Lost With 90gal

[devon_charm]

Hi all,

I am looking for some advice on my 90gal tank.

Its a lovely tank but its...well...dull

I want some advice on:

1. plants that are easy to grow and keep as i have a hard time with them, in fact the only two plants still living are java moss and some purple thing which i'm sure isn't even aquatic! Some sort of layout suggestion would also be hugely appreciated

2. Decor, i was thinking more wood and stone in there but i don't know. I want to keep the urns but other than that please go mad lol

3. finally i need some colourful fish that i can keep with the current residence which are 3 Angels, 2 silver sharks, 1 bumblebee catfish and 1 featherfin (squeeker) catfish. No platies, mollies, swords or guppies tho.

I know bettas inside out but trops are a little harder for me so hit me with your best ideas lol

Here is the tank now:

but i have sold the other fish bar the ones mentioned above and there are less plants. Yawn! it screams dull!

 

[5teady_2012]

A nice big piece of bogwood for centre piece would look nice, and i find water wisteria plants are easy to keep and grow very quick, and would look great packed around the back of your tank..

This is just a personal prefrence though, but maybe you might like as well

 

[Shrimper]

Not so sure about the fish, I'm more of a shrimp man and they would probably get eaten in there... You might be able to get a few fan shrimp in there for something different.

I can advise on some hard to kill plants! My experience isn't from a tank as big as yours but from a small unfertilized betta tank and more recently a 40g tank both with low lights. The 40g has special substrate (eco-complete) but no other fertilizer.

Two Plants I can recommend and haven't been able to kill are Anubias and Java Fern. They are both nice hardy low light plants and are kept in the Betta tank. Both should be tied to wood or rocks and don't need any special treatment. The Anubias has only grown a little bit, It seemed to melt away when i first got it and was down to 2 leaves, but it recovered and now has about 10 leaves on it. My Java fern has grown from 2 plants i got from ebay to 3 bigger and 7 smaller plants that now live in both my tanks tied to various bits of wood.

Depth wise Valis is growing very well in my bigger tank and stretches to the top of the tank (and half way across the surface too). I expect this is partly due to the substrate but you can replicate this by using some root tabs.

 

[smmetz]

I bet someone is gonna comment on the 2 silver sharks, so I might as well warn you too. If they are:
Scientific name: Balantiocheilus melanopterus
Common names: Bala shark, Silver shark, Tricolor Shark.
[URL="http/www.fishforums.net/content/forum/123786/Bala-Shark/"]http/www.fishforums.net/content/forum/123786/Bala-Shark/[/URL]
then they prefer to be in groups a bit bigger than 2, but grow up to be like 10-13 inches or so from what I remember. So, it is going to be a stretch to keep them in a 90 gallon.

I know it looks empty know, but with 3 adult angels and some fully grown bala sharks, that tank will definitely look full! It's just hard to imagine it, and to hold off buying more fish for the year or two that it might take to grow them out.

I'm sure someone with more experience than me could provide better advice for alternatives to keep. Maybe get rid of the sharks, and have a group of medium sized schooling fish instead?

 

[devon_charm]

I had loads of valis and it just seemed to up and vanish lol. Thanks for your help so far guys, i think i will be sure to get some java fern, i'll have to look up the other two and go from there. I really do need somethin to fill the back.

I have thought about shrimp before but i to have thought they will more than likely be eaten buy my beastly angels, evil things lol i'm just to attached.

 

[chibi]

Amazon swords are very easy to grow and grow very fast. Each of my clusters sprouts 5+ leaves a week. Look into getting some; it's very common and not expensive.

 

[devon_charm]

I bet someone is gonna comment on the 2 silver sharks, so I might as well warn you too. If they are:
Scientific name: Balantiocheilus melanopterus
Common names: Bala shark, Silver shark, Tricolor Shark.
<a href="http/www.fishforums.net/content/forum/123786/Bala-Shark/" target="_blank">http/www.fishforums.net/content/forum/123786/Bala-Shark/</a>
then they prefer to be in groups a bit bigger than 2, but grow up to be like 10-13 inches or so from what I remember. So, it is going to be a stretch to keep them in a 90 gallon.

I know it looks empty know, but with 3 adult angels and some fully grown bala sharks, that tank will definitely look full! It's just hard to imagine it, and to hold off buying more fish for the year or two that it might take to grow them out.

I'm sure someone with more experience than me could provide better advice for alternatives to keep. Maybe get rid of the sharks, and have a group of medium sized schooling fish instead?

wow! didn't see this when i replied before. I have had them about 6 months now and they haven't grown that much so far but i am in no way doubting what you are sayin. Perhaps i will bring myself to sell the lot on and start over, i just have no idea on what to go for. I don't want to just walk into a lfs and point as i like to know about what i am buying this time round. Thank you for the advice.

