little help please?

[CoreyB]

Ok, hears the story, Im currently deployed over seas, but my home station is Grand Forks ND, before I got deployed I had a 10g saltwater tank that I just loved. The only reason I went ahead and did a SW tank was because I thought Id be trapped in Grand Forks for a long time. But, I got orders to Kadena AB in Okinawa Japan, so Ill be going over there this summer.

So when I get over there, Im going to have a tank, but its going to be FW, cause its A: cheaper, B: easier to get rid of when I leave in 2 years, and C:allot less maint involved.

Ive had several FW tanks before and only 1 SW tank. But I loved the natural look my SW had, but I couldnt ever attain that look in my FW tanks.

Could you guys please post your pics of your tanks. (not attach, I cant view them if they are attatched) Im looking for tanks that look natural, and are not planted. I dont plan on adding any plants at all.

Also, what are some very pretty FW fish? I dont want guppys or mollies, or the standard goldfish. Ive had tetras, tiger barbs, green barbs, gouramis, and plecos. I want something new and different. Something that petco or petsmart, wouldnt normally have.

Id really appriciate it guys TIA

I forgot to mention that Ill be doing a 10-40 gal tank. so no oscars, chiclids or sharks.

 

[Billsgate]

Well, have a look at my gallery to see my 2 tanks, but they are both planted.
Why do you not want any plants? They are actually very healthy for your fish and help provide a good water quality. Plus I think they are a must for a natural aquarium. JMHO

If you rule out cichlids,mollies, tetras, guppies, barbs, gouramies, plecos.........you don't really have much of a choice left. Can you name any fish yourself that doesn't fit in some of those categories?

If I may, I would suggest a nice planted tank with a light load of fish. Get yourself some good lighting that will give you around 2 wpg and get some easy plants (hornwort, anubias, java moss, java fern, waterweed,....). Then I would suggest looking up a nice type of cichlid that will fit your tank size. If you want to have some diversity, you should stick to small types of cichlids, and keep some fw shrimp in your tank. They are fun to watch. And then a nice little school of tetras/danios/rasboras.....
This is IMHO the most natural you can get. If you disagree, please point out as to what you did have in mind? Because I can't think of anything else.

 

[gheitman]

Have you considered perhaps some rainbowfishes with some loaches thrown in? Rainbowfishes can be very striking and loaches are very active and fun to watch.

I also prefer real plants for a natural looking aquarium. They don't have to be high maintenance and they can provide some interesting views in their own right. All of my tanks, with the exception of my quarantine tank, have live plants in them.

 

[Menagerie]

If you want to go small--go with shell dwelling cichlids. Keep in mind that there are thousands of cichlids and you can find ones that work for you. In my gallery, I have pics of my multies and O golds. The multies stay small (1 1/2") and the O golds get to 2-3". They prefer a sand bottom and FW shells as homes. This is a unique set up, the fish have great behaviors and with proper research and planning, the fish will not be killing each other.

so no oscars, chiclids or sharks

Oscars are cichlids

 

[CoreyB]

Well, how much do plants cost? and do I have to add them to the tank before the fish or can I do it after the fish?

Ive never done live plants before.