New aquarium! Would like your expertise/advice!

[den]

And thanks David! I agree!

 

[-cAtFiSh-]

get cories! lots of cories! and maybe some harlequins

 

[Buglet]

Hi everyone! I'm thrilled to see so many replies!

Just to clear up any misunderstandings, I wanted to be clear that we did not intend to mix together cichlids and goldfish, nor tropicals and goldfish, nor any other inappropriate combinations! Just trying to decide cichlid OR tropical OR goldfish.

Anyway, thanks especially to den for the input on goldfish. We have one comet goldfish right now and enjoy him immensely! That is why we were considering fancies so strongly. They are beautiful to watch, have a great personality, and seem to be more forgiving of first-time-newbie mistakes. The drawbacks, as we see them, are the inability to add other types of fish (at a later date) if we so desired, and the potential for them to live as long as decades. We want to be totally sure before making that commitment.

As for the question of clown loaches and overstocking; overstocking is one of the things I am very concerned about. I have no desire to see how many fish I can fit in there, or try to keep adding fish even at the expense of water quality. I want this to be the best possible environment for the fish (also it makes our job easier). I would like to hear any other comments about the approriateness of clowns for this tank, assuming that this will be their permanent home.

Looking so forward to any other input you may have!!

Thanks, everyone!

 

[Buglet]

Oh...! I apologize, I neglected in my post above to give a congratualtions to David on his new bowfront! I'm looking forward to reading about your progress!

 

[Leslie]

With the money you saved on the tank you could go buy a second tank and have both Coldwater and Tropical.

 

[FishDan]

I like the above suggestions, with possible exception of the clown loaches. These can grow up to 14" and I don't think a 46 gallon tank will be large enough. Unless you plan on upgrading down the road (how soon depends on how quickly your particular loaches grow) then I'd avoid them. They are wonderful looking fish, and I'd love some. However as my tanks are both far too small, I am waiting on my future 120 gallon tank before I get some of these guys.

\Dan

I respectfully disagree. A clown loach reaches a maximum size of up to 12" in the wild, not 14. And in captivity, this total is usually much less. In fact, the biggest clown loach I've ever seen in aquarium surroundings was about 6-7 inches, and that was an 120 gallon tank. Besides they grow awfully slowly, giving you tons of time to consider their future.

I respectfully disagree with your disagreement...

I have seen clown loaches at about 13". There is a single, simple reason clown loaches do not usually reach their proper mature sizes: People put them in aquariums not suited to them or do not properly care for them. Most often they die before reaching their maximum size. Just because you have only seen a clown loach get to X number of inches, does not mean that is as big as they get. A properly cared for clown loach can raeach up to 14" in length. Furthermore, for the purposes of our discussion, even if they reached only 12" that is still a large fish for such a relatively small tank. Those two fewer inches don't make it okay.

Also, I did mention that depending on how fast your particular loaches grow will determine how soon (and by implication, how long) it will be before you need to move them. Some people are not sure they are willing to rehouse a large fish "when it needs tobe moved".

I think they are great fish, I wish there were more that reached their full size potential.

\Dan

 

[Paul_MTS]

I think you shuld do a Community aswell.

Goldfish have there moments but accorind to the 20g for the fish fish then 10g for each extra you can only have 3 goldfish. We have a pond with 30 odd goldfish then my other pond with koi in has comets which i think are much more exciting than your average goldfish.

In most books and references they say clown loach will reach 12" in the wild and 10" in captivity. Also known is that a clown loach may grow rapidly up to 5/6" then slow down dramatically.

 

[Wyld-Fyre]

Can't wait to see your new tank, Buglet. Post pictures soon.

 

[Buglet]

Hi paul v biker...thanks for responding to my thread!

