To get him a 55gal or not?

[lyquidphyre]

So for Christmas (yes, christmas, I know its only Sept.) I thought about getting my boyfriend a nice stand for his 29gal. But then I thought, heck, I could get him a 55gal set up.
His sister is going to do some prodding to see if he would in fact like a larger tank (to make sure an upgrade wouldn't be a present for myself).

Now, here is my question. He has one large angel, one blue gourami and one kissing gourami. Do those three fish limit what he can get in general? I would like to get him a 55gal so he can add some fish (he likes somewhat larger fish) like silver tip sharks but if he can't upgrade the fish much in general, then I shouldn't upgrade the tank.

Im used to community tanks, and since all his fish are semi aggressive Im just curious what would and wouldn't work (I personally would like to see a school of rasboras)...

any advice appreciated =o)

 

[Ali1]

yeh u can upgrade... you can add more fish in the 55 like the silvertip shark and some more angels or gouramis

 

[lyquidphyre]

His angel is a little... snotty. Im not sure how well she would play with others. She is the hoss of the tank.

 

[flamingonhot]

silver tip catfish? do you mean colombian catfish or shark catfish? if so dont get one,they get pretty big and are brackish.

You could get him an upgrade,i would just worry about the blue gourami if your getting other fish,ive found them to be very nasty especially to newer fish.

 

[talloulou]

Well there is always the possibility that he will keep his old tank along with the new one you buy him. That will open up many doors as far as fish selection. And as far as the "will he like it question" most men I know have the bigger is better mentality so as long as he has room for it in his dwelling I can't imagine him being disappointed. I wouldn't worry about what fish to put in the tank till after you have given it to him. That way he can pick stuff out himself. Deciding on new additions is one of the funnest parts of the hobby.

 

[lyquidphyre]

Well my plan was, if I got the tank:

1. Move his fish to the 55 and sell the 29 because he has stated "we don't need anymore aquariums" but we have room for a 55, just not both a 29 and 55 together.

2. I wasn't going to buy any fish for him, but I was just curious if the fish I know he would want to get in the future would be suitable with the fish he has now. Because if he can't get the fish he wants, even with a larger tank, then I should stick to the smaller tank and just buy a stand

3. I can't remember what kind of shark he got. He purchased 3 of them and all of them died. He did this during the month we broke up, so I honestly don't know what it was he got. I just remember it was a silvery shark.

 

[talloulou]

hmmmm well if he said "we don't need anymore aquariums"....then it's clear he hasn't been assimlated yet. A 55 gallon setup is alot of money to spend on someone who doesn't clearly want it. Maybe you need to feel him out a little more before you decide to make such a big purchase.

 

[lyquidphyre]

Well, his sister mentioned once before that she wanted to talk her husband into getting rid of his aquarium.. so I called and asked her if she would do be a favor and test the water with Stephen. She is going to be like "Hey, if my husband gets rid of his 55gal, do ya'll want it" and i'll pitch in "we could sell the 29 and you'd have room for more fish and blah blah blah"
So, if I show him the upside of getting a bigger aquarium, tell him we can sell the smaller one and THEN if he still says no.. i'll try and think of something else for xmas hehe

And, this way I have time to search for bargins!

 

[flamingonhot]

shark

good luck for whatever you do....

if its this fish then dont get it,like i said it gets pretty big 12-15 inches and requires brackish water (some people keep them in full saltwater when older)

 

[flamingonhot]

shark

good luck for whatever you do....

if its this fish then dont get it,like i said it gets pretty big 12-15 inches and requires brackish water (some people keep them in full saltwater when older)

 

[lyquidphyre]

It looked a lot like that,flamingonhot, but I remember he said they would get large... but not THAT large

are there any other kind of sharks that look like that that stay small-ish?

 

[yippyyae]

Hi!

There sure is room to upgrade. He could get a nice Bala Shark. You could also look into some bottom dwellers like Cory Cats or even clown loaches. They will do well with Gourami's and an angel. I kept a 55 gal similar to that myself for 6 years. I currently donated my fish to a friend's set up as I'm converting to SW. Does he keep live plants as well?

 

[lyquidphyre]

He has been thinking about keeping plants... and I bet if I bought him this tank he would start to

 

[yippyyae]

That sounds great. Live plants themselves can make this tank a whole new adventure for him. I would suggest you check out www.aquahobby.com. They have a great gallery with good info on lots of fish and plants. That site can give you a great idea of what fish you could add to what you have.