156 Gallon Tank, What Should I Keep In It?

[courtneyh]

hi

in a couple of weeks i will be buying a 156 gallon cylindrical tank, but not sure what i should keep in it. at first i wanted big fish such as, oscars,plecs,sharks,sevrums, etc, but then some1 suggested malawis because they get to a good size and very coulorfull. just want some ideas on what i should get? i do want big fish tho.

thanks

 

[N0body Of The Goat]

Is this one of these five or six foot tall cyclinder tanks, that are one or two foot in diameter?

If so, your fish stocking will be extremely limited as the surface area for aeration is extremely small for the volume of water and the fish you put in there need to be comfortable long term in relation to the diameter of the tank, as most fish swim a lot more horizontally than vertically.

Malawis would be out of the question, they would need a rockscape in a four foot or more long tank. Small (<4cm) fish as adults that are not active swimmers (eg. many danios) would be much more realistic.

Sadly, these type of tanks may look practical to fit in with our homes, but they are not very practical for fish. Now if you turned that cyclinder onto its side, you would have endless possibilities for the fish you could stock.

 

[courtneyh]

well the tank its self is 37 inches high. and 41 inches wide. it sits on a big stand with the sump tank inside. with the tank on the stand it stands at 6ft.

 

[N0body Of The Goat]

Oh right, sounds quite different to the shape I was referring to, more of a squat/wide cyclinder!

Perhaps post in the "Old World Cichlids" section for opinions from Malawi keepers, but I suspect that it may still be a little cramped at just over 3.5 foot across for a Malawi setup and may suit a Tanganyikan colony better.

 

[courtneyh]

ok thankyou very much for your help