Hoping To Have A Non-Betta Tank (Need Stocking Ideas)

[fishy friend2]

Oops, I forgot that a 40b is long,

[Philnominal]

Originally Posted by fishy friend2

Oops, I forgot that a 40b is long,

Its not that its long, it's just wide which tbh is good. Most fish dont need height. Angels just happen to be an exception. So a 40B fits a lot more fish then say a 38 long would.

[thekoimaiden]

Originally Posted by emeraldsky

-snip-
The gar they had at the petstore here said he would fit, though I cant remember which kind he was. The person who told me though is someone who knows what theyre talking about, Ive consulted them on many of my fish questions ^^

The splitfin is pretty, but I think I want to stay away from more livebearers. I have a guppy tank and thats just enough for me ^^ The cave tetras are actually sold at the petstore with the gar as well so Ive seen them before, theyre a bit too creepy for me :P

Axolotls are illegal in California, bane of my existence. Theyre my favorite animal EVER.

What kind of Puffers would be good? Dont i need snails for them to feed on? o3o
Ive always thought they were neat.


-snip-

Call me a cynic, but I don't always trust people who are trying to make a big sale. The smallest gar I was able to find grows to about 15 inches, the shortnose gar. The second smallest being the spotted gar at 20-30 inches. That still seems a bit big for a 40B. This and this have some husbandry info I found on gar from NANFA (North America Native Fishes Association). They really seem to suggest a larger tank for them.

I'm sorry about the axolotls. But you understand why California did that, right? There are other salamanders you could keep, tho. I also love salamanders and axolotls ^-^ and have done some research into keeping them.

Dwarf puffers were what I had in mind. I think you should be able to keep 4-5 in a 40B. I know they do need snails in their diets, but beyond that I don't know much. I just know they are something out of the ordinary. Here is one website completely devoted to them. And this is what the parent site of bettafish.com has to say about them. One thing I can say about them is how cute they are.

[Philnominal]

Originally Posted by thekoimaiden

.

Dwarf puffers were what I had in mind. I think you should be able to keep 4-5 in a 40B. I know they do need snails in their diets, but beyond that I don't know much. I just know they are something out of the ordinary. Here is one website completely devoted to them. And this is what the parent site of bettafish.com has to say about them. One thing I can say about them is how cute they are.

Try 8. then you could do a big group of ottos. maybe more considering the size of the tank but the rule of thumb is 1 per 5 gallons. Also a 1-2/1-3 M-F ratio is suggested. Also they typically dont do well with anything but ottos/maybe shrimp for tank mates.

[emeraldsky]

Originally Posted by Philnominal

i can't think of a single Gar species that would fit in a 40B.Maybe a BROWN Ghost knife could work in a tank that size. Then you could have tankmates with it. Red devil is another cichlid that would probably work in a 40B. You could also do a firemouth focused tank (they tend to be shy though). You Might be able to get away with SAP tank with a 40B (ask invertplanet i know nothing about puffers). Theres also African Leaf fish. It would get 6 inches so you could probably have tank mates (assuming they dont fit in its mouth). Green terror could also work. Theres a lot of options if you want to go with 6-8 inch fish. Just gotta hunt them down. (Any decent sized cichlid will need a lot of filtration and maintence needs to be regular to avoid problems) A breeding pair of jewel cichlids would be beautiful too, but they are down right mean so you couldn't keep anything else with them and they would need lots of hides to get away from each other.

Most of those Ive looked into have been rejected for a various reasons. Havent looked into brown knifes though, theyre pretty cool o.o My friend adores the black ones but those get way too big XD

Originally Posted by fishy friend2

What about some anglefish

My tank isnt deep enough, I have one in my other tank as well and he's just enough for me ^^

Originally Posted by thekoimaiden

Call me a cynic, but I don't always trust people who are trying to make a big sale. The smallest gar I was able to find grows to about 15 inches, the shortnose gar. The second smallest being the spotted gar at 20-30 inches. That still seems a bit big for a 40B. This and this have some husbandry info I found on gar from NANFA (North America Native Fishes Association). They really seem to suggest a larger tank for them.

I'm sorry about the axolotls. But you understand why California did that, right? There are other salamanders you could keep, tho. I also love salamanders and axolotls ^-^ and have done some research into keeping them.

Dwarf puffers were what I had in mind. I think you should be able to keep 4-5 in a 40B. I know they do need snails in their diets, but beyond that I don't know much. I just know they are something out of the ordinary. Here is one website completely devoted to them. And this is what the parent site of bettafish.com has to say about them. One thing I can say about them is how cute they are.

no worries, Im a total cynic too. I trust this guy though, his info has been sound and he's discouraged me from buying things as well.
Gars dont tend to move much, the just sit at the top of the tank so that probably why he said it was good. I dont plan on getting one now though since I want something more active for my tank regardless c:

I do know why, Ive dont crap tons of research on them. All salamanders are illegal in California though, at least to keep in captivity ;w;

Ill have to look at the sites ^^
Really the only place that sells them is walmart of all places and I frankly dont trust ANY living thing they sell.

Originally Posted by Philnominal

Try 8. then you could do a big group of ottos. maybe more considering the size of the tank but the rule of thumb is 1 per 5 gallons. Also a 1-2/1-3 M-F ratio is suggested. Also they typically dont do well with anything but ottos/maybe shrimp for tank mates.

Chances are Ill be doing a species tank so tank mates wouldnt be a worry. Except for the snails of course, if i do decide to go with the puffers ^^

[kfryman]

If you have any lakes near by you could catch a couple bluegills and put them in there. That is only if you fish.

[emeraldsky]

Originally Posted by kfryman

If you have any lakes near by you could catch a couple bluegills and put them in there. That is only if you fish.

Neat looking fish but I dont really fish ^^
I dont think I'd want something I caught anyways

[Philnominal]

should you go puffer ottos seem to be the widely accepted tank mate. great at cleanign algae, both need plants and they stay small enough to not get noticed by the dp

[Bombalurina]

I like Bosemani rainbows, stunning looking fish. I think a pair of rainbows and some Pakastani loaches would be great. Alternatively, if you don't mind going subtropical, doing a biotype of hillstream loaches would be pretty nifty.

Hatchetfish are a bit unusual, though not as big as you are looking for. Halfbeaks are cool. Alternatively, you could try your hand at killifish - there are hundreds of species and some of them are AMAZING to look at. :)

[emeraldsky]

All lovely suggestions, though I tend to see most of those a lot c:
Except for the puffers anyways X)


Right now I'm researching self cloning crayfish and some eels ^^