# Hoping To Have A Non-Betta Tank (Need Stocking Ideas)



## emeraldsky (Oct 4, 2011)

Not to say I don't like Bettas anymore of course, but I have 3 tanks dedicated to them and I'm looking to branch out 

So yea, I have a 40g Breeder. Totally empty. Sitting there. Calling meeeeeeee.

But I have no idea what to put in it D:
I have an appropriate heater so I can go tropical or cold water. I would like to stay away from goldfish though, had 3 fancys for awhile, didnt end well :/

I wouldnt mind having just one massive mean fish in there, like a Jack Dempsey or a gar. Alternatively, I wouldnt mind throwing my cherry shrimp colony and have SHRIMP GALORE.

The only thing I ask for is something different. So no thank you to neon tetras or cories  I want something not commonly seen or something that can get really big and have the tank to him/herself.


So any help/ideas would be appreciated


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## ManInBlack2010 (Sep 7, 2011)

saddly jack dempsey and oscars need HUGE tanks, or i'd have one in my 30g right now, lol - i'm going to be starting up a 30g community tank with honey gourami, peppermint tetra, another variety of tetra, peppered corries, and khuli loaches

i had a hard time finding fish that would fit in my tank that i wanted (i wanted something besides tetra also, lol) i'm really excited to get the honey gourami. Another fish i was looking into was 'Bolivian Ram' - maybe look into those, keep us updated i'd love to see your tank when it's finished!


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## Sakura8 (May 12, 2011)

Try looking into convict cichlids or Malawi peacocks. Both beautiful fish and they would fit in a 40g breeder.


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## diablo13 (Jul 1, 2011)

Actually, you could have single Jack Dempsey in there. If its over filtered and it's the only inhabitant, then yes, only because of the footprint of a 40 Breeder. I consider myself a little bit of an expert on odd species, what are you looking for? And water conditions and decorations and plans and stuff would help, too.


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## thekoimaiden (Oct 19, 2011)

Most of the gar that I know also get rather large. A 40B wouldn't be large enough. An interesting idea you could try is a native species tank. I know in the US there are many beautiful natives that are greatly overlooked. 

Two tropicals that I think are neat and unique are the Tequila splitfin and blind cave tetra (they have no eyes!!). The splitfin is a unique type of livebearer. I've never seen it in stores or even common online stores like LiveAquaria.com. I've only seen them sold on Aquabid. 

I'm not sure about the tank size, but you could get an axolotl. I think they can fit in a 40B. 

You could also try a puffer tank. They're challenging but interesting.


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## fishy friend2 (Aug 28, 2011)

I would agree with the puffers, they would be a Great choice for the tank, and also have you thought about a group of boesami rainbow fish. And if I may ask, how are you going to cycle the tank, or what about some Celebes halfbeaks, or a small breeding colony of mosquito fish


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## emeraldsky (Oct 4, 2011)

ManInBlack2010 said:


> saddly jack dempsey and oscars need HUGE tanks, or i'd have one in my 30g right now, lol - i'm going to be starting up a 30g community tank with honey gourami, peppermint tetra, another variety of tetra, peppered corries, and khuli loaches
> 
> i had a hard time finding fish that would fit in my tank that i wanted (i wanted something besides tetra also, lol) i'm really excited to get the honey gourami. Another fish i was looking into was 'Bolivian Ram' - maybe look into those, keep us updated i'd love to see your tank when it's finished!


Ive looked into Jacks specifically, they can stay in 40gall breeders for life since they only grow to about 8 inches ^^ Oscars though need like, 75 each then 20 gallons for each one after. Id love to get one but thats crazy big x.x

Your stocking sounds good! I'll never have khulis again though, waaaay to fast for me to bother with XD






Sakura8 said:


> Try looking into convict cichlids or Malawi peacocks. Both beautiful fish and they would fit in a 40g breeder.


