Need Ideas

[kizno1]

Some of you may know i got a 150G a few months ago. The only place it can go is in the garage though and with temps how they have been recently its going to cost around £700 a year just on heating which is to much atm. Its well insulated and im still going to keep 300w of heater in there so it will still stay around 10c in the winter. So i need ideas on something that will work at 25c in the summer and down to 10c in the winter. So far im thinking a shoal of Perch or a group of Channas and then once they pair get rid of the other 2 and breed them or if not im thinking about selling this tank and my other 3 and moving onto reptiles probably a Berber skink or Blue tongue skink if i can get the money. Any ideas?

Cheers

 

[electropunk06]

HI channas would be cool, i would get a burmese biotope with some garra flavatra and maybe some danios, perches, barbs, chaca bankanensis.
i was going to set up my 90L like this but wasn't quite big enough for the garras so i couldn't =(

Lloyd

 

[kizno1]

Sounds nice but bit on the small side for what im looking for. I though 90l was the minimum for a trio of garras so dont see why they wouldnt work.

 

[electropunk06]

Sounds nice but bit on the small side for what im looking for. I though 90l was the minimum for a trio of garras so dont see why they wouldnt work.

i was going to have some other fish in there as well and heard that garras like to trow their weight around, so i am going for more of a amazon dwarf cichlid type tank now

i would go with the channas then they look like interesting fish
Lloyd

 

[kizno1]

Sounds nice but bit on the small side for what im looking for. I though 90l was the minimum for a trio of garras so dont see why they wouldnt work.

i was going to have some other fish in there as well and heard that garras like to trow their weight around, so i am going for more of a amazon dwarf cichlid type tank now

i would go with the channas then they look like interesting fish
Lloyd

Fair enough. Ive got a Garra rufa and havent had any problems with him throwing his weight around at all.

Yeah that seems like the best option so far but just wanted to see if there was anything else that could work in there.

 

[N0body Of The Goat]

Aphanius mento, Persian Killifish, would be happy with those seasonal temperatures. You could start a major breeding program in that tank, but no other fish could safely be put with them, as these guys are mega-fiesty when breeding and have been known to kill fish many times their size!

 

[kizno1]

They look great but dont have a clue where i would get any and if i would be able to sell them. Wouldnt it be a problem if they bred having more than 1 male in the tank if there that aggressive?

 

[N0body Of The Goat]

In a big tank like that, you ought to be able to safely house several males, who will each claim a territory. When they mature, apparently the females school together wandering through the different males territories and get lured away from the group by the male to breed.

Must confess I'm considering moving my group on, as part of my major stocking re-think, which I got at the Festival Of Fishkeeping back in August last year...

 

[kizno1]

Hmm seem like they could work then. Ill have to do a bit of research on them and see what i prefer. Cheers

 

[kizno1]

Ive been doing some searching and apparently Paratilapia polleni do fine between 15-40c so they wouldnt mind the seasonal temp change.

 

[N0body Of The Goat]

A couple of other species that came to mind since last night are Bearded Cory Catfish (http/www.planetcatfish.com/cotm/cotm.php?article_id=106) and Red Shiners (http/www.practicalfishkeeping.co.uk/content.php?sid=40), which appear to be fine with a seasonal low of 16C.

Those P. polleni look like nasty pieces of work from the pics in the SF profile, was not surprised at all to read they are piscivores in the wild (but happy to eat other foodstuffs in captivity)!

 

[kizno1]

A couple of other species that came to mind since last night are Bearded Cory Catfish (http/www.planetcatfish.com/cotm/cotm.php?article_id=106) and Red Shiners (http/www.practicalfishkeeping.co.uk/content.php?sid=40), which appear to be fine with a seasonal low of 16C.

Those P. polleni look like nasty pieces of work from the pics in the SF profile, was not surprised at all to read they are piscivores in the wild (but happy to eat other foodstuffs in captivity)!

Cheers. I like the Corys and the Shiners are stunning but i have no clue where i would be able to find them.

Yeah they dont seem like the nicest fish but i could set it up as a single specimen tank or a pair if theres room.

 

[N0body Of The Goat]

Is Cambridge anywhere near you? Their Maidenhead Aquatics branch have the Red Shiners in stock, according to www.tropicalfishfinder.co.uk , while the Bearded Corys are in stock at their associated "tropical fish 2 your door" with a whopping 5% discount if 5 or more are bought (try not to faint when you see their price!

)

 

[kizno1]

Its about 45-50mins away but my mum doesnt drive so dont know how i would be able to get down there. thats a bit to much for me especially since to be seen in a 150G i would need a shoal of about 20 which would work out at over £360 the 5% doesnt really make much of a difference tot hat pirce either.

 

[N0body Of The Goat]

How about a species only tank of Butterfly Goodeids, Ameca splendens? In a 150g, you could go all out for a large group including 8 males, which apparently gives a great spectacle of watching the males challenge each other for the alpha position, in a reasonably safe manner (spread aggression through the group of males).

One of my local MA branches in Titchfield has a display tank containing fish from newborn (~1.5cm) through to adults of ~10cm, these livebearers are supposed to be quite safe with the youngsters.