2 Tanks Need Stocking Ideas :)

[MojoDex]

ok i have 2 tanks that i want to get up and running in the next month or 2 i havnt got anything for them yet so im completley open to suggestions and ideas

thing is i have no idea what so ever what i want to put in them you can see in my signature roughly what i have obviously i dont want to be repeating myself with what ive already got.

the 2 tanks are both irronically 89 litres each(according to pfk's volume calculator) probly slightly less when full with sand/gravel and fish. one is 30x12x15 and the other is 24x15x15 i dont even mind 1 fish to a tank if it is something fantastic and great, so im open to anything and everything

quick edit there both going to have overtank luminaires on them so preferably no jumping fish sorry forgot to include that at first

 

[MojoDex]

anyone

 

[cane76]

dwarf snakehead?
whats in your big oddball tank btw?

 

[Miss Wiggle]

why not go for a couple of contrasting biotopes

 

[MojoDex]

what dwarf snakehead do u recommend cane76 so i can do research?

in my oddball tank there is senegalese and ornate bichirs, reedfish, preacock eel and a black ghost knife well there the oddballs anyway the other few fish r pretty standard but i call it my oddball tank

what biotopes did u have in ind miss wiggle?

 

[Miss Wiggle]

i'm not right sure, i'm rubbish at knowing where fish come from

i was just thinking about a public aquarium near mine where they have all these different biotopes and it goes right from a little stream through loads of different set ups down to they're huge 'deep sea' tank with sharks and stuff in. was just thinking if you've two tanks the same size to go together it'd make a really nice contrast and progression to show different areas of the world with the right plants, fish etc etc

 

[CFC]

All snakeheads will jump out of the tank at any opertunity so are definatley not recomended for open tanks.


Open tanks are dangerous for aquarium fish, the main line of defence used by bait fish (which is what most aquarium fish are because of their size) is to leap out of the water away from the predator which is usually a larger fish atacking from below, this means that if at any point the fish are startled or spooked there is a good chance one will end up drying out on the carpet. Look for slow moving sedate fish and prefferably ones which do not include terrestial insects as a large part of their diet, examples would be things like angel fish and discus but because of the relatively small size of the tanks these are not really options.

One suggestion i would make is South American leaf fish but they are dificult to feed and will require soft acidic water to thrive.

A tank i have always wanted to do but never got around to it is to have an Amazonian biotope using just fish that disguise themselves as part of the decore, leaf fish, twig catfish prehistoric monster fish and banjo catfish are the main 4 that i can think of though im sure with some research there are more. I would decorate the tank with tall pieces of wood and vines which come out of the waters surface and above the tank, lots of Riccia tied to the wood and vines just below the surface, a couple of Amazon sword plants planted in the substrate and dried oak leaves scattered over the substrate.

 

[MojoDex]

ill fit glass sliders to the tanks i feel that would open up alot more doors to me as cfc has rightly said alot of fish like to jump out!

im not right keen on fish that basically in my mind sit there and do nothing id like something quite active or if not active something that i could at least see without trying to hard sorry to be awkward

everytank i have is open top with a luminaire on it although only 3 lack glass sliders of some description!!

ok anyway so glass sliders will be added should open up alot more options to me