Ive looked at convicts but the breed like crazy! They also get really mean when breeding so theyre something Id like to stay away from. The peacocks are super pretty though ^^





diablo13 said:


> Actually, you could have single Jack Dempsey in there. If its over filtered and it's the only inhabitant, then yes, only because of the footprint of a 40 Breeder. I consider myself a little bit of an expert on odd species, what are you looking for? And water conditions and decorations and plans and stuff would help, too.


The jack would be the only one. Id over filter too, I know theyre pretty dirty XD 

Honestly, Id love one to three giant fish. Probably a middle swimmer whose not too shy since it would be the only thing in there c: Course it wouldnt even have to be a fish, I've been looking over eels and bichirs and stuff but not too seriously. 

My water is pretty hard over here and decor isnt really an issue, Id decorate to suit the inhabitant.





thekoimaiden said:


> Most of the gar that I know also get rather large. A 40B wouldn't be large enough. An interesting idea you could try is a native species tank. I know in the US there are many beautiful natives that are greatly overlooked.
> 
> Two tropicals that I think are neat and unique are the Tequila splitfin and blind cave tetra (they have no eyes!!). The splitfin is a unique type of livebearer. I've never seen it in stores or even common online stores like LiveAquaria.com. I've only seen them sold on Aquabid.
> 
> ...


The gar they had at the petstore here said he would fit, though I cant remember which kind he was. The person who told me though is someone who knows what theyre talking about, Ive consulted them on many of my fish questions ^^

The splitfin is pretty, but I think I want to stay away from more livebearers. I have a guppy tank and thats just enough for me ^^ The cave tetras are actually sold at the petstore with the gar as well so Ive seen them before, theyre a bit too creepy for me 

Axolotls are illegal in California, bane of my existence. Theyre my favorite animal EVER. 

What kind of Puffers would be good? Dont i need snails for them to feed on? o3o
Ive always thought they were neat.




fishy friend2 said:


> I would agree with the puffers, they would be a Great choice for the tank, and also have you thought about a group of boesami rainbow fish. And if I may ask, how are you going to cycle the tank, or what about some Celebes halfbeaks, or a small breeding colony of mosquito fish


My tank would be cycled using media from my other tank, Ive had an extra filter just for this tank going in one of my other tanks for quite awhile now ^^ 

The rainbows I'm not too fond of, the ones they have at my petstore I dont find very attractive D:

Oh lawd, the mouths on those Celebes halfbeaks XD
I have no idea where I would buy those so I think I'll pass as well.

mosquito fish Look a bit too much like bettas to me so I'll veto them as well


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## Philnominal (Dec 22, 2011)

i can't think of a single Gar species that would fit in a 40B.Maybe a BROWN Ghost knife could work in a tank that size. Then you could have tankmates with it. Red devil is another cichlid that would probably work in a 40B. You could also do a firemouth focused tank (they tend to be shy though). You Might be able to get away with SAP tank with a 40B (ask invertplanet i know nothing about puffers). Theres also African Leaf fish. It would get 6 inches so you could probably have tank mates (assuming they dont fit in its mouth). Green terror could also work. Theres a lot of options if you want to go with 6-8 inch fish. Just gotta hunt them down. (Any decent sized cichlid will need a lot of filtration and maintence needs to be regular to avoid problems) A breeding pair of jewel cichlids would be beautiful too, but they are down right mean so you couldn't keep anything else with them and they would need lots of hides to get away from each other.


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## fishy friend2 (Aug 28, 2011)

What about some anglefish


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## Philnominal (Dec 22, 2011)

fishy friend2 said:


> What about some anglefish


I dont think a 40 B has the depth needed for a full grown 10 inch tall angelfish. They should be kept in a minimum of 18 inches of water tall. Not tank... But from substrate to the top of the water. Also it would be to small for a group so you would have to get a breeding pair. But then you could put dither fish in if you wanted.


