Hello. I just set up my 130 gallon tank after not having it setup for years. So, I am feeling like a rookie. I had a few questions if anyone can give me any advice of opinions....all are welcome.

Question #1
Once I am at the point I can add fish, I wonder if these choices are too much or too many for my tank size?

3 Oscars
1 Texas Cichlid
4 Clown Loaches
1 Bala Shark

I have alot of hiding places behind rocks and/or logs. Very few plants(fake), but alot of rocks/logs. I will be buying all young/small.


Question #2
Should I try to get any certain sizes of fish compared to the others...for example, a larger bala shark compared to the oscar size?

Well, I thank anyone who can help out here as I really dont remember near as much as I used to w/ this hobby. ha!

well, the fish that you have listed will mean an extremely large tank. Off the top of my head, you'd be looking at probably around 300 gallons, maybe even a little more once all the fish reach their maximum size. Remember that Texas cichlids reached 12 inches, so do Oscars clown Loach, the sharks also get quite good as well.

so if this is what you have your heart set on, start thinking about why you're going to get this tank from, they don't make them off the shelf, you probably have to have it custom-made. Then you've got all the filtration to go with it, that's going to be quite a lot. Believe me, when you've got lots of big fish, it's not as easy as you think when it comes to setting up the tank for them. I've done it here, I've got a 300 gallon tank with a large sump filter. It took a lot of preparation and expense to get it where it is now

I had a feeling my 130 g was too small for all those.
Looks like I will have to cut it down. Perhaps:

1 Oscar
1 Texas Cichlid(maybe)
1 Bala Shark

Anyway, thanks for cluing me in on my list being too many.

Oh, 1 more question for someone. I have 2 Magnum 350's. Is this a proper amount of filters for a 130 gallon? I hope so ha!!

I am assuming that the 350 corresponds to 350 L. If this is the case then it's probably just about right for your 130 gallon tank.however, I always think it's good to go overboard with the filtration, Oscars are so messy, it doesn't hurt to have a lot more filtration than you actually need.

I think that filter does 350 US gal per hour, which sounds better to me than litres, else not knowing it neither. (Sorry Penn if I understood you wrong, I thought you meant litres with "L".)

Think if it was my tank, I'd go for 2 Oscars and the clown loaches, I'm just all for clown loaches, very entertaining fish. But considering their possible size, that might be still too much
Bala sharks are really beautiful but I'd leave that one out because they are happier when kept in a group.
If going for the bala sharks or clown loaches, I'd try to get them at a bigger size than the cichlids as at least the loaches don't grow fast and might become food at some point.
If combining Oscar and Texas cichlid, I'd probably try to get a texas that's a bit smaller than the Oscars. No experience with those at all but read they rank higher than Oscars on the aggression scale usually.

Well, just my 2ct. It sure sounds like you're going to be quite deep in the fishy stuff again soon:lol: