100g ideas?

[gotpaper1981]

I am making my game plan for the new 100g I just bought recently. I know I have to cycle it first. It's just I need ideas concerning the fish so I can plan the best way set it up with plants, rocks, and/or driftwood. I'm afraid of overdoing it, so am asking for suggestions.

Fish I like:

Gouaramis- all types, pearls, gold, dwarf, and sparkling. Was thinking of 3 males and 6 females of all the dwarf colorings, then maybe a pair of pearls, and some sparkling ones. Would that overdo it on the big fish? Or could I possibly have more than that?

Corys- I was thinking of two shoals of two different species. Maybe false jullis and peppered or albino. No idea on how many of each. 8-12?

Loach- I would love to have weather loaches, but if they will not fit into my community, I will pass on them.

Schools- Don't know what kinds or how many. Thinking tetras of some kind, rasboras, and rainbows.

Livebearers- Wouldn't mind having some of these. Platies would be great.

Rams- if there is room. or some other kind of cichlid.

I know that's a lot of fish. I just need some help narrowing it down and figuring numbers. Another option is just tell me what you would put in 100g tank if you could do anything with one. You may have ideas I would not have thought of!!! I'm going to start cycling in the next 2 weeks, cleaning everything and testing lights today. So I will be making my shopping list and getting everything together. Probably be back on here with lists and asking for suggestions for that.

Thanks.

[Nautilus291]

Even though you have slot of space if you put all of those different breeds of. Gouramis in the tank they might be aggresive twards each other.

Also as much as we all want to have as many different breeds of fish as we can I would suggest getting one large groupbof corys insted of 2 smaller groups. The bigger the group the happier the corys will be and the moreactive they should be.

So far your plans sound great. It's so much fun figuring out how tpnset up a new tank.

[jackson17]

In a 100 gallon tank you can probably do about 20 of each cories if they are the smaller ones. I would only get a pair of pearl gouramis and maybe 1 or 2 dwarfs(dwarfs seem to die easy though IME.). As for the schooling fish, you could get a lot of neons, probably like 30+. Have you looked into silver dollars? They get about 6 inches and are schooling peaceful fish, add great movement.

Really with a tank that size its up to you, you can add a decent amount of fish...What type of filter you have?

[ko4000]

What are the dimensions of your 100g?

[Aeonflame]

You have a lot of options with an aquarium that size, It would make an awesome community tank. Everything sounds good except for the gouramis which tend to get aggressive sometimes.

[BridalWreath]

Rainbows are lovely schooling fish. One of my favorites. If you are looking into Rainbows, you should look at the Praecox, the Boesmani (which is very attractive), and/or the Threadfin (had a beautiful tail).

[gotpaper1981]

Ok. As far as filtering. The tank was set up as a salt water tank and I just went through the massive amounts of stuff that came with it. It had what looks like two protein skimmers and a bio-wheel hang on the back. I was hoping for a canister, so I will just clean these up and store them in case I have an opportunity to set up a salt water tank in the future. I am looking into the Eheim canister filters right now. Any suggestions on those would be great.

Tank dimensions, I'll go measure it in a few. Just found a tape measure, finally. Isn't it funny how I got a pink tool set to keep hubby from using them, and he still wonders off with my stuff.

On the gouramis, I'll stick with the pearls. Just a pair?

The larger group of corries sounds good too.

I haven't thought of silver dollars. Have to research those.

I really like the rainbows. I'll look into the ones suggested.

Definetely a school of tetras. They will give the movement to counteract the slower moving fish.

Any ideas on loaches or platies??

Great ideas everyone. Love being able to get suggestions on here.

[gotpaper1981]

What about a pair of rams and a pair of pearls??

Just an after thought. I read that the gouramis stay mid to upper tank and the rams stay mid to lower tank.

My simple plan was to just get an oscar and call it a day, but hubby doesn't like them!! So I'm on to a community tank plan. Maybe next time.

[gotpaper1981]

Ok. Glad I measured it. The calculators online say it's only 80-84 gallons. Depending on which calculator you use. Still a good deal on a tank in my oppinion. Paid $200 for the tank, stand, all the equipment, and 6 light fixtures. No idea how all six are supposed to be used, but will figure that out next.

Measurements are:
60"x18"x18"

[gotpaper1981]

K. Silver Dollars are out. I would like to have a somewhat planted tank and they don't work with that.

[BridalWreath]

What about a pair of rams and a pair of pearls??