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## fishy friend2 (Aug 28, 2011)

Oops, I forgot that a 40b is long,


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## Philnominal (Dec 22, 2011)

fishy friend2 said:


> Oops, I forgot that a 40b is long,


Its not that its long, it's just wide which tbh is good. Most fish dont need height. Angels just happen to be an exception. So a 40B fits a lot more fish then say a 38 long would.


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## thekoimaiden (Oct 19, 2011)

emeraldsky said:


> -snip-
> The gar they had at the petstore here said he would fit, though I cant remember which kind he was. The person who told me though is someone who knows what theyre talking about, Ive consulted them on many of my fish questions ^^
> 
> The splitfin is pretty, but I think I want to stay away from more livebearers. I have a guppy tank and thats just enough for me ^^ The cave tetras are actually sold at the petstore with the gar as well so Ive seen them before, theyre a bit too creepy for me
> ...


Call me a cynic, but I don't always trust people who are trying to make a big sale. The smallest gar I was able to find grows to about 15 inches, the shortnose gar. The second smallest being the spotted gar at 20-30 inches. That still seems a bit big for a 40B. This and this have some husbandry info I found on gar from NANFA (North America Native Fishes Association). They really seem to suggest a larger tank for them. 

I'm sorry about the axolotls. But you understand why California did that, right? There are other salamanders you could keep, tho. I also love salamanders and axolotls ^-^ and have done some research into keeping them. 

Dwarf puffers were what I had in mind. I think you should be able to keep 4-5 in a 40B. I know they do need snails in their diets, but beyond that I don't know much. I just know they are something out of the ordinary. Here is one website completely devoted to them. And this is what the parent site of bettafish.com has to say about them. One thing I can say about them is how cute they are.


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## Philnominal (Dec 22, 2011)

thekoimaiden said:


> .
> 
> Dwarf puffers were what I had in mind. I think you should be able to keep 4-5 in a 40B. I know they do need snails in their diets, but beyond that I don't know much. I just know they are something out of the ordinary. Here is one website completely devoted to them. And this is what the parent site of bettafish.com has to say about them. One thing I can say about them is how cute they are.


Try 8. then you could do a big group of ottos. maybe more considering the size of the tank but the rule of thumb is 1 per 5 gallons. Also a 1-2/1-3 M-F ratio is suggested. Also they typically dont do well with anything but ottos/maybe shrimp for tank mates.


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## emeraldsky (Oct 4, 2011)

Philnominal said:


> i can't think of a single Gar species that would fit in a 40B.Maybe a BROWN Ghost knife could work in a tank that size. Then you could have tankmates with it. Red devil is another cichlid that would probably work in a 40B. You could also do a firemouth focused tank (they tend to be shy though). You Might be able to get away with SAP tank with a 40B (ask invertplanet i know nothing about puffers). Theres also African Leaf fish. It would get 6 inches so you could probably have tank mates (assuming they dont fit in its mouth). Green terror could also work. Theres a lot of options if you want to go with 6-8 inch fish. Just gotta hunt them down. (Any decent sized cichlid will need a lot of filtration and maintence needs to be regular to avoid problems) A breeding pair of jewel cichlids would be beautiful too, but they are down right mean so you couldn't keep anything else with them and they would need lots of hides to get away from each other.



Most of those Ive looked into have been rejected for a various reasons. Havent looked into brown knifes though, theyre pretty cool o.o My friend adores the black ones but those get way too big XD




fishy friend2 said:


> What about some anglefish


My tank isnt deep enough, I have one in my other tank as well and he's just enough for me ^^




thekoimaiden said:


> Call me a cynic, but I don't always trust people who are trying to make a big sale. The smallest gar I was able to find grows to about 15 inches, the shortnose gar. The second smallest being the spotted gar at 20-30 inches. That still seems a bit big for a 40B. This and this have some husbandry info I found on gar from NANFA (North America Native Fishes Association). They really seem to suggest a larger tank for them.
> 
> I'm sorry about the axolotls. But you understand why California did that, right? There are other salamanders you could keep, tho. I also love salamanders and axolotls ^-^ and have done some research into keeping them.
> 
> Dwarf puffers were what I had in mind. I think you should be able to keep 4-5 in a 40B. I know they do need snails in their diets, but beyond that I don't know much. I just know they are something out of the ordinary. Here is one website completely devoted to them. And this is what the parent site of bettafish.com has to say about them. One thing I can say about them is how cute they are.



