125 gallon new setup

[GtownJosh]

Just setup a 125 gallon tank i have three channel cats im not sure what the real name for them is though there hiding in the little cave you can see on the right also two oscars which everyone told me that they would eat the cats when they were smaller well they were wrong the cats kick the oscars butts. I used pool filter sand which i kinda regret even after washing and washing and washing the cats like to stir it up and make the tank cloudy and im not really sure if they like the sand has anyone else had any dealing with it?

[MatsP]

Looks nice from here. The fish aren't exactly what I would put in such a large tank, but we all have our own favourites...

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Mats

[GtownJosh]

ya i dont plan on leaving them in there its such a nice big pretty tank i want something really colerfull in it im just trying to decide what and figure out what im gonna do with the fish i have in it now

[L number Banana]

Very beautiful! Can you get some closer pics of the cats?
I'd recommend an oscar tank and keep this big beauty tank as a catfish only tank but then I'm very much on the side of any catfish
There's some colourful catfish out there too. Daytime/nighttime, whatever your desire, there's a cat to fit. Okay, almost.
These come to mind first, mmm, nice in a long tank with long leaved plants.

Rineloricaria sp(l010a)

Maybe not with the oscars though, they would be used as toothpicks
Thanks for sharing

[Phyllonemus]

Close up pics from your cats would be nice!

From my Tanganyikan point of view, I would'nt put different kinds of stone in one tank.
When your using one type of stone. it will be looking more natural is my opinion.

[Richard B]

Close up pics from your cats would be nice!

From my Tanganyikan point of view, I would'nt put different kinds of stone in one tank.
When your using one type of stone. it will be looking more natural is my opinion.

I do think a single rock-type looks best visually, but often calciferous rocks to help buffer the water aren't available or suitable in large quantities - my tang tank has all sorts of different rocks in & looks fine as they are all covered in algae!

[GtownJosh]

Here is a few of one of them i couldnt get the others to come out of hiding oh and one of my pleco

[traumatic]

Great pics! very clean ornamental tank. love the cats too.

[Phyllonemus]

Nice catfishes!
Wich specie is that one from the last pic ?

[GtownJosh]

I dunno what the real name for it is but i just call it a channel cat someone else on here im sure would know i would like to know myself????

[Farid]

hi there,
your tank looks nice... BUT
i find it always a bit sad to see plastic plants...as real ones support the waterquality a lot! how about ...some stones out specially the calcium ones (leftern side) and exchange to a massice chunk of wood..more plants and a CHANNA species (make sure you get a good group as mles and females dont always accept each other...?? they'll get big, are very colourful and you got action while feeding them as they prefer worms, guppies and other small fish. they are mouth breeders so maybe you'll get a family in a few months (depending on the species)...

sorry for my straight input. also like stone ans specially sand ground...but fishes coming from softwaters should try to be kept in soft water if possible (calcium stones dont really support that

i'm curious about your plans

best regards
farid

[GtownJosh]

Hey i really appreciate the info im new to the game and tryin to learn other than reading stuff on here im just trying to use my common sense. I would like to get some real plants i think they look awesome and i know they are a plus on the tank enviroment but i couldnt even geuss where to start with those.

[Farid]

hi,
there's Anubia nana, a dark green leaved plant growing slow but bit by bit. they are quite resistant to rough behavour of the surrounding...is your pleco will like plants is could only guess...the like beiing tight up on wood where their roots will soon settle down.

other large plants are the Echinodorus family (google) some get really large and some very long...2-3 long bunches of them will fill a corner!

also a stable plant is Java fern.. http://www.aquahobby.com/garden/e_javafern.php takes a while until stey start to grow (adjusting to the new water)...but after that they dont need a mirical to grow...set it on wood aswell...gravel does nod really work (the same for anubia nana)

to get some shadow (also to prevent algae grow) use http://images.google.ch/images?hl=de&q= ... 4&ct=title

i let this plant swim and circle on the surface as they grow faster when they have a lot of light wich is just under the light. more light the faster thy gros the more energy they need the more NO3 will be taken off the water! the less plants you have keeping the feeding high maybe using a strong light (no shadows) less % waterchanges...all this can result in algaegrowth wich will be hard to handle not changeing any of the parameters i described.
aftes some week you can pull some branches appart and kick them ...make salads or what ever

this is a very fast growing plant...as you have to know that plants need fertilizer this does not mean you have to buy anything !! during the feeding of the fish a lot of unused material will be in the water (dont know this word in english)...so the water is "getting old" and "used" ...fast growing plants need more feed them selves from this older water....so the (Ceratophyllum demersum) is very good to prevent the water from enrichments of nitrat also called NO3. high nitrat is not very bad ...BUT it is also not good...that's why we make waterchanges to give them "new" water...so plants help a bit to keep the biological values in balance... the more your fishes eat the faster nitrat will be built, wich you can maybe see how yellow the water is after a week...the more fish you keep (more food more shit...and so on) the more waterchanges should be made in %...
also woood gan make the colour of the water yellow or brown wich has nothing to to with getting old ...this is more the acid being released from the roots...softwaterfishes usually like that and it makes also some kind of a mystic atmosphare

in my 26 tanks small to large i make 60-80% in a week..as i need to feed a lot (breeding), in small tanks where i keep a lot of fish like 50pcs of L134 in a 30L tank, i make three times 90% in a week to prevent Nitrit NO2 and Nitrat NO3!!

for more plant ideas maybe ask some guys keeping southamerican fish tanks as i usually only keep anubia and fern in my catfish tanks the rest would be eaten...

enjoy

farid

[Richard B]

The cats are something like this

Ictalurus furcatus

- certainly a close relative

[fischkringli]

Perhaps Itaclurus punctatus ?

[fischkringli]

If you search the common name channel catfish in the Cat-eLog you will find Ictalurus punctatus, but they dont look like them.
Great photos, my compliment!!!

[MatsP]

I'm thinking it is

Ictalurus furcatus

.

Which is not really a good fish for keeping in an aquarium, no matter what size (at least not one that fits in normal peoples homes).

--
Mats

[fischkringli]

A length of 1,30m is normal, 1,70m is the record , so its better to look for somebody, who could keep them, if they are grown to large for the aquarium, you have.

[GtownJosh]

hi there,
your tank looks nice... BUT
i find it always a bit sad to see plastic plants...as real ones support the waterquality a lot! how about ...some stones out specially the calcium ones (leftern side) and exchange to a massice chunk of wood..more plants and a CHANNA species (make sure you get a good group as mles and females dont always accept each other...?? they'll get big, are very colourful and you got action while feeding them as they prefer worms, guppies and other small fish. they are mouth breeders so maybe you'll get a family in a few months (depending on the species)...

sorry for my straight input. also like stone ans specially sand ground...but fishes coming from softwaters should try to be kept in soft water if possible (calcium stones dont really support that

i'm curious about your plans

best regards



I took your advice i checked the Ph of the tank and it was super high so i removed the rocks on the leftern side of the tank now im on a mission to get some live vegetation in there im gonna hit up our local fish store (which is awesome) tomorrow and see what they have to offer and thanks for all the other advice and info guys il post some pics as soon as i replace the plastic with plants
farid

[Farid]

Hi,
if your KH is high the pH will not sink ...so actually you should post the water measurements... most impoertant to know how hard it is...this is the KH according to the KH level still be set..the lower the KH the more it is possible to set the pH low! measure with drop tests not with plastik-stripes!

farid