Interactive wet pet & appropriate tank size

[KingPram]

Hi everyone,
Long time lurker, Lots of wet pet questions out there but hopefully this one gives me all my answers. Sorry if the post gets long or if its in the wrong spot, feel free to move it mods There's a tl;dr at the bottom

I'm planning on getting a larger interactive fish as a wet pet in the next few months. Ideally I would like an Oscar or Flowerhorn as I'm fairly confident these types of fish are what I'm looking for personality wise. However anything bigger (10 or so inches) that would eat out of my hand, occasionally be handled, overall intelligent/inquisitive would do.

The biggest tank I can keep is 92cm long by 50cm wide and 62cm deep
(3'x 20"×2'). This would be a 71gal tank or 270L. I don't believe an oscar would be happy with 3ft to swim especially if it grows to 14". From reading different posts I believe a Flowerhorn would be okay but this tank would be its home for life, so I want to get the right fish/tank from day one.

Would a single oscar/flowerhorn or 10+inch fish be happy in my tank considering size/dimensions? Since I haven't owned one I could be over thinking and this tank could be okay so let me know what your thoughts are.

What fish would you recommend as a lone wet pet to live in that tank for life (avg size,personality/filtration amount)?

What would the ideal dimensions of the tank for your recommended wet pet be given the my maximum of 3'×20"×2"?

I know you should get the largest tank possible but if I keep a fish that needs 40gal. Id rather keep it in a 50gal tank than the whole 70 gal. Just to save my floor from all the weight. Eg keep the 3ftx20inch base and lower the height to bring the volume down. So keep the tank size suggestions reasonable


TL;DR
Recommend me a wet pet and appropriate tank size.
Fish needs to be personable and ideally 8"+.
The tank can be a maximum of 3ft x 20inches x 2ft depth or smaller if the fish doesnt need as much space.

Thanks!

 

[tlindsey]

Hi everyone,
Long time lurker, Lots of wet pet questions out there but hopefully this one gives me all my answers. Sorry if the post gets long or if its in the wrong spot, feel free to move it mods There's a tl;dr at the bottom

I'm planning on getting a larger interactive fish as a wet pet in the next few months. Ideally I would like an Oscar or Flowerhorn as I'm fairly confident these types of fish are what I'm looking for personality wise. However anything bigger (10 or so inches) that would eat out of my hand, occasionally be handled, overall intelligent/inquisitive would do.

The biggest tank I can keep is 92cm long by 50cm wide and 62cm deep
(3'x 20"×2'). This would be a 71gal tank or 270L. I don't believe an oscar would be happy with 3ft to swim especially if it grows to 14". From reading different posts I believe a Flowerhorn would be okay but this tank would be its home for life, so I want to get the right fish/tank from day one.

Would a single oscar/flowerhorn or 10+inch fish be happy in my tank considering size/dimensions? Since I haven't owned one I could be over thinking and this tank could be okay so let me know what your thoughts are.

What fish would you recommend as a lone wet pet to live in that tank for life (avg size,personality/filtration amount)?

What would the ideal dimensions of the tank for your recommended wet pet be given the my maximum of 3'×20"×2"?

I know you should get the largest tank possible but if I keep a fish that needs 40gal. Id rather keep it in a 50gal tank than the whole 70 gal. Just to save my floor from all the weight. Eg keep the 3ftx20inch base and lower the height to bring the volume down. So keep the tank size suggestions reasonable


TL;DR
Recommend me a wet pet and appropriate tank size.
Fish needs to be personable and ideally 8"+.
The tank can be a maximum of 3ft x 20inches x 2ft depth or smaller if the fish doesnt need as much space.

Thanks!

I personally would pass on the Oscar and some FlowerHorn get bigger than others but never kept them . Other members will chime in with their suggestions.

 

[Backfromthedead]

i would go amphilophus. one red devil or midas will fill out that tank perfectly in my estimation. i have a lot of fun feeding my devil. he has more personality than any other fish ive owned.

flowerhorn would work too. mine comes in a close second to the devil in terms of interaction.

oscars will get a bit too big for that tank. a full grown oscar in a 3' tank looks ridiculous. i have done it before and would advise against it.

a lot of people will advise bigger tanks to which i say it would be nice but your tank will work just fine for one amphilophus type or flowerhorn. if you want the fish to have a little more room, try something smaller like a jd or green terror. these fish also offer more flexible tankmate options in my opinion.

good luck!

