# Large fish for a planted tank



## Rex Grigg (Dec 10, 2002)

Never kept angles before but Angels might be an idea.

Or some of the larger Rainbow fish.

If you want to keep big fish that's fine. But you will find that big fish either eat the plants, knock them loose or dig them up. Also even in a 125 you will only be able to keep a small number of big fish. In fact if you were to find fish that were compatible with plants in the 10" range you would only be able to keep about 3-4 of them.


----------



## spinnerbayt (Apr 2, 2005)

I will go with the angels if I have to but some of you that have had larger fish in a planted tank give me some ideas. If I can only have 3 or 4 larger fish thats fine as I have 4 other tanks so its no big deal.

Thanks,
Jeff


----------



## chadly (May 17, 2005)

cichlids are out, so are catfish.
maybe a polypterus sp. Some kind of eel possibly? a gar? a chain or redfin pickerel?
there are some possibilities


----------



## spinnerbayt (Apr 2, 2005)

The pickerel I would love as I have had several native fish tanks in the past. I though about a spotted bass and maybe some longear sunfish or some pumpkinseeds but its getting late in the year to go collecting and I wasn't sure how they would do with the plants. But keep the ideas comming in.


----------



## Matak (Aug 10, 2005)

The small perch we get up here are beautiful and stay at 6" or less. They shoal well too. I don't know if they need a dormant winter period though.

Here's the link for Yellow Perch, check the other links on the same page.


----------



## Wasserpest (Jun 12, 2003)

How about a huge pink Kissing Gourami?


----------



## shuks (Jul 10, 2005)

AROWANA, AROWANA, AROWANA..... !!!!



> But you will find that big fish either eat the plants, knock them loose or dig them up.


 Not if you get an arowana. 

Arowanas are the PERFICT planted tankk fish. They are very smart, and they take extra care not to disturd your plants. They are also the most gracefull fresh water fish you can buy. I keep mine in a 75 gallon heavily planted tank. 

here is a picture of mine------------------>arowana picture 

this picture is a bit old, the plant have grown out alot more...

show that picture to your wife, and see what she thinks? As you can probably tell I'm a huge arowana fanatic...


----------



## aquasox (Sep 3, 2005)

Looking good Shuks. 

Spinnerbayt I suggest a tire-track or fire-eel. They are quite peaceful and contrary too popular belief quite active too. As long as you don't have any bite size fish the eel will be good.


----------



## BigB (Oct 14, 2005)

I recomend kissing gouramis, And other gouramis. In that size of a tank they will happily get 4-5inchs and they love to scrap algae off plants. Some plants they will nibble on time to time but they will never destroy a plant roud:


----------



## Matak (Aug 10, 2005)

I hope that I am not starting a flame war, but...

Arowana get too big for a 125.


----------



## spinnerbayt (Apr 2, 2005)

I like the gouramis as I already have a couple of them but she still wants something bigger and I think the arro would be a little too much. Guess I will have to make a stop at the LFS and just take a look at the Angels. I have a feeling thats where I will end up unless you guys can think of something else.


----------



## Wasserpest (Jun 12, 2003)

BigB said:


> I recomend kissing gouramis, And other gouramis. In that size of a tank they will happily get 4-5inchs and they love to scrap algae off plants. Some plants they will nibble on time to time but they will never destroy a plant roud:


Kissers can get up to a foot long :icon_eek: 

Have you looked at Bala Sharks? They can be a little skittish, but they are beautiful in a large tank!


----------



## spinnerbayt (Apr 2, 2005)

I'll take a look at those also when I'm at the LFS. I need to go there anyway, I have enough plants to fill a walmart bag that I need to thin out.


----------



## DiabloCanine (Aug 26, 2005)

Stick some clown knifes and arrowanas in there. They will surely entertain everyone the way they gulp feeders. When they get too big for the tank, trade them in. This is a sure fire way to get a bigger tank too. Honey, my tank isn't big enough for this friggin 2 foot arrowana! HeHeHe


----------



## BlueRam (Sep 21, 2004)

There are reports that the "red-bellied piranha" will not bother plants (in fact do better with plants) but others such as the red-bellied pacu is a vegitarian...

Check your local laws and get a positive identification.