I was under the impression that the 20g/fish + 10 per additional was for comets, commons, and other goldfish which grow to 12+ inches. In reading other message boards (coldwater/goldfish specific ones) it seems that for fancies (which may reach 6-7" maximum) people stick closer to the 1" per gallon rule. I was hoping to have five 6-7" fancies in the 46 gallon. If this information is wrong...please let me know. The last thing I want to do is overstock the tank! (And I'd really rather not have a tank with just 3 fish )

Hmm.....jury still seems to be out on the clown loaches

Hi kribsinvcrib! Right now the tank is just sitting empty, but I will try and take some pics at each step along the way!!

 

[FishDan]

Hmm.....jury still seems to be out on the clown loaches

The jury doesn't have to be out. My posts were not an effort to necessarily disuade you. Mostly to inform you that these will be big fish. If you do wnat a few, go ahead and get them. Just remember you will either have to get a bigger tank for them eventually or else find someone who can house them properly. Either a friend with a large tank, or a LFS. I have found that young clowns grow fairly rapidly to about 5-6" then slow down. This all depends on tank size, tank mates, what you feed them and the fish themselves. You could probably have them in your tank for a while before needing to rehouse them. They are wonderful and fun fish, so if you will be able to care for them in the future with a bigger tank, or know you can rehouse them elsewhere, by all means get a few. You won't regret it!

\Dan

 

[David]

David...your cycling with clown loaches

Nope. the tank was already 3/4 cycled when I added the clowns. I also had my platies and betta in there.

 

[David]

I like the above suggestions, with possible exception of the clown loaches. These can grow up to 14" and I don't think a 46 gallon tank will be large enough. Unless you plan on upgrading down the road (how soon depends on how quickly your particular loaches grow) then I'd avoid them. They are wonderful looking fish, and I'd love some. However as my tanks are both far too small, I am waiting on my future 120 gallon tank before I get some of these guys.

\Dan

I respectfully disagree. A clown loach reaches a maximum size of up to 12" in the wild, not 14. And in captivity, this total is usually much less. In fact, the biggest clown loach I've ever seen in aquarium surroundings was about 6-7 inches, and that was an 120 gallon tank. Besides they grow awfully slowly, giving you tons of time to consider their future.

I respectfully disagree with your disagreement...

I have seen clown loaches at about 13". There is a single, simple reason clown loaches do not usually reach their proper mature sizes: People put them in aquariums not suited to them or do not properly care for them. Most often they die before reaching their maximum size. Just because you have only seen a clown loach get to X number of inches, does not mean that is as big as they get. A properly cared for clown loach can raeach up to 14" in length. Furthermore, for the purposes of our discussion, even if they reached only 12" that is still a large fish for such a relatively small tank. Those two fewer inches don't make it okay.

Also, I did mention that depending on how fast your particular loaches grow will determine how soon (and by implication, how long) it will be before you need to move them. Some people are not sure they are willing to rehouse a large fish "when it needs tobe moved".

I think they are great fish, I wish there were more that reached their full size potential.

\Dan

FishDan... Of course I am not planning to keep my clowns in there forever. As soon as I see that they are getting a bit too big for their environment, they are going back to the LFS. I would never buy a fish knowing full well it's size potential without considering first the implications that go along with that particular purchase, and the consequences that would arise from it.

 

[FishDan]

FishDan... Of course I am not planning to keep my clowns in there forever. As soon as I see that they are getting a bit too big for their environment, they are going back to the LFS. I would never buy a fish knowing full well it's size potential without considering first the implications that go along with that particular purchase, and the consequences that would arise from it.

I never meant to imply you weren't going to properly care for your fish. My posts were designed to be informative, especially to the original poster, and not to be any kind of judgement against anyone.

\Dan

 

[David]

Of course you didn't. And I, in turn, was not implying that you were implying that. I was simply making sure there were no discrepancies as to whether I am a competent fishkeeper/aquarist or not. I do have a reputation to uphold, you know.

 

[cation]

I would like to recommend that you start out with sand substrate. You may end up wanting it later on, and it's a pain to switch out at that point!