no worries, Im a total cynic too. I trust this guy though, his info has been sound and he's discouraged me from buying things as well.
Gars dont tend to move much, the just sit at the top of the tank so that probably why he said it was good. I dont plan on getting one now though since I want something more active for my tank regardless c:

I do know why, Ive dont crap tons of research on them. All salamanders are illegal in California though, at least to keep in captivity ;w;

Ill have to look at the sites ^^
Really the only place that sells them is walmart of all places and I frankly dont trust ANY living thing they sell.




Philnominal said:


> Try 8. then you could do a big group of ottos. maybe more considering the size of the tank but the rule of thumb is 1 per 5 gallons. Also a 1-2/1-3 M-F ratio is suggested. Also they typically dont do well with anything but ottos/maybe shrimp for tank mates.


Chances are Ill be doing a species tank so tank mates wouldnt be a worry. Except for the snails of course, if i do decide to go with the puffers ^^


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## kfryman (Nov 7, 2011)

If you have any lakes near by you could catch a couple bluegills and put them in there. That is only if you fish.


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## emeraldsky (Oct 4, 2011)

kfryman said:


> If you have any lakes near by you could catch a couple bluegills and put them in there. That is only if you fish.



Neat looking fish but I dont really fish ^^
I dont think I'd want something I caught anyways


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## Philnominal (Dec 22, 2011)

should you go puffer ottos seem to be the widely accepted tank mate. great at cleanign algae, both need plants and they stay small enough to not get noticed by the dp


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## Bombalurina (Oct 10, 2011)

I like Bosemani rainbows, stunning looking fish. I think a pair of rainbows and some Pakastani loaches would be great. Alternatively, if you don't mind going subtropical, doing a biotype of hillstream loaches would be pretty nifty. 

Hatchetfish are a bit unusual, though not as big as you are looking for. Halfbeaks are cool. Alternatively, you could try your hand at killifish - there are hundreds of species and some of them are AMAZING to look at.


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## emeraldsky (Oct 4, 2011)

All lovely suggestions, though I tend to see most of those a lot c:
Except for the puffers anyways X)


Right now I'm researching self cloning crayfish and some eels ^^


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## Bombalurina (Oct 10, 2011)

Self-cloning crayfish. Do it.

Or, take the plunge and go salt-water!


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## diablo13 (Jul 1, 2011)

Bomb is right, if it's really hard, like 8pH, saltwater would be cool. But it's SUPER expensive. I only know the general size of a 40 breeder, but depending on the height I'd say it would cost you around $1500, maybe a little less, for a 40 breeder saltwater. But hard water is also cichlid water, my friend  I'm pretty sure a 40 breeder is too small, if you remind me of the footprint I can check, but Midas Cichlids are epic. They get huge, though, and I can't remember if they like basic or acidic water. You could do a big tank of African Cichlids, they need hard water. They like a lot of rock work, a big tank of them would look nice. I think you could fit maybe 2-3 different species In there, like a breeding pair of each.


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## emeraldsky (Oct 4, 2011)

Bombalurina said:


> Self-cloning crayfish. Do it.
> 
> Or, take the plunge and go salt-water!


Im leaning away from the cray fish since I dont have anything that would eat them when my colony gets too big, they arent aggressive and wont eat each other.

