new tank

[tyler]

i have decided to drop the brackish water tank and go regular tank
have had many before but not expert 100 gallon aqaurium with good filtration very clean water there are lots of hiding places, lots of swimming spaceand plenty of oxygen what type of fish and how many should i get,what would do great and look good for a gamming room.
any suggestions welcome.

[Fishguy2727]

what filtration exactly? what water change schedule can you do? what do you like? i would go with at least medium if not large fish. silver dollars, bichirs, or medium to large cichlids. there are lots of good ones out there.

[stubbytheplecostomus]

its to bad you aren't doing a brackish tank anymore, the november issue of aquarium fish (don't ask me why they already sent me the november issue) has a great article on scats, they seem pretty cool! if your going to go freshwater why not try a hand at discus?

[tyler]

i have two 350 bio wheels from pengiun
i can do water changes once about every week and half two two weeks
the fish that i seem to lean towards are fish that tend to be bottom to mid level aquarium fish
example (cats,eel,crayfish,danios,)
i will be getting a few crayfish,also a few live plants not sure wich type though.already have tank with fish to start cycling process.the tank also has 6 hiding places,
__________________________________________________ ___________

3 tanks 100-300, 1 redtail boa 4ft, and 1 cali king 6ft,tank with cycling fish

[stubbytheplecostomus]

you might really enjoy bichirs but they may eat the crayfish, same thing with spiney eels. but i'm like you and enjoy eels and catfish, i can tell you there are many many options, from a species only tank with one large predatory catfish, to a fully planted aquarium with dozens of shoaling fish.

[tyler]

theres eels that live in freshwater! most prefer brackish right?

[stubbytheplecostomus]

not true eels but spiney eels are elongated fish that swim and behave just like morays, also the bichir is long and slender, but carries a more "lizard/snake" feel.

[tyler]

just looked at them what spiecies found most often what you said about dozens of shoal;ing fish, thats the look im going for

[stubbytheplecostomus]

tire track/peackock and fire eels are the most popular spiney eels, bichirs are rare but your local aquarium might stock them every once and awhile(there are a few common varieties), and in terms of shoaling fish there are hundreds, my favorite are bala sharks

[William]

Just wanted to add that there are true freshwater eels as well.

There are as stubby says a lot of possible schooling fish and it might be best to choose the rest of the fish first and than choose a schooling fish that fits that setup.

[tyler]

thanx
what kind of eels are freshwater.

[Full3R]

if u mean species, you could look into snowflake eels

[tyler]

what kinds of fish would go well with a snowflakes because they prefer to have some salt right

[stubbytheplecostomus]

like i said in the brackish forum, snowflakes are not fresh water but can survive in it, just like bull sharks they travel to inland streams to lay their eggs, the do best in saltwater conditions as this is what they live in for most of their lives. there are only a few fish that can make the transition from fresh to salt, the biggest problem is that a saltwater fish will loose its salt, litterally, the salt in there bodies wants to escape to areas of less salt (the water around them) and this cuases their blood to "boil". salmon, bull sharks, lampreys, and the snowflake eel can all control the amount of salt that remains in their bodies once they are in freshwater, this can be stressful. with that said there are no species of "true" eels to be found in freshwater, all the species we know as being eels (spiney eels, electric eels, ect.) are actually long fish and not even related to eels. but to answer your questions a snowflake will do much better with a little salt then non at all. so maybe you should think about keeping a brackish system or better yet going marine!

[tyler]

ive decided not to go with brackish because it takes a little more care and timenot quiet ready for that yet
what kind of schooling fish would go good with eels or bichirs maybe loaches,or a knife fish.

[stubbytheplecostomus]

i would avoid species that are small, in my tank i keep gouramis angels and plecostomus with my bichir. i would also avoid fish that might harras the eel, i had a bala shark that wouldn't leave a peacock eel alone, but unfortunantly its hard to tell which one will and which ones won't. i would say, any semi-agressive fish should do well with a few exceptions

[Fishguy2727]

what true freshwater eels are there? i have heard of "freshwater morays" but they are brackish at best, but unfortunately for them they can stand fw for a while, meaning unknowing people put them in fw and the eel slowly suffers until it dies because of the improper parameters.

[William]

The true freshwater eel can be discussed but all members of Anguillidae does as an example often spend their entire life in freshwater and enters saltwater to spawn and die. They might be able to live in saltwater as well as freshwater but they can be kept in freshwater their entire live without any problem. (unless you want to breed them)

However if we talk about species that lives strictly in freeshwater it is doubtful if there are any.

[tyler]

what fish like eels like the spiney eel can live in strictly freshwater plus will they eat glass shrimp.
plus can clown loaches live well with them.

[Fishguy2727]

spiny and other non-true eels are fine in fw. they would be fine with clown loaches. in the world of fish, if it fits in its mouth, it will end up there.

[tyler]

what kind of non-true eels could i keep together if any.
and what type of catfish could i get.

[stubbytheplecostomus]

sorry i think i made a mistake, my question is, the freshwater snowflakes i've seen have had different markings then that of the common snowflake eels we find in most marine fish stores, this website "http://www.petsolutions.com/default.aspx?ItemId=59400&EID=59400&SID=FROOGLE" is advertisign a Gymnothorax tile, which some sources site as being part of the moray family while other sites suggest that there are no morays that live in freshwater, Anguillidae seem to be a different family and the only family that lives in freshwater, with many species laying their eggs in saltwater (which is odd, becuase most fish are opposite, freshwater systems seem to be "safer" for young fish, i also figure though that this is a left over instinct from their saltwater cousins) but still my arms are in the hair and i am pulling my hair out trying to figure this eel business out, it seemed so black and white before.

here is a great website for anyone interested in learning more.
http://saltaquarium.about.com/cs/eelprofilesindex/a/aa082901.htm

[stubbytheplecostomus]

oh to answer tylers question. most species are peacful and will do well in a semi-aggressive aquarium with simular creatures as long as they all have their own hiding spots.

[tyler]

heres a list if fish ive come to like and i might put into this new aquarium

gouramis3+,spiny eel 1or 2,clown loaches8,pictus cats4,chinese algea eaters5 plus ghost shrimp to feed eels and what ever wants to eat them.

[stubbytheplecostomus]

make sure you have a fine grained substrate for the eels to bury themselves in, and have lots of hiding spots, i would recomend feeding the eels after the lights go out, during the day they may be out competed for food just becuase they are lazy.

[William]

Gymnothorax tile is best keptin brackish water. they only live short periods in freshwater.

[tyler]

what is the common name for Gymnothorax tile.

[stubbytheplecostomus]

snowflake eel

[BoogersDad]

you didn't get a Gymnothorax tile aka Snowflake Eel did you?

They do better in brackish or salt water

[Fishguy2727]

They are saltwater, even the little 6-8" ones in the LFS are in their saltwater system, not brackish.