50G bowfront!

[Crew]

I'm on my way to purchase what seems to be a 50G bowfront tank. Stand and all that so I'm pretty excited. As of right now all I have is a 29G with 7Serpae tetras, 2 German blue rams and 1 Otto.

I'm still going freshwater and was wondering if anybody had some good stocking ideas for my (hopefully) new upgrade!
I'm finding myself more and more attracted to angelfish, but I'm open to opinions
Laisse-moi savoir/Let me know!
Crew

 

[Brian_Nano12g]

Angels are cool.. if you have an interest in them, I would certainly go for it. If you're up for a bigger challenge and have a little extra $$$ to play around with, I'd go with some Discus! They're really amazing in color and overall appearance, unfortunately that beauty comes with a hefty price tag.

 

[Crew]

Believe ^me I really want a discus tank.
Yes I'm up for the challenge and yes I have a little extra $ to play around with, but I couldn't say I am experienced enough for that kind of risk just yet.

 

[Brian_Nano12g]

Well just like with everything in life, you live and learn. You'll never know till you try. One thing would be your greatest friend.... That is RESEARCH and just arming yourself with knowledge. Ive learned alot from the folks on this forum and I'm certain that if you search you'll dig up useful information. Either way, good luck! If not discus, angels are still a very nice option!

 

[Crew]

I've researched just about everything I need to maintain a healthy tank environment. I would eventually like to try to keep discus, but my tap water has a ph of well. Around 8ish.
So until I get a permanent source of fantastic water ill leave out the extremely delicate fish.

 

[absolutangel04]

A different fun option would be a green spotted puffer! Also, there are fancy goldies. I love angels though, but they do limit your tank options a little. Another fish I have had my eye on is the opaline gourami. There are also tiger barbs, but again, you are limited on tankmates.

 

[Crew]

A different fun option would be a green spotted puffer! Also, there are fancy goldies. I love angels though, but they do limit your tank options a little. Another fish I have had my eye on is the opaline gourami. There are also tiger barbs, but again, you are limited on tankmates.

Oh my. Don't even get me started on puffers!
They pique my interest like you wouldn't believe. But surprisingly I know less about their requirements than any other fish. If you could fill me in that'd be great!

I definitely agree on the limitations. Both for the angels and barbs. I used to have a tank of solely tiger barbs. Got old quick.
But the angelfish remains my graceful counterpart. Would be a fun fish to have.

I've kept my fair share of goldies as well. As a matter of fact I'm re-homing my very last one to a friend's pond this Tuesday. It will be a sad day.

As for the Opaline gourami's I dont know enough it seems. I've kept pearl gouramis before. Although the name "Opaline" sounds very familiar. A store in my area might have them, I'll have to go and see!

 

[absolutangel04]

Oh my. Don't even get me started on puffers!
They pique my interest like you wouldn't believe. But surprisingly I know less about their requirements than any other fish. If you could fill me in that'd be great!

I definitely agree on the limitations. Both for the angels and barbs. I used to have a tank of solely tiger barbs. Got old quick.
But the angelfish remains my graceful counterpart. Would be a fun fish to have.

I've kept my fair share of goldies as well. As a matter of fact I'm re-homing my very last one to a friend's pond this Tuesday. It will be a sad day.

As for the Opaline gourami's I dont know enough it seems. I've kept pearl gouramis before. Although the name "Opaline" sounds very familiar. A store in my area might have them, I'll have to go and see!

I am not a puffer expert. they are a fish I would LOVE to won if I get another tank. I know they are terrible community dwellers, so I do not know how many could fit into the tank, and I think you have to keep them without other tankmates. I would suggest using the search feature on here and seeing what other people have said about them. If the green spotted puffer is not a viable option, there are a handful of dwarf puffers that could work! You could keep a few more of them anyway.

 

[Brian_Nano12g]

Yeah I've never had discus myself but if and when i do in the not so distant future, i'd use a combination of RO water, natural buffers, peat moss in the filter, and CO2 injection (because my tank would be planted) to get the ideal conditions. My knowledge on them are limited because i have yet to do my research, only because Im not ready to get them.

Puffers are super cool! They are so intelligent as fish so it would be hard to get bored of them. Another species to consider over the GSP is the Figure 8 Puffer. They don't get as large as the GSP and they're requirements are less demanding. Therefore, you'd be able to stock more of them.

 

[Crew]

Just read up on them.
Green spotted puffers are a brackish fish, and need their "beaks" either trimmed manually or use crustaceans such as snails to wear them down,
They sound like a great fish, but being brackish limits my options drastically.
Saw some really amazing YouTube videos of them as well. One of them practically inhaled a goldfish within seconds.
Another I saw 4 of them gang up on a crab.
Very very intelligent creatures I must say.
But I don't think I'm quite ready for the commitment of a brackish tank, or the fact that I may have to trim the beak of my fish manually :/
One day.

 

[absolutangel04]

The dwarf puffers, like figure 8's, are supposed to be easier to take care of. You could look into those too.

