# 75 Gallon Tank.



## Olympia (Aug 25, 2011)

The tank has yet to be tested for leaks, but it should be fine. Maybe I shouldn't have made this thread so soon, going to give myself bad luck. But you all know the feeling, right? :-D
It has a canister filter too. I believe, that is overfiltering, I've yet to pick it up though. I was told the tank was 90 gallons but it's 75 so we'll see. ;-)

-> The tank is 48" long, 18" wide, and 20" tall.

I _loooove _lake kutubu rainbowfish. That's all I know. I have good water for them too. I don't want to play around with parameters in a tank this huge however, all that distilled water would cost me a fortune. The pH is 7.6 and hardness is 13dH with my other tanks.

If possible, I think I want to build the tank around the lake kutubu rainbow (this is what they sell as a "turquoise" rainbow fish, right?)
I also love emperor tetra. 
Curious what could live with the rainbows though.. I would love a group of 6 angel fish, but I don't know if there's room for 2 schools of larger fish in the tank, and if the two are compatible. I know angel fish are "soft water," but by this point they should be fine in my water after all that captive breeding.

Maybe a pair of kribensis? I take the tank is large enough that they can have a comfortable territory and not pose too much problem. The like rocky places to live, right?

*I kind of lose myself with stocking.. would this work?
8 kutubu rainbows
6-7 Boeseman rainbows OR angelfish
2 kribensis (or 4, with two little cave things built on opposite tank sides?)
10 (or more?) emperor tetra
Something for the bottom.. 10 cories of a sort, a larger species for sure. However I DO love all catfish so open to something else, even things that hide and I may never see. ;-)*
*Yay or ney if it's too much, or if I could easily fit more. Or at least upping school sizes a bit if no room for other species
* 
From what I can see, there shouldn't be any problems with this (except angels and kribensis, wouldn't put those together, and my dilemma of if I can fit 2 larger species in the tank at all).

Other fish I do enjoy are glass catfish, hatchet fish (my store has marbled ones in now!), loaches (medium size ones for the tank?), odessa barbs, butterfly fish, and honey gourami...

-> I'm also really digging this thing, and I think I've seen them around, but I'd have to change the stocking a lot if I went this way (fish would have to all be at least 3 inches right?):
Leopard Ctenopoma (Ctenopoma acutirostre) Profile
If anyone has insight into this wondrous animal, I'm all ears. :-D There seems to be a few similar fish in the trade and I wouldn't want to end up with a monster, that's always a concern for me.

Again, _I_ stock small tanks, not big tanks. So I am quite confused by this all. :-D
Wish me luck on the "Will it hold water!" test! The tank is in great shape though, but used tanks, right? ;-)

Also, it will be nice and well planted and pretty. :-D


----------



## djembekah (Feb 13, 2012)

I dont know about any of those fish, Oly, but I'm so jealous!


----------



## Hailfire (Jul 15, 2012)

Sending good luck vibes your way, Great find on a 75 gallon tank.


----------



## Olympia (Aug 25, 2011)

Thank you! Yea it was only $40! It's a neighbor that's a friend though so he let me have it cheap. 

I'm liking the ctenopoma more and more after watching youtube videos of them... So emperor tetra may have to go, and I don't know what other changes I'd need to make.
I'll have to write the name down and show it to the fish shop guy because I have no clue how to say it's name. xD
Doesn't seem to be anyone on today that can help me? :-(


----------



## Jayy (Dec 23, 2009)

Olympia said:


> Thank you! Yea it was only $40! It's a neighbor that's a friend though so he let me have it cheap.
> 
> I'm liking the ctenopoma more and more after watching youtube videos of them... So emperor tetra may have to go, and I don't know what other changes I'd need to make.
> I'll have to write the name down and show it to the fish shop guy because I have no clue how to say it's name. xD
> Doesn't seem to be anyone on today that can help me? :-(


They're two different species, but think I know which one you're talking about. Leopard Ctenopoma (Ctenopoma acutirostre) - Am I right?


----------



## Olympia (Aug 25, 2011)

Yes, well that's the one I've been looking at since it's on our profiles...
It's a cool fish, I hope I could find one!

