# New Aquatium.. What fish should I get?



## 4mb3rNich0l3 (Dec 22, 2011)

So my parents are moving into a new house, and a aquarium was left there on the pack patio from the previous and my mom offered it to me(knowing how I am with my fish and animals haha). It looks like it may be a 40 or 50 gallon(ill measure it later to find out the exact gallon lol) it's complete with a heater, filter, hood, decorations, and even a nice little stand  I thought about splitting it up for more bettas.. But considering setting it up in my living room with other fish instead. Just curious what other people's opinions of the best tropical fish would be to get lol. I use to have guppies and loved them. Considering getting them again but want opinions first


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## Pitluvs (Jun 22, 2011)

Cichlids, yellow labs and OB peacocks is what I would do!


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## 4mb3rNich0l3 (Dec 22, 2011)

Pitluvs said:


> Cichlids, yellow labs and OB peacocks is what I would do!


I thought Cichilds got big? I couldnt afford anything bigger right now lol
I guess I need to get the right gallon size.. It was dark outside when I saw it lol.. But it was def bigger then a 20 gallon though..


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## Pitluvs (Jun 22, 2011)

Those types are ok in a 40-50g tank  But a tank smaller than that, I wouldn't get cichlids. I have a tank with tropicals, I have swordtails, danios, neon black tetras, harlequin razboras and a dwarf gourami.


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## 4mb3rNich0l3 (Dec 22, 2011)

Hmm ok.. Ill keep that in mind. Looking at tank pictures it seems like it may be more like a 29 gallon. Ill know better when I go back tomorrow


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## thekoimaiden (Oct 19, 2011)

You could get a lot of smaller schooling fish like tetras; they are an interesting change from solitary bettas. My 29 gal tank has kuhli loaches and neon tetras with live plants and driftwood. Very attractive.


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## Pitluvs (Jun 22, 2011)

Mine are in a 29g tank, but I have a 50g to upgrade them too. Swordtails get pretty big. Best thing to do is find a bottom dweller, mid dweller and a top dweller you like and see if they get along  Here's a chart that will help...


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## CAangels16 (Dec 24, 2011)

I wouldn't put cichlids in a 30 gallon tank, but you could put a good amount of tetras, rasboras, dwarf guaramis, and other small peacefull fish in there. 
Also, i would at least consider a saltwater tank. If you do a fish only tank, it is basically the same keep up except you need to keep an eye on the salinity. Other than that, it is very similar to the upkeep of a freshwater tank. And the is a greater variety of fish to choose from


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## onefish2fish (Jul 22, 2008)

tape off the tank, paint the back of it black, set it up with black gravel, sand or similiar, like eco complete. 

stock it with 20 or so neon tetras and cherry red shrimp and the black background will help their colors really pop nicely.


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## mernincrazy8525 (Feb 28, 2011)

i really like swordtails. i got a few and they have little personalities like bettas and they are freakin gorgeous!!!!!!


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## chevysoldier (Oct 14, 2011)

If you go with tropical community, which is what both mine are, Cory cats are really cool bottom dwellers, neat personalities. Platies are a good hardy fish and will be all over the tank. I also like Plecos since they are decent cleaners and they are a neat fish. If you get a Pleco, get a Bristlenose and not a Common Pleco since they will get up to 18" or more.


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## 4mb3rNich0l3 (Dec 22, 2011)

Ok it's for sure a 29 gallon. Im horrible at eyeballing gallon sizes haha. I have a common pleco already in a 5 gallon with poseidon. he is way outgrowing that tank though. My uncle game it to me lol. I may rehome it to someone who has a bigger tank for him though

It has a filter and a heater. Everything was in the rain so lets hope everything still works haha. Im glad I got it inside when I did, it had water in it and its snowing now and has gotten VERY cold outside .


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## GamerGuy (Oct 26, 2011)

Considering the heater and filter are both (usually) intended to be mostly submerged, and probably not short in an overflow situation, they should be fine. I'd be more concerned about the extreme cold having damaged them, especially if it was a glass element heater.


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## AquaKai (Jan 2, 2012)

If you like cichlids I would suggest rams or apistos for a tank of that size. Angels would be good too! I am also a big fan of tetras, rasboras, danios, and rainbows. Those are some of my favorites.


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## ManInBlack2010 (Sep 7, 2011)

i've recently aquired a 30g also, i'm planning 2-4 honey gourami, 6+ peppermint tetra, 6+ peppered corry cats and possibly some more but that's as far ahead as i planned. i've already got half the tetras (long story) and half the corries (in my 10g with my female betta)


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## Jayy (Dec 23, 2009)

AquaKai said:


> If you like cichlids I would suggest rams or apistos for a tank of that size. Angels would be good too! I am also a big fan of tetras, rasboras, danios, and rainbows. Those are some of my favorites.


I wouldn't keep Angel fish in that size of a tank, they do best in 55gal+ and should be kept in groups of atleast six. Small tetras, danios, and barbs can work. Livebears like Platy, Swordtail, and Common Molly are very nice. I also wouldn't keep Dwarf Gourami, because they can cause problems, even BRYON talked me out of getting them. Honey Gourami would be much better, but like to be kept in groups because of their size( 2in max) A group of six or eight would be nice.


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## Sena Hansler (Aug 24, 2011)

Angels ARE pretty, but they need 50+ gallons  otherwise I'd so totally have one :lol: or two. or five.

