Regular Member Powerdragon Posted August 31, 2008 Regular Member Share Posted August 31, 2008 (edited) Hey guys i just picked up a new tank the other day and have it cycling. I was trying to think of what fish would be suitable and what fish would be compatible with each other, Community tank in other words. The tank is 4tf long and is 160 Litres and is heated 21-24 degrees (72-76F). Fish that are a bit hardy would be good. Also planning to put some plants in there as well so if you know any good plants let us know. Look forward to suggestions. Edited August 31, 2008 by Powerdragon 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Regular Member balashark Posted August 31, 2008 Regular Member Share Posted August 31, 2008 What couldn't you do with a 42 gallon tank? Lots of options, more than there are people on these boards. Congrats on the new tank. I guess what I'd do first is decide if you want peaceful fish or agressive (or you may be able to pull off a fish-only marine set up if you felt like messing with all that). Then go to the petstore and see if anything strikes your eye. A lot of people pick a centerpiece fish and do the tank around that, or pick a region (like african rift-lake cichlids) and setup the tank around that. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Orandaa Posted August 31, 2008 Share Posted August 31, 2008 There's really no fish that's not suitable for a 42 gallon tank (atleast not normal fish ) For the water, you can go one of three ways: Freshwater, Brackish, and Saltwater. Freshwater is just that.. fresh, water. No salt added, just treated tap water, basically. Otherwise known as cold water. Brackish water is the area where a river flows into the ocean. The river being freshwater, the ocean being saltwater. In between is a mixture of the two and there is an amazing group of fish and others that live only in brackish waters. I have figure 8 puffers and they are great fish. Saltwater is what you see in a lot of marine, tropical tanks. Tangs, clownfish, etc. are all saltwater fish. Once you figure out that, you'll be limited to what sort of fish you can get. And by limited I don't mean restricted in a bad way just that you cant mix freshwater with saltwater fish, but thre are tons of fish for each type of tank. With a 42 gallon you should be able to stock it pretty well. If you're making a brackish or saltwater tank, just make sure to either ask questions here or do some research because there's a little more to it then just adding salt water. Good luck 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Regular Member Powerdragon Posted August 31, 2008 Author Regular Member Share Posted August 31, 2008 Hmm well i have 1 Sae and 1 Cae, do those count as a centrepiece? There currently waiting to be transfered to the larger tank, so the water will be freshwater (tropical 21-24 degrees). They are very shy and are not aggressive to other fish, i also have 5 Neon Tetra's. Does anyone know good hardy plants that last? Btw im going to a the LFS todayto get a bigger heater, so i'll have a look around and see if anything stands out. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Regular Member Kets Posted September 1, 2008 Regular Member Share Posted September 1, 2008 I suggest getting more Neon tetras, and maybe some Cardinals. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Regular Member Powerdragon Posted September 1, 2008 Author Regular Member Share Posted September 1, 2008 well i went to the LFS and im going to get 3 Baby tiger Barbs and start from there. Anyone else have tiger barbs here? Next step is research and some plants. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Regular Member Powerdragon Posted September 1, 2008 Author Regular Member Share Posted September 1, 2008 (edited) Some pics with plants and some decorations. Will try and get fishies but blurr a lot. Stock: 6 Tiger Barbs (3 green barbs & 3 normal), 5 Tetras, 1 Sae and 1 Cae. Getting an angel fish and 2 Clown loaches to get rid of snails from new plants (because they ALWAYS have them). http://i85.photobucket.com/albums/k64/powe...06/P1010435.jpg http://i85.photobucket.com/albums/k64/powe...06/P1010438.jpg http://i85.photobucket.com/albums/k64/powe...06/P1010440.jpg My turtle and native tank http://i85.photobucket.com/albums/k64/powe...06/P1010415.jpg http://i85.photobucket.com/albums/k64/powe...06/P1010420.jpg Edited September 1, 2008 by Powerdragon 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Regular Member balashark Posted September 1, 2008 Regular Member Share Posted September 1, 2008 Cool. The barbs may harass your tetras. And I'm surprised to hear that your algae eaters are so peaceful. Angels wouldn't be a good idea, unless you want your neons to become expensive angel food. I think there's a post somewhere around here on how to prep new plants and get rid of the snails. Nice turtle too. What kind is that, a snakehead or whatever its called? Or am I way off on that? Very neat either way. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Regular Member arabpaso Posted September 1, 2008 Regular Member Share Posted September 1, 2008 Hey that's a nice looking tank already! Yeah, tiger barbs are known to be little fin nippers so you'll need to watch and see how they "play with others". 