I like the look of swords and i think they will look good with the wood and rock. Thank you

 

[smmetz]

Yeah, no rush to get rid of the sharks, I just wanted to bring up that a 90g is a little tight for adult ones. However, it is not out of the question. The consensus seems to be that a 4 ft by 18" tank (which a 75 or 90 gallon tan is) is the minimum size for bala sharks. I just don't want to depress you too much, so I want to be clear that the bala sharks can live in your tank. I just thought it might be tight, especially if you got another 1-2 of them.(since many people recommend having 3+ of these schooling fish) You have plenty of time to consider options, and make your own choice if you want to keep the sharks for life in the 90 or not.

 

[Biulu]

Before I can make any sensible comments on plants, I would like to know what kind of substrate you have, and what kind of lighting (mention the number of lights with their wattage).

What is the pH of your water? What kind of filter do you have?

 

[MermaidMel]

Yeah, no rush to get rid of the sharks, I just wanted to bring up that a 90g is a little tight for adult ones. However, it is not out of the question. The consensus seems to be that a 4 ft by 18" tank (which a 75 or 90 gallon tan is) is the minimum size for bala sharks. I just don't want to depress you too much, so I want to be clear that the bala sharks can live in your tank. I just thought it might be tight, especially if you got another 1-2 of them.(since many people recommend having 3+ of these schooling fish) You have plenty of time to consider options, and make your own choice if you want to keep the sharks for life in the 90 or not.

My tank is 4ft but only 55-60 gallon so that's confusing. It's 14" deep. Devon_Charm has a 5ft tank but I dunno how deep it is.

I thought that big mangrove root on the left hand side would make a nice centrepiece. I also have to say I think sand is a nicer substrate or black gravel, I really am not keen on pea shingle colours, I know it's natural but it's very dull. I love the giant urns they are fab, one at each end or both together at one end would be a good look.

As for colour, if you want big fish how about discus or parrots? They are stunning. Or if you want to keep your female bettas in there like I am doing, then you need shoals of small fish and inverbs - cories, tetras, shrimps, frogs, small barbs maybe, hatchetfish etc.

You should get a fish encyclopaedia and read through and mark off what you like the look of and their compatibility.

 

[devon_charm]

Ok well i have small gravel substrate about 6cm deep in the thinner areas. PH is around 6 and i have 2 normal aquaglow bulbs 48 long - i'm sorry i don't know tha wattage on them.

all my betta girls are moved out of the big tank now so i have no need to worry about them getting along. I have never been that keen on parrot fish nor discus really so they are a no. Some one said about getting rainbow fish but i don't have the first clue about them.

i am thinking about moving the lager root orniment to a more central position but then i am playing with the idea of taking it out completely and putting in my up and coming guppy tank. What if i made the urns central? sat them ontop of something and had more of the spindly (very technical name) wood around them?

I did think about barbs but i can't have them in with my angels. I thought about rams and kribs but i think that they alone wouldn't really be enough - would they go with rainbows

google here i come!

 

[DarkEntity]

"I know bettas inside out but trops are a little harder for me so hit me with your best ideas lol"

that confused me as Betta are Tropical fish.

anyway, before id go doing anything id look at what you want to keep, then plan decor around that. Cichlids are renowned for eating soft plants so if you do go down the route be prepared for some plant loss.

Amazonian Biotopes, African Biotopes, Cichlid Biotopes from Lake Malawi etc...there are loads of choices, then you could look at large groups of community fish or larger interesting fish, Polypterus, Snakeheads, Eels etc....

Decide first then decor, it will save a lot of cash in the long run

 

[MermaidMel]

You're pretty near the coast aren't you Shell? Why don't you find some big pebbles on the beach and use them in the tank, would look really nice I think! Even better if you use sand substrate. Rainbow fish are beautiful especially Boesmani. Also I love Congo Tetra they look like Rainbow fish as they are reallllly fish colourful tetra (don't think weak pipsqueak tetra, they are about 4-5" adult size)

 

[devon_charm]

"I know bettas inside out but trops are a little harder for me so hit me with your best ideas lol"

that confused me as Betta are Tropical fish.

Haha yea your right i just always see them as a type of their own, i should of put other Tropical fish

You're pretty near the coast aren't you Shell? Why don't you find some big pebbles on the beach and use them in the tank, would look really nice I think! Even better if you use sand substrate. Rainbow fish are beautiful especially Boesmani. Also I love Congo Tetra they look like Rainbow fish as they are reallllly fish colourful tetra (don't think weak pipsqueak tetra, they are about 4-5" adult size)

Yea i am about 30mins away and often have to trudge back to the car, pockets full of stones . I'm not sure tho that i want to go for such rounded stones like you find on a beach but more flatter stackable stuff, perhaps a trip over to the moors and a dig about in the rives could be worthwile.

I think i am starting to build up a plan for decorations in there with the use of rocks, the twiggy wood stuff covered in Java moss and my two urns. I think i will leave off the main planting for a bit until i decide what to go for fish wise as suggested but i was thinking of going for some dwarf hair grass to fill in the gaps around the stones and taller plants to give it some height and cover up the drab black background. I will start to have a play about this weekend and see what happens, i'll post some pics as i go so any one can point out if i go wrong or could do something better.

Cheers so far all