# Need ideas for my classroom's 125 Gallon please



## KCoffee (Dec 5, 2012)

Hello everyone,

This is my first post on this forum. I apologize in advance for my thorough and lengthy post, but I figure the more you know the less you have to guess. I want this done right and I certainly would not want to waste your time by making you ask me for information you may need up front! Any section you don't feel you need, feel free to skip to what you do need. Please, if you have the time I would appreciate any suggestions, information, or insight I can get.

*Goal*:
Stock a freshwater 125 gallon planted community tank with predominantly South American fish.

*Purpose of Post*:
So, I come to you all, humbled and unsure of what species to add to the tank. Since I am looking to do what you all do so well, I figured I'd get your opinions if you don't mind sharing. I am looking for your suggestions on types/combos/quantities of tetras, angels, dwarf cichlids, plecos, etc. I do like rainbows from Australia... I prefer not to mix continents but I would if you felt I could create water parameters that fit all these species. My dad is taking down his rainbow tank, so he is offering his 1 Male Bosemani, 3 Turquoise, 1 Madagascar, and 3 other odd-ball rainbows. Do you think I should take them for this setup?

*So please, if you would reply with your suggestions for species of fish and plants, I would be VERY grateful and my students will be even more so!
*

******Additional Information*******

*Background*: 
Here's my prior knowledge and current situation before I get into it. I am a 24 year old 4th grade teacher, and I'm that insane teacher with all of the pets. I used to work for a huge privately owned aquarium store (we were even visited by Wayde & Brett from the TV show Tanked). I earned commission and had to REALLY know my facts if I was to keep steady costumers AND my job. So I did A LOT of research and got into a lot of odd aquariums (75 brackish, 75 dart frog, breeding blue crayfish, etc). I learned a lot about keeping all kinds of tanks/species of fish. It has been over a year since I worked in an aquarium store. Even then, I made most of my sales on all the odd-ball stuff that no one else seemed to bother with selling, and I was successful doing so only because I did those setups myself for the sake of learning about them. I also had a great discount as an employee and acquired a HUGE stockpile of tank setups.

My standard with aquariums has been, "go big or go home". I've learned that there is the easy/cheap way and the right way to keep aquariums. Seeing customers fail time and time again trying to take the cheapest road while rushing the the stocking, I try to get the right stuff AND I take my time stocking. And for the record, I promise I tried to stop them! By the 2nd or 3rd time they were usually more willing to listen to me and do things the right way.

*The Change & Why*:
I decided a 125 gallon was a good starting size, and 6ft tank in your classroom is pretty awesome. It had been running for over a year. It used to contain native species that I acquired legally with some help from my local DNR. However, I felt it was too bland and after a few frustrating/devastating power outages (issue is resolved permanently by the way but too late), I decided to go a new route. Therefore, I have completely redone the tank and properly relocated the fish. I had used hardware store gravel & sand, so I removed all the water and substrate to bring my alkalinity & hardness back down in addition to removing all of the dust/mud that didn't come out when I washed it.

*Current Setup, Stock, & Equipment*:
When I changed water, I dechlorinated and used a toxic metal remover. I also kept all my bio-media (rinsed in aquarium water first of course). 
*2/3 of the tank has a black gravel substrate with about 8 good-size pieces of cured Malaysian bog wood and live plants. 
*1/3 has a rock barrier to hold the gravel back, changing to a light brown sand substrate with a rock arrangement almost to the top of the tank. 
I know, a little different but it looks pretty sweet and for 2 weeks my water parameters have been relatively neutral across the board. If I ever figure out how to post a picture I will if you are interested.

*Lighting, all of which are on timers set for the 8 hours I have kids in the room:
2/3 Planted - 4ft 2-bulb T5 Aquatic Life fixture with Rosetta & 6500K bulbs
1/3 Rock Formation - Dome fixture with UVB florecent left over from a turtle tank. No plants here so figured I'd make it dimmer.
*Filter - JBJ Reaction Canister, 175 gallon rated with 5watt UV sterilizer. 5 stages - Course, Fine, Carbon/Chemical, Bio, UV Ster.
*Heater - 2 Aqueon fully submersible heaters with temperature placed upright in opposite ends.
*I have one power head & glass tops too.

*Current Stock*:
15 Serpae Tetras (2 weeks, 1 died)
20 Neon Tetras (2 weeks, 2 died)

*Addressing the Potential Concerns for this tank being in a classroom*:
A lot of aquarium experts might be saying, "An aquarium in a 4th grade classroom? Are you nuts!? It'll be way too loud for those fish and all the kids will be tapping on the glass!" Well, the contrary has been my experience. I start my year off with a biology unit on aquatic biotopes. I taught the students how sensitive fish are to excessive noise and the vibrations from tapping on the glass. They have learned how to respect the animals in my room, and I use my animals to teach them not to buy a pet that they cannot care for throughout its entire lifespan (thus I have a huge tank).

In addition, it's great volume control! The kids don't want to be too loud because they're afraid of scaring/stressing out the fish, and they constantly tell their classmates, "Quiet guys, you'll stress the fish out!". I feed Spectrum and Omega One pellet foods which I portion out in a weekly pill sorter, and they learn responsibility through feeding the fish daily AND using my MagFloat to keep the glass clean. In addition, any maintenance they haven't seen me do before, I do so as a short science lesson so I can explain what I am doing and why I am doing it. Some of them even help me during their recess with water changes! I cannot believe how much they absorbed about keeping aquariums! I have 9-10 year olds who know more about algae control, filtration, and signs of illness than my former customers! Overall, it has been an awesome experience and with your suggestions it can be even better!