No salt water for me, its waaaaaay too expensive x.x






diablo13 said:


> Bomb is right, if it's really hard, like 8pH, saltwater would be cool. But it's SUPER expensive. I only know the general size of a 40 breeder, but depending on the height I'd say it would cost you around $1500, maybe a little less, for a 40 breeder saltwater. But hard water is also cichlid water, my friend  I'm pretty sure a 40 breeder is too small, if you remind me of the footprint I can check, but Midas Cichlids are epic. They get huge, though, and I can't remember if they like basic or acidic water. You could do a big tank of African Cichlids, they need hard water. They like a lot of rock work, a big tank of them would look nice. I think you could fit maybe 2-3 different species In there, like a breeding pair of each.



It is that high, our water is like, insanely hard here XD

Took a look at Midas Cichlids, they have that hump thing on their head that I find creepy looking x.x I do like Jack Dempseys a lot though, and my tank seems to be the right size and they like hard water, how many could I fit in there? I know they get big o3o
I'll look into Africans though, I've never looked at cichlids too much since the different kinds confuse me X)


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## Philnominal (Dec 22, 2011)

For the jacks, 1. Probably no other fish. You might get buy with somethign to clean up but idk. You also might get buy with a breading pair but if you did there would be next to no chance of anything else being in there. I haven't kept them myself though. Also i hear Electric Blue Jack Dempseys tend to be more peaceful, but they also aren't near as hardy as the normal Jack Dempsey


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## bubbles1 (Jun 25, 2011)

If you want something different maybe try African clawed frogs!! Or perhaps or turtle! Or I was thinking maybe tanganyikan biotope there always cool.  like so e shell dwellers and few calvus! Maybe you can Get a salvini cichlid? Or a pair of sajicas? 

I'm just putting ideas out there


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## kfryman (Nov 7, 2011)

African cichlids look awesome, I hate that they fight though. If you do buy the flat rocks at a hardware store, still expensive but not that expensive. Oh and one thing about cichilds, make sure the ones you get are from the same lake because some have different needs. Peacocks and electric yellows are my favorite.


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## Jrf456 (Jun 23, 2011)

Cichlids are gorgeous fish. We breed them in my first period (Tampa being the fish producing capital of the US), we have a class called Biotech. We basically breed pet store fish like mollies, oscars, cichlids, gouramis, all sorts of tetras, guppies, & I'm working on setting up betta breeding soon if my teacher lets me.  They work great with cray fish too.


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## emeraldsky (Oct 4, 2011)

Philnominal said:


> For the jacks, 1. Probably no other fish. You might get buy with somethign to clean up but idk. You also might get buy with a breading pair but if you did there would be next to no chance of anything else being in there. I haven't kept them myself though. Also i hear Electric Blue Jack Dempseys tend to be more peaceful, but they also aren't near as hardy as the normal Jack Dempsey


A breeding pair would be nice, though Id have to clean out the eggs since I dont want to deal with fry. I like regular Jacks more than the blues so I wouldnt bother with the electric blues ^^
Not sure what could live with them though, even as a clean up crew o.o





bubbles1 said:


> If you want something different maybe try African clawed frogs!! Or perhaps or turtle! Or I was thinking maybe tanganyikan biotope there always cool.  like so e shell dwellers and few calvus! Maybe you can Get a salvini cichlid? Or a pair of sajicas?
> 
> I'm just putting ideas out there


Ive looked at turtles and stuff like that, but I want a fish tank so something that can live underwater all the time. No frogs since I swore them off after having a pacman frog XD
Ill look into the cichlids ^^





kfryman said:


> African cichlids look awesome, I hate that they fight though. If you do buy the flat rocks at a hardware store, still expensive but not that expensive. Oh and one thing about cichilds, make sure the ones you get are from the same lake because some have different needs. Peacocks and electric yellows are my favorite.


The lakes always confused me x.x
I'll find something I like though and then base other inhabitants off that so Ill make sure everything is compatible c:





Jrf456 said:


> Cichlids are gorgeous fish. We breed them in my first period (Tampa being the fish producing capital of the US), we have a class called Biotech. We basically breed pet store fish like mollies, oscars, cichlids, gouramis, all sorts of tetras, guppies, & I'm working on setting up betta breeding soon if my teacher lets me.  They work great with cray fish too.


