First Tank, Never Had Fish, Help?

[shapoopie]

So i recently got a free fish tank from a family friend (needed help setting up and taking down 3 at a Costco expedition and gave one to me for the help ) And i read online about cycling, stole some gravel from my AP Biology teacher, and tested. Finally i had gotten water tests back, with little-0 ammonia and nitrites and small traces of nitrates! According to our friends, the tank had cycled and we were able to start stocking the tank. To begin with they gave us a couple sail fin mollies, and a couple Platy's. They said that these fish got along with any other fish and not to worry about them. Later, i got a dinosaur bichir and 2 Oscars after reading they are one of the coolest fish ever. Pics are below.

Oscar is oranger normally but the picture bleached the color a little bit.

Then i read about how they don't like other fishies and would like to chill by just themselves . Are there any other fish in general i can get? or will they all try to kill each other? We are also planning on giving the mollies and platys to our neighbors or buying a new tank and filling it with multiple neon tetras.

Also, will this tank be big enough for them? It said it was a 75 gallon on the info card, dimensions are 3X2.5X1.25

Another question (bear with me ) is my filter good enough for the two of them? I have an [URL="http/www.animalworldnetwork.com/aq5pofi110v.html"]http/www.animalworldnetwork.com/aq5pofi110v.html[/URL]

Lastly, i will be upgrading to another tank in the future that is long instead of tall, as i have read even more about them and learned they need plenty of swim space. They are around 2 inches now. How much longer does it normally take before i must upgrade?


All in all, must say i never expected fish to be so high maintanence, and thank god i saved my money i earned working over the summer, as it all seems to be going to filters and other things (guy originally gave me one only fit for a 10 gallon max >_<)




also another picture of the tank for reference of size

 

[drobbyb]

Hi and welcome to TFF! You are going to have a few problems with that selection of fish. Firstly Oscars will eat any fish that can fit in it's mouth, so your smaller fish will become food. They also gro far too big to be in your tank (if it's the one pictured). They can reach in excess of 12 inches long and quite thick. The bichir will eat your smaller fish too.

What worries me is that the tank is very deep instead of long and wide, leaving your oscars unable to fit properly after a while. Also, there is little surface area for gas exchange at the top and despite the tank being 75 gallons, can't house large messy fish.

I would return the oscars and the bichir and get something else that only grows a few inches.

EDIT: having re-read your post, I see that I missed the part where you were going to purchase a tank that is long. This changes everything! You need a long 75 gallon tank to keep 1 oscar, which means either return one or get a larger tank than 75 gallons. The bichir gets to a foot long as well, and requires 50 gallons by himself (source wikipedia).

 

[Tolak]

Oscars will hit the 12" range pretty quickly. When dealing with larger fish you generally want 2-3 times the fish's adult size the one direction, and 1.5-2 times the size the other direction. This is why a standard 75 gallon, with a 48"x18" footprint is considered minimum for a fish that hits 12" like an oscar. The same applies to the bichir.

Stocking is related in many ways to surface area, while the tank may be a 75 gallon, the surface area is closer to a standard tank of half that capacity. The good news is that the Aqua Clear 110 is one of the best filters on the market. While filtration in many ways ties in with stocking, surface area does as well, as times more so.

As already stated, return the fish that will grow larger and stock with smaller fish, or consider a larger tank for them. Besides smaller livebearers a tall tank such as that is suitable for taller fish, such as angels.

Unrelated question; left side of the pic, on the wall, Dean Dimebag?

BTW, welcome to TFF!

 

[shapoopie]

Alright, well didnt expect answers that fast! As for the first case, we have two other tanks downstairs that we brought back from the expedition. Unfortunately the one that is 48 by 18 (just measured it too >_<) we have to ship to his sister in chicago as she wants it . Good news, is that until i prove to my parents that i am serious enough about my aquariums (besides all the money and time i have spent getting all this working ) they are letting my keep the other one from downstairs and set it up as well. It is shorter, and 24 x 36 x 24 (length, width, height)

We have agreed that once the fish get to a *size*where they need to be moved again (shouldn't take that long if what i have been reading is correct) we can take an old 125g off of our neighbors hands (was also fresh water) And this one is looong

I will probably update this later on again, but was wondering if the two oscars and bicher could live in the second one for a while until they need the 125?

Also, are angels hard to take care of? They would be pretty beast to have.


And yes it is a Dean, just need to learn how to play it now

 

[Tolak]

The 24x36 is around 90 gallons if my mental math is close. You probably have 5-6 months before the two oscars & bichir would need the 125. Oscars are cichlids, and have differing temperament from fish to fish. Those two may get along just fine as they mature, they may suddenly become mortal enemies. Buy or make a divider, and keep it handy, this is standard equipment for larger cichlids that may have aggression issues.

The biggest problem with angels is poor genetics. Get the angels from an independent shop who deals with a local breeder, or from the local breeder himself. As long as they are quality fish angels are not that difficult at all to care for. They are cichlids as well, but are considered semi aggressive. This can go to aggressive if they pair off & spawn, but in a tank with that water depth and some taller plants for hiding that shouldn't be a big issue.

That guitar is a metal machine! You'll figure it out soon enough, guitar isn't rocket science. I have a mini Marshall stack & an old strat with a couple of humbuckers sitting outside my fishroom, you would be surprised how many fishkeepers play. Years ago my old drummer bred oscars, they love loud rock & roll, at least his did.

 

[shapoopie]

Hmm, well i guess after scouring craigslist for around 5 minutes i found a 125 that is 36 long, 29 tall, 28 wide for 350. Parents said that if i can sell the other tank downstairs and really wanna use the last of my summer work money i can buy it . Before i do, would this be big enough for a while or should i not bother and then just get a tank that is super extra long?

As for the guitar, been debating whether to just try an teach myself or take some classes. Know any good online guides?

 

[OldMan47]

I have a 125 and it is a full 6 feet long, almost 2 feet deep and about 18 inches from front to back. I only eyeballed the height and depth right now so I might be of an inch or two but I built a new frame for the top and know that it is 6 feet long. The 3 foot tank would hold about the same amount of water but would not give your fish very much swimming room as they get larger. You really want the longer tank for oscars.

 

[llamalord305]

I play the saxophone, but I know a lot of guitar players. I would recommend taking classes because if you are doing something wrong and no one tells you, it becomes muscle memory and hard to fix later.

 

[Tolak]

That tank is somewhere around 90ish gallons; http/www.glasscages.com/?sAction=ViewCat&lCatID=2 I would go for the length as mentioned rather than the depth, as oscars need that horizontal swimming space.

I play the saxophone, but I know a lot of guitar players. I would recommend taking classes because if you are doing something wrong and no one tells you, it becomes muscle memory and hard to fix later.

This is very true. Take some live & in person classes, wrong technique is hard to fix. Find a teacher who is familiar with the genre you wish to play, and take lessons for a few months at least. Back in the day guitar was a credit class when I was in HS, the teacher was an old blues guy, Pearl vet. After HS when I wanted to get more into rock/metal I found a local guy who was a good teacher. You can supplement anything they are teaching with online material, there is so much info online now.