What fish to stock?

[Jwalk]

Hi everyone. I’m almost ready to start adding my fish in my new 75 gallon tank. I’ve got a rock substrate. So far I have on my list.
Neon tetras. (Not sure how many yet. Ideas???)
Black Molly (same not sure how many)

That’s all I’ve got so far. Any suggestions are welcome.

Thanks!

 

[fearlessfisch]

The more the better with neons. You could have a bunch in a 75 gallon. They look best in a huge group. FWIW, a lot of people have more luck with cardinal tetras than with neons. They look similar, but the cardinals tend to be hardier and don't die as much.



With mollies, the issue is more how many of each sex do you want. Livebearers will bear young, and it's not uncommon for people to end up with more mollies than they ever wanted, because they breed and breed and breed. As a result, some people buy just one sex on purpose, because they don't want to deal with that. If you do want both males and females, it is recommended to buy two or three females per male, because a male will pester females constantly, to the point that a single female will be driven sick from exhaustion.

 

[Jwalk]

Hmmm good point on the Molly’s. I wouldn’t know what to do if they had babies. Is probably stick to just males I’d guess. I’m open to other tetras as well. How big of a school??

 

[King Fisher]

Cardinals have better color IMO. You could put 20 in your tank and still have plenty of room for other fish.

 

[fearlessfisch]

Hmmm good point on the Molly’s. I wouldn’t know what to do if they had babies.

Boil water! No, wait....Definitely don't boil the water. Sorry. Couldn't resist. Bad joke. I agree that starting with 20 is a good plan. Then you can decide if you want more cardinals, or more other fish. If you stocked ONLY cardinals, you could have three times that many. I have often thought it would look cool to have a tank with many, many cardinals and just a couple of other centerpiece fish. P.S. Please excuse....I am unable to get paragraph breaks in my posts. This is a new problem for me.

 

[goatnad]

I will ask what do you like? Big fish? Little fish? A lot of fish? Centerpiece fish? Your preferences will help to guide what fish you really want in the tank. I agree on cardinals/neons and will add rummynose tetras and von Rio flame tetras as some of my favorites. Centerpiece fish I like gouramis, rams and betta(only if you can get them to act right in a community tank). Let us know what you like and we can go from there.

 

[Jwalk]

Honestly I’m open to any suggestions. Maybe a couple bigger fish as a center piece. And a bunch of others to fill.

 

[King Fisher]

Look up dwarf south American Cichlids

 

[Jwalk]

Are they compatible with tetras and mollies. I read they are very aggressive.

 

[King Fisher]

Depends on what you get but generally dwarf S.A. Cichlids aren't really aggressive and if they are it's usually towards there own type.....other cichlids.

 

[King Fisher]

If you see something you like I'm willing to give you advice on them.