Can you think of a fish that would appreciate these?

[Electrobes]

Hey all, as the day comes closer where I will have my canopy and stand complete, I want to be more sure of the fish I will get... so here we go to specs, and you tell me your Opinions on what you think would best suit the situation

Specs:
- 45G tall
- Filtration: XP3 (mostly ceramics and filter foam and floss) and a tetra tec pf150 (filled with two bags, one of ceramics and the other zeolite). This creates a pretty decent current on the surface (by the Tetra tec) but I have the spray bar of the XP3 pointing straight down, so as not to interfere or more on the point blow away the fish
- Substrate: Aquarium sand (have up to 50 pounds but will see how much to put in soon)
- Lighting: 65 watt mogul based compact Flo's by LoA (pretty bright, not as hot as you think either) with a cooling fan on top (which also has a circular blue cc tube for moonlight lighting) 8O
- Environment: Two pieces of driftwood decently large (good caves) with Java fern attached to them. The water can be brackish if needed be, or just plain freshwater. I can have pvc piping siliconed with sand to make hiding places if needed, but depends on whats best for the fish.
- I would perfer a solitary fish (or maybe two), thats aggressive enough not to hide everytime someone passes by. If the fish is solitary.. wouldn't mind it being able to grow about 6 inches or so, but if two then best to keep it about 4-5 inches each.

Thanks everyone for reading!

 

[Capt.Gorilla]

If your thinking of a solitary agressive fish you should look for an oscar, possibly the most personalbe fish out there.
They get pretty large but a single one in a 45 gallon would probably do fine.

Ofcourse you should research them further b4 buying

 

[Electrobes]

eh my problem is that a 45 seems a little tight for one, I used to have an oscar in there, also I don't know if they deal well with sand, thus far I have heard that they don't...

 

[madasafish]

Yep. Too tight is right.

Electrobes, congrats on doing your homework! That tank set up is quite enviable. I'm sure your fish will have a nice life!

Are you looking for a one-species tank, or are you hoping to add complementary fish to the aquarium after you've added this main species? E.G. would you consider adding plecs or loaches?

Answer that, and I'll think about species to keep...

Also, how comfortable do you feel with your fish keeping? How long have you been keeping fish? Do you classify yourself as a beginner, an intermediate keeper or a pro?

Think about investigating the SA Cichlid species. AlliV just got some Blue (Microgeophagus ramirezi) and Bolivian Rams (Microgeophagus altispinosa). Those would be fun (but not 4-6 inches). Also, Sati just got a Keyhole Cichlid (Cleithracara maronii) which grow to 4 inches. They are less colorful cichlids, but interesting, and I think quite attractive. Also, don't forget Kribensis (Pelvicachromis pulcher). They also grow to 4 inches. They're African cichlids, of course.

I have plenty of other ideas...

 

[Tigerlily]

Hey Electrobes - did you decide against the GSP? (I know you were thinking about loaches for a while) What about a couple of figure 8's since you are willing to go brackish...?

 

[Electrobes]

Hey tiger, I am still considering but my prob would be this.. I want whatever fish I ever have to have the best conditons possible, no questions asked. If I were to ahve the GSP, the people that have them currently, flourishing and bright and all seem to have them at full marine. I am willing to go brackish but to go to full marine I don't want to do. I have a 65 watt bulb which would be useless... it would be good for the Java ferns and the other possible low light plants, but the minute I go full marine those plants will be D-E-D, dead. I am starting to find others who keep them in full brackish conditions, so I may still go for the GSP... but thats why I am doing this opinion search now... just to make sure. I am definately wanting to keep the GSP, sounds like my kinda fish

Hey madasafish, I am basically an intermediate/pro in fish handling (for freshwater only though, have only some exp in saltwater). I want the tank for a single or dual fish only (species tank). I don't plan to add fish as a compliment.

 

[Electrobes]

About the Rams, how many could/should be put into a tank like mine, plus would it be okay to place them in a tank with sand substrate? thanks

 

[madasafish]

Rams--you would have room for plenty in a 45--at least 8 or 10. They probably will not use the entire depth of the tank (almost always a bit of a problem with tall tanks).

The env. you're setting up sounds like a good one for them. As Alli mentioned somewhere in her (presently) 74-post thread (!!!! how awesome is that AA enthusiasm?) they do enjoy fine substrates. Alli has them in with black (Tahitian Moon?) sand, and they are really enjoying it.

If you can sex them at the store (if you get them) it would be good to get an equal ratio of males and females, as all ram species like to pair up. Perhaps Alli can step in here if she wants to add anything.