Oh that sounds like a neat class! Wish we had something like that in california 

Crayfish go along with cichlids? That would be an awesome thing to have in a tank


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## elegantlyunsophisticated (Jul 13, 2011)

some Malawi peacocks would be gorgeous, soooo much variety. I have some and there's been one I've been eyeing in petco for a while now :3 I also have a fish called a Hujeta Gar, not a real gar but a needlenose type fish that looks super awesome and loves nomming shrimp


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## kfryman (Nov 7, 2011)

Emerald quick question what part of Cali? I am in the bay area by San jose. It is just cool to know other fellow betta lovers/other fish lovers around me.

The lakes confuse me too, you just gotta do your research though.


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## LittleBettas (Jul 23, 2011)

Have you considered a Parrot fish? <---- hybrid cichlid :-D
They are VERY personable with people, have their own personalities... and you can teach them to eat out of your hand
You could only do one in a 40 gallon with a few danios... just remember.... you need to have fast moving, nonaggressive fish with them as most parrots are kind of slow moving most of the time (hybrids, most have deformed spines or swim bladders) which can often make them easy picking by other fish... or you could just do two parrot fish and they would be happy 

http://www.aquahobby.com/board/viewtopic.php?t=41158


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## emeraldsky (Oct 4, 2011)

elegantlyunsophisticated said:


> some Malawi peacocks would be gorgeous, soooo much variety. I have some and there's been one I've been eyeing in petco for a while now :3 I also have a fish called a Hujeta Gar, not a real gar but a needlenose type fish that looks super awesome and loves nomming shrimp



Oh the gar is really neat :O
I have no idea where I would get one though




kfryman said:


> Emerald quick question what part of Cali? I am in the bay area by San jose. It is just cool to know other fellow betta lovers/other fish lovers around me.
> 
> The lakes confuse me too, you just gotta do your research though.



Im in central California, around Stockton ^^




LittleBettas said:


> Have you considered a Parrot fish? <---- hybrid cichlid :-D
> They are VERY personable with people, have their own personalities... and you can teach them to eat out of your hand
> You could only do one in a 40 gallon with a few danios... just remember.... you need to have fast moving, nonaggressive fish with them as most parrots are kind of slow moving most of the time (hybrids, most have deformed spines or swim bladders) which can often make them easy picking by other fish... or you could just do two parrot fish and they would be happy
> 
> http://www.aquahobby.com/board/viewtopic.php?t=41158


I've looked at parrots before, not sure how I feel about them XD
The faces are kind of weird to me but they seem to have really cute personalities. I think I'd just have 2 parrots if I got them though, are they social?


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## elegantlyunsophisticated (Jul 13, 2011)

the gar is super cool, I found mine at a LFS, but I'm all the way down in San Diego. I have a parrot fish as well! They are very intelligent and love to explore everything. Mine also swims up to me whenever I show up and does a wiggle dance much like a betta. They get big and BRIGHT. I have a juvie who still has black spots and is about the size of a clementine but they grow to be pretty big and so unbelievably orange. A lot of people boycott them because they are hybrids or whatever but they really are awesome fish. Mine also goes pretty fast and can hold his own against other big fish.


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## elegantlyunsophisticated (Jul 13, 2011)

I forgot to add: VERY social! Mine loves to school with the clown loach and the angelicus loach :3


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## LittleBettas (Jul 23, 2011)

Lol, their faces grown on you.... trust me, lmao
They really do have cute personalities... my younger sister and I had one (each in a 30 gallon tank).... mine, Duncan, was shy with everyone... except me, the second he saw me he would come wiggling out and begging for food, my sisters, Casanova (she had him longer than I had mine) was a HUGE flirt... he came up to give everyone "kisses".... follow peoples fingers... and my sister taught him to eat from peoples hands... he lived happily with a few danios... when my tank started leaking we put Duncan in his tank for a week and they hit it off HUGE.... Duncan came out a lot more and they snuggled up at night <3 (we had a power outage during a really bad icestorm and all of our fish passed away)


