Thinking Of Buying A New Tank...

[x-Twinkle-x]

As a bday pressie for my Dad! In our study we have a giant sideboard sort of thing that is made from some sort of wood obv lol, it is about 8ft and currently has a massive vivarium with bearded dragons on top of it, but this can be moved to our hallway, and as my Dad absolutely my catfish that I have in the tanks in my room, I just had an idea of buying him a tank for his bday (which is this month) so that he can stock it with cats!!
Do you think this is a good idea?? I personally prefer tanks with height rather than length, but that's just me, and as my Dad would want this as a catfish tank, it would obv need to be longer rather than taller?
He takes me to the LFS and will just happily wander round looking at all the cats for agesss, put he particularly likes Synos, Pictus, and 'unusual' looking cats. He would definately research everything first, but what sort of size tank would he need to keep large-ish plecs, and is there anything else I need to think about? Apart from persuading my Mum lol!

Thanks

 

[afishdude]

you need to think about how "into" this tank he will be. will he do water changes, cycle, and all that stuff.

for cats you want long rather than high. so a L tank would be perfect.

as for plecs. it totaly depends on what type of plecs he likes as to how big of a tank he will need.

 

[fry_lover]

you need to think about how "into" this tank he will be. will he do water changes, cycle, and all that stuff.

for cats you want long rather than high. so a L tank would be perfect.

as for plecs. it totaly depends on what type of plecs he likes as to how big of a tank he will need.

make sure he doesnt end up with plecs that can get BIG, nice plecs are wicked but expensive!!!!

question here is more £££ ?

you want to get ust a plain glass tank (i can recommend a company) or you want a tank with filter and lights etc???

it sounds like your dad has a taste for the kind of catfish that prefer larger tanks, i guess you are talking about a 4 foot tank?

twinkle, twinkle, little star

 

[x-Twinkle-x]

Yes, Dad will be very into the tank, he will do water changes religiously lol! It was my Dad that got me into fish in the first place, he bought me my first tank as a surprise and he did most of the research about cycling and everything else!
Fry_Lover, our sideboard is 6ft, so we could get a 6ft tank to fit on that! What company can you recommend? Yeah as you might have guessed, Dad likes plecs and synos and things, but he will research first and I will steer him away from common plecs and things that get massive!

Thanks for the replies!

 

[fry_lover]

Yes, Dad will be very into the tank, he will do water changes religiously lol! It was my Dad that got me into fish in the first place, he bought me my first tank as a surprise and he did most of the research about cycling and everything else!
Fry_Lover, our sideboard is 6ft, so we could get a 6ft tank to fit on that! What company can you recommend? Yeah as you might have guessed, Dad likes plecs and synos and things, but he will research first and I will steer him away from common plecs and things that get massive!

Thanks for the replies!

ND AQUATICS LTD
18c MIMRAM Road
Hertford
Hertfordshire
SG14 1NN

Tel/Fax 01992535916
Mob 07828839392
info@ndaquatics.co.uk

just plain tanks, but the feedback from them is excellent and the prices cant be beaten for new tanks, they do all sizes and deliver for low cost (so i hear), not sure if you will too far? but worth a try, email them or phone for a price list

you would need to sort out your own lid / hood and lighting and of course filtration

What about going for a 2nd hand Juwel Rio 400 off e-bay, they are 5x2x2 i think... def 5-foot long, if it came with the normal Juwel internal filter, you could supplement with x1 external., i seen Rio 400's going for £250 recently which is a bargain (if its got filter and lights, stand) although you might not need stand?

 

[x-Twinkle-x]

Ooh thankyou!! I've got a 'dumb' question Fry_lover lol how far away from me is Hertfordshire?? Hehe
I will have a look now on eBay for the Juwel Rio 400.. how many cats could Dad keep in there? From what I've said he likes? Any ideas?

Thanks

 

[x-Twinkle-x]

Ok, I think I have pursuaded my Mum to buy a Juwel Vision 260! That's 55gal.. and I know that he will just want to stock it with cats like Synos and Pictus and things, but he also loves plecs - are there any that could live happily in a 55gal?

 

[1234-fishy-freind]

There are some plecs that stay small and an easy way to tell that they will stay small is by their price, they are more expensive, in my tank i have a golden nugget plec which i paid £20 for and they stay quite small, fish like commen plecs and sailfin plecs are cheaper because they are harder to sell as they require a large tank.
Here is a good link to all different sorts of plecs.
http/www.liveaquaria.com/product/scateg.cfm?pCatId=837

 

[orange shark]

Bristlenose plecs stay small and from what Ive read your dad likes unusual plecs/catfish so bristlenoses would be perfect for him. Also there are pitbull plecs, but it may be bulldog plecs because I get mixed up with them!

 

[J4MES]

three to four pictus cats would look nice

 

[afishdude]

zebra plecs

 

[x-Twinkle-x]

Ok thanks, if we get the tank I will suggest all these to Dad!

 

[x-Twinkle-x]

Sorry to double post...
There's been a change of plan lol. I have somehow, amazingly, managed to persuade my parents to buy me a Juwel Rio 260! & despite the fact that I am going to college next month, they are going to do tank maintenance while I am away! Thanks for all your help guys anyway!

 

[1234-fishy-freind]

No problem, i have a juwel tank and i love it, they are really good.
So whats your stocking ideas now then ?

 

[x-Twinkle-x]

I'm really not sure 2bh lol, I'm going to college next month so I wont have as much free time as I would like, so I need something isn't really high maintenance lol

EDIT: The only thing I'm worried about is that its going to be in my room, and I'm worried if the floor will be able to hold the weight? What do you think?