----------



## cfide (May 27, 2005)

I also vote for gouramis. You can get different colors and mix and match; blue, gold, pearl, pink, chocolate, etc etc. They will be in the 4-5 inch range. You can put more fish. I have 6 gouramis and other community fish in my 125 gallon. Be carefull with the moonlight gourami. It likes to eat plants!

If you have patience, try to raise a school of clown loaches. They get as big as 6inches are school beautifully!


----------



## Matak (Aug 10, 2005)

cfide said:


> If you have patience, try to raise a school of clown loaches. They get as big as 6inches are school beautifully!


I am thinking about getting some of those myself in the future. Why do they require patience?


----------



## Jerm (Sep 26, 2005)

hmmm.... mine don't. They just float around and play dead. And sleep in the shell of my dead mystery snail. Loaches are weird.


----------



## Hypancistrus (Oct 28, 2004)

Egg-shaped fancy goldfish will not eat your plants. Orandas, Ryukins, Pearlscales, Moors, & Telescopes come to mind. They are very peaceful and very beautiful.

http://www.plantedtank.net/forums/showthread.php?t=19243


----------



## spinnerbayt (Apr 2, 2005)

Thanks for all the help, you have given me several ideas. 

Thanks,
Jeff


----------



## Louis (May 1, 2004)

i dont like angel fish. look at the thread scolleys big clear kahuna, they have a gar in their tank and a largemouth bass, both get big and are very cool. or what about even getting a big carp in there?


----------



## Ash H (Oct 21, 2005)

Matak said:


> I am thinking about getting some of those myself in the future. Why do they require patience?


cause they live for over 20yrs & take near on that long to get to a decent size.


----------



## spinnerbayt (Apr 2, 2005)

After talking it over with the wife I think we are going to go with a native tank. If the weather breaks this weekend I may take out the boat and see if I can catch a few spotted bass. Most spotted bass that are caught here are not that big. If you catch one that is over 12" its a big one, most are in the 6 to 10" range. I may see if I can locate someone that can get me a grass pickerel and maybe a yellow perch.
I got the 55g filled and started planting it last night so I should be able to move the fish after work today. I got a couple pieces of driftwood last weekend. The fam and I went to BRIDGEDAY to watch the parachuters. On the way home we stopped and did some fishing on the New River and I spent about 15 minutes looking and got 2 pieces. I could have got some gnarly looking stumps if I would have had a hatchet as they were mangled in the rocks. Might have to make a trip back up there in the next couple weeks.


----------



## BlueRam (Sep 21, 2004)

"Natives" are very cool. A member of NANFA gave a talk for my home club. 

One of the tricks he used was shoping at "bait shops" as sometimes something interesting shows up. I was hopeing on working with pygmy perch myself but that does not fit the "go big" need.

Just don't interoduce aquarium fish back into the wild (even the same place you got them).


----------



## qoperator (Apr 13, 2005)

I know you said you are planning a native tank, but here's a thought. Have you thought about Discus. There is nothing as beautiful as a big planted tank with Discus. Don't go along with all the hype and think they are to hard to keep. Their not. If you keep your water clean and slightly warm, you will do great. It is just a thought, but you said the tank is in the living room and your wife basically wants some eye catchers; well nothing will catch the eye like Discus will trust me. roud:


----------



## Rex Grigg (Dec 10, 2002)

spinnerbayt said:


> After talking it over with the wife I think we are going to go with a native tank. If the weather breaks this weekend I may take out the boat and see if I can catch a few spotted bass. Most spotted bass that are caught here are not that big. If you catch one that is over 12" its a big one, most are in the 6 to 10" range. I may see if I can locate someone that can get me a grass pickerel and maybe a yellow perch.
> I got the 55g filled and started planting it last night so I should be able to move the fish after work today. I got a couple pieces of driftwood last weekend. The fam and I went to BRIDGEDAY to watch the parachuters. On the way home we stopped and did some fishing on the New River and I spent about 15 minutes looking and got 2 pieces. I could have got some gnarly looking stumps if I would have had a hatchet as they were mangled in the rocks. Might have to make a trip back up there in the next couple weeks.



A couple of thoughts.

Make sure what you are planning do to is legal in your state. You may not be able to catch large Spotted Bass where you live but they can get quite large. Also they do need somewhat cooler waters that normally found in a planted tank. 

