[jeepman784]

ok, so i am getting rid of my 3 rbp's, giving them to a friend, or the petstore, i really enjoyed watching them grow, but now its time for something new to watch grow (yes, p's will be taken care of, i am a good hobbiest

)

anyhow, i am going to go with a 'natural' tank. to start out, i am going to go with a couple of crey fish and a clawed frog, the tank will have 1/2 inch 'gravel' natural colored, and be planted.

as for fish, i am for sure going to go with a cat or 2, (channel cats?, probably cheapest that LFS has, any tips?) as well as a largemouth bass and green sunfish (i heard they stay small, but can't find them anywhere).

some questions that i have are: i was reading PAGES AND PAGES of back posts about natural tanks,a nd someone commented about a fish that is like a 'mini' pike. also, i might go with a peacock bass because it still looks like a 'natural' type lake fish. does anybody have any advise or warnings for me? tank will have a powerhead btw.

lastly, anyone know anywhere online to order natural fish? LFS said they should have bass and whatnot come spring time, so maybe ill have to stick to the cats and stuff for the time being while i wait till spring

thanks guys (and gals)

adam

 

[elTwitcho]

Peacock bass will need a 240 gallon tank as a minimum as they get enormous, I'd stay clear of them.

Bass also get very large and so do channel cats. Channel cats can reach five feet or so I recall (might be a bit off, but they grow enormous anyway). Bass might bet a few feet long depending on which kind you get, I'd try and find the smallest possible at any rate.

Sunfish and Bluegills would work excellent as they don't grow overly large.

The african clawed frog might go after your fish, so I'd be watchful of that. The crayfish definately will go after your fish, mine went after my piranhas before being bitten in half as a result. I don't think they make good aditions to any aquarium other than a species aquarium.

Good luck, natural tanks can be pretty tricky as alot of the cool fish (bass, pike, muskelunge) grow very large, but with a bit of planning your tank should be awesome.

 

[jeepman784]

hey thanks twitch. anyone know about these 'mini' pike or whatever... or other advise on fish that would look good in this tank setup?

 

[rbp 4 135]

i dont know about a mini pike, but one site had an emerald pike, it was amazing, hold on ill get a link

 

[rbp 4 135]

here's the link clicky

 

[Kohan Bros.]

by mini pike if you are reffering to gar the make exelant fish also what size tank do you have

 

[ty]

as was stated before dont even try channel cats or peacock bass.
largemouth bass need a huge tank as well. Grass pickerel and redfin pickerel(maybe close to a mini pike) get about 12". also maybe sunfish or perch depending on tank size. what size tank?

 

[jeepman784]

55g, sorry, i thought that i had that all put in there, that link had some pretty cool stuff, but kinda $$ but hey, that's all that i can find, so it may be the ones

ill keep ya posted with any new ideas

 

[ty]

why not try some pickerel? what state are you in? i catch them all the time.

 

[rbp 4 135]

or try here

 

[acestro]

clawed frog is not too natural.

Mini-pike name is a pickerel and they can go in that tank for a while but they are sneaky, slow predators and bluegill/crappie/warmouth/longear are rambunctious rough-house cichlid types, not a good mix. There's also plenty of native killis and minnows that would surprise you with how interesting they are.

If I had to choose, I'd raise up some longear sunfish, their color is fantastic and their behavior is interesting too.

 

[jeepman784]

im in michigan/illinois (home and school)... i think it'd be kinda fun with minnows or something. do those need a chiller? cause i don't wanna buy one of those lol

 

[jeepman784]

well it looks like i am going to be semi-natural lol

i think i am going with 2 pike cichlids, a peacock bass, 1 clawed frog, and probably a creyfish or something, and a redtailed cat (slightly larger than cichlids)...

SOOO it is natural meaning i have pike, bass, frog, and creyfish

 

[elTwitcho]

well it looks like i am going to be semi-natural lol

i think i am going with 2 pike cichlids, a peacock bass, 1 clawed frog, and probably a creyfish or something, and a redtailed cat (slightly larger than cichlids)...

SOOO it is natural meaning i have pike, bass, frog, and creyfish

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I would really recommend against this mix unless you have a 400 gallon tank waiting

 

[ty]

also a big rtc will make lunch out of cichlids that are smaller than it

 

[jeepman784]

well i went with the setup, and i am really liking it so far. i am good friends with the guy who runs the LFS that i get my fish from, and he said when i needed to, he would always buy back the fish that i want to get out of the tank if certian ones are too big or whatnot... so maybe ill grow them all out, or keep 1 or 2 of my favs when they get big... but i really like the setup for now

 

[jonscilz]

good idea...

 

[jeepman784]

i really enjoy the first year or so of a fish, the time that it goes from being really small and whatnot, and watching them grow... and it's nice to get what i spent back out of the fish in store credit when i bring them back 3x the size i got them as

 

[creni guy]

Peacock bass will need a 240 gallon tank as a minimum as they get enormous, I'd stay clear of them.

Bass also get very large and so do channel cats. Channel cats can reach five feet or so I recall (might be a bit off, but they grow enormous anyway). Bass might bet a few feet long depending on which kind you get, I'd try and find the smallest possible at any rate.

Sunfish and Bluegills would work excellent as they don't grow overly large.

The african clawed frog might go after your fish, so I'd be watchful of that. The crayfish definately will go after your fish, mine went after my piranhas before being bitten in half as a result. I don't think they make good aditions to any aquarium other than a species aquarium.

Good luck, natural tanks can be pretty tricky as alot of the cool fish (bass, pike, muskelunge) grow very large, but with a bit of planning your tank should be awesome.

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I know that I am going to get all kinds of static for this and I personaly have never done it but I am going to suggest it anyways. Yes channel cats get huge, as do many other awesome fish that I would love to stick in my aquarium. Eventually the aquarium would be too small for them but untill that time you can enjoy having them. And anyways, some of these fish take a long time to get big and by that time, if your anything like me, your bored with them and want something new to stare at. So I say if it is going to take longer than 9 months with normal feeding for these fish to get enormous than buy them and have a fun filled 9 months of observing there behavior and than drop them of at you LFS or eat them or do what ever it is you do...Have fun tearing this post apart