Any Ideas for a 50gal tank?

[puffergirl]

I'm looking into purchasing a new 50gal tank. I'm going to be moving my 4 clown loaches over to this tank from my 20gal as they are going to need to move one day. Any suggestions on what to add to this tank with them? I would like some nice colorful fish.

 

[madasafish]

Everybody always ignores my rainbowfish suggestions (*fumes good-naturedly*), perhaps bcz the rainbowfish in the LFSs are usually boring (boring species, boring specimens). But I'll suggest one more time...

I think Boesmani, Threadfin and especially *Praecox* (also known as Dwarf Neon) Rainbowfish are absolutely gorgeous (also Axelrod, Celebes). http://www.liveaquaria.com/product/scateg.cfm?siteid=21&pCatId=886 Well, it's not just a matter of taste; they are! And the link doesn't do them any justice. Under the right light they really deserve their names... I'd change to them if I had an empty tank in the blink of an eye. Two school2 of 6-8 of each species would be perfect for a 50 gallon. They're a bit $$... but if you're looking to avoid the ordinary (sheesh) you've got yourself a truly stunning tank. Add some plants and you've got heaven... My favorite planted tanks are rainbowfish tanks (discus a close second). If you got a few of one of the rainbowfish spp., I'm sure you could get a discount...

Other suggestions... so many possibilities! I'm always in favor of a Rift Lake Cichlid Tank. Malawi Cichlids give you soooo many possibilities, and are really beautiful (www.malawicichlids.com). 3 smaller (3-4 inch) species in a 1M:3F ratio would be just about right for a 50 G.

Ah, I'm sure others have ideas. No need for me to hog the thread...

 

[madasafish]

DO do something interesting though!! Don't do what I did and get a mess of fish which don't look right together!!

 

[mgkaelen]

50gal!! my ideal size for a ghost knife fish !!! or at least an elephant nose.. SLEEK BLACK fish... beautiful!

 

[tkos]

Do you want a few bigger fish, or a lot of little fish?

 

[puffergirl]

I'm thinking something in between, not extremley large but not small (like neons) I like the chiclid idea but would they be ok with the clown loaches?

 

[madasafish]

Prob. cichlids and loaches isn't too bad if you kept the tank's pH around 7.5. It's a little, but not too much on the low side for the cichlids, and it's at the high point for loaches. Of course, I'm a purist when it comes to ACs, and like biotopes. Up to you....

The rainbowfish, on the other hand, would go fantastically with the loaches; esp. since they're from very similar parts of the world: Clown Loaches from Indonesia, Most Rainbows from Papua New Guinea and other islands, down to Australia. Sigh. I knew you wouldn't go for the rainbows. That's ok. Your prerogative!! I don't want to hoist my fish taste on you!

Well, last time I wanted ppl to get interested in a bunch of fish they seemed less intererested in, I had to buy some and take pictures (dwarf puffers). Perhaps I'll have to buy some Praecox Rainbows and post the pics. Then, maybe, you guys'll get interested! I'm mad about the quality (low) of the rainbowfish pix on the net.

BTW, rainbowfish are the perfect size (3-4 inches) for a 55, and are a little cheaper than ACs.

********Just out of interest... how come ppl here aren't interested in rainbowfish?? I've only seen 1 member with a boesmani, and he (the fish) died...********

 

[Enki]

Madasafish, I looked at your gallery and I did not see any rainbowfish pics, maybe I missed them

Puffergirl, don't make any purchases or make any final decisions till you really know what you want, I am at the tail end of planning (fish Tuesday, w00t!) for my 50 gallon, but there is part of me that sort of wishes I had gone a different direction, but I had already passed a point of no return. Oh well, next tank I have this great idea for a DIY 250 gallon 4'x4' shell dweller setup...

 

[puffergirl]

I'm not going to go the cichlid rout, I really don't want to take the chance that either the loaches or cichlids won't be eitirely happy together.

I have taken a look thourgh a few books and sites and I like the thredfin rainbowfish, boesmans rainbowfish and the spledid rainbowfish.
I'm still in the planning stages now and will not be looking to purchase this new tank for a few months yet. Just want to make sure I have a good idea of what I'm going to do.

 

[madasafish]

Hehe. OK. Didn't mean to pressure you. Glad to hear you like some of the rainbows, though.

*Enki* I don't have the rainbows yet...
As the spirit says in *The Exorcist*: "In time... in time..."

 

[puffergirl]

Your funny manasafish! No pressure at all, I'm just keeping my options open and your right the rainbows are really nice fish. Good news that I have seen them in some of my LFS too.

 

[DaPony87]

Well juss to throw in my two cents lol u could try rams which are new world chiclids theyre not as aggressive as theyre africans cousins and are suitable with the lower pH not to mention theyre beaaaaautiful.... 8O <== i love this face
___
Da Pony

 

[medge00]

hey, I too enjoy rainbowfish (madasfish, you're not alone!). I think they're great. I've kept celebes, which I have found to be pretty touchy actually, harder to keep than the others. I'm about to update my tank specs, but right now I've got a praecox (the others died) and some of those 'regular' boring looking ones (two are lake katunu rainbows, two are just kinda silver/blue)... i'll get pictures if I can. in my smaller tank, I also have threadfins, which are pretty cool. They'll flair their fins at each other, esp. for the attention of a female and they're pretty small. I keep rams with rainbows (I keep my water pretty nuetral, so no worries there), and that seems to work out nicely. the rams prefer the bottom with all the plants, rainbows like the open top. My rainbows like to nibble on my arms when i trim my plants and what not, they're not very timid. like rams, you should only get the healthiest ones you can find. look for awesome colors and a lot of activity.

 

[purplestarfish]

I would recommend tiger barbs. They're sort of small, but they get to be pretty big (mine are nearing 2 inches . . . okay nvm, that still sounds frightfully small!). The nice thing about them is that they're super-lively and fun to watch. I had a couple of clown loaches (I might still have one, but I haven't seen it in a long time). When the two of them used to come out of their log, the smaller one (he was about 3 or 3.5 inches long at the time) used to try to swim along with the tiger barbs because of the similar markings. Cute.
But since tiger barbs are small, maybe you could look at getting gouramis (if they're full-sized gouramis, get either one [but that might still be an agressive problem] or around four [so they're preoccupied amongst themselves]. They have a nasty reputation for being a nuisance to other fish. I have two - one picks on the other a little, but they tend to stick together and ignore the other fish). The rainbowfish idea sounds really nice too. Just make sure they pHs match up. (I've seen varying accounts of rainbowfish needing alkaline water in some places and soft water in others . . . but that's for the rainbowfish experts who know from experience to answer! )
One last thought: Kuhli loaches! Awesome little fish. (Okay, they're not that little; they're 3 inches long . . . ) They (and their superclose relatives) can have extremely varying patterns: I have a traditionally striped, a black-and-thin-yellow-bands, and one that looks like the black/yellow bands except he also has spots between the bands.
Sorry that all the fish I like have problems in size or temperament . . . hey, I tried.

 

[BrianNY]

A half dozen angelfish would go well with your clown loaches. They reach a nice size and look awesome in a planted tank.

 

[nikki]

50 gal tank

Why don't you put some Barbs (puntius tetrazona), they're very colourful (looking as if they wore pyjamas or green) and very lively.? Anyway, take your time. I gree with you concerning the cichlids, I wouldn't mix fish from so different places.
As from the fish from Indonesia and Australia.... I don't think they live so close...