* Bows out and leaves Alli and any others to fill in the blanks *

Oh, P.S.... Tankgirl and Alli mentioned this site in recent posts, so I'll link it here also. Good site about Blue Rams: http://hjem.get2net.dk/Best_of_the_Web/blue rams.html

 

[Electrobes]

man I hear its impossible to sex these guys, plus do you really think I can get that many!? I mean the base dimensions of my tank is 36 inches in length and 12 inches deep, while standing at 22-23 inches tall 8O - The reason i got this tank though, as unusual as it is, was because neighbors of my friend decided they no longer cared for it and just wanted it gone, alone with everything else with it, like a 20 long, a monster dempsey (poor guy), another dempsey, a balas shark, fully furnished tank with environement, lots of healthy swords (I don't know how it was possible considering they had a 20 watt flo on it), heaters, monster bubblers, a ghetto stand (but still a stand that held both tanks), lots of food I still have today, etc... all for 50 bucks!!!!! 8O I could not just let it go... so i got it Because all the fish were going to be wayyy big, or already were I sold them, and gave away a 20 long and its set up to a friend. After a few months I have the tank as it will be after thanksgiving (there will be a lot of pics after this) and after many moons a/some fish! I guess my prob isn't mts but being overly crazed about a perfect tank, and the perfectness of the things inside of it. Like when someone mentioned moonlights I thought it semi cool by the looks of it, but the second someone mentioned it helped the fish out a lot by giving it a "nightlight" at night to semi-see (if the wanted to by leaving their cave or dark region) they could see where they were going or if something was appraoching them... I went crazed and ordered my idea ( a fan with a blue cc tube in it).

 

[madasafish]

Hehe. I think the moonlight idea is very cool, though I'm a little skeptical about it, as the cost is quite high. Seems like a bit of a gimmick, and something that could just as easily be approximated with a small incandescent (blue) bulb above the tank. But, as I said, it's a darn cool idea, and yet another way to make fish that little bit happier. I'm betting they'll come out with a readily-available dimmer switch you can put on a timer sometime soon! Then again, you can't *dim* halogen lights, I don't think.

I think that's enough room for a few pairs of rams, as long as you provide each pair with adequate shelter--cave etc.

 

[Electrobes]

actually you'd be surprised by this answer... First off the fan/cc tube I got for two bucks on ebay. I would never ever ever ever think of buying a commercial moonlight in my life.. I mean seriously 50 ucks one one stupid LED thats encased.. thats ridiculous! Both LED and CC tubes are VERY cheap to make via DIY, and it is VERY easy, coming from a guy who knows VERY little about electricity

I never liked incandecent of anything, too easily broken, limited life, they heat up water, and use more power than the LEDs or the cc tubes. Also LEDs and/or cc tubes are not halogens at all. oddly enough I am not sure if you can "dim" per se, but if you change the voltage you can change the light intensity, the only difference between the LEDs and the cc tube is that with the cc tube if it goes below a certain voltage... the cc tube will not light, but mind you it can go pretty low.

 

[madasafish]

Hm. Didn't realize it was LED. Neat. Don't like incandescents at all, of course. I think most ppl feel the same way!

Good on ya for getting a good deal on the Moonlight! No playing into the marketer's scams, and you stole (borrowed) their good idea for almost free!!

Oh, right. I remember now. I've seen both LED and halogen Moonlights. Aren't the LED ones ball-shaped?

 

[Electrobes]

doh!... I don't have LED.. I have CC tubes (Cold cathodes), not haologens - The LEDS... umm there are many ways to build them. But once I set up my moonlights (via the cc tube in fan) I'll show you what I was talking about, for now to see both cc tubes and LEDs go to JustDIY's webpages of aquaria.. and under diy projects -> towards moonlight. Not everyone uses what he did, some poeple just use the LEDs as they are... without using pen caps. There is also two pics of the cc tubes, though they are not installed, but its really easy to install them.

 

[Electrobes]

So rams is the only suggestion??

 

[madasafish]

Well, as I said, Kribs are a good idea, too. I don't know what everyone has against them... they're so pretty!

Also, glass catfish (Cryptopterus bicirrhus) (4 inches) are awesome, and would be a neat show fish (would be good in a species-only).

And check out Killifish species. They're beautiful, but costly.

And check out the awesome Asian Leaffish (Monocirrhus polyacanthus) (4 inches, also). These really do need a species-only tank, as they need live food (a brine shrimp hatchery would be perfect attached to the tank).

With any of these three species you'd have a science-project of a tank. All are great conversation starters, and the leaf fish is a blast to watch, as it will stay incredibly still and then lunge for prey or and engulf it with its enormous mouth (mouth is like a grouper's mouth--very cool). I think this species is the best bet, actually!