Fish

So what sort of fish should I put in my new (old) 90 gallon tank once I get it set up? I'll be moving again in a year or two at the outside, so here are some considerations based on that combined with personal preferences.

• Freshwater only. As I discussed, salt is too expensive and too much of a pain. I want something relatively low maintenance and cheap.
  
• Nothing else specialized and high-maintenance. I don't want discus, for example, which require treated soft water, a highly planted tank and are expensive.
  
• Probably not a planted tank. Again, it's maintenance and a pain to move. I'd have to get the nice custom hood that Dave and Laura had made set up again, and I'd rather wait. If I don't have plants I can just slap a strip light on there.
  
• Nothing wimpy. Something that will survive some neglect. Also, I like largish, active fish.
  

I think all this argues for a cichlid tank. For some reason African cichlids have always bored me to death. They're very colorful, but in a fish store I can't get away from the Africans fast enough to look at something else. It's good old New World cichlids for me. And I don't like the atypical-looking ones either, like angelfish or severums.

Far and away my favorite freshwater fish is the jaguar cichlid, Parachromis managuensis. They are a very large, agressive cichlid with a gorgeous pattern and in the best specimins a beautiful violet sheen. They also have canine-like fangs that are easily visible and bright red eyes. My tank could hold a decent-sized one of these. The problem is that I'm not sure what else I could put in the tank that it wouldn't kill.

Another option would be to go with a group of smaller and much less agressive firemouth cichlids. I could have a group of about eight of these and also add a few of the oddball "freak fish" species I like to have.

Decisions, decisions.