And in a 55 gallon tank you really don't have enough space for a larger fish. The tank should be wider (front to back) than the fish is long to enable them to turn freely.


----------



## Matak (Aug 10, 2005)

spinnerbayt said:


> After talking it over with the wife I think we are going to go with a native tank. If the weather breaks this weekend I may take out the boat and see if I can catch a few spotted bass. Most spotted bass that are caught here are not that big. If you catch one that is over 12" its a big one, most are in the 6 to 10" range. I may see if I can locate someone that can get me a grass pickerel and maybe a yellow perch.
> I got the 55g filled and started planting it last night so I should be able to move the fish after work today. I got a couple pieces of driftwood last weekend. The fam and I went to BRIDGEDAY to watch the parachuters. On the way home we stopped and did some fishing on the New River and I spent about 15 minutes looking and got 2 pieces. I could have got some gnarly looking stumps if I would have had a hatchet as they were mangled in the rocks. Might have to make a trip back up there in the next couple weeks.


Great choice! (if it's legal). Don't forget to use barbless hooks. The pickerel around here get to be pretty big, in excess of 10 lbs - two feet if they are old. Here's a link for the common pickerel.


Ash H said:


> cause they live for over 20yrs & take near on that long to get to a decent size.


That's just fine by me. Actually, I would prefer a longer living, slower growing fish. Thanks for the heads up on that Ash.


----------



## ValorG (Dec 27, 2003)

aquasox said:


> Looking good Shuks.
> 
> Spinnerbayt I suggest a tire-track or fire-eel. They are quite peaceful and contrary too popular belief quite active too. As long as you don't have any bite size fish the eel will be good.


these burrow in the gravel though, do u have personal experience with this cuz i would love to get a fire eel in my tank.


----------



## ValorG (Dec 27, 2003)

Id go with an arowana, discus and angel tank. angels get more agressive when they reach adult hood so u can go with just discus and an arowana or just an arowana and angels if u want. had personal experience with all these fish.


----------



## spinnerbayt (Apr 2, 2005)

I would love to try some dicus but having no experiance with them and the cost. $30 and up I just can't do it right now with trying to keep up with a house, 4 kids and a wife. Ol and the dog.
The native tank would not be the 55g. I was going to move the fish that are in the 125g to the 55g. There are only about a dozen or so community fish in the 125 so they should be fine in the 55. I have had spotted bass in the past and they do just fine in a temp of 75-78. I also have spoke with the West Virginia DNR and as long as I don't break my limit then it is fine for me to take some home for the tank. I also know that once I do bring them home they can't go back for fear of disease spread. Also the pickerel I am looking for would be a Grass Pickerel which seldom grow larger then 12". If I can locate some Longear or Pumpkinseeds I would give them a try also. Right now the only thing is its about 45 and raining and the fish are starting to slow down so the longears and pumpkinseeds might not happen but I can usually put something together and catch some bass. The best thing about that is they are free!


----------



## Matak (Aug 10, 2005)

Up in this neck of the woods, there are many hatcheries that breed fry for live release to stock the local waterways. See if there are any in your locale. I think that the farm raised ones would be better for a couple of reasons: (i)If they all grow together as fry, there may be less chance of territorial fights, (ii)less chance of disease, (iii)it would be hard to catch (and identify) a juvenile of any species in the wild, if that is what you are looking for.


----------



## ValorG (Dec 27, 2003)

wait is this tank still going to be a planted tank? if so wont the native fish tear them apart or dig em up? i dont know much about native fish behavior but it just seems like they would be bad for planted tanks.


----------



## spinnerbayt (Apr 2, 2005)

Yes it is going to be planted. Bass and Pickerel love to hide in the plants. I'll put a good bit of drift wood in there also.


----------



## KtLou (12 mo ago)

shuks said:


> AROWANA, AROWANA, AROWANA..... !!!!
> 
> Not if you get an arowana.
> 
> ...


Arent these illegal in US?


----------



## EmotionalFescue (Jun 24, 2020)

KtLou said:


> Arent these illegal in US?


This thread is from 2005, so you're not likely to get a direct response...

Asian Arowana are illigal in the US, but other varieties are not. I see them at my LFS regularly.


----------

