Stocking a 90 gallon?

[TigerBarb12]

My uncle is getting a 90 gal and he asked me for some ideas, knowing ive had aquariums longer, and im not sure, could i get some ideas, hes got about $150 to spend on fish?

[Mazzy]

well, if he's going for color he could check out some Africans or Discus, if he wants large he could go with a couple SA's, and if he wants a community tank he's got lots of choices there too.
Any idea what he's kinda looking for?? It's hard to just throw out any ol' thing since we don't know him personnally. Would he like live plants in the tank? Rock piles? Is he going natural or for something that matches his decor in the room the tank will be in?
These are some things you could ask him to at least get a better idea about what kind of fish tank he would like to to have.

[TigerBarb12]

I think hes looking more toward the schools

[mayastarocker]

You can have pretty chiclids in there like Spiketail Paradise fish I've heard people have or maybe a spotted climbing perch. People that have had them say they are a ball to have and to watch. Or maybe go with guppies or gouramis... Just some possible thoughts.

[Puffer Pita]

I'd make the 'centerpiece' a nice school of congo tetras. Then get a beautiful pleco like an L200. Maybe a large school of smaller fish like harlequin rasboras, and a school of cories.

[TigerBarb12]

ok, ill tell him that, thanks

[girth vader]

a nice shoal of rainbows!

[Betta1]

I'd get a school of Silver Dollars

[TigerBarb12]

he told me he was getting the following:

6 mollies
8 neon tetra
6 black skirt tetra
4 leopard danios
4 red eye tetra

[Betta1]

Those will be some awfully small fish in an awfully large tank

thats the gripe with my tank and it's 1/3 the size of your uncles

[Kyoberr]

Wow, he has so many options. I agree a nice big school of fish would be nice and harmonious. Anything bigger might eat the school.

[Ltrepeter2000]

Mollies prefer slightly brackish, harder water. The rest of the fish prefer softer, acidic water. I would recommend that he replace the mollies with a shoal of buenos aires tetras, they will occupy approximately the same space and fit better with the other fish that he already selected. Something else to mention to him is that neons tend to be rather fragile fish that may die off easier so if he is looking for that color pattern and can find them he is much better off getting the Cardinal tetra. I would recommend with the size of his tank that he make this the center piece fish, so a shoal of about 30 of them. Its a pretty amazing sight to see that many cutting through the water together. He can also increase the size of the other shoals to at least a minimum of 6 per fish but would be better in the 10-12 of each range.
He will want to make this a planted tank as most of those fish prefer to have an abundance of hiding places, and unless he is prepared to create the environment for live plants, its probably better to start with mainly fake plants of the silk variety so as not to damage the fish.

Thanks
Rob

[TigerBarb12]

oh, hes changed his mind, he called me. He said he was gonna get like 8-10 tiger barbs and a bunch of discus

[GoodMike]

uh..discus and tiger barbs...not a good mix. IMO discus should not be kept in a tank with a temp lower than 86 as juvis and not lower than 84 as adults. Not only that, but tiger barbs are WAY to active for discus and will nip at the discus. And on top of that he needs to make sure he knows how to keep discus, while they arent hard, it is different than alot of fish. they are very slow eaters, and probably will not get enough food with a school of tiger barbs. most discus get the majority of their food off the bottom of the tank. This combo is a baaad idea.

[Scuba Kid]

Yes I agree with Mike 100%. Don't let him do it.

If I was going to dedicate a 90 gallon to schooling freshwater fish (which i would never do, but this is a hypothetical situation ) I'd get a school of like 30 neon or cardinal tetras and a couple centerpiece fish like a couple blue dwarf gouramis. I mean, you want a school of pretty fish so i say GO BIG. Oh, and plant it up big time. Plus that'd be some sweet colors, the red and blue in front of a lush green background.

Or, I would go with a variety of large tetra schools. Like 10 neons or cardinals, 10 glow lights, 10 lemons, and 10 rasboras. That'd be neat.

[TigerBarb12]

ill tell him that, i didnt think of it at the time, lol.

[TigerBarb12]

ok, he told me today what hes getting, because hes going out today to a lfs. He told me he was out to get about 4-8 silver dollars, a pleco of some sort, and maybe a small school of like 3-5 black ruby barbs. If you guys think its ok, hes going with it, but if its not, hes going with tinfoil barb and maybe a mouthbreeder or something like that.

[GoodMike]

is there any sort of plan to cycle this tank? if not you really need to read up on the nitrogen cycle, and have him do it as well.

[Betta1]

woohoo silver dollars

do I get a prize?

[TigerBarb12]

oh, hes been cycling it for like 3 weeks or so