Choice of fish for 100 gallon tank for beginner

[Zave]

Hi,
I had a small 10 gallon tank quite a few years back. At that point I did not have any idea about the nitrogen cycle, or how to go about choosing the fish. Needless to say I could not continue the hobby for more than a year.
Now I am getting back in the game with a much larger 100 gallons tank (bought from a friend who had it laying around empty). I have read\viewed all about the nitrogen cycle, equipment etc. and now am in the phase of deciding the fish to keep in there once I set it up. And there is where I am a little stuck and would request a little help.
I love the Oscars, and realized my tank will be big enough for probably 2\3 of those. But if I intend to keep the Oscars I will have to put in similar larger fishes (say a blood parrot, a sevrum, silver dollar, etc.), since the smaller fish will be eaten. Now I am not sure how easy it will be to maintain them.
Though I love smaller fishes like the tetras, betta or guppies which are really good looking (and I am tempted to keep them as well).
If I keep small fishes I will probably keep a few too many fishes, and not sure how difficult it will be to manage the tank.
Is there a middle ground here? Or what do I do as a beginner (since in spite of of all research there will be a learning curve)?

 

[HoldenOn]

Hi,
I had a small 10 gallon tank quite a few years back. At that point I did not have any idea about the nitrogen cycle, or how to go about choosing the fish. Needless to say I could not continue the hobby for more than a year.
Now I am getting back in the game with a much larger 100 gallons tank (bought from a friend who had it laying around empty). I have read\viewed all about the nitrogen cycle, equipment etc. and now am in the phase of deciding the fish to keep in there once I set it up. And there is where I am a little stuck and would request a little help.
I love the Oscars, and realized my tank will be big enough for probably 2\3 of those. But if I intend to keep the Oscars I will have to put in similar larger fishes (say a blood parrot, a sevrum, silver dollar, etc.), since the smaller fish will be eaten. Now I am not sure how easy it will be to maintain them.
Though I love smaller fishes like the tetras, betta or guppies which are really good looking (and I am tempted to keep them as well).
If I keep small fishes I will probably keep a few too many fishes, and not sure how difficult it will be to manage the tank.
Is there a middle ground here? Or what do I do as a beginner (since in spite of of all research there will be a learning curve)?

I would say one oscar in a 100 gallon. Also, you are talking cichlids, meaning anything that fits in the mouth goes in the mouth. I would recommend getting one oscar and a group of silver dollars to start off. Try and get a juvenile oscar and mature silver dollars so that they won't get eaten. @Wills could probably bring some ideas to the table .

 

[Colin_T]

Hi and welcome to the forum

What are the tank dimensions (length x width x height)?

What is the GH (general hardness), KH (carbonate hardness) and pH of your water supply?
This information can usually be obtained from your water supply company's website or by telephoning them. If they can't help you, take a glass full of tap water to the local pet shop and get them to test it for you. Write the results down (in numbers) when they do the tests. And ask them what the results are in (eg: ppm, dGH, or something else).

Depending on what the GH of your water is, will determine what fish you should keep. Tetras, barbs, gouramis, rasbora, Corydoras and small species of suckermouth catfish all occur in soft water (GH below 150ppm).

Livebearers (guppies, platies, swordtails, mollies) occur in medium hard water with a GH around 200-250ppm.

If you have very hard water (GH above 300ppm) then look at African Rift Lake cichlids or use distilled or reverse osmosis water to reduce the GH.

 

[Wills]

Welcome to the forum

As mentioned above the important thing to determine is to find out what kind of water you have - soft or hard. Keeping fish suited to your water means they will live longer and healthier lives which makes the tank more enjoyable for you.

Oscars are really great fish but... they can be trouble. If you want to go down this route the tank will need to be centred around them and you need to be prepared that they may need to be kept as a wet pet in the tank alone as they can sometimes decide thats what they want.

If you are interested in cichlids more broadly there are loads of options to build enjoyable communities but lets find out what your water is like before we suggest anything specific.

Wills

 

[Zave]

Thank you all for the suggestion. I had not thought about the water parameters!
Let me check with a local fish store and get back to you folks with the details.

 

[itiwhetu]

If you like Silver dollars, can the Oscar just have silver dollars and and lots of catfish under them look at the photo in my thread " Silver dollars and their young " . Really cool.

 

[CassCats]

If you dont go the Oscar route, i highly highly recommend a small group of hoplosternum catfish.
Spotted hoplos would work great, are adaptable to a very wide range of parameters, are fun and interesting catfish.

Megalechis thoracata (Spotted Hoplo) — Seriously Fish

www.seriouslyfish.com