Help me decide...

[chrism]

here's a pic of my tank, 36 x 15 x 18" It's a slope front and the width at the top is 13" which makes it ~ 150l / 40 US Gallons...

1 x 12" common plec

And i can't decide what i should put in there, i like both idea's as much as each other!!

[Menagerie]

I am partial to small fish and I LOVE cories!

[talloulou]

I voted for b cause the tank will have more variety and I think in the end you will find that more entertaining. I love my tiger barbs though! I keep them in a school of 6 and have never had a problem with them nipping other fish. But I definitely wouldn't put them with angelfish. I also went with the angel fish choice because I think you will find they have more personality. My tiger barbs are fun to watch but they don't have as much "individual" personality as some of my other fish. They are more like one big spastic cluster. Also when I clean the tank the tiger barbs constantly attack my hand.....I guess they never heard the diddy about not biting the hand that feeds ya

[Jchillin]

I'm going with B as it contains a larger variety...less aggression and more activity. I agree with talloulou regarding the barbs...I tried them....once and it just didn't work out at all.

[chrism]

Right thats it then! Angels it is! Yes it would give more variety... and i think in the long run angels are probably more impressive fish

just one other thought, should i go with cories? or could you suggest a shoal of some kinda of loach?

[lmw80]

whichever you choose, a large shoal of cories is amazing to watch.

[talloulou]

The corys are great and you definitely won't be disappointed with them. I love kuhli loaches too! But they do hide most of the day and I only see them when they come out in a frenzy for feeding. The corys are very active and just about the cutest things! I have never had a tank that didn't have some corys.

[chrism]

large shoal of cories it is then ooooh i'm so excited!

you can still have a large shoal of cories with any of the fish you put.. I would just be really cautious with the tiger barbs... i didn't have the best of luck with them.. LOL.

[BrianNY]

That's a very impressive tank Chris. Did you build that canopy yourself? I think a pair of angels and any schooling tetras will look great. The sand substrate not only looks outstanding, but is ideal for cories.

Hope you don't mind some unsolicited comments/suggestions. I really like what you've done with the driftwood and java fern. If it were my tank I would do the following:

1. I can't tell what the potted plant is but I would remove the pot, cut away the matting and root it in the sand. This is better for the plant and will look more natural.

2. I would seperate the intake and outflow to opposite ends of the tank. This will improve the water movement lessening dead spots. I would also add a sponge prefilter to the intake. It will keep the cannister working at it's best by preventing large particles from clogging the hosing and impeller. It's also much easier to rinse off the sponge every couple of days than to keep openning that cannister.

3. I like that you have 2 heaters in the tank. For efficiency they should both be placed between midway and bottom on the tank. I would also place them both on the rear wall simply because I think it looks better. JMO.

HTH

[TomK2]

Chose B because that is what I would do/kinda did with my first tank. If I were setting up a second, Barbs would be really cool, they are very active and fun to watch. Had a Barb tank as a kid, I would like to have one again.

[chrism]

thanks BrianNY no, not at all, any comments are more than welcome nope it all came with the tank, it's a seabray. I have made my own in the past, but didnt come out anywhere as near as nice as that one!

1. the potted plant is a twisted val, i hadn't quite decided where to put it, which is why it's in the pot... infact still haven't decided so it's still in the pot! Any suggestions? Does it look ok where it is?

2. will do, will have to get some extra hosing, but that shouldnt be a problem. Should the intake be at the planted end or the other end do you think?

3. easily done, thanks for the tip

[chrism]

TomK2 - yes they are, which is what made it so hard to decide and they do/would look great in this tank which is why i found it so hard initially to decide... excellent, glad you can recommend it from personal experience, will be making that stop down the pet store this week end, will update everyone with pics of how it's all going

[BrianNY]

I would place the val in the rear of the tank as it makes a great background plant. It doesn't make any difference which end of the tank the intake is on. Just make sure your water flow is constant by keeping it as debris free as possible.