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## elegantlyunsophisticated (Jul 13, 2011)

yup, they are so lovable! I think they have the personality of an oscar without all the murderyness cause mine has lived with pretty much everything so far (even African cichlids! he's learned their submission motion pretty well and there's been no problems) Mine loves to snuggle with my Jewel cichlid, the jewel just kind of sits there but the parrot will be having a ball XP He's also becoming a brighter orange as time goes along, and the black patches are receding. 
and yes, the face will grow on you, they're adorable XP


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## diablo13 (Jul 1, 2011)

I don't have one, but at the LFS a couple of months ago, my dad found one in a tank and got it to follow his finger around XD if I had the space, I totally would've bought it for him.


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## emeraldsky (Oct 4, 2011)

Alright guys, I'm thinking either 2 parrots or a jack dempsey.
Definitely leaning towards the parrots though.


Went to my LFS today and went to see parrots, theyre pretty fun and those derp faces XD


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## elegantlyunsophisticated (Jul 13, 2011)

do parrots! when they grow up and color up they will be so bright and beautiful, AND they'll have amazing personalities. I'll post a pic of my little guy if you want to see how much he's colored up at such a small size, if I can get one that is, the derp is schooling with the loaches X_X


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## emeraldsky (Oct 4, 2011)

elegantlyunsophisticated said:


> do parrots! when they grow up and color up they will be so bright and beautiful, AND they'll have amazing personalities. I'll post a pic of my little guy if you want to see how much he's colored up at such a small size, if I can get one that is, the derp is schooling with the loaches X_X


oh please do!
Im currently looking into care for them on a couple of different websites and I'm pretty sure I have everything they need. Got 2 pieces of gorgeous driftwood from a guy on craigslist as well so now my tank is all fab looking 8D


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## Mavi (Dec 28, 2011)

What about a freshwater puffer? They are so cute! Or red fin black sharks!


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## emeraldsky (Oct 4, 2011)

I was thinking about puffers but I dont have a supply of snails that they would require. 

My tank is also a bit too small for red tails, the need a ton of room to swim and like a tank length of at least 48 inches ^^


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## elegantlyunsophisticated (Jul 13, 2011)

working on getting a piccie of mine, trying to get one with a size comparison...


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## emeraldsky (Oct 4, 2011)

Cant wait to see!


I ended up stopping by one of my LFS's to see their parrots, they have a huge tank of them but they were all covered in ick and lethargic so I couldnt see any of the personalities they had. Stayed away from buying them as well, I just got through dealing with ick in 3 of my tanks and dont have the patience to go through it again x.x


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## Mavi (Dec 28, 2011)

Get some fast breeding snails! There are a couple of people who know a lot about certain types which overran their 55 gals, ect.


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## Ami (May 27, 2011)

If you're interested to good coloring pattern and interesting parental behaviour and color, you can try Kribensis. Another option is to get a pair of Brichardi cichlids and let them populate the tank. Either way, you'll need some dither fish.


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## diablo13 (Jul 1, 2011)

Oh, one thing I forgot. You could try Shell Dwelling Cichlids. Theyre very small, and dont have a very large territory, so you could easily have like 35 in there. They need a bunch of shells though, I'd do at least 3 per fish. I saw an epic tank using slate shelves, stocked with like 100 of them. It was like a 125 gallon, though.


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## emeraldsky (Oct 4, 2011)

Mavi said:


> Get some fast breeding snails! There are a couple of people who know a lot about certain types which overran their 55 gals, ect.


eh that sounds like more trouble than Id like to deal with X)





Ami said:


> If you're interested to good coloring pattern and interesting parental behaviour and color, you can try Kribensis. Another option is to get a pair of Brichardi cichlids and let them populate the tank. Either way, you'll need some dither fish.