Do you have any idea how the stocking plan in my first post sounds?


----------



## Olympia (Aug 25, 2011)

Okay.. This may be final..
8- turquoise rainbows
6-7 angel fish
1 ctenopoma
8-9 sterbai (or other large) cories

Is that too much?
Is no one helping because they don't know about the ctenopoma? 
It's a big sedentary fish so I think it'd be fine..
_Posted via Mobile Device_


----------



## Byron (Mar 7, 2009)

Olympia said:


> Okay.. This may be final..
> 8- turquoise rainbows
> 6-7 angel fish
> 1 ctenopoma
> ...


From the info in our profile of the Ctenopoma (which I revised, and to which jeaninel contributed and she has this fish) I would say no with any cichlids. The Ctenopoma is a very retiring, shy fish; angelfish are aggressive feeders, and territorial, and the similarity in sizes would suggest to me that angels would easily frighten the Ctenopoma.

You could build your 75g around angelfish, a group of 5-7. Carefully selected tankmates. And here I would not suggest Emperor Tetra. I have had bad experiences with this fish, and presently my group of 12 is in my 90g river habitat because they are too boisterous for my Amazonian tanks. Only the other day, I was carefully watching one of the males attempting to fin nip the several male Congo Tetras. After about an hour of this, the Emperoro gave up, and I have not witnessed it since. But this plus my experience with this species in other tanks (and with different fish, the parents actually, my present 12 are all fry that survived in the tank) the males can be nasty. This is a 50/50 thing, I know Mikaila has Emperors with no problems. But my two groups, I wouldn't.

I also would not recommend the rainbows with angels. I think our profile explains why, briefly the rainbow are too active for sedate fish. Aside from this, both fish are largish, and I am one of those who prefer just one type of "centerpiece" fish in a tank, to give that species its best conditions and it will be more at ease and show off better. Remember the territoriality of angels, they own the tank.

Byron.


----------



## jaysee (Dec 9, 2009)

My turquoise outgrew my 90 gallon, but how much space fish need to swim is subjective. For me, a large, fast and active fish like a rainbow needs room to be able to swim fast. Once they were grown, they could barely do more than dart around the tank.

I have kept 2 leopard ctenopomas and they both turned out to be quite aggressive. Yes, the profiles all say they are supposed to be shy - and IME they are when they are small. I got rid of the first one, which ruled the tank, hoping to get one that was less aggressive. The second one has turned out to be pretty aggressive too.


----------



## Olympia (Aug 25, 2011)

I finally get a tank big enough for my dream fish and people still say it's small. :frustrated:

Are all the big rainbows that active, jaysee?

I do not want to build the tank around angel fish... They are not my absolute favourite, and if they can't fit in then they go. But at this rate I may have no choice. :-?

What about the African knife, jaysee I see you have em. Bad idea with the ctenopoma?
How long have you had yours and how big is it? It says on profiles maximum 12 inches, but more commonly at 8" in tanks...

If anyone can't see where I'm going with this, I _really _want an oddball, but I don't want it to be the only fish in the tank as well. It'd be nice if we could make that the starting point. I know it's pretty limiting as it it. 75 gallons. Limiting. Ugh!


----------



## jaysee (Dec 9, 2009)

Yes, as far as I know all the rainbows are active. There may be a species that's not ( madagascars maybe?)

In my 75 I have the ctenopoma, african knife, senegal bichir, featherfin catfish, african butterfly and congo tetras. It's an african community. I still would like to add madagascar rainbows and a krib. The african knife is 8 inches, which is what you can expect. The first ctenopoma targeted the knife, which is why I got rid of it as the knife is just the coolest fish. The second one goes after the congos and leaves the knife alone.

It is one of my favorite tanks, and is often my guests favorite.

I think everyone makes an appearance in this video. The knife and the big alpha congo used to get into it from time to time - that's a phase they grew out of.


----------



## Olympia (Aug 25, 2011)

HAH! That's exactly the sort of tank I'd have in mind. (I've always dreamed of an African community with a school of elephant nose but this tank won't cut it for them!)

