37 gallon build

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youngster

Aquarium Advice Regular
Joined
Jun 14, 2012
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63
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georgia
I am setting up a 37 gal freshwater tank in about a week. I was hoping to get some tropical semi-aggressive fish but I don't know what to get.
Some fish I like:
-Bala Sharks
-Silver Tipped Sharks
-Pleco
-Clown Loaches
-Tinfoil Barbs
-Gouramis

Can I put any of these fish in my tank?
 
I'd say almost everything you have listed there will outgrow your tanks, minus the gourami and you could do a BN pleco, I think almost all other kinds will get way to big for your tank.

How to you feel about tiger barbs or green tiger barbs?? They would fit as semi aggressive and are pretty neat.
 
At my pet store, the tiger barbs are super small. Will they get bigger? They sell a small and a large. I don't understand that at all. Will the small ones just get bigger, or are they bred as smaller? Also at my store the only have common plecos, but they have a "small" version. Would it just get bigger? I was thinking of just doing a community tank, but I have a 20 gallon community right now, and I don't want to have all of the same fish.
I'm thinking I should just switch to community. How does this sound:

-Emerald Green corydoras
-Dwarf Gouramis
-Cherry Barbs
-Some schools of tetras

I am looking to get some bigger fish, though. Are there any fish that can go in my aquarium?
 
youngster said:
At my pet store, the tiger barbs are super small. Will they get bigger? They sell a small and a large. I don't understand that at all. Will the small ones just get bigger, or are they bred as smaller? Also at my store the only have common plecos, but they have a "small" version. Would it just get bigger? I was thinking of just doing a community tank, but I have a 20 gallon community right now, and I don't want to have all of the same fish.
I'm thinking I should just switch to community. How does this sound:

-Emerald Green corydoras
-Dwarf Gouramis
-Cherry Barbs
-Some schools of tetras

I am looking to get some bigger fish, though. Are there any fish that can go in my aquarium?

You could do 6 cories, 1 DG, 6 cherry barbs, 1 bristlenose pleco, 6 neon tetras or zebra danios or harlequin rasboras
Yes the small versions will get bigger
For a bigger fish a pair of Honduran Red Point Cichlids would look good but no other fish
You could also do a pair of convicts but not with the red points
 
i could do convicts? really? because I like black convict cichlids.
The only thing I'm confused about is that the small versions are cheaper, and so would I be getting the same fish as the larger versions for a cheaper price?
 
youngster said:
i could do convicts? really? because I like black convict cichlids.
The only thing I'm confused about is that the small versions are cheaper, and so would I be getting the same fish as the larger versions for a cheaper price?

Yes because the larger versions take more food, energy, and money to produce
BTW Convicts are very very aggressive
 
Yes all fish labeled as small, medium or large(big) will get bigger. You are basically buying younger ones/"babies" that haven't grown yet.

As emerald has said the bigger ones have been alive longer, eaten more food, more resources, ect.. So they have in total had high care costs.

Those tiny little common plecos will grow to be a foot long which is where a lot of people can be tripped up.

You should look into Bleeding heart tetras, they get about 2 inches and have a nice bigger shaped body, not as slender as most other kinds.

You could look into Badis as well. These may not all be compatible fish, just something to look into and see what interests you most and then you can go from there, not to mention see what options you carry at the pet store. I live in a fairly small city, only 1 store and options are limited. I know how much of a pain it is
 
I am considering a planted tank with small schooling species, but I've never had live plants before. Do you have any advice?

Can these fish live in a planted tank?
-scissortail rasbora
-rasbora heteromorpha danio
-zebra danio
-giant danio
-white cloud (wcmm)
-corydoras
-dwarf gourami
-otocinclus
-silver or black molly
-red wag platy
-velvet wag swordtail
-bloodfin tetra
-glowlight tetra
-buenos aires tetra

not all of them at once, of course. just wondering what my options were.

as for plants:
-amazon swords
-hornwort
-corkscrew valisnera
-moneywort
-anubuis plants
-peacock ferns? (i've heard they're not actually aquatic..)

any feedback would be appreciated.
:thanks:
 
If you really like the look of cichlids but want to keep your options open for other types of fish you could look into the Ram. There are some really nice kinds and they are a member of the chichlid family but a peaceful one that would do well with some schoolers, gouramis, etc.
 
I've never done planted tanks so I'm not much help.. I think I've heard that glo lights may nibble plants and there are some bottom dwellers that may uproot plants.. I think you are safe with corys and ottos though. I would def suggest that you do some research some varieties.
 
Yes all fish labeled as small, medium or large(big) will get bigger. You are basically buying younger ones/"babies" that haven't grown yet.

As emerald has said the bigger ones have been alive longer, eaten more food, more resources, ect.. So they have in total had high care costs.

Those tiny little common plecos will grow to be a foot long which is where a lot of people can be tripped up.

You should look into Bleeding heart tetras, they get about 2 inches and have a nice bigger shaped body, not as slender as most other kinds.

You could look into Badis as well. These may not all be compatible fish, just something to look into and see what interests you most and then you can go from there, not to mention see what options you carry at the pet store. I live in a fairly small city, only 1 store and options are limited. I know how much of a pain it is
Yes it is very annoying, I shop at petsmart and they have good pricing but poor selection. their biggest tank is 90 gal. i used to live near a small specialized fish store. it was nice. it was a normal pet store, except they had mainly fish. and huge selection.
As for the heart tetras, I am about to add a school of those to my 20 gal, and I wouldn't want to have them in both.

I'm leaning towards the planted community tank.
~~~~~
my 20 gal has:
1 neon dwarf gourami
5 serpae tetras (i have 2, 3 are coming soon)
5 bleeding heart tetras (coming soon)
2 cardinal tetras
3 black neon tetras
-i know the neon and cardinal tetras need schools but they school together and i haven't seen any problems. the gourami protects my cardinal tetras and one of my black neons (it is about the same size as the cardinals) like a dad or something.
:thanks:for helping me!
 
I actually just noticed yesterday that it looks like there is a new pet store.. Pet Valu opening up here, next plaza up from the current Pets Unlimited, I'm pretty excited. I'm hoping I have more luck with them as customer service and general care is pretty poor at the current one.
 
your so lucky! I'm moving soon so maybe they'll be another store with better stock. or at least a different petsmart. it's so confusing. their online catalog says some fish and then they have different ones in store.
 
youngster said:
i'm thinking of getting a 29 instead of a 37. what are the effects?

You'll have to remove a school of fish from the tank or two schools depending on what you want
 
Ok. That's not really a big deal since I haven't decided what fish I want yet. My pet store just raised their prices, so now the 29 gal cost $5 than the 37 used to cost. :eek:

anyway...
how does this sound:

29 gallon tank
30 lbs sand
some driftwood

corkscrew val and moneywort along the back with heavier concentration in the corners, a bit of plants along the sides then some sort of rock structure or driftwood in the middle

:fish2:
3 rasbora heteromorpha danios
5 glowlight tetras
5 cardinal tetras
5 bloodfin tetras
 
Good but you need to up the number of harlequin rasboras to six
 
emerald76 said:
Good but you need to up the number of harlequin rasboras to six

They'll be ok just like that. I've had 3 in one of my tanks for years.
 
TrollI said:
They'll be ok just like that. I've had 3 in one of my tanks for years.

It's better for them to be in a group of six and six will not be pushing the stock limit
Stock properly or not at all
 
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