Just an after thought. I read that the gouramis stay mid to upper tank and the rams stay mid to lower tank.

My simple plan was to just get an oscar and call it a day, but hubby doesn't like them!! So I'm on to a community tank plan. Maybe next time.


If you are going for a community tank, there are a whole lot of Dwarf Cichilds you can get. German Blue Ram, Bolivian Ram, etc. However, if you do want cichilds, I would wait until your tank is established and everything remain pretty much constant.

[jackson17]

Depending on plants silvers either will eat or wont lol. And yes you can do rams and pearls. Just have some caves ect. You will need to get floating plants if you want to have a pair of pearls, so they can lay eggs and build a nest.

You could probably do 2 pairs of rams, and a pair of pearls. Then some big schools of tetras and cories. Do you want a center piece fish? Something like a nice angel.

[gotpaper1981]

I am probably going to add the big fish last. After the tank is well established. So if I am going to do cichlids, I would need some more hardscaped areas with caves. Which ones would be good for a community tank and in what ratios (m/f)?

As for a centerpiece fish, yes. I would love an angel, but am afraid it might get bullied or be a bully. Would I still be able to do rams and pearls with an angel?

What about platties and loaches? No one has suggested anything about those.

[jackson17]

For the dwarf cichlids just match them up, 1 male for 1 female, they will pair up and live happily together lol. For caves, add some rocks, maybe a flower pot or two, some drift wood ect, thats the easy part. As long as you get rams they mate for life together, once they pair, as long as one of them doesn't die, they will stay together for the rest of the time.

[BridalWreath]

I am probably going to add the big fish last. After the tank is well established. So if I am going to do cichlids, I would need some more hardscaped areas with caves. Which ones would be good for a community tank and in what ratios (m/f)?

German Blue Ram, Bolivian Ram, Cockatoo Dwarf Cichlid. There are more. If you are a beginner, maybe get the Bolivian Ram instead of the GBR. GBR tend to be a bit more sensitive.

[gotpaper1981]

The dwarf cichlids are the apistos, right? I have a lot of research to still do. Lots of fun doing it though.

[jackson17]

Don't know the scientific name lol. But they are rams( german blue, bolivian, electril blue, gold rams) Act just like bigger cichlids, just a little less aggressive and smaller.

[BridalWreath]

The dwarf cichlids are the apistos, right? I have a lot of research to still do. Lots of fun doing it though.

I believe they are. Not certain though.

[gotpaper1981]

Thanks for all the help. I have looked at the different rams. I think I like the bolivian and gold rams. If I left out the gouramis could I do more on the cichlids and still have some schools of other fish?

[jackson17]

If you have enough caves and plants yes, its just that they occupy the same level of tank and if they start breeding they will guard the eggs/fry with their life.

[BridalWreath]

Thanks for all the help. I have looked at the different rams. I think I like the bolivian and gold rams. If I left out the gouramis could I do more on the cichlids and still have some schools of other fish?

If you want something that may help with the Rams and keeping the water constant, you could look for a Rummynose Tetra. I have read that they act as water monitors as they will dull if the water isn't right for them. They are rather attractive looking too.

[bushwhacker]

dwarf cichlids like rams are happiest with a well planted tank and drift wood. you can do some rockwork and caves. but its not like an african tank where its all rocks and caves

[gotpaper1981]

so it would be better if I did 2 pairs of rams, blue pair and a gold pair, then a pair of gouramis?

[BridalWreath]

so it would be better if I did 2 pairs of rams, blue pair and a gold pair, then a pair of gouramis?

My opinion: stick with one pair of Dwarf Cichilds and make a community take. IDK how gouramis would mix. Never had them.

[jackson17]

You could go with more then 1 pair in that tank, its more then big enough. Do two, get some cories(large schools), and some tetras or something. If you want you could add a angel to, up to you though.

[gotpaper1981]

Ok. So what about rainbows for the upper level and leave off the gouramis? I like the rummynose tetra idea. Could do a school of corries, rummynose tetras, and boesmans rainbows. That would fill out the three levels as far as schooling fish go. Then do two pairs of rams for the bottom and either an angel or pair of gouramis for the mid to upper levels. Would I do one single angel or more? I've read conflicting oppinions on these. We will also have a 30 gallon tank cycling after I start stocking this one. So if something doesn't go along with the rest, I'll base the stocking of the smaller tank around that. I was really hoping to do some loaches in one or the other of the tanks. Maybe have to get another tank!! Don't tell my hubby though.

