New 110 gallon stocking ideas

[Tyler.P]

Hey all I'm finally getting my 110 gallon set up and I'm thinking of stocking ideas. I'm thinking of putting an oscar with a few other fish. Wanted to know your thoughts on how many fish of that size I can actually add to the tank. The tank I 5' wide x 18, deep x 24 high

 

[Andy Sager]

Hey all I'm finally getting my 110 gallon set up and I'm thinking of stocking ideas. I'm thinking of putting an oscar with a few other fish. Wanted to know your thoughts on how many fish of that size I can actually add to the tank. The tank I 5' wide x 18, deep x 24 high

This will depend on your decorations. If you have a lot of caves or territories, you can add other non aggressive cichlids such as Severums, Firemouths, Geophagus or parrots. You can also keep Metynnis species such as Red Hooks, Silver dollars, etc. You can also keep fish like Arrowana as long as the tank is well covered and you get the smaller specie (Scleropages jardinii). ( You may need to rehome the arrowana when it gets large ) Then there are the bottom fish like catfish varieties.

So you have a few choices but keep in mind that a nice tank of just Oscars is also an option.

 

[Tyler.P]

This will depend on your decorations. If you have a lot of caves or territories, you can add other non aggressive cichlids such as Severums, Firemouths, Geophagus or parrots. You can also keep Metynnis species such as Red Hooks, Silver dollars, etc. You can also keep fish like Arrowana as long as the tank is well covered and you get the smaller specie (Scleropages jardinii). ( You may need to rehome the arrowana when it gets large ) Then there are the bottom fish like catfish varieties.

So you have a few choices but keep in mind that a nice tank of just Oscars is also an option.

Yeh I was thinking of adding one geophagus, and a bichir. Maybe a pleco and some silver dollars the thing is I don't know how many fish exactly I can fit in there. This will be my first time with larger fish as I normally do community tanks with small/medium fish.

 

[Andy Sager]

Yeh I was thinking of adding one geophagus, and a bichir. Maybe a pleco and some silver dollars the thing is I don't know how many fish exactly I can fit in there. This will be my first time with larger fish as I normally do community tanks with small/medium fish.

If you get fish that use different levels of the tank, you will be able to add more than if you get all one layer fish. Keep in mind that all the fish you mentioned are going to get large so overcrowding them is going to be an issue down the road. No matter how many you eventually have, the best way is " Less is more." Also, Oscars can be very dirty fish so you need good filtration and consistent water quality to keep them healthy. If you are going to over do anything, it would be to get bigger filtration for a tank that size.

 

[Tyler.P]

If you get fish that use different levels of the tank, you will be able to add more than if you get all one layer fish. Keep in mind that all the fish you mentioned are going to get large so overcrowding them is going to be an issue down the road. No matter how many you eventually have, the best way is " Less is more." Also, Oscars can be very dirty fish so you need good filtration and consistent water quality to keep them healthy. If you are going to over do anything, it would be to get bigger filtration for a tank that size.

So I figured the oscar will be top/mid geo and bichir bottom/mid. Then maybe get some silver dollars as a schooling fish. Filtration I was thinking fluval fx2 which is good for 175G do you think that is going to be enough filtration for these fish. or should I go with the fx4 for 250G?

 

[Andy Sager]

So I figured the oscar will be top/mid geo and bichir bottom/mid. Then maybe get some silver dollars as a schooling fish. Filtration I was thinking fluval fx2 which is good for 175G do you think that is going to be enough filtration for these fish. or should I go with the fx4 for 250G?

I'm not really familiar with this filter but the key to look out for is if you are seeing fish poo on the bottom, you either need to add another filter on the opposite side of the tank or need more water circulation at the bottom so add a wave maker positioned lower in the tank.
The thing with big fish is their poo matches their size. And because an Oscar's diet is mainly protein, it's heavier than say, a swordtail's so it's going to sink. Be watchful for pockets where there is limited circulation as that is where there will be piles of poo.
As for filter ratings, keep in mind that these ratings are based on water turnover and the turnover reduces as the filter material inside it ages and gets dirty. You need to keep up with keeping that material free of clogging debris.