Stocking the 90 gallon

[Rusty5678]

Hi everyone,

I’ll just quickly introduce myself; I am a new member to the site but have been browsing for a fairly long time. I am Canadian and am currently in a biology program hoping to specialize further into aquatic animals. I have had my current 90 gallon planted tank running for about 2 years and been keeping nano aquarium for about 4.

Currently in the 90 gallon I have 2 angelfish (they get along very well and appear near full size, but have not yet been breeding and have not been aggressive. I have had them both since they were quite small), 1 pearl gourami, 2 hoplo catfish, 12 cardinal tetras, 6 red phantom tetras, and 3 bloodfin tetras. As of late I have been contemplating switching the tank stocking around as I find the activity of the tetras nice, but I am finding that I really like the idea of having a smaller number of larger fish (similar size to the angels). I am willing to keep the current stock and add some other fish, or move a few fish around, if anyone has any ideas that work well with what’s currently in the aquarium.

If I did switch the stock to the larger fish I would like to keep the angelfish and I really like the catfish as well but would be willing to completely change it if I found something I really liked. I may set up another tank for the angels if I did decide to move them, but that would not be my first choice. I am a big fan of many of the oddball aquarium species and have been looking into some different fish such as the African butterfly (just doesn’t seem quite active enough), Severums (not oddball but still neat), knife fish, and even just considering going with a solo fish such as a nice flowerhorn. I also love pufferfish (my favourite fish I have kept has been a dwarf puffer aquarium that I still have running) but I’ve been having trouble coming up with a stocking list that I like centered around any of the freshwater puffers. I am not worried about having to remove plants.

I was just hoping for some opinions from some of you who have kept these various species, or anyone who may have any other ideas! I would really appreciate any thoughts or feedback on what you think I would be able to do.

Thank you!

 

[kno4te]

Like the idea of butterfly fish, severums, African knives, picture and polys.

Welcome to the form.

 

[Backfromthedead]

clown loach or other decent sized loach would be a great addition in my opinion.

some colorful acaras too. my blues and banded dont bother my tetras at all.

+1 for severum. great community fish.

 

[Rusty5678]

I really like the idea of the severum and the acara, but would I have to move out the cardinal tetras and bloodfins? I have an extra tank I could move them over to. I would like a nice bottom dweller, but my only concern with the clown loach would be the size they grow to for a 90 gallon aquarium as I don't want to have to rehome them as they get larger and I've seen some mixed feedback on how big they can actually get.

Thanks for the replies

 

[Backfromthedead]

I really like the idea of the severum and the acara, but would I have to move out the cardinal tetras and bloodfins? I have an extra tank I could move them over to. I would like a nice bottom dweller, but my only concern with the clown loach would be the size they grow to for a 90 gallon aquarium as I don't want to have to rehome them as they get larger and I've seen some mixed feedback on how big they can actually get.

Thanks for the replies

it would depend on your severums i think. mine are about 6" and pretty peaceful. they dont bother my blackskirts, danios, or swordtails. i think they will stay this way because they already bred and while they were defensive they were by no means terrors when defending their eggs. but they will get bigger so who knows.

all of my acaras are nice. ive heard horror stories about nasty ones though.

i would still do a clown loach in a 90. some might disagree but a single CL wont crowd the place too bad. there are some other really cool loaches that are smaller too.

 

[Rusty5678]

I can always get the severum and acara when they are fairly small and if I start to see any aggression I can move the tetras out, or I would most likely move the tetras as they start to get bigger. What about something like a school of emerald catfish or more hoplo catfish (even though I cant seem to find any in lfs])? Would the tank be overstocked with the addition of the severum, acara and catfish?

Thanks

 

[Backfromthedead]

I can always get the severum and acara when they are fairly small and if I start to see any aggression I can move the tetras out, or I would most likely move the tetras as they start to get bigger. What about something like a school of emerald catfish or more hoplo catfish (even though I cant seem to find any in lfs])? Would the tank be overstocked with the addition of the severum, acara and catfish?

Thanks

what kind of filtration are you running on your 90? its a 48x18x24 right? i would want to keep the tetras to occupy the top space of the tank.

i think you have the space for all that but you might wanna consider some heavy duty filtration if you dont already. a big canister would help. i use an fx6 for my similarly stocked 75. i recently put an ac110 on too because my threadfin seems to enjoy the waterfall effect immensely.

 

[Rusty5678]

I currently have a marineland C-360 on it, but would definitely be willing to add more filtration. How much more do you think I would need on top of that? I really like that stock list, I would definitely like to keep the tetras in there if it is possible. I think that I would get the acara and severum when they are younger and monitor them closely as they grow. Yes its a standard 90.
Thanks for all of the help, I really appreciate it

 

[Backfromthedead]

I currently have a marineland C-360 on it, but would definitely be willing to add more filtration. How much more do you think I would need on top of that? I really like that stock list, I would definitely like to keep the tetras in there if it is possible. I think that I would get the acara and severum when they are younger and monitor them closely as they grow. Yes its a standard 90.
Thanks for all of the help, I really appreciate it

that sounds like a good plan. i dont even worry about the dithers usually but i try to keep them at least 3". i had an oscar in this tank but as soon as he got 9" he had to go cause he was trying to munch on blackskirts and had already eaten my pictus. hes now languishing in another 75 with a nasty jack dempsey lol.

so yeah beware the old "getting them young and raising them together" cause for the most part it doesnt work with any aggressive, hungry cichlids. severums are awesome community fish though.

for me the 360 is about minimum for a heavily stocked 90. it'll do the job but if youve got a spare couple hundred one of your larger canisters would be ideal. or you could play around with a couple filters. ive got nothing but bio media in the fx6 and loaded the ac110 full of carbon. once a week 30% changes for me with this stock:

5x blackskirt tetra
4x giant danio
9x swordtails
2x severums, one gold one turquoise
1x electric blue acara
3x banded acara
1x threadfin acara
1x clown loach
1x jaguar catfish

everyone is getting moved into a 95 gallon hexagon soon but i wouldnt feel bad about leaving them in the 75. they look really happy in there.