A Good Species For A Single Fish Aquarium.

[justbinB]

Hello, I have, over the last several years, kept a couple of successful community tanks. I have now moved to college, bought a 30gallon tank, and I am looking to keep one larger fish (the closest thing to a "pet" I can get in an appartment).

I was looking at firemouth Cichlids, since they live a long time, don't get too big and do well in a variety of water qualities.

I am wondering if a singe firemouth would do well, or if they need to be paired off to be "happy" (a weird term to apply to a fish..)

Suggestions concerning other attractive species that live well alone (and don't need a bigger tank than I have) would be greatly appreciated.

Thank you!

Justin

 

[Corleone]

A firemouth could work - the tank's plenty big enough for one. A convict cichlid is another option - similar size, but more aggressive and IME very interactive. Your tank is plenty big enough for either, possibly for a pair, though with convicts, a pair will produce an immense amount of offspring. 30 gallons should be enough for some puffer species, I'd ask in the oddballs section for that - puffers are personable and intelligent fish, but also almost all require special care, and many commonly sold species will require brackish water.

 

[Lord Fishheart]

Hello, I have, over the last several years, kept a couple of successful community tanks. I have now moved to college, bought a 30gallon tank, and I am looking to keep one larger fish (the closest thing to a "pet" I can get in an appartment).

I was looking at firemouth Cichlids, since they live a long time, don't get too big and do well in a variety of water qualities.

I am wondering if a singe firemouth would do well, or if they need to be paired off to be "happy" (a weird term to apply to a fish..)

Suggestions concerning other attractive species that live well alone (and don't need a bigger tank than I have) would be greatly appreciated.

Thank you!

Justin

What about a Siamese Fighting Fish (male) beautiful fish

 

[three-fingers]

Siamese fighting fish are tiny! And not quite as interactive...

A convict would be great, but maybe not the best idea if you one day wanted to add other fish.

I like the firemouth idea, though the closely related Thorichthys ellioti (in my avatar) would also be good, and possibly an easier option if you wanted to add different fish later, as they appear to be generally much more peaceful.

Also a cool idea would be a wimple piranha, though they aren't quite as interactive as cichlids, it would be pretty interesting to keep.

 

[Jallen]

What are the tank dimensions?

 

[justbinB]

30widex12deepx18tall


the height is approximate

 

[Bert]

I love firemouths they are very nice fish. Also I have a blue acara which is a very nice fish. they get about 8 inches.

 

[justbinB]

I hate to contradict myself so soon, but I just remembered African butterfly fish, which I've always thought would be a cool novelty piece. Could a couple butterfly fish live with a Firemouth Cichlid if I used some floating plants, such as water lettuce, for cover so the cichlid wouldn't kill the plants by digging around? Thanks again