# Need ideas for 125 gal community tank



## McNertney (Feb 22, 2010)

Hello Everyone,
I am making a change from an African cichlid tank to a guppy tank. The tank is 125 gallons. 72" long blah blah. I am donating all my cichlids to a tank at my work so i can change my tank to a community tank. another reason im switching is so i can have live plants in the tank.

My vision is to breed hundreds of guppies in this new giant tank. i saw a 40 gallon that was flooded with guppies and it was awesome. I have a 30 gallon tank that currently has a good diverse group of about 50 guppies in it. I plan on putting all those guys in the big tank. 

My questions to the forum are... 
1) If you set this tank up, what other than guppies would YOU use in this tank. im going for busy looking.
2) The tank is built around cichlids so i have a bunch of lava rock stacked up in there. Would the guppies use the rocks or just swim around at the top? do guppies like a deep tank?
3) what as far as bottom feeders can i use? like crayfish, crabs, maybe some frogs.

Im not asking for the text book answers, i already read those. i would like personal experience. what have these fish gotten along with in YOUR tank? I need ideas....

BTW i have enough filtration to keep 100 cichlids in this tank so filtration will not be an issue...

thanks a lot guys and gals i look forward to reading your answers


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## iamntbatman (Jan 3, 2008)

I think so long as the tank were heavily planted, the guppies would likely make use of all of the space in the tank, swimming at all levels and through the rocks. I only have a 10g guppy tank but they swim all over the place.

What about a ton of shrimp for the bottom levels? Shrimp appreciate the harder water you likely already have because of the cichlids and the guppies will enjoy the harder water, too. Loads of cherry shrimp would look really nice. Some of the rainbowfish like harder water and a pH >7.0 as well. Maybe even some American Flag Fish as "centerpiece" fish?


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## PaperclipGirl (Feb 7, 2010)

Can I ask why you are getting rid of the cichlid tank, other than the plant issue? Are they a lot of work? I"m really curious because with my high pH problems I've been thinking of getting them.


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## McNertney (Feb 22, 2010)

iamntbatman: thanks for the advice, i will be planting the tank heavily so it should come out nice. As for the shrimp i hadnt thought of that. do rainbow shrimp kill snails or can they crawl out like crabs? i tried crabs but they end up under my sofa lol. The killfish looks great also, reminds me of a cichlid. Thanks for the feedback.

Paperclipgirl: ive had cichlids for a few years now. They arent hard to keep at all. i know this is like blasphemy but i never tested the water for more than nitrates the whole time and i never had problems. the only chemicals i ever used where Prime for tap water. as long as these guys can hide you should be fine. Im switching cause in a cichlid tank all you can have are cichlids. im looking for numbers, color, diversity, and procreation so i dont have to buy fish anymore lol. Cichlid babies are very hard to raise also.

also ill beable to see my fish at work when i donate them so its not the same as quitting all together. i get to help set that tank up before i put my fish in it.


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## iamntbatman (Jan 3, 2008)

Yep, not only do they look sort of like cichlids but the flag fish sort of behave like them, too, despite being killifish. They're not super aggressive though and they eat certain types of algae (hair algae especially).

I'm not really familiar with rainbow shrimp so I can't tell you anything about those specifically, but in my experience freshwater shrimp are nowhere near as eager to escape the tank as crabs are, so they shouldn't end up in your carpet.


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## McNertney (Feb 22, 2010)

Ive made the swap. I have all my Cichlids in the donation tank and I added as many guppies as I could catch from the guppy tank to the new community tank. The next day I found that all the prego moms in the smaller guppy tank gave birth. probably from the population decrease? Also the 2 swordtails that I put in the community tank have changed sex or something. In the smaller tank they just kind of hung out together. Now that they are in a larger tank they have started a mating dance thats pretty cool. Its a more intricate dance than the guppies, I am happy with my change so far.


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## philipboucharddavies (Jan 27, 2010)

You should take some pictures 

Phil


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## McNertney (Feb 22, 2010)

I did, they are in my community tank profile. Tell me what you think.....
Hey has anyone had luck with female bettas in a big community tank?


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## philipboucharddavies (Jan 27, 2010)

I love it! It looks really nice! Are those live plant or are they still the fake ones?

Phil


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## McNertney (Feb 22, 2010)

Thanks. I think one fake plant is still floating around but the rest are live. its just 1 type though. its like a week lol. i plan to get a few variety packs online.


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## philipboucharddavies (Jan 27, 2010)

YAY! haha fake plants suck, i hate how some people make having live plants seem like the hardest thimg to ever do when there is actually a whole wack of plants out there that require absolutely no special treatment, and that a beginner can easily handle!

Phil


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## PaperclipGirl (Feb 7, 2010)

What scares me about live plants is vacuming the gravel and damaging the roots.... I probably do water changes wrong anyway....


@McNerty - your tanks look wonderful and I love the donation tank with the low stand. I should have held out for one of those!!!


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## McNertney (Feb 22, 2010)

Yeah i have a mix of the two in my smaller guppy tank. algae coats them and they look natural enough. i cant wait to see my plants grow instead of get eaten bit by bit. 

Thanks paperclipgirl. The donation tank was given to my work a while ago. I work for a not profit that helps handicapped adults. the tank was a mess so we had them sand and paint the stand and im teaching one of the staff how to take care of the tank. the stand is perfect for the guys in wheelchairs. We could never afford a stand like that brand new. plus cinder blocks work too lol


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## McNertney (Feb 22, 2010)

*New stock*

I went and got 5 mickey mouse and 5 regular platys. i also got 2 dalmatian mollies. And a betta fish for kicks. more pix on my log


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## philipboucharddavies (Jan 27, 2010)

That looks really nice! I like the last picture! haha kinda different.

Phil


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## McNertney (Feb 22, 2010)

*New blue crayfish*








Probably a fake that turnes back to pink but whatever it looks cool


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## McNertney (Feb 22, 2010)

*Tank is nice and settled in*


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