# Large tank fish



## kingpoiuy (Jun 9, 2008)

*Which is most impressive in a large tank?*​
Tanganyika14.35%Malawi626.09%Saltwater626.09%SA626.09%CA417.39%Other00.00%


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## kingpoiuy (Jun 9, 2008)

Which would be the most impressive? My dream is to open my own Pet store and I would like to have a really nice large tank in it. If your LFS or pet store had a large tank in it which kind of fish would you consider to be most impressive in a large display tank? I'm talking in the realm of 1000 gallons in the center of the store.

Possibly a large school of Tropheus?


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## ajanin (Jul 24, 2008)

Their is a fish store by my house that has a giant tank in the middle full of CAs. People pay $1 and he will feed the fish feeder gold fish. That's his gimic to get people to come in. People really like the food chain in action.


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## kornphlake (Feb 12, 2004)

Salt water is going to be the most impressive to the average Joe.


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## riffraffxl (Aug 2, 2007)

Tough questions. For most non-fish people, saltwater most likely, but it is a money black hole.

Alternatively you could go the "monsterfishkeeper" route and stock stuff like arrowanas and stingrays together.


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## Number6 (Mar 13, 2003)

Salt water tanks sure look impressive and I'm a big fan but at the LFS folks seem to spend as much time staring into the 30g cube on display as they do the 6ft bowfront at the LFS here in Sarasota...

now the tank at a different LFS up in Toronto that seemed to make newbies ask A. what are those, B. how much and C. can I have some was an 8ft Frontosa cichlid tank.

There is something about a big school of big puppy like fish that seemed to make folks reach for their wallets far more often than all the reef display tanks.

I had the sense to keep my money in my pocket, but I can understand that the large gentle giant Fronts staring back out of their tank seemed to be quite impressive compared to their reef displays (even with large SW fish). The fish in reef tanks swim around... the Fronts stare at you...

The only other large display that seemed to get the same wow factor as the Frontosa tank was Big Als Shark display in Toronto... something about a shark cruising past the glass inches away from your face sure got attention.


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## dwarfpike (Jan 22, 2008)

Hard to argue with a huge pair of dovii or jags, argentea or other vieja ... at least to my eyes, and I prefer south american cichlids.


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## Mustang Boy (May 2, 2008)

I would say a SA setup with plenty of plants and driftwood and house all kinds of cichlids, larger schools of tetra, schools of hatchet fish, cory cats and other SA fish. That would be a very impressive tank for the average joe and the fish enthusiast alike


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## kingpoiuy (Jun 9, 2008)

Some very interesting results sofar! Keep em comming and in a couple years when it's up and going I'll send pics!


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## F8LBITEva (Nov 9, 2007)

A tank full of large colorful Peacocks and Haps would be impressive to me.


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## LJ (Sep 12, 2007)

Agree with Mustang, a well done SA planted tank is hard to look away from. It offers the activity and complexity that is only rivaled by a reef tank; however, I prefer plants and driftwood to corals and such. Plus you can sell most of these fish types to the average hobbyist that doesn't have a monster tank.

Large central display would be my 2nd choice.


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## Mustang Boy (May 2, 2008)

yea and since you are planning on running the pet store you could put some guppies in the SA tank that way you never have to buy guppies from your supplier cause you could supply them yourself


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## Guest (Aug 15, 2008)

I suggest a large Malawi Haplochromine tank. A lot of the larger Haplochromines just look awesome in home aquariums...

I also agree with Number6 about all Frontosa/Gibberosa tanks...they look fantastic in large groups.

If you go the haplochromine route, fish to consider:
Champsochromis sp.
Mylochromis sp.
Stigmatochromis sp.
Exochochromis anagenys
Lichnochromis acuticeps
Buccochromis sp.
Protomelas spilonotus Liuli/Tanzania
Protomelas spilonotus Mara Rocks
Sciaenochromis fryeri Ice Berg
Tyrannochromis sp.
Fossorochromis rostratus
Copadichromis trewavassae
Placidochromis phenochilius
Otopharynx lithobates
Otopharynx sp. silver torpedo
Rhamphochromis sp.
Hemitilapia oxyrhynchus


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## Guest (Aug 15, 2008)

Mustang Boy said:


> yea and since you are planning on running the pet store you could put some guppies in the SA tank that way you never have to buy guppies from your supplier cause you could supply them yourself


I honestly do not understand why all LFS do that... Besides being an awesome looking display tank, it's like a infinite supply of feeder guppies... I currently raise my own for feeding but would strongly prefer if my LFS raised them. They get feeder guppies which I never buy because there is always like 100 dead ones in the same tank...


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## Tanganyikaguy (Apr 25, 2007)

I always wanted to make a giant amazon river aquarium. then fill it with big schools of discus and angelfish and all kinds of tetras. then add huge groups of cory cats, a bunch of bristlenose and other more colorful plecos, some stingrays, and a bunch of smaller SA cichlids like dwarfs, festivums, and eartheaters.

decorate it with a nice sand bottom and a ton of driftwood and plants. that would be a really interesting and beautiful aquarium to look at.


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## Tanganyikaguy (Apr 25, 2007)

I always wanted to make a giant amazon river aquarium. then fill it with big schools of discus and angelfish and all kinds of tetras. then add huge groups of cory cats, a bunch of bristlenose and other more colorful plecos, some stingrays, and a bunch of smaller SA cichlids like dwarfs, festivums, and eartheaters.

decorate it with a nice sand bottom and a ton of driftwood and plants. that would be a really interesting and beautiful aquarium to look at.

I also have dreams of a giant tanganyika tank. have it start with a sand bottom then go up to a sloping rocky shoreline all the way to the surface on one end. then fill it with lots of nice little rock dwelling cichlids to live in the cracks, add a huge school of tropheus, a bunch of featherfins, and a big school of frontosa to prowl the deeper areas and to provide a bit of population control when all the others start breeding. 

those are the 2 aquariums I want to build if I ever open a store. when you enter the front door, you pass between the aquariums, one on the left and one on the right. maybe 10 feet long, starting about 3 feet off the floor and going all the way almost to the ceiling. just a nice tunnel of fish as you walk in.

you would have to have access above the aquariums so you could scuba dive in and clean the glass


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## BlackShark11k (Feb 16, 2007)

Silver aro at the top, silver dollars in the middle, leo ray and panaque at the bottom.

Large piece of driftwood with a sandy substrate.

3-5 background


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## Guest (Aug 15, 2008)

Another idea is instead of a cichlid tank, make a paludarium mangrove set up with Archer fish in it, mangrove crabs, Monodactylus sebae and Monodactylus argentus, Mollys, etc... I always wanted to do a Brackish water set up...


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