 

[Crew]

The dwarf puffers, like figure 8's, are supposed to be easier to take care of. You could look into those too.

Just read quite a bit about the dwarves. It's great that they are 100% freshwater!
Although they only grow to be about an inch and a half and are "by no means community fish".
So perhaps they would be best for a smaller tank. I'd maybe use a 15G or so for a pair. But a 50G.. Heck they might get lost!

What I thought was really interesting is the fact that they even learn the container that their food is in. Made ^me look at my tank knowing that I have 3 containers in front of my tank. I'm now thinking if my fish know what's inside them.. Haha!

But I digress, any other stocking ideas?

 

[Brian_Nano12g]

You can try a Malawi cichlid tank.

Or.... Medium sized S. American Cichlids like Firemouths and Convicts.

If you want to keep things small and more community based.. Try some Apistogramma Argassizi (not sure if i spelled that right?)... Or Cockatoo Cichlids as centerpiece fish.. And throw in some dither fish like Tetras and/or Rasboras.

Last option.. Back to plan A.. Umm, "a" as in Angels! Haha.. That seems to be your gut instinct, maybe just roll with it.

 

[absolutangel04]

Just read quite a bit about the dwarves. It's great that they are 100% freshwater!
Although they only grow to be about an inch and a half and are "by no means community fish".
So perhaps they would be best for a smaller tank. I'd maybe use a 15G or so for a pair. But a 50G.. Heck they might get lost!

What I thought was really interesting is the fact that they even learn the container that their food is in. Made ^me look at my tank knowing that I have 3 containers in front of my tank. I'm now thinking if my fish know what's inside them.. Haha!

But I digress, any other stocking ideas?

Another fun choice would be paradise fish! Or, a dollar sunfish. I believe they can be part of a community, but are predatory, so small tankmates are out. Personally, I like Golden wonder killifish. They can be part of a community too, but tankmates need to be big enough to not get eaten.

 

[Crew]

You can try a Malawi cichlid tank.

Or.... Medium sized S. American Cichlids like Firemouths and Convicts.

If you want to keep things small and more community based.. Try some Apistogramma Argassizi (not sure if i spelled that right?)... Or Cockatoo Cichlids as centerpiece fish.. And throw in some dither fish like Tetras and/or Rasboras.

Last option.. Back to plan A.. Umm, "a" as in Angels! Haha.. That seems to be your gut instinct, maybe just roll with it.

Liking the cichlid idea as well. It would be also interesting to try an electric yellow lab set up. Always liked those.
But again, angelfish are one of my faces, so we'll see!

 

[Crew]

Another fun choice would be paradise fish! Or, a dollar sunfish. I believe they can be part of a community, but are predatory, so small tankmates are out. Personally, I like Golden wonder killifish. They can be part of a community too, but tankmates need to be big enough to not get eaten.

Haha, as soon as my goldfish leaves my 29G I'm placing a pair of the golden wonders, funny you should mention that!
Paradisefish sound pretty cool too.

 

[Crew]

Looked at some more fish. Increasingly interested in kuhli loaches. I think having a few of those would be a great alternative to a clown loach or peacock eel.

 

[absolutangel04]

Looked at some more fish. Increasingly interested in kuhli loaches. I think having a few of those would be a great alternative to a clown loach or peacock eel.

I have kuhlis and I love them. You have room for a good handful of them in a tank that size. Honestly, I don;t think you have space for clown loaches. They get to be like a foot and should be in groups of like 5 or 6, so they end up needing a pretty big tank. Peacock eels also get pretty big.
Kuhlis are great though. Definitely one of favorite fish.

 

[Crew]

I have kuhlis and I love them. You have room for a good handful of them in a tank that size. Honestly, I don;t think you have space for clown loaches. They get to be like a foot and should be in groups of like 5 or 6, so they end up needing a pretty big tank. Peacock eels also get pretty big.
Kuhlis are great though. Definitely one of favorite fish.

Yes! I really would like to have a group of maybe 4? Maybe you could have some helpful input on the amount I should/could keep.
And I know the repercussions of both the clown and peacock, I had one of each previously in my 29G!
I ended up re-homing them. My tank wasn't ready anyway, glad I smartened up when I did!
Butchea, I think one of the stores in my area have the kuhli's. I'll have to go see!

 

[absolutangel04]

Yes! I really would like to have a group of maybe 4? Maybe you could have some helpful input on the amount I should/could keep.
And I know the repercussions of both the clown and peacock, I had one of each previously in my 29G!
I ended up re-homing them. My tank wasn't ready anyway, glad I smartened up when I did!
Butchea, I think one of the stores in my area have the kuhli's. I'll have to go see!

Whoops, sorry to tell you what you already know!
Kuhlis do best in groups, so the more, the better. In tank that size, I would get at least 5. 6 would be even better. You will see them more if they have friends. They do fine on the whole range of standard tropical temps. I keep my tank at about 78.
They like to burrow, but tyhey fine on gravel too as long as you provide the, with some caves or plants to hide in. Secure all other decor into the gravel so they won't hurt themselves trying to wiggle under it.