Stocking 75 Gallon tank

[ambush0908]

Hello all. I just set up a 75 gal freshwater tank with the intentions of going with African Cichlids. After researching a bit I am having second thoughts because it seems you have to "overstock" to prevent aggression. My preference is not to have too many fish for multiple reasons. Cost and maintenance being two of them. I am open to hear if anyone has any suggestions on some cool fish to stock? Looking for colorful and active. Thanks.

 

[eaglesaquarium]

Hello and welcome!

The most important question to be addressed which will guide us for all the other questions: What are the parameters for your water? (pH, kH, gH) Once these are determined, the rest can be figured out.

African cichlids are lovely, colorful fish, but as you say it is recommended that they be a bit more crowded to keep aggression low (ironic, isn't it?). But, those fish require very specific water... specifically hard and alkaline. pH roughly 8.0+ or so, kH in the range of 12 degrees or so, gH about 18 degrees. Those numbers can skew one way or the other a bit depending on which lake (Malawi, Tanganyika or Victoria) you are looking to replicate.

But there are a myriad of options of fish that are colorful, interesting and undemanding - the easiest way to do everything is just to focus on what fish do best in your tap conditions. Sticking with that makes everything else that much easier, especially for inexperienced aquarists.

 

[ambush0908]

Thanks. I have not tested the parameters yet because the one thing I forgot to buy was the test kit. Duh! I know from previous tanks my tap PH is around 7-7.5. I am planning on getting that soon and I am currently researching how to cycle.

 

[eaglesaquarium]

We think our article is a pretty good one for cycling.
http://www.fishforums.net/threads/cycling-your-new-fresh-water-tank-read-this-first.421488/

 

[ambush0908]

We think our article is a pretty good one for cycling.
http://www.fishforums.net/threads/cycling-your-new-fresh-water-tank-read-this-first.421488/

Thanks! Last question for the night...probably. I do have a well establish 15 gallon tank with 2 Celestial Pearl Danio's and a pleco. Now that I may not go with the Africans I was thinking of getting fish that would go with the Danios peacefully and putting them in new tank. Then eliminating the smaller tank. I maintain this tank frequently and the fish are over a year old so I stoped testing water because they are healthy and I was not planning on adding fish. Is there a way to use this tank to cycle the new one or avoid cycling at all?

 

[eaglesaquarium]

Absolutely. It's called seeding.

Add a bit of the media from that filter to your new one and voila... you'll dramatically decrease your cycle time. Follow the same directions as the link, only test daily. The ammonia and nitrite will begin to be processed immediately.

 

[eaglesaquarium]

You can also give the media a good swoosh around in the new tank as well.

Adding a bit of mulm (the really nasty brown stuff) under your substrate will help mature your tank a bit faster as well, as its full of all kinds of good bacteria, etc. If you plan on live plants, mulm is the best thing to add under the substrate as a plant food source.

 

[ambush0908]

You can also give the media a good swoosh around in the new tank as well.

Adding a bit of mulm (the really nasty brown stuff) under your substrate will help mature your tank a bit faster as well, as its full of all kinds of good bacteria, etc. If you plan on live plants, mulm is the best thing to add under the substrate as a plant food source.

You can also give the media a good swoosh around in the new tank as well.

Adding a bit of mulm (the really nasty brown stuff) under your substrate will help mature your tank a bit faster as well, as its full of all kinds of good bacteria, etc. If you plan on live plants, mulm is the best thing to add under the substrate as a plant food source.

Thanks!!