[jackson17]

lol MTS hitting already.

As for stocking. Depending on the rainbows, you can do probably 5-10 (depends on which ones thou)

Tetras(10-15)
Cories(10)
Rams(4...2 males 2 females)
Angel 1

If you get a pair of angel, you will most likely have get rid of a school a fish. If the rams and angels breed at the same time, there will be less swimming room due to each of the pairs guarding the eggs heavily.

Also, I'm not the best with stocking numbers, so let someone double check my post haha, just trying to give you a idea and help you out

[gotpaper1981]

how big of schools?

[BridalWreath]

Ok. So what about rainbows for the upper level and leave off the gouramis? I like the rummynose tetra idea. Could do a school of corries, rummynose tetras, and boesmans rainbows. That would fill out the three levels as far as schooling fish go. Then do two pairs of rams for the bottom and either an angel or pair of gouramis for the mid to upper levels. Would I do one single angel or more? I've read conflicting oppinions on these. We will also have a 30 gallon tank cycling after I start stocking this one. So if something doesn't go along with the rest, I'll base the stocking of the smaller tank around that. I was really hoping to do some loaches in one or the other of the tanks. Maybe have to get another tank!! Don't tell my hubby though.

For the boes Rainbow, I believe that they actually do pretty well in groups of three. Not sure of this but I think I read it somewhere. Since they get about 3 inches, I would suggest 5? I think you will love them though - I plan on getting some. XD

And Rummynose.. I think you'll love them. I saw them at my local petshop and I couldn't stop staring at them. But I think that is me with any fish.. >.>

[gotpaper1981]

You already answered!! MTS hit hard I think!! Loving this plan. Thanks for helping! Thinking boesmans rainbos. So still around 5-10? This is going to be fun. Already see a layout forming in my mind. Hope I can get it to look the way I imagine it. Any suggestions on filters for this stocking plan? I want to do a canister filter, just not sure which one yet.

[jackson17]

For a 85 gallon tank try to get a fluval. I think a good set up on filtration would be a AC110 and a fluval 405. That is plenty of filtration and leaves you with a back up if something happens to one.

[BridalWreath]

You already answered!! MTS hit hard I think!! Loving this plan. Thanks for helping! Thinking boesmans rainbos. So still around 5-10? This is going to be fun. Already see a layout forming in my mind. Hope I can get it to look the way I imagine it. Any suggestions on filters for this stocking plan? I want to do a canister filter, just not sure which one yet.

Canister filters can get expensive, depending on the brand or the quality. But I think with your size tank, it might be more beneficial. I wouldn't know much about canister filters though.

[jackson17]

On my 55 gallon I have a whisper 60 (will get replaced with a AC70 once I have money, and a fluval 205. The whisper is rated for 60 gallons, and the fluval for 40. They are on opposite ends of the tank so it keeps each side going well. Water looks crystal clear. If you do get two filters, put one on each side.

[gotpaper1981]

Does AC stand for AquaClear. New to all the abreviations. Most I can figure out.

[Red]

Yes, Aquaclear HOB. (hang on the back)

[gotpaper1981]

You know, I just figured out that the one that came with the tank is an Emporer 400. I am soaking it to try and get it cleaned up. A lot of salt deposit on everything. Real pain to clean up. If I used that, I would have to replace all the media and the bio-wheels. I really hope to switch to a canister though, but putting one at each end is a great idea.

[Red]

Use some lemon juice with vinager and give it a good wash afterwards.

[gotpaper1981]

I'm using vinegar right now.

[Red]

try lemon juice, works better for me.

[gotpaper1981]

Don't have any and don't want to drive to town right now. I'll call hubby and have him pick some up for me. I can't seem to find replacement bio wheels for it. Can I just soak those and use them as well? How do I test heaters? There is two different ones, can't read them yet, but will after a good scrubbing.

[Red]

You test heaters by putting them in water and then see if the temp matches up with what the heater says they are.

I would not soak biowheels. It just doesnt seem like a good idea to me.

[gotpaper1981]

Ok, so I will have to search for replacement bio-wheels. Since the previous owner had a salt water set up, don't want to use the ones with it. I'll google it. The heaters look questionable, so that's just going on my list of things to buy. One looks burnt out and I don't want to risk a screw up with those.

[gotpaper1981]

I might just get a canister filter for the big tank and use the Emporer for the 30 gallon tank. Hopefully it won't over-do it on that one. Give me time to get some parts for it anyways.