Do you think if a ctenopoma and African knife were bought young and added at the same time they'd be more tolerant? I was actually giving up hope on all this until I saw your tank!

Those congos are huge! I think I'd want to trade them off for something else, but don't know what, especially if I was keeping it African. An actual school would be nice but it need to be pretty large for these other guys. My mind draws a blank for other African fish that would be good. I know there's those yellow tail tetra but they are just dull congos from what I can tell.
Otherwise I may just go with kribensis or some other dwarf African cichlids.

Instead of a featherfin, I was thinking a Hoplo catfish if I can find one.. Otherwise the synodontis are all African and suitable, correct? I love big whiskers on catfish, and I'm totally fine with rarely seeing the fish as well. Maybe if I can train it to eat earth worms out of my hand, that'd be awesome. :-D

And I love African butterflies so that's another bonus, they are like $20 each here though so they may be a later addition.


----------



## jaysee (Dec 9, 2009)

I don't know what you mean about being more tolerant. Both ctenopomas were bought VERY small. The first grew up with the knife, bichir, butterfly and congos in a 55. I had gotten rid of it and got the new one when I upgraded to the 75. The knife was already grown at that point. They have no issues. If you meant being more tolerant of the congos, they are pretty tolerant. Face offs are not that common.

Yes, the congos are big. The 75 is much better for them than the 55, because it's wider providing for more room to maneuver. They are not nearly as active as the rainbows - I have no intentions of moving them to a larger tank. They have room to race around the tank, but they are tetras so there is a lot of loafing around time. 

The yellow tail tetra is another species of congo tetra - there are 3. They grow smaller than the interuptus (common congos), but are not nearly as beautiful.

I don't know anything about hoplos. The featherfin (synodontis euruptus) is a cool fish and all, but it spends a lot of time hiding. It's a large solitary syno, whereas the upside down cat is a smaller schooling syno. Any will be good in an african community. 

Here are more representative videos of what goes on in the tank.


----------



## Olympia (Aug 25, 2011)

Oh, I thought certain fish do better if they've been together since they were young! Guess not!
I'll try to give the knife and other fish a head start before adding the ctenopoma, that seems to have worked out for you. 

The Hoplo seems cool, but I'll let Byron chime in on that. I do want a catfish for sure, and a hoplo appeals to me. Otherwise I'll probably go with a school of upside down cats.

I love kribensis, so I may try a pair of them for the tank. (A pair won't damage any of these fish I'm pretty sure). 


As for the school.. I found these guys and it'd be great if I could get a good size group (they are big enough to live with the knife, right?) Something duller for this crazy group of fish:
Arnoldichthys spilopterus (African Red-eyed Tetra) — Seriously Fish

Or these guys, a catfish that mid swims:
Pareutropius buffei (Three Striped African Glass Catfish) — Seriously Fish

As you can imagine both of those are probably rare so the fall back plan is congos. 

Thanks so much! I'm glad this is coming together finally! :-D

African knife x1
Ctenopoma x1
Hoplo catfish x1 OR upside down catfish x5-6
African butterfly x1
Kribensis x2
One of the above schooling fish x8(? or more if I have room)

(If there's any African tetra I'm missing I'd like to see them too)


----------



## jaysee (Dec 9, 2009)

Of all my fish, the congos are more often than not the guests favorite. They are pretty high on my list as well - one of the few species I took with me when I had to evacuate last year for a hurricane. I actually took all the inhabitants of that tank with me - put them in a 29.

Yes, the red eyes are large enough to live with the knife. There aren't many african tetras, but you can usually find them on aquabid.com.

You can keep more than one butterfly. They are not always available so it can be hard to add more.


----------



## Olympia (Aug 25, 2011)

Oh, all those little American flags on the Red eyed tetra on aquabid are just a punch in the face! :-D
If I got them, I could keep a much larger school than the congos I think, they are slightly smaller fish.
How many congos do you have in your tank?

This stocking plan went a lot more smoothly than planned. Now the real problem.. Plants and decor. I'm going to really take my time with doing this tank though! After this week I have 3 weeks of uninterrupted vacation time so I'll be using it wisely! :-D

If only there were more African plants in the trade right now..


