500l/110 gallon tank.. what to stock with?

[Indigo]

i'm currently busy beavering away decorating my tank before letting it cycle, so have a fair bit of time before making final decisions on stocking my new monster tank!

loads of bogwood, few multicoloured rocks, couple of blue led light/air pumps, lots and lots of caves, black sand substrate, no background as we've recently had the living room replastered and painted a deep blood red, so the wall is pretty much perfect behind the tank and the red goes really well with the bogwood!

i'm going to be hunting for a gargoyle to put in there for some time to come i think (any ideas?) but i'm trying to go for a 'gothic' theme, and this includes the fish! (and definately NO plants! )

i'm thinking of going for white/silver and black fish, centrepiece 'fish' is to be a crayfish, and we'll definately go for a couple of eel-type things, hubs has his eye on a violet goby and we need suggestions of something else that would go well with him really. i have a very helpful local fish shop that will get anything in to order and quarantine for me, so i'm very lucky in that respect!

i love platties, i saw some really nice rainbow (?) platties yesterday - white with black and red tails, i love mollies as well, especially the marbled sailfin ones. suggestions for how many of each would be appreciated please (tank is 5ft long, 30" high and 15" deep - so potential for lots of fishies!!) i'm also planning on approx 20 corys, and a pair of plecs - preferably dwarf (do zebra plecs stay small?)

i'd like a school of something, nothing that is going to get much bigger than say 2.5 inches, i'd like to keep to smallish fish, but i'm not a fan of neons/guppies but i'm thinking something tetra may do the trick, but i've seen nothing that's caught my eye as such yet.

someone suggested 3 pairs of angels, but i'm not keen on them, i think they're going to get a bit big for my liking, i just like the idea of small (but not tiny) fish having lots and lots of space to swim about in. shame because i think angels would fit the 'gothic' theme to a tee!!

i'm planning to put at least a pair of everything in there, i just think the symmetry would work and keep things peaceful, they'll have enough on their plate with a crayfish lurking about at the bottom!

am i correct in my recent crash course of absorbing as much info as possible that i will need marine salt to make my water brackish? how/when do i go about this and how do i add it to my tank?

thanks in advance for any suggestions any ideas for something a little more unusual gets brownie points

 

[Fishyfanatic]

You may want to rethink the crayfish if you are wanting other fish in the tank, especially cories or plecos. The Violet Goby (AKA Dragon Goby) is a brackish species. I would not recommend putting them in a freshwater tank. I believe when they are small they are fine in freshwater situations but as they age they need to be slowly converted to brackish. Considering that you want to keep Cories and Plecos, it's not a good idea to stock them. If you want an eel, there are several freshwater eels. Spiny Peacocks are pretty cool to watch. They mostly burrow but you will find them hanging out in plants or on decor.

Zebra plecos are beautiful species but very hard to find since they have been banned from export from Brazil. The ones that are in the states now were either imported prior to the ban, have been tank bred here, or were brought illegally. They are also very expensive but absolutely beautiful with their bright white and deep black coloration.

You have the potential for housing several large schools of fish. True Rummynose Tetras look fantastic when they are schooling tightly. Hi-Fin Serpae Tetras are also really nice looking in large groups. I prefer the Hi-Fins over the regulars but they are both a nice reddish coloration.

Angels would be nice centerpiece fish for your tank. Also consider German Blue Rams or Gouramis.

Do any of these fish interest you?

You are correct that with the Violet Goby you would require marine salt. The mollies would also be fine in brackish, but not the bottom dwellers.

 

[Indigo]

thank you for your reply

we've got our hearts set on a crayfish, i had a 4ft tank some 12 years ago, and kept one alongside a plec, several cories, a spiny peacock eel and a tyre track eel, plenty of hiding places and kept them well fed - the only one that we had a 'problem' with was the tyretrack - who managed to eat 20 ghost shrimp and 12 neons in a matter of days!

you've got me thinking now, i think for the moment i'd like a large school of fish, with a lot of activity already going on from the platties, mollies and swordtails i can re-think from there

hmm just seen the piccie of the rummynose tetra you so kindly gave me a link for, and that's the kind of fish i'm trying to avoid >.< my god i sound picky, i kinda know what i want and don't want, just find it hard to describe! sorry

oohh now, the i found a pic of a hi-fin serpae tetra and that's floating my boat a bit more!!

several people have said angels, which makes me think that i want something a bit more unusual y'know? shame as i think they'd fit the 'gothic' theme nicely, i'm just not keen, maybe it is because they're so common? the german blue rams will definately go on my 'possible' list, i'll learn a bit more about them before commiting, but they look lovely!

gouramis are definately out.. lovely looking fish, but i've already had them in my previous tank, and i'd like to go for something i've not had before.

ok. seeing as my mollies will love me for providing brackish water, as will the goby.. what bottom dwellers would you suggest?

i'm in the UK, i wonder if the laws are different here re getting some zebra plecs? i'll have an ask around i think

i saw an itty bitty tyre track eel yesterday, and i melted while looking at him, soooo cute! i'd like all my fish to be as young as possible when i get them, so we get to enjoy seeing them grow to fully size!

i also saw an itty bitty red tailed cat fish yesterday, man this thing was literally only 4" from head to tail! fortunately he was in a very good shop where the staff know their stuff, so i'm sure he'll go to a nice home with a very large tank!