Advice Please - Fish for New Tank

**Gregg** · 08-11-2012, 11:16 PM

Hi All,

First time posting on the board. I used to own fish a long time ago and now want to start again. I'm leaning towards getting a 75G (48"X18") tank and am trying to figure out what fish to put in it.

I really like the severum, but after doing some googling and reading posts on various boards I'm concerned that it isn't big enough. Any thoughts on this?

How would a mix of Angels, Blue Acara, hatchets, and corys work in terms of compatibility (both aggression and water conditions)?

Thanks for letting me pick you brain.

- Gregg

**bushwhacker** · 08-12-2012, 04:02 AM

while i'm not sure of the hatchets a 75 is great for a small school of angels and corys...i say small because they can get aggressive when breeding and you'll need room to keep them apart.. my 75 was angels i had 6 in it with a few other fish corys and a few small plecos

**Lady Hobbs** · 08-12-2012, 04:08 AM

Severums are nice. Nothing wrong with a tank of them. Or a tank dedicated for Frontosa or perhaps an Oscar.

**Old Marine** · 08-13-2012, 12:28 AM

I like the Angel fish idea.

**Rocksor** · 08-13-2012, 06:57 PM

A single severum would be fine in a 75g tank. They have a smaller bioload than an oscar with at minimum needs a 55g, with a 75g being ideal. I would be concerned about adding a second severum because they like to bully each other.

A blue acara would work, needing only 30g to itself, thereby leaving you with 45g to play with. So you could stick in a couple of angels with the blue acara. The blue acara tends to stay mid to bottom, whereas the angels stay mid to top.

Adding a school of 6 cories to the blue acara and angels is doable, but you have to watch your nitrates, and do a 50% water change at 20ppm. Liquid test kits like the API freshwater master test kit is a must to maintain a healthy aquarium.

I would suggest a sand substrate of less than 2" for the cories rather than gravel if you decide to add them.