Danios are fast interesting little fellas. They do good with most other fish. Cories, are a good bottom feeder with a group of 4 or more  Guppies I will admit are so colorful, and lucky me they never bred x) other wise I'd offer you the millionfish :lol:


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## 4mb3rNich0l3 (Dec 22, 2011)

Ive thought about angel fish until I read online somewhere how big they get and how big of a tank they need . Always wanted them lol. Sadly I dont have the room nor have the money for a 55+ tank haha

Someone on craigslist contacted me. she has a cory cat and 4 striped dianos I am considering getting  I have no idea what I want yet lol. If it werent so tall id section it out for more bettas (I told my mom that and I dont think she liked the idea lol!) Maybe ill go take a look at the pet store or something and see if I find any fish I like there..


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## Sena Hansler (Aug 24, 2011)

Well, if you took the woman's offer, you could get more danios and preferably more cories  that'd be a start lol!


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## AquaKai (Jan 2, 2012)

Jayy said:


> *I wouldn't keep Angel fish in that size of a tank, they do best in 55gal+ and should be kept in groups of atleast six*. Small tetras, danios, and barbs can work. Livebears like Platy, Swordtail, and Common Molly are very nice. I also wouldn't keep Dwarf Gourami, because they can cause problems, even BRYON talked me out of getting them. Honey Gourami would be much better, but like to be kept in groups because of their size( 2in max) A group of six or eight would be nice.


 Angels can be in 29g tanks. They need a minimum of an 18" height tank. They DO NOT need to be in schools. They may school in the wild, but they are territorial fish. The only way that I would ever have 6 angelfish in a tank is if 1. I knew what sex they were and only got females and 2. I had a 150g+ tank. If they pair off then they will get EXTREMELY aggresive and might kill every fish in their sight. One would be good for a 30g tank. They won't be as aggressive with just one of them, and it is plenty big.



Sena Hansler said:


> *Angels ARE pretty, but they need 50+ gallons  otherwise I'd so totally have one :lol: or two. or five.*
> 
> Danios are fast interesting little fellas. They do good with most other fish. Cories, are a good bottom feeder with a group of 4 or more  Guppies I will admit are so colorful, and lucky me they never bred x) other wise I'd offer you the millionfish :lol:


 Like I said before, they need 29g tanks at the minimum. One or even two, if cories were the only other thing in there, would be a nice fit and well stocked.

I would still suggest cichlids, they are very intelligent and very fun to have. I love them, and would be great with schoolers like rasboras and danios that everyone are talking about. Even some of the dwarf rainbows would be a great addition as well. 

Another note: Cories do much better in groups of 6. I had my peppered cories in a group of 4 to begin with and they were semi-interesting, but as soon as I added more they got more playful and happy. I would suggest a 6 min on them. And in that tank size I would suggest 8 or so of the pandas or juliis/false juliis. For the larger kind such as the emerald, peppered, and albino I would do 6 and call the bottom good, especially if you get a ram or apisto.


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## Jayy (Dec 23, 2009)

AquaKai said:


> Angels can be in 29g tanks. They need a minimum of an 18" height tank. They DO NOT need to be in schools. They may school in the wild, but they are territorial fish. The only way that I would ever have 6 angelfish in a tank is if 1. I knew what sex they were and only got females and 2. I had a 150g+ tank. If they pair off then they will get EXTREMELY aggresive and might kill every fish in their sight. One would be good for a 30g tank. They won't be as aggressive with just one of them, and it is plenty big.
> 
> 
> Like I said before, they need 29g tanks at the minimum. One or even two, if cories were the only other thing in there, would be a nice fit and well stocked.
> ...


Soo what your really saying that the profile and bryon are wrong, which is highly unlikely. What we said is based on proven fact. There is a 50/50 chance that you'll end up with a breeding pair, to to the fact that angels are only sexable during spawning. And yes, they do school and the wild and to make them as comfortable as possible, we try to recreate this. This also helps with aggression. It is true that they do better in tall tanks, but in terms of size a full grown angel will have more space to swim in a 55, then 29. Maybe even a 60 gal since is the same lenght width as a 55, but taller. You also have to keep on mind that whlie they are "tall" fish, they don't swim up and down.


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## AquaKai (Jan 2, 2012)

Jayy said:


> Soo what your really saying that the profile and bryon are wrong, which is highly unlikely. What we said is based on proven fact. There is a 50/50 chance that you'll end up with a breeding pair, to to the fact that angels are only sexable during spawning. And yes, they do school and the wild and to make them as comfortable as possible, we try to recreate this. This also helps with aggression.


Why yes I am. Call me bold but I have some evidence. These are post from VERY experienced breeders and angelfish keepers.
Here's a few of my reasons:
I agree, I'd go even further and say that 2 spawning pairs in a 90 is pushing it. 

People usually get these fish when they are small, they see them schooling around in the pet store tank and think that they behave this way normally. Unfortunately as they grow up they (like most other fish) lose their schooling behavior and can become aggressive, especially the males when they pair up.

Yeah, they are not really true schoolers like most tetras are. They are territorial fish. Not to mention I would not put 6 angels in a 55g for the long haul. But, fishkeeping yields multiple results and differing opinions. I think you were quite right in suggest an angel or 2 for that tank. JMO. 

They do school together, but they are not true schoolers. Since they break up and defend their own territories as part of breeding, thats what makes them not "true schoolers." But yes, they do indeed school together. Good point.

Sorry if I'm partially stepping out of line with this, but I have experience on my side with this.


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## Sena Hansler (Aug 24, 2011)

I've never thought angels to school... Most of the "schools" I have seen are tattery because of one dominant angel...
I've always been told by angel keepers, fish keepers, etc to have a minimum of all minimum 40 gallons as they do get to a nice size (not huge like oscars though! =D ) but more is better 

I think maybe it is because no one wants to keep ONE fish in a 29... because of the angel's aggression, they'd rather more space, if you wanted other fish so there is less of a problem, then there would be in a 29. Not saying as in fact. Just an opinion.


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