Need some creative ideas for a 46 gallon!

[neurotik]

So I'm probably going to be buying a 46 gallon bow front tank in the near future and I thought it would be fun to let some of you on here decide what I put into it. I am sure there are a lot of really creative minds on these forums so I'd like to see what some of you can come up with as far as what to stock it with, how many of each, etc. Right now I'm not really set on anything in particular as far as fish are concerned, as long as they are freshwater obviously. Whoever comes up with the best idea gets a gold star (or at least a great big thank you)!

Ready, set, GO!

 

[mfdrookie516]

neurotik, here is my personal favorite... obviously doubt you want to go with it, but it would be sooooo cool... sand as the substrate, some big nice slate forming a tunnel like structure through half of the tank (sideways having to look through the side of the tank to see through the tunnel), a few big texas holy rocks, and 4 or 5 nice pretty piranhas... i have a friend who has some and its in his living room ( i came up with the tunnel idea myself and he just throws scrap meat in the tank after dinner and they eat it big time)... thats the best idea possible... gotta get a gold star for that one

 

[neurotik]

Piranhas would definitely be really cool to have and feed, but I have absolutely -no- idea where the heck I would find any around here, haha.

 

[Nippy Fish]

Hmmmmm, ok, I have a few ideas.

First:
1 Rainbow Shark
3 Pearl Gouramis (1 male/2 female)
15 Neon Tetras
2 Yo-yo Loaches

Second:
9 Tiger Barbs
10 Cherry Barbs
7 Panda Cory

Third:
5 Bolivian Rams
9 Female Bettas

 

[RazorbacksFan]

Go african cihclids preferably of the Lake Malawai variety.
Here are some of my favorites I would suggest going with.

4 Aceis (3F 1M) Tropical Fish for Freshwater Aquariums: Acei Cichlid Malawian African Cichlids

4 Red Zebras (3F 1M) Tropical Fish for Freshwater Aquariums: Red Zebra Cichlid Malawian African Cichlids

 

[RazorbacksFan]

neurotik, here is my personal favorite... obviously doubt you want to go with it, but it would be sooooo cool... sand as the substrate, some big nice slate forming a tunnel like structure through half of the tank (sideways having to look through the side of the tank to see through the tunnel), a few big texas holy rocks, and 4 or 5 nice pretty piranhas... i have a friend who has some and its in his living room ( i came up with the tunnel idea myself and he just throws scrap meat in the tank after dinner and they eat it big time)... thats the best idea possible... gotta get a gold star for that one

Piranha get too big for that size tank and like to be in bigger groups.

 

[mfdrookie516]

well he got his in Florida, somewhere... he has a liscense and in the case that one dies, he has to have somebody come and take it... im assuming to make sure nobody releases them in local rivers and lakes... mine had to be the most creative though... right?

 

[spoonman]

Cichlids from lake malawi !!!!

Acei's
Zebras
greshakeis
yellow labs

That kind of stuff

 

[neurotik]

I'm totally down with the Cichlid suggestions, but I was under the impression that you needed a slightly larger tank if you wanted to keep Cichlids -- confirm/deny?

 

[spoonman]

DizzCat on this forum has I believe 16 Malawi cichlids in a 55G. Check out her profile and see pics of her tank. Part of keeping the aggression down is to overstock.

 

[neurotik]

Woo, that makes me even more excited about a Cichlid tank now! I may have to refine my original post to say give me your best suggestions for an African Cichlid tank! haha.

 

[RazorbacksFan]

You could always start a new thread in the cichlid subsection and the cichlid pros will help ya pick.

 

[neurotik]

Yeah, I'll probably do that shortly. For now, continue on with your ideas though, Cichlids or otherwise!

 

[crusch]

I'm not sure exactly were in pa u live but if your close to pittsburgh, Elmers in monroeville has several kinds of piranhas and lots of different exotic fish. I just got my red tail barracuda there last week, they had a saber tusk barracuda a very cool fish.

I would use sand and lunar lights for sure!!

 

[spoonman]

Species Profiles -- Cichlid-Forum

Here is a good place to look up Malawi Cichlids.

 

[bmg07]

i know a lfs in my area who was trying to talk me into buying pirranas.lol.

 

[mfdrookie516]

crusch84, i knew at least you would appreciate the piranha idea... considering the "i love fish that eat fish" signature

 

[JustOneMore20]

Mbuna would be better suited in a 4ft tank IMO. If you wanted some for a 46g, I'd stick with smaller, less aggressive species. Pseudotropheus saulosi are small and not as aggressive as others. Males are blue and females are yellow, so you'd have some variety. You could have some Synodontis petricola catfish as well for more variety.

I wouldn't suggest any other Mbuna for a 3ft tank....unless its more than 12" wide.