 

[KingPram]

i would go amphilophus. one red devil or midas will fill out that tank perfectly in my estimation. i have a lot of fun feeding my devil. he has more personality than any other fish ive owned.

flowerhorn would work too. mine comes in a close second to the devil in terms of interaction.

oscars will get a bit too big for that tank. a full grown oscar in a 3' tank looks ridiculous. i have done it before and would advise against it.

a lot of people will advise bigger tanks to which i say it would be nice but your tank will work just fine for one amphilophus type or flowerhorn. if you want the fish to have a little more room, try something smaller like a jd or green terror. these fish also offer more flexible tankmate options in my opinion.

good luck!

Hmm It looks like the midas,red devil, gt and flowerhorn can all reach the 12-14inch level. Thats the same size as an oscar...
Do you mean a amphilopus or flowerhorn would work because they don't really swim back and forth as an Oscar would. Or is it because they dont normally grow that big even though they have the potential to?

I'll do some more research on the flowerhorn, midas and gt but it looks like the jd might be the best fit.

 

[dan518]

i would go amphilophus. one red devil or midas will fill out that tank perfectly in my estimation. i have a lot of fun feeding my devil. he has more personality than any other fish ive owned.

flowerhorn would work too. mine comes in a close second to the devil in terms of interaction.

oscars will get a bit too big for that tank. a full grown oscar in a 3' tank looks ridiculous. i have done it before and would advise against it.

a lot of people will advise bigger tanks to which i say it would be nice but your tank will work just fine for one amphilophus type or flowerhorn. if you want the fish to have a little more room, try something smaller like a jd or green terror. these fish also offer more flexible tankmate options in my opinion.

good luck!

How can the tank be fine for Amphilophus spp that can easily reach 14 inch and too small for a oscar that will reach the same size.
Personally I would think 6 to 8 inch max size fish in that tank

 

[Allan01230]

try a port cichlid brown acara I had one that grew to 8 inches as was the most interactive fish I ever had would eat from my hand funny how he would attack the python during water changes You could also do a scholl of giant danios for some action in that tank

 

[duanes]

Agree with Dan518, that tank would only be temporary, way too small for adult fully grown Amphilophus.
To me only a cichlid that reaches 7 inches in a 70 gal.
Some of the smaller Australoheros, or Cichlasoma (port type)
Australoheros red Ceibal below
male above female in breeding color below

Ciclasoma dimures below

There are also some dwarf Crenicichla or Guianacara suitable, and many other appropriate size, personable cichlids, maybe not oscar tame, but interaction many times, has a more to do with the keeper than the species when cichlids are the type used.

 

[Backfromthedead]

Hmm It looks like the midas,red devil, gt and flowerhorn can all reach the 12-14inch level. Thats the same size as an oscar...
Do you mean a amphilopus or flowerhorn would work because they don't really swim back and forth as an Oscar would. Or is it because they dont normally grow that big even though they have the potential to?

I'll do some more research on the flowerhorn, midas and gt but it looks like the jd might be the best fit.

as you can see a lot of people disagree with me and want you to settle for a single acara or the like. but midas and red devil dont get quite as large as oscars in my estimation, and certainly dont grow as fast. i keep my red devil in a 75. hes a year old, about 8" and seems to enjoy his space. i dont see myself getting a larger tank even if he reached twice the size, which he wont. like i said earlier, more space would be great, but your tank will suffice for a single fish.

and there is absolutely enough space for a jd or gt in that tank to live happily. i can understand people unhappy with the amph suggestion but saying its too small for those fish is ludicrous. though im sure somebody will chime in with a story of how they went scuba diving in mexico and witnessed a jd occupying an area the size of a tennis court.

 

[TwoHedWlf]

For a tank that size I'd suggest a severum. It's still a bit on the small side but for a single fish would be ok.

 

[ad88]

I would look for fish that top out under 10 inches severum, jack dempsey, blood Parrot I try to stick with the length being 4 x max size and width of tank 2 x max adult size.