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Regular Member Powerdragon Posted September 2, 2008 Author Regular Member Share Posted September 2, 2008 (edited) I think i'll pass on the Angels due to they may eat tetra's. I've looked on the internet and this is what i found was compatible with tiger barbs and green tiger barbs. I'm thinking of putting tetra's back into my 2ft tank there is only 5 of them. I'm getting about 3 or 4 more plants in the next day or two and 2 or 3 clown loaches to keep those snails down, also i won't need to feed them to much as they should be in good supply. Barbs, Gouramis, Sharks, Eels, and Loaches. Blue, Gold, and Opaline Gouramis, Bala Sharks, Red Tail Sharks, Rainbow Sharks, and White Tip Sharks. Another question are logs ok to go into fish tanks, i have 2 hollow ones but not sure whether there suitable. By the way the turtle is a Eastern Long Neck. Edited September 2, 2008 by Powerdragon 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Regular Member balashark Posted September 2, 2008 Regular Member Share Posted September 2, 2008 Yea, I think angels would go with barbs, and would probably look nice in your planted tank if you have another home for the tetras. Some of the smaller gouramis would work well. One redtail shark would go in there too, but don't get more than one as they're agressive to their own kind. I think the same is true with rainbow sharks. Bala sharks get huge, so you'd have to upgrade to a bigger tank soon. And I'm not familiar with a white-tip shark that goes in freshwater, all I've heard of are the marine ones. Logs like you find out in the wild can't go directly in the tank. There's to much unknown stuff that can leech out into the water. Again, there's a post somewhere around here about how to get them ready to go in a tank. Sorry I can't find it for ya, but its pretty simple if I remember correctly, soaking in a bleach/water solution for x hours then rinsing and soaking in just water for x days, etc. Maybe its in the plants section? 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Regular Member Powerdragon Posted September 3, 2008 Author Regular Member Share Posted September 3, 2008 (edited) I have successfully moved my tetra's into another tank, now im thinking how many if any of should i get of Gouramis, angels, clown loaches. How much room do they need per fish? Also would a Rock go ok in a tank? Edited September 3, 2008 by Powerdragon 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Regular Member balashark Posted September 4, 2008 Regular Member Share Posted September 4, 2008 Gouramis depends on which kind you get as to how much room they need. A pair of angels I would think would be ok in your tank, but watch the barbs as angels have lots of fin to attract a little nipping barb. Clown loaches only grow to a few inches, so you could get a few in there with no worries. Rocks are the same thing, if you find them outdoors you have to clean them in bleach to kill anything on 'em, but you wouldn't have to soak them as long afterwards like you would with wood. Aquarium decor is expensive, but atleast you know its safe to put right in the tank. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Regular Member Kets Posted September 4, 2008 Regular Member Share Posted September 4, 2008 Gouramis depends on which kind you get as to how much room they need. A pair of angels I would think would be ok in your tank, but watch the barbs as angels have lots of fin to attract a little nipping barb. Clown loaches only grow to a few inches, so you could get a few in there with no worries.Rocks are the same thing, if you find them outdoors you have to clean them in bleach to kill anything on 'em, but you wouldn't have to soak them as long afterwards like you would with wood. Aquarium decor is expensive, but atleast you know its safe to put right in the tank. Unfortunately, I don't think a foot long constitutes as a few inches. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Regular Member Powerdragon Posted September 4, 2008 Author Regular Member Share Posted September 4, 2008 I did some research on clown loaches and the ones i want get to 50 cm. Do they reach that big in captivity tho? Anyway im going back to the LFS on saturday to have another look at some fishys, i wouldn't mind a red tailed shark or bala's. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Regular Member Powerdragon Posted September 4, 2008 Author Regular Member Share Posted September 4, 2008 (edited) Grr can't edit last post. anyway, i've been looking into the types of fish i want and this is they Required Ph lvls and size of species. I want to keep Ph to around 7.5 if it can accommodate all the fish i want (im not getting all on this list) I own Tiger barbs/Green Barbs Ph:6.5 to 7.5 Size: 7 cm Fish that go with Barbs (so it says on the website) Clown Loaches Ph: 5.0 to 7.5 Max size: 50 cm Bala shark Ph: 5.8 to 7.8 Max size 40 cm Red tail shark Ph: 7.5 Max size: 12 cm Gourami's Ph: 6.0 to 8.0 Max size: 5.7cm Angels Ph: 5.0 to 7.5 Max size: 15cm Rainbow shark Ph: 6.0 to 8.0 Max size: 16 cm This is a compatability chart that is helpful. http://www.liveaquaria.com/general/fwcompatibility_chart.cfm Edited September 4, 2008 by Powerdragon 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Regular Member balashark Posted September 4, 2008 Regular Member Share Posted September 4, 2008 What was I thinking?? I can't even remember what I was thinking when I said that. LOL, thanks for catching that Kets. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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