Fish for the dining room

[MrsPeel]

The new 30L is going to be put in the dining room. I for the life of me don't know who/what I want to put in there. I figured if it is going to be in the dining room they should be peaceful/active fish with a touch of color. I don't think I want to do cichlids (outside of angelfish). Any ideas on what I should consider.

So far in my other tanks I have orandas, angelfish, silver tipped tetras, and that one pristella from a previous post. I really want this tank to be different and not have any overlapping fish. I also know I don't want huge fish since 1) they scare me and 2) don't want to turn dinner guests off (big fish do that to people...okay maybe just me.

Any ideas? Yeah, Yeah I know there are many options but I'm having a brain freeze at the moment.

 

[Menagerie]

There are other cichlids! What about kribs, brichardi, rams or Apistogrammas? Plenty of personality, plenty of color and all under 4" (not including tails).

 

[flipz]

Rainbow fish.

Actually personally I would recommend a Columbian Shark. They are very active, never hide, and while they aren't exactly colorful, they do have a nice shine under the light. Of course 30L is way too small though. They are beautiful fish though and I could watch mine all day long. But I know rainbows are a favorite on here.

-brent

 

[poppab02]

Tiger Barbs. Lots of different types, very colorful and very active. I also liked menagerie's small cichlid suggestion and the shark suggestion. Any tank that you want to be fairly active is probably going to contain semi agressive fish at least.

 

[millipede]

Soooooo many choices... One of my favorites is the khuli loach so I'd have at least one or two in it... maybe a few corys, something to eat some algae(small pleco or otos), and maybe some neon tetras or something similar. Those are my thoughts...

You could always stray from the fish hobby and join us over at reptile advice for some other great ideas... frogs, toads, newts, etc... I have other ideas too but I'm sure the first thought would be "ewwww..."

 

[shawmutt]

lol...from the topic title I thought this was going to a thread about fish you can raise to eat!

A 30 long is the perfect size for any number of biotope setups...I would do a school of tetras, with a school of cories on the bottom, and a school of hatchets on the top, about six each. This makes for a colorful and busy tank, with small sets of schools occupying different levels of the tank. Add a few live plants, and you're good to go.

HTH!

 

[MrsPeel]

Millipede may be on to something...hrmm time to go over to reptileadvice....

 

[deli_conker]

I am in the process of setting up a 30 gal in my dining room right now. I just started the fishless cycle last Saturday.

I'm going to be running cardinal tetras, red phantom tetras, corys (not sure of type yet) and some gourami (not sure of type yet).

I would like to do frogs/newts at some point, but I plan ondoing that in a tall tank so I can have a water fall against the back with a swimming area up front.

 

[BrianNY]

You could do a low light planted tank. Lots of Java fern and driftood would make a soothing addition to a dining room. A school of cardinals and 2 adult discus would be awesome.

 

[MrsPeel]

Unfortunately I don't think my water is suitable for discus.

 

[bunebop]

YOu could try some gouramis and cory cats as well as a few danios. THey're all pretty and active fish

 

[smallfry]

Maybe it's just me...but if I was in your dining room enjoying a wonderful meal and had to look at a toad, newt, or other reptile...I may lose my lunch! 8O

My suggestion would be stay away from semi-aggressives...you want PEACEFUL, right?

If it was me...I would do a school of Tetras and a school of rainbowfish. (that's probably all your tank would handle) OR...a school of tetras, and a combo of bottom feeders/algea eaters....OR if you want some excitment, try a couple of Platys. They are colorful and mine are QUITE active! Just a warning on livebearers...buy less then you eventually want in your tank...ratio of 1 male: 2 females...in a short amount of time you will have a tank full of livebearers even without special effort to "save" fry.

 

[smallfry]

I just thought of another idea...how about a beautiful "show" betta (male)...and some bottom dwellers and a small family of live bearers? THAT would be a pretty tank...and very peaceful....the betta will provide hours of viewing pleasure..and both betta/livebearers are extremely colorful and they get along very well together. (as long as the livebearers don't have extremely flowy tails/fins)

 

[Menagerie]

Rams and Apistos are peaceful (unless their fry need protecting). Kribs and brichardi are peaceful, except when mating and protecting young! There's a theme here

 

[smallfry]

one more suggestion: I would advice against snails...they may "turn off" your dinner guests as well...
* ok I'll shut up now

 

[BrianNY]

Everyones water is suited for discus

 

[smilla4]

I'm inclined to agree with smallfry on the reptiles and amphibians. It would be difficult to eat knowing it was there.

On the other hand, I like Shamutts idea. Imagine, you could let your guests pick out the fish / crustacean of their choice and fry it up for them. Welcome to Chez Peel, where the food is fresh! The Discus come highly recommended.

Seriously though. When I look at tanks, I tend to find the planted tanks with larger, slower fish more peaceful. I don't know what would work for a 30 gallon. You probably would want more midwater fish so people could see them from the table?

 

[bunebop]

I second the male betta! I love mine

 

[smallfry]

A male betta would be good too because they are excellent at showing off! They "parade" themselves along the front of the tank...especially when they know people are around.

 

[smallfry]

Oh I just got a GREAT idea!!!! You could make it a live lobster tank!!! Your guests could choose their own meal....