Tropical vs Goldfish...

[Thaa8thWonder]

Afternoon all!

I was hoping I could get some advice for all of you out there in internet land. I had African Cichlids for about three years, and just last week decided to give them up and start from scratch. They are beautiful fish but they were starting to drive me nuts. Plus, my tank dimensions weren't exactly fitting for that type of fish.

That brings me here. I'd like to fill the tank again in a few weeks, but I can't decide with what. My tank is 41 gallons and the dimensions are (roughly) 2 feet wide, 2 feet tall, and 20 inches deep. If you want a visual, it's a fluval osaka 155. I cannot decide on weather or not I want to do a community tropical tank, or just get 1 or 2 (or 3) larger goldfish. I don't know either about either, other than what I like visually. Also, once that gets decided, I can't figure out what I would like in the tank.

Are goldfish better suited for the type of tank I have? Would Tropical do better because of the different levels? Will one be more difficult to keep up with than the other? I'm open to all suggestions!

Thanks guys and gals!

 

[Andrew McFadden]

Id go with a planted tropical tank. With some type of schooling fish, corys and angels. I love those setups compared to goldfish.

 

[Thaa8thWonder]

Thanks for the speedy message! I will say though, I don't want to do a planted tank. I don't feel comfortable leaving my light on for 10-12 hours a day. Plus, I feel like that's a lot of electricity and don't really want my monthly bill going up any more than it has to lol

 

[samthefishman]

Definitely some corydoras maybe some guppies for the top of the tank? Some glowlight tetras? possibly a mystery snail? Balloon belly molly?

I'm not sure how many you could have in the tank size you have or the relationships the fish will have.

 

[Andrew McFadden]

Thanks for the speedy message! I will say though, I don't want to do a planted tank. I don't feel comfortable leaving my light on for 10-12 hours a day. Plus, I feel like that's a lot of electricity and don't really want my monthly bill going up any more than it has to lol

You could do fake but 10-12 hours is a long time

 

[Thaa8thWonder]

You could do fake but 10-12 hours is a long time

How long do you recommend? Every site I've seen on planted tanks suggest 10-12 hours a day for lighting

 

[SKB]

You could always decorate the tank the way youd like, fake plants or not. You can do whatever kind of fish youd like, just make sure you do the research on the type of fish you are looking into, so you know you can properly care for them. You can research using this forum or just google it.

In my opinion, id go with tropical. There are so many options out there for tropical fish. You can have schooling fish like tetras, rasbora's, guppies, etc. or German Blue Rams (although these are very touchy fish and the water needs to be pretty perfect for them), Angels as listed above, you can get little dwarf tank frogs depending on what type of fish you get, loaches (type that stays smaller), bristlenose pleco (albino or reg). The list goes on.

Depending on what type of fish store you have around you, you might be able to go there and get plenty of ideas, but make sure before you purchase, you research.

 

[SKB]

Usually I just do 8 hours, but I only have java moss, java fern, and moss balls, which are known to be easy plants.

 

[Andrew McFadden]

How long do you recommend? Every site I've seen on planted tanks suggest 10-12 hours a day for lighting

I only run mine for 7 hours. I could probably get away with 6. I tell people 6-10 hours

 

[Coursair]

Plants need light 6-8 hours a day. Just get low light easy plants. Put light on timer.

Too much light just grows Algae.

Fluorescents are usually pretty low cost to run.

 

[Thaa8thWonder]

I have a soft spot for Angel's, cardinal tetras, guormis, and swordtails. My ideal tank would house all of them, but I know that those don't all get along with one another lol.

 

[SKB]

I would say to do your research on all of those fish, and see what kinds are easier to care for or what you would be willing to do to care for, what can be mixed, etc. I love the color of Gourami's.

 

[Thaa8thWonder]

I would say to do your research on all of those fish, and see what kinds are easier to care for or what you would be willing to do to care for, what can be mixed, etc. I love the color of Gourami's.

see that's kind of the problem. Everyone you ask says something different about what can and can't be mixed. It's frustrating lol.

 

[SKB]

Well you kind of have to see which outweigh's the other, and think about what each type of fish's temperament is. IMO, Dwarf Gourami's would be fine with Cardinal Tetra's and swordtails. I wouldn't do the Angel, because if the Cardinal Tetra's do end up nipping, Angels don't swim as well as other fish because the way they are shaped.

You said you have a 41 gal tank? I think 2-3 Dwarf Gourami, 5-8 Cardinal Tetra's, 5-8 Swordtails, and then you could probably have more room for otto's or peppered corry cats.

 

[Sharpchick]

Afternoon all!

I was hoping I could get some advice for all of you out there in internet land. I had African Cichlids for about three years, and just last week decided to give them up and start from scratch. They are beautiful fish but they were starting to drive me nuts. Plus, my tank dimensions weren't exactly fitting for that type of fish.

That brings me here. I'd like to fill the tank again in a few weeks, but I can't decide with what. My tank is 41 gallons and the dimensions are (roughly) 2 feet wide, 2 feet tall, and 20 inches deep. If you want a visual, it's a fluval osaka 155. I cannot decide on weather or not I want to do a community tropical tank, or just get 1 or 2 (or 3) larger goldfish. I don't know either about either, other than what I like visually. Also, once that gets decided, I can't figure out what I would like in the tank.

Are goldfish better suited for the type of tank I have? Would Tropical do better because of the different levels? Will one be more difficult to keep up with than the other? I'm open to all suggestions!

Thanks guys and gals!

The footprint of that tank would be better for tropical than goldfish, IMO.

 

[SKB]

Orrr.....you could do 2-3 angelfish (maybe 4) with 3-4 dwarf corry cats