45g Stock Ideas

[Pezzep]

Might be getting a 45g bow front today for $45 which to me is a steal. Wanted to see what you guys would stock it with to get ideas of how many fish can work in a 45g. It will most likely be a heavily planted tank, obsessed with planted tanks right now.

 

[Coyne]

I currently have a 45 gallon as well and am planning on rescaping it soon with lots of plants. This said, my plan is to have a large school of Ember Tetras. They are quite small, so I think I'll be able to get 40ish, plus some Corys and/or Otos (maybe snails and shrimp too) for clean up.

Lots of options available to you though. Some people prefer to have a couple small schools of different fish and then one larger "centerpiece" fish.

 

[Pezzep]

I definitely want a schooling fish, I too was thinking embers or harlequin rasboras, but I want a centerpiece fish, or fishes as well. Going to have a BN pleco in it too, or some sort of pleco that stays smaller (6-8 inches) not sure if I want corydoras or not, I love those fish but don't want to get to obsessed to where I put them in everything tank lol. Definitely going to get nerite snails for the tank and once my cherry shrimp start breeding big time in my 8g I'm going to add some of them as well.

Have any ideas for a nice looking centerpiece fish for a 46g bowfront? I was thinking 5 blue rainbows, but unsure yet. Want more ideas

 

[Coyne]

Hmm.. hopefully somebody else will be able to help with that. Ive never really warmed up to the idea of a centerpiece fish.
Rams and gouramis seem to be mentioned often when the subject comes up in other threads.

 

[Nigoodman]

Im no expert by any means but have you ever considered some pearl gouramis? I think they're so pretty. Unlike most gouramis they aren't known to be too aggressive so if you got a few of those as your centerpiece fish you wouldnt have to worry too much about the way you stock the other fish.

 

[kmny34]

Im no expert by any means but have you ever considered some pearl gouramis? I think they're so pretty. Unlike most gouramis they aren't known to be too aggressive so if you got a few of those as your centerpiece fish you wouldnt have to worry too much about the way you stock the other fish.

Yes! Pearl gouramis are awesome! I have a couple of them in my 29 and they make for a perfect centerpiece! You could also get a couple rams along with the gourami(s).

 

[Nigoodman]

Yes! Pearl gouramis are awesome! I have a couple of them in my 29 and they make for a perfect centerpiece! You could also get a couple rams along with the gourami(s).

I agree with kmny rams would look gorgeous in your tank as well. They're small and peaceful and have great colors. I myself am hoping to get a couple rams after my tank has been established for 6 months or so.

 

[Pezzep]

The pearls are nice looking but not what I'm looking for, for this tank. I was possibly thinking rams just cause the colour on them is beautiful but I don't know the first thing about them, need to research them. Aren't they sensitive fish and how aggressive are they? I know they get very aggressive when breeding.

If I got rams in the mix I'd probably do:
1 albino or regular bristle nose plec
4 GBRs
9 blue rainbows
20 embers
Then the rest of the stock with yellow cherry shrimp. Basically build all my colours of stock around the rams. I'm liking this stock. Seems like a lot tho but aqadvisor says it's around 95% stocked. Does this seem like an okay stock to the rest of you or is it over stocked?

 

[Goldfish loach boy]

Sounds good, here are some of my personal favorites
Banjo catfish
Bumble bee catfish
Angel fish
Marbled hatchetfish
Striped Raphael catfish
Panda Garra
Kuhli loaches
Gold nugget pleco
Rio negro pleco
Red lizard whip tail pleco
Royal farlowella catfish
Neon swordtail
Blind cave tetra
X-ray Pristella tetra
Badis badis( this fish is called the chameleon fish, it changes colors like a chameleon, very cool)
Scarlet gem badis

 

[bribo12]

Just thought I'd share my input on the 2 rams I had. I have a 29 gallon planted community with 9 rummynose tetras, an angel and various catfish. I used to have 2 gbr with them a male and female. Well they started breeding and needless to say they destroyed everyone lol. So I rebooked them to my lfs 140 gallon display. Now I know my tank is smaller but I wouldn't do 4 gbr they will own most of that tank if they start to spawn, I would just do 2. However, mine was probably a little crazier than most but still there's my input. They also like temps in the 80's. I kept mine at 84 and they thrived. If you do decide on them I'd add them last.

 

[Pezzep]

Yeah that's what I'm afraid of, them getting to aggressive if they breed and hurting my other fish. I'd defiantly add them last, what if I got all females? Cause I'm not really looking for them to breed more so just want them for their appearance. Do females look as good as males? Cause I know some fish the females are more dull looking.

The badis badis seem pretty cool goldfish, never knew they changed colours, and I've always loved angels but when I do angels I plan on getting a bigger tank when I have my own place.

 

[bribo12]

IMO female rams can still be pretty, not male ram pretty but they definitely aren't dull. They have a nice blue hue to their face and on their black spot as well as the pink belly. They dont get as yellow/gold as the males though. Yeah a breeding pair of rams is no fun in a community tank lol. But awesome fish, definitely gonna set up a 20 just for a breeding pair once I get space.

 

[Pezzep]

What about 4 males then? Cause I want the yellow to look bright. Will they fight over territory or anything with no females to breed with?

 

[severum mama]

Just thought I'd share my input on the 2 rams I had. I have a 29 gallon planted community with 9 rummynose tetras, an angel and various catfish. I used to have 2 gbr with them a male and female. Well they started breeding and needless to say they destroyed everyone lol. So I rebooked them to my lfs 140 gallon display. Now I know my tank is smaller but I wouldn't do 4 gbr they will own most of that tank if they start to spawn, I would just do 2. However, mine was probably a little crazier than most but still there's my input. They also like temps in the 80's. I kept mine at 84 and they thrived. If you do decide on them I'd add them last.

This is an anomaly and would most likely not be the case in a 45 gallon. Rams aren't terribly aggressive for the most part, but you do occasionally see some abnormally unruly specimens. Generally, however, a pair (even if breeding) is going to do just fine in a setup like this. I would not recommend more than one pair, assuming you have the same 45 I did, which was a 3' tank.

 

[bribo12]

I'd agree that mine were more brutal than rams usually are. Hence my male got the nickname Godzilla lol but yeah just do 2.

 

[severum mama]

No doubt it happens from time to time, I was just pointing out that in my experience this is more of an exception to the rule. My husband once had a male gold ram that beat up all its tank mates and killed its mate. This fish was beating up angelfish twice his size. Haven't seen one quite like him since, lol.