Stocking 66g tank

[Mcor]

We have several tanks but our pride and glory is the large 66g. It is currently a community tank but we've found that we enjoy our fancy goldfish tank better. Our thinking therefore, is to move all the fish out of the 66 into different tanks and put something else in the 66. What we like about the goldfish is their size and personalities. So... We want a species tank with the 66. A few large fish rather than lots of small ones as it is now. Any suggestions as to what will work/fit and how many. The fall-back plan would be another fancy goldfish tank but as we already have one, it would be nice to do something different.

 

[deadmanwalking]

hey there, are there any big fish you specifically like?

Just throwing out suggestions here but you could do an african cichlid tank or a new world cichlid tank. And you could add in some plecos with the new world cichlid tank if you like them.

 

[Mcor]

hey there, are there any big fish you specifically like?

Just throwing out suggestions here but you could do an african cichlid tank or a new world cichlid tank. And you could add in some plecos with the new world cichlid tank if you like them.

Thanks for your response! Cichlids are definitely an idea. To be honest I'm shooting in the dark here so any suggestions of bigger fish that will do well in the big tank would be good. Throw some names about and I'll google them. As it stands, I have no visual image of what I'm wanting, only that I want them big and beautiful and friendly. (My goldfish eat from my hand - that sort of thing).

 

[Smcoyle87]

Severum cichlids, my dude eats from my hand and goes crazy when I walk in the room. He has so much personality, truly a great find. If you decide on cichlids, make sure you do some research first because they are different experience.

 

[deadmanwalking]

Ugh, sorry - I had a big post typed out but it got deleted. O_O

Anyway, here is a list of some larger fish:

- Angelfish
- Black ghost knife fish (although you would need to upgrade tank after a while since they get over 50cm in length)
- African Cichlids such as yellow labs and blue peacock (these need to be kept only with other cichlids though).
- New World (American) Cichlids such as Electric Blue Jack Dempsey, Firemouths, Convicts, honduran red points, black diamond, texas and salvini (although as adults some of these may outgrow your tank).
- Mid-sized plecos such as starlight bristlenose, golden nugget, vampire, blue phantom, etc.
- Elephant-nosed fish.

Obviously you couldnt keep all these fish together, but if you give them all a quick google and let us know what you like then I am sure we can work out an awesome stocking list for your tank!

Also, no problem (about responding), its fun to help out other fishkeepers!

 

[Mcor]

Excellent! Ok, plecos are out unless I find starlights (I have bnp's). Angelfish, not so much, I'm not planning on upgrading the tank (it's the biggest we have space for so black ghost knife fish is also a no. That leaves the cichlids. What do they need diet-wise besides the usual? It would be fun to try a dark water tank (with the almond leaves) so that (I assume) would suit new world cichlids, right?

 

[Smcoyle87]

You have to be careful about what cichlids you put in there, some of the ones mentioned by deadman (while awesome) can get very aggressive and you need to be sure you can handle that. Great choices, just a heads up.

 

[deadmanwalking]

Excellent! Ok, plecos are out unless I find starlights (I have bnp's). Angelfish, not so much, I'm not planning on upgrading the tank (it's the biggest we have space for so black ghost knife fish is also a no. That leaves the cichlids. What do they need diet-wise besides the usual? It would be fun to try a dark water tank (with the almond leaves) so that (I assume) would suit new world cichlids, right?

Yeah, starlights are awesome lol - I have one at my lfs just now which I am going to pick up once my new tank is up and running. And ah, okay - I see!

As for the new world cichlids, they eat cichlid pellets. African cichlids eat cichlid pellets too but as a word of warning you should avoid feeding foods which are high in protein as it could lead to the fish developing bloat.

And yeah, black water would suit new world cichlids just fine!

And yeah, Smcoyle is right - some of those cichlids I suggested can be very aggressive. Sorry, should have maybe mentioned that before lol.

Do you like elephant-nosed fish?

 

[Mcor]

Awesome! Thanks you guys! Elephant nose fish seem a little too delicate for my liking. I just mean that a lot of the meds that I have tucked away for emergencies all say they are not suitable for elephant nosed fish. So... Some pretty new world cichlids are the best bet for me. Any suggestions o particular ones to look at? (I know there have been plenty of suggestions already and thanks for those, but I get confused as to what is what when I'm looking on google!).