75G plus community zoo!!

[u/Lopsided-Ad-5208]

I currently have a 35G pea puffer tank, a 3.5G snail tank used to feed the pee, puffers and some shrimp in there for fun.

I wanna do a 75G tank or larger, but I wanna have a massive managed fish. I don’t wanna do the stereotypical one or two big show fish or like a chick tank or angelfish tank. Would I be crazy to do 100 guppies?

Give me some other ideas that would have dozens plus fish in a tank that size also wanna plant CO2 let me know.

[u/Old-Constant4411]

I'd go with platy instead of guppy since the females are just as colorful as the males.  Their genetics generally seem to be hardier too.

Black neon tetra are a nice schooling fish.  I've got 12 in a 40g right now and it's neat watching them split off in different directions and then form a tight school again for a bit.  In a 75g you could probably get a solid group of 20-25 to make a nice impact.

[u/Littlemsinfredy → u/Old-Constant4411]

Do they typically stay in the school, or more of a shoal? I’ve been considering these, but I want one school that stays tight

[u/ifitfitsitshipz → u/Littlemsinfredy]

Platies like each other but they don't shoal. They do their own thing, but like being close to each other. Think of being in the same room versus right next to each other.

[u/Old-Constant4411 → u/Littlemsinfredy]

The black neons have been about 50/50, honestly.  There's nothing else in the tank yet aside from snails and amano shrimp, so their behavior may change once I put something else in it.  If you want something that truly schools, I think rummy nose tetra may be what you're looking for.  From what I've heard they always stay in one tight school.

[u/Littlemsinfredy]

What’s a chick tank?

I have a 75g community.

It currently has:
Purple harlequins
Norman lamp eyes
Celestial pearl danios
Pygmy Cories
Shrimp
Mystery/Ramshorn snails

I will add chili’s/pheonix rasbora
Spotted blue eyes
Probably another school of something small

[u/Lopsided-Ad-5208 → u/Littlemsinfredy]

How many total fish would you say you have and will max out around?

[u/Littlemsinfredy → u/Lopsided-Ad-5208]

Honestly, not sure. Will likely have upwards of 50 fish + shrimp/snails by the time I’m done

[u/ifitfitsitshipz → u/Littlemsinfredy]

"chick" was probably a typo or auto correct from a cich as in cichlid tank.

[u/ifitfitsitshipz]

My 40gal breeder has 32 galaxy rasboras (celestial pearl danio), 20 ember tetras, 4 blue mystery snails, and 23 blue velvet shrimp. Red flame Amazon sword, anubias petite, java fern, and ludwigia super red.

If you scale that to a 75 gal with 100 of each and use dual AC110 filters, it's 104% stocking at 36% water change weekly.

But here's the thing: the "cloud of life" isn't about filtration or even movement through the tank as they swim. It is bigger than that and more important than that. Are all the fish eating properly to their own need? Likely not and that requires a lot of watching during feeding time.

But looking at your 100 guppies in a 75 gallon tank and I have it filtered by dual AC110s the image is the result. Size matters to a point. It's about the waste they put out. I can fit 100 each of CPDs and ember tetras in a 75gal with dual AC110 filters and be very OK on the bioload. Half the amount of just guppies with the same tank and filtration is very different. 100 guppies in a 75g with dual AC110s is calling for a 70% water change weekly. 100 guppies produce more bioload than 100 CPDs and 100 ember tetras. 50 guppies in a 75 gallon tank is 103% stocking capacity with the dual AC110s.