

There's a couple people in the neighboring local club (I say neighboring as it isn't exactly MY local club, but pretty close) who actually breed mountain redbellies... I've seen a few tanks on YouTube but none this big. Apparently mountain redbellies come in two forms, the further south you go in their range the more black they have above their lateral stripe. Thankfully this form also occurs alongside crescent shiners so I'll only need to make one trip for the fish I want.

 

[Backfromthedead]

There's a couple people in the neighboring local club (I say neighboring as it isn't exactly MY local club, but pretty close) who actually breed mountain redbellies... I've seen a few tanks on YouTube but none this big. Apparently mountain redbellies come in two forms, the further south you go in their range the more black they have above their lateral stripe. Thankfully this form also occurs alongside crescent shiners so I'll only need to make one trip for the fish I want.

Yeah ive heard of the distinction before...northern and southern redbelly. I didnt know people bred them, but i know several places where i can always find them if i had the time and tank.

If you go that route consider bluehead chub for tankmates. When the males get big they are spectacular and in breeding ritual they will collect small stones and build pyramids. Idk if they range with the southern variety though.