----------



## jaysee (Dec 9, 2009)

I have seven congos - I had 8 but lost one a while back.

I tried putting a few plants in the tank but they were eaten by the tetras. Java moss has infiltrated the tank and is left alone. I wanted to add some african plants too, but I've decided to just stick with the fake ones.

I would try to have a couple larger caves and a couple smaller ones.


----------



## Olympia (Aug 25, 2011)

Wait.. they eat plants?  I can't have a tank without real plants. I'll have to try. 
Yes I want to make some nice cave formations. 
Also considering a bit of leaf litter, but that's a lot of work because you have to replace them every few weeks I believe so they don't fall apart.

In our profile for congos there's a photo of them with a red stripe and with a yellow stripe. Are these, plus the yellow tails, the 3 congo species?


----------



## jaysee (Dec 9, 2009)

Lots of fish eat plants. I am still a novice when it comes to plants - I'm sure there are plenty that they won't eat - perhaps someone else will chime in on that.

No, the striped ones are the common congo tetras. I don't recall the name of the 3rd kind - they were too small to be considered I think.


----------



## Olympia (Aug 25, 2011)

Oh so the red and yellow are just variations? I've never seen the red ones before!

Well, anubias which is actually African is pretty thick and rubbery so they may not like it. Something like hornwort, which is spikey will also probably not appeal to their tastes, not a lot of fish want to eat hornwort. I like hornwort because it looks good floating at the top on it's own. And then I can use something that just grows super quick, and you won't really see any ugly looking damage, like anacharis. And of course lots of moss! :-D

I've also heard that people have more success keeping plants with goldfish if they regularly provide things like lettuce, so I may try that out with the congos if they decide they want to be vegetarians.


----------



## jaysee (Dec 9, 2009)

The differences in the pictured are because the specimens are different ages. Mature fish have them.

Anubias is one of the plants I tried.


----------



## Olympia (Aug 25, 2011)

No anubias! So really fast growing plants it is! Plants will exist! I'll wrestle the congos into being good! :whip:
And yes I've decided them over the red eyes, because looking at all the other fish I've chosen, I realize that every single one is brown, so the congos will be that one bit of colour fish wise.

So the yellow stripes are on the more mature fish, and the red on the younger ones?

Again, thanks so much for the help! At first I was SO bummed out about not having rainbows, but I like this new plan WAY more! :notworthy:


----------



## jaysee (Dec 9, 2009)

The yellow and the red are the same stripe, it's just a matter of angles and lighting. Young fish will be a straight silver - they develop the colors later.


----------



## Olympia (Aug 25, 2011)

Hoplo catfish are from South America.
What an embarrassment. 
I guess it's the USD catfish!


----------



## Olympia (Aug 25, 2011)

Jaysee, you have a senegal bichir right?
Well anyways I remeasured the tank and I had the height wrong, it's an extra 4 inches which puts it at a 90 gallon (tall). With the extra water volume I was thinking about the bichir, but I'm worried the kribensis could be eaten by it? Would you have that worry?
I really want to find some more species for it, but besides the red eyed tetra and Debauwi I think that's it for African fish in my size limit. Is there another type of African cichlid that would work WITH the kribensis and 7.5 pH?


----------



## jaysee (Dec 9, 2009)

Yes, I have a bichir in there too. I plan to add a krib to the tank and would not be concerned about it being eaten.

How about madagascar rainbows?


----------



## Olympia (Aug 25, 2011)

Hmm. Well the Madagascar rainbow would ruin it being a "Congo" tank, but I may put them in because schools are hard to come by. I've never seen those around either though, so I'll probably jump at red eye, madagascar rainbow, or debauwi, whichever comes first, because I don't really have a favourite. 

How's the bichir, timid when you do stuff with the tank? I hear they bite their owners? :s

What about these butterfly cichlids (also ruins the Congo tank but it's still mainland!)? With kribensis?
Anomalochromis thomasi (African Butterfly Cichlid) — Seriously Fish

OKAY- if NOT the bichir, what would you say about a ropefish or two?


----------