*My Other Setups*:
Classroom - 33L- Baby Yellowbelly Slider (that's on my desk), 20L- Blue Crayfish breeding, 20L- Baby Snapping Turtle Tank (LOCKED!), 20L Hamsters, 5-Gallon Pickling Jar with Betta
At Home - 46 Saltwater Reef, 75 Brackish, 75 Dart frog, 29 Goldfish, 29 Asian Barbs/Dwarf Gouramis

Thanks for reading and I appreciate your replies!


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## mdog (Dec 10, 2002)

Well, with that size tank you've got loads of options! You obviously have done your homework and have lots of experience and knowledge. So, it seems like a matter of preference at this point - yours or your students. You will get lots of great help from knowledgeable people here, but don't sell yourself short because you already know a lot as well. Why don't you narrow it down a bit as to what you like, and I'm sure you'll find folks here with plenty of experience with those species.


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## KCoffee (Dec 5, 2012)

That helps! I did kind of lead this very open-ended, so that probably made it hard for anyone to reply effectively.

Well, in terms of tetras, I have no real preference, so I am looking for suggestions on what types you guys think are cool and school well. Also how many should be in these school? How many different species of tetra would you recommend? Should I have fewer species and more schools or will vice versa be okay in your opinion?

Also, I am very interested in adding some dwarf cichlids. I did a tank of all different types (my 33 gallon which had a lot of groundspace) but it was not very successful. I like Kribs, Bolivan Rams, and German Rams. Could I add these with success.

Angels are another issue. I would probably get about 6. Will they eat my neons? Should I only get larger tetras then? Or should I avoid angels?

And last... I may inherit some awesome Australian Rainbowfish. Will all of these fish go well together even though they come from 2 different continents with very different water?

These are probably all the questions I should have asked in the first place! Thanks for digging deeper, mdog!


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## mdog (Dec 10, 2002)

Ok as far as the tetras go, most that you find available are fine together and with other fish. You can keep schools of several varieties together no problem. If you're keeping larger cichlids go with larger tetras - Congo, Bleeding Heart, Buenos Aires and many more. With dwarf cichlids most types of smaller ones should be fine too.
In general all of the tetras look better (and probably do better) when in groups so keep 8-10 each at least and a really big group would look great in your tank.
There was actually a good discussion here about which are the best schoolers. What I've noticed is that lots of types of "schooling" fish school well when they are scared. Mine look great during and after water changes and when I'm rearranging stuff in the tank, or when something is chasing them. But when they get comfortable (which is most of the time in my tanks) they spread out. Of the ones I've kept, Rummynose and lemon tetras school particularly well and I think both are beautiful once they color up.
I would keep the Serpae and Neon that you have and add to them or even add a school of another type as well.

I've kept the three dwarf cichlids you mention. My thoughts:
Kribs - Really beautiful especially when breeding which they do often. Might be very interesting to the kids when they pair up and breed and guard babies, etc. I've had problems with males badly beating on females which was not fun. This was in a much smaller tank than yours. You should be fine with a pair or 2. 
Bolivian Rams - Another great choice, your kids would enjoy watching them. 
German Rams - I've had terrible luck keeping them as have many others. I'd skip those.

Angels I'll leave to someone else to discuss.

Rainbowfish - I would take all of them that you've mentioned. I've kept lots of types of rainbows with lots of different types of fish and they have always thrived. Not picky, don't get harassed or eaten, and very colorful. Good luck!


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## bostonjon1 (Aug 1, 2012)

congo tetras cool....males add lots of flash,rainbows...a nice variety...lots of different subtle colors.... kribs are cool but african(but so are congo tetras..;-)...) ...for something a liitle different...blue acaras not dwarfs but midsize..do not get too big and breed easily if you are looking for that...


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## verbal (Aug 16, 2011)

For a school tank, I would try to do a biotope. Amazon might give you the most readily available options.

The rift lakes have some very interesting options, but doing the water changes to maintain stocking levels might be a challenge.

Central American cichlids and wild-type swordtails might be another good option if you have sources for the fish.


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## Cooder (Jul 19, 2011)

If you have some decent sand space and the water that will be in the aquarium is neutral - slightly acidic then i might suggest a school of Eartheaters (too many males will cause trouble when one becomes dominant, but luckily both females and males are colourful so remove other males) if a pair breeds, it will show the kids the awesome phenomenon of mouth brooding cichlids.

Along with them, 2 pairs of a hardier dwarfe Apistogramma species (maybe cacuatoides?) would do well, plus your school of tetras. If the 2 pairs are released at either ends of the tank with suitable cover and territorial boundaries ( such as open sand section ) then they should not be a problem.

For a tank with this stocking, i would suggest the lay out for the tank be suited to the fish inhabiting it. So, a planted hidden area in each corner with a flower pot or rock cave and "tree roots" for the apistos and between that a sandy bed for your eartheaters. I reckon the kids would like the way they sift the sand in their mouths and between their gills...

Just a suggestion, i actually dont have experience with a tank like this so it may not work, any other input on this?

Cooder


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## punman (Oct 24, 2003)

I am a teacher with a 135 gallon (at a high school).
As I had African Cichlids at home, I just brought a few over (Blue Dolphins and Yellow Labs).
The Labs spawned and we stripped the female and put fry in a 10 gallon. The students thought it was neat. Tank is next to the sink so maintaining things is easy.
I don't know much about the South Americans.


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