Should I invest in a 75 gallon?

[Abby W]

About two months ago, I acquired a 29 gallon tank along with a common pleco and an albino rainbow shark. I started doing a bunch of research, and found that they both require a much larger tank. The previous owners gave me the tank set up with a stone gravel substrate, an undergravel filter setup, and an Aqueon 75 hob filter. I removed the undergravel filter and replaced most of the stones with sand and added some driftwood. The pleco quite enjoys burrowing in the sand (and has pulled up quite a few plants I tried putting in there. :D I now have a separate 10 gallon for most of my plants and some guppies.)

I have been considering rehoming the pleco and shark, but I haven't found anyone in my area with room in a larger tank, and I would not be comfortable putting them online on Aquabid or whatnot because there's so much that goes into shipping live fish. I recently found a good deal on a 75 gallon tank setup that I could put them in. I would love to have another tank, but I'm afraid that I've caught the MTS bug that could wear off in a few months. Should I go for it and try the 75 gallon or keep trying to rehome them?

[lefty o]

id go for the 75, and keep trying to rehome the common pleco

[Odd Duck]

I agree with @lefty o.  That common pleco could reach over 2 feet in the right conditions and keeping it in a smaller tank will just stunt it.  My rescued boys were 3.5” and 4” when I got them almost 2.5 years ago and now they are about 11” and 12” in a 75 gallon.  They are big, messy boys, and are likely the main ones that damage my plants in that tank.  See in sig below for 75 G Jack Dempsey link.  I may eventually rehome them to someone with a big pond, but for now, they are still growing (but slower than initially) and seem happy.

[Anjum]

You're unlikely to find anyone discouraging the acquisition of a new tank & 75g is a great size (I want one 😅). BUT as someone who keeps having to work around "rescue fish" I don't really want, I'd keep trying to rehome the ones you don't want. I know for myself at least, I get attached & feel responsible for the fish I've acquired, but there's no shame in giving them to someone who will enjoy them more. 

[nabokovfan87]

On 8/31/2022 at 7:56 AM, Abby W said:

I have been considering rehoming the pleco and shark, but I haven't found anyone in my area with room in a larger tank, and I would not be comfortable putting them online on Aquabid or whatnot because there's so much that goes into shipping live fish. I recently found a good deal on a 75 gallon tank setup that I could put them in. I would love to have another tank, but I'm afraid that I've caught the MTS bug that could wear off in a few months. Should I go for it and try the 75 gallon or keep trying to rehome them?

Once you get to 50 posts there is a section on the forums where you can also try to rehome the fish. 🙂

[Flumpweesel]

I would keep trying to re-home the fish and only invest in the bigger tank if you can do something you really want with it.

[rockfisher]

I agree with trying to rehome the pleco. Please don’t let go in the wild. I would try some local facebook aquarium or fish groups. I had to rehome two red belly Pacu after they out grew the tank. I found them on Facebook. They had 500 which was probably still to small but better. It you are not sure about the bug wearing puff I would hold off. I just bought a 125g for $ 50. It’s almost new. The stickers from the manufacturer are still on the tank. He loss about $600. If you are in go for it. I like the 75 better than 60 or 55.

[Patrick_G]

Congratulations on getting into the hobby. It’s a ton of fun, and it’s easy to start acclimating tanks. Are these fish you would have chosen if they weren’t included in a package deal? I think it’s important to keep fish that you really like, so if the answer is no then maybe the best thing to do is to keep trying to rehome them. 

The 75 gallon is a great sized tank, but takes  more work than a 29 gallon. You’ll often be changing 20-30 gallons of water and that’s a significant investment in time. I’m not sure how the shark and common pleco get along with other fish, but you might be limited in what else you can stock with them. Planting might also be an issue since both can easily root up your plants.  

[cavdad45]

Bigger is better. Easier to maintain water chemistry

[DaveO]

I'm thinking investing in a new aquarium and all the accessories just to keep a fish you don't really want is an unwise move. Both the fish and the tank will suffer. Find the fish a new home and concentrate on the tank you have. When the time is right for a new tank you will know it and you will feel good about it.

[Tanked]

Go with the 75 and keep both.   Both my common pleco and the TFBs spent their first years in a 29 before I finally got a 75 gallon..  It took a decade for the pleco to reach 16".  The added depth of of the 75 offered plenty of turnaround room.  My 75 doesn't require any additional maintenance, but water change day can be a workout.

[rockfisher]

On 9/1/2022 at 4:46 PM, Patrick_G said:

Congratulations on getting into the hobby. It’s a ton of fun, and it’s easy to start acclimating tanks. Are these fish you would have chosen if they weren’t included in a package deal? I think it’s important to keep fish that you really like, so if the answer is no then maybe the best thing to do is to keep trying to rehome them. 

The 75 gallon is a great sized tank, but takes  more work than a 29 gallon. You’ll often be changing 20-30 gallons of water and that’s a significant investment in time. I’m not sure how the shark and common pleco get along with other fish, but you might be limited in what else you can stock with them. Planting might also be an issue since both can easily root up your plants.  

I tend to disagree that a bigger tank takes more work. I have tanks that go from 3gal to 250g. I have to do so much less work than on my smaller tanks. Smaller tanks I feel are much more labor intensive intensive. More water changes more often. The bigger tanks I don’t have to change water near as often. Changes happen more slowly in larger tanks. Things in the 3 gal can go wrong overnight but in the 250 things tend to happen more slowly. I’m not saying things don’t go wrong in bigger tanks and when it is time to do maintenance it can be a lot but in general I think the bigger the easier. 

[Patrick_G]

On 9/5/2022 at 2:24 PM, rockfisher said:

I tend to disagree that a bigger tank takes more work. I have tanks that go from 3gal to 250g. I have to do so much less work than on my smaller tanks. Smaller tanks I feel are much more labor intensive intensive. More water changes more often. The bigger tanks I don’t have to change water near as often. Changes happen more slowly in larger tanks. Things in the 3 gal can go wrong overnight but in the 250 things tend to happen more slowly. I’m not saying things don’t go wrong in bigger tanks and when it is time to do maintenance it can be a lot but in general I think the bigger the easier. 

I think you’re totally correct, it can be more difficult maintaining parameters in a smaller tank, and that can be a serious issue, especially for a beginner. 

In my case I spend a lot more time working on my largest tank, a 75 gallon,  just because there’s more of everything, more water to change, more plants to trim, more glass to clean, more filters to maintain and more fish to take care of. The time investment is no joke even though it’s pretty close to being a balanced tank. 

 

[rockfisher]

I think we are on the same page. I tend to have tanks that I can do less maintenance it build into the way I do my tanks. I think we may just have a little different way we do our thing. I might do 2 water changes a year on the 250 but on the 3 gallon every week at least and much more testing. I think as a beginner I do think there maybe more maintenance. It took me years to find my fit in the aquarium world and until you learn the little thing to watch for it might be easier to have schedule on maintenance.