upgraded to a 90g

i heartmypleco

AC Members
Jul 20, 2011
85
0
0
39
well as the title suggests i'll be upgrading from my 29 gallon very shortly to a 90 gallon long tank. I plan on moving the inhabitants that are currently in the 29 gallon into the new tank so I should have a decent amount of option for further stocking. Also i've never set up a tank that large as well a not having setup a new tank in some years, the 29 gallon has been running for atleast 4 years. I'd like to hear your opinions on the best way (and hopefully quickest, without sacrificing or putting the fishes wellbeing at risk) to go about cycling the tank. Theres a lot of information on google but the information varies a lot and I think I trust the opinions of people on this forum more than I do random articles on google. I'd also like to hear your opinions for the best substrate, plants, and filtration in general. I wanted atleast a filter designed for a 150 gallon tank, but more is better, And I think I prefer the HOB variety so if anyone can suggest good powerful filtration for a 90 gallon that would be appreciated too. The fish that will be going in there are 3 juvenile albino bushy nose (one with LF), 1 adult LF bn, a "leopard" synodontis.. about 2''...about 5-6 Kuhli Loach..2 bamboo shrimp, and a 2'' raphael cat .. Im going to have plenty of space so what do you guys suggest I get? I wanted some other sorts of nice spotted or striped pleco's. and id like a large top dwelling fish or two..something that kinda lurks around.. .. and maybe a couple different schools of something smaller.. Im just so undecided as what to get and there is so many options (i've recently been finding some VERY good stores here in south florida). Sorry to ask for so many suggestions it sounds like im pretty much asking you guys to set up my tank for me, and I kinda am. Ha. I know more or less what I want and what direction to go in just dont know exactly how. I know I want to make the tank look as natural as possible.. I want to plant it.. have lots of driftwood.. yellow lighting (maybe) .. a dark brownish red substrare..etc..Again im open to any and all suggestions. Thanks in advance..

(btw my name is danny and I am from miami, FL. I guess this post will be my introduction. so hiiiiiiii)



photo1.jpg


pic of the new 90 g and me excited over it
 
i know a good stocking for your tank!

the 4 BN plecos

the syno

the 2 bamboo shrimp

the raphael cat

2 leopard bushfish

10 larger rainbowfish


leopard bush fish get pretty big, up t0 10", but are wicked cool. just make sure there are no fish under 2" by the time it hits 8"-those guys will be goners. and make sure you have 2 decent sized territories set up for each one. they will stick together and be quite reclusive but peaceful as juvies, but get territorial and active as adults. i say get a larger species of rainbowfish, so the schoolers wont be snacks for the bushfish. i cant wait to see it!
 
really? My leopard bushfish has a 40 breeder with only a giant blue fan shrimp for company and he's out at the front of the tank all the time begging for food. He's only 2". He almost never hides unless I've disrupted the tank by digging around in it or changing decor. Also, their average size is 6" and only rarely do they get bigger. They are awesome fish, and peaceful to fish that are of similar size, but will eat/pester smaller fish. I had 2 guppies in my 40 breeder with him for a month or two and he shredded up the larger one's fins and chased her around constantly, even though she was too big for him to eat. The shrimp is bigger than him and keeps to itself, so he leaves it alone completely.
 
Also, your fish will grow. Most of the ones the OP listed he's already got get 6" or larger. The Khuli loaches may become food, as they are about 4" long, but are slender and worm-like. Be conscious of the adult size of the fish you put in there.
 
thanks for the info.. i was thinking of getting like 5-6 more kuhlis.. and a Gold Nugget Pleco. and perhaps a green phantom and then no more bottom dwellers.. lso for the top i was thinkingof maybe one or two leopard bush fish. Either that or like 3 Discus.. would either of those options be ok? Also i was considering of donating the raphael to a good home and freeing up some space. since hell grow to about 8''. I rather have a green phantom or some other sort of pleco in his place. I really want a sort of largish lurking type fish for the top. Like bush fish or discus sized.. maybe a little larger if not too agressive or predatory. i'm being kinda picky, huh ;x
 
discus are to hard to keep and like really hot water. skip the discus, get the bushfish. they will be more of a middle-low zone fish though. one thing to remember is if youre gonna get 2 introduce them at about the same time otherwise they wont like each other.
 
Discus are very, very sensitive fish that require absolutely pristine water. They're slightly less picky as adults, but can still become stressed and sick if things aren't just right. They also prefer higher water temps than many other fish. Catfish are notoriously dirty fish, and you have 6 of them already, all of which get 4-8 inches. The Bushfish would eat the Khulis, and they need about 30 gallons per fish. You might be able to do 1, but I wouldn't do 2, and I certainly wouldn't have the khulis in with it. If you drop the Khuli loaches and the raphael cat, that would leave you with 4 BN plecos, 2 bamboo shrimp and the syno cat. You could easily add a bushfish and some large rainbows like Bosemani, or congo tetras are beautiful and get big enough to not be eaten. Schooling fish show better schooling behavior when they are the only species of schooler, but it is possible to mix them.

Just keep in mind that the bushfish gets about 6" and will eat anything that can fit in it's mouth, which is very large, so any other tank mates would have to be about half it's size or larger. Congos and bosemani are good because not only do they reach 3-4 inches in length, they are also wide-bodied fish, which gives them more mass as opposed to a more slender fish. Also keep in mind that Bushfish are stalkers. They like a densely planted tank with lots of places to hide and sneak up on things. They are neat because you can feed them live feeder guppies and watch them stalk their prey.

As for filters, HOB's become less and less effective the larger a tank gets. I don't even think they make them to filter tanks bigger than about 55-75 gallons. You could always get 2 of them, but a canister filter is much more efficient for a larger tank. Just place the used filter media from your current setup in whatever kind of filter you decide to use for the 90 to seed the new setup, you may get a mini cycle, but it shouldn't be too bad. Just don't tear down the old tank or filter until your ready to move everything over. It also helps to move your decor over, at least for a couple weeks, as there is a small amount of good bacteria on the decor and substrate too.
 
Discus are very, very sensitive fish that require absolutely pristine water. They're slightly less picky as adults, but can still become stressed and sick if things aren't just right. They also prefer higher water temps than many other fish. Catfish are notoriously dirty fish, and you have 6 of them already, all of which get 4-8 inches. The Bushfish would eat the Khulis, and they need about 30 gallons per fish. You might be able to do 1, but I wouldn't do 2, and I certainly wouldn't have the khulis in with it. If you drop the Khuli loaches and the raphael cat, that would leave you with 4 BN plecos, 2 bamboo shrimp and the syno cat. You could easily add a bushfish and some large rainbows like Bosemani, or congo tetras are beautiful and get big enough to not be eaten. Schooling fish show better schooling behavior when they are the only species of schooler, but it is possible to mix them.

Just keep in mind that the bushfish gets about 6" and will eat anything that can fit in it's mouth, which is very large, so any other tank mates would have to be about half it's size or larger. Congos and bosemani are good because not only do they reach 3-4 inches in length, they are also wide-bodied fish, which gives them more mass as opposed to a more slender fish. Also keep in mind that Bushfish are stalkers. They like a densely planted tank with lots of places to hide and sneak up on things. They are neat because you can feed them live feeder guppies and watch them stalk their prey.

As for filters, HOB's become less and less effective the larger a tank gets. I don't even think they make them to filter tanks bigger than about 55-75 gallons. You could always get 2 of them, but a canister filter is much more efficient for a larger tank. Just place the used filter media from your current setup in whatever kind of filter you decide to use for the 90 to seed the new setup, you may get a mini cycle, but it shouldn't be too bad. Just don't tear down the old tank or filter until your ready to move everything over. It also helps to move your decor over, at least for a couple weeks, as there is a small amount of good bacteria on the decor and substrate too.

ya, bushfish are fun to watch when they are stalking there prey. they turn vertical with their heads down to disguse themselves as a leaf, and then, BOOM! no more guppy. :)
 
soif i got the bushfish id have to get rid of the kuhlis? also how would some glass cats be in that tank as a secondary school?
 
AquariaCentral.com