Kribs are nice, but theyre pretty common from what Ive seen. Never seen Brichardis before, theyre really pretty! 
Id rather have a fish that doesnt require dither fish c: Just one thatll come out on its own and have a tank to itself X)





diablo13 said:


> Oh, one thing I forgot. You could try Shell Dwelling Cichlids. Theyre very small, and dont have a very large territory, so you could easily have like 35 in there. They need a bunch of shells though, I'd do at least 3 per fish. I saw an epic tank using slate shelves, stocked with like 100 of them. It was like a 125 gallon, though.


Those are super cute, I'm still leaning towards the parrots but maybe I'll break out my 30 gallon breeder and get those as well XD


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## TharBePirates (Aug 15, 2010)

Well if you’re going to get a jack demspy, at least get an electric blue jack dempsy. Those things are *wow*.

Personally though I’d do something like this-
4 Bolivian Rams 
12 pseudomugil gertrudae
10 Threadfin Rainbows
8 Neon Dwarf Rainbows
3 Goby Plecos
Toss in 20 odd rcs or ghost shrimp or amanos for clean up.

The setup could be an eheim cantister filter (like a 2217, that will keep it CLEAN), fine sand substrate with lots of manzanita for hiding (Rams really love caves, they breed in them), maybe some rock piles scaped in. Wrap java moss, christmas moss and java ferns on the manzi. Then add easy plants. Crypts towards the front with dwarf sag, then swords and easy stems in the back. Add floating plants like frogbit to the top for cover. 

The Rams could either be two male/female pairs or a male with three ladies. Two males will spar a little and establish territory, but a single male with all those ladies will just be happy. Rainbows are incredibly entertaining schooling fish, which is why I listed the Pseudomugils, threadfins and Neon Dwarfs. Also all three are very different in terms of shape and size, do you’d get a lot of variety. The three goby plecos (more commonly known as pitbull plecos) are killer glass cleaners. They are roughly the size of ottos but are a lot tougher. Finally the small amount of shrimp it to just give the tank something to clean up the scraps as well as a little live food for the fishies. The shrimp will pick up bits of food and if they have any babies they may be snacked on by your community (which, deepens the color of your fish ;-)).

Anywho, that’s just my suggestion. You’re near the bay area which is where I live, and all of the fish I listed are readily available down here. Rainbows are on the pricier side, but if I was going to do a 40 gal, I’d make it one of those whoa tanks, ya know? You could also try aquabid.

links to profiles of the fish I listed-
- http://www.seriouslyfish.com/profile.php?genus=Mikrogeophagus&species=altispinosus&id=138

- http://www.seriouslyfish.com/profile.php?genus=Melanotaenia&species=praecox&id=828

- http://www.seriouslyfish.com/profile.php?genus=Iriatherina&species=werneri&id=800

- http://www.planetcatfish.com/catelog/_species.php?species_id=236

- http://www.seriouslyfish.com/profile.php?genus=Pseudomugil&species=gertrudae&id=223

-or, instead of gertrudae, you could do furcatus http://www.seriouslyfish.com/profile.php?genus=Pseudomugil&species=furcatus&id=222


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## emeraldsky (Oct 4, 2011)

TharBePirates said:


> Well if you’re going to get a jack demspy, at least get an electric blue jack dempsy. Those things are *wow*.
> 
> Personally though I’d do something like this-
> 4 Bolivian Rams
> ...




wow, youve really put a lot of thought into this! :O

Thank you for the suggestions, but I'm pretty sure I'll be doing one senegal bichir, i love the way they look X)


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## elegantlyunsophisticated (Jul 13, 2011)

senegals are awesome!! I have one as well, and he's fat :3 they will eat anything off the bottom, mine likes to grab algae wafers and shake them like a dog. I've had him since summer and he's only gotten to around 6.5 inches. Would you like a pic? (sorry about not getting the parrot pic in time, things have been crazy -_-)


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## emeraldsky (Oct 4, 2011)

I would love a pic! :*


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