Clownfish?

[marcush24]

Hey there!

We have just bought and set up a 40 gallon tropical tank. We really wanted clownfish, but I'm told that they are only marine fish. Is there anyway of getting Clownfish to go in a tropical tank? Or is there anything similar?

Also... we want really bright and colourful fish such as Yellows, and Oranges, and bright Blues, Basically, unusual fish. What do you suggest? And where can we get these from?

Are small lobsters, or crabs safe to go in the tank with other fish?

Forgive me for all the questions... Im new to it all!

Thanks for any advice given!

 

[Angel98]

Neon Tetras are really colourful i have 9 in my tank and they all swim together and look beautiful with the light on. They are best kept in groups. Or you could have a tank of Chiclid's they come in nice colours but you can only have these in your tank as they are aggressive too other fish if not the same species

 

[dwarfgourami]

Clown fish are marine and will die in a freshwater tank, so they are not an option.

If you are looking for bright orange or red colours and friendly interacting fish, female platies is a good suggestion. Not unusual- but then it is maybe best to leave the unusual fish until you have a bit more experience.
Honey gouramis are also bright- just make sure you only get one male, as they are territorial.
Zebra danios are blue and gold striped and extremely active- need to be kept in a school of at least 6-8.
Dwarf neon rainbows are a slightly more unusual alternative, but very striking looking; again, they need to be kept in schools.

Better than lobster and crabs for a community tank are shrimps- amano shrimps are big enough not to get eaten and are highly entertaining little critters.

But first you need to know about how to get the tank ready for fish: check out the pinned topic for cycling a tank.

 

[marcush24]

Neon Tetras are really colourful i have 9 in my tank and they all swim together and look beautiful with the light on. They are best kept in groups. Or you could have a tank of Chiclid's they come in nice colours but you can only have these in your tank as they are aggressive too other fish if not the same species

Do you have a dwarf frog in your tank? Is that safe? We want something like that in our tank, what do you suggest? Can we have a small turtle in with it, along with other fish?

 

[dwarfgourami]

Do you have a dwarf frog in your tank? Is that safe? We want something like that in our tank, what do you suggest? Can we have a small turtle in with it, along with other fish?

Turtles eat fish, so they are not an option. As for frogs, African dwarf frogs are usually fine, you just have to make sure they are not outcompeted for food by the faster fish. There are occasional stories of people having had fish eaten by ADFs, but they are usually not very good at catching them. The African Clawed Frog, on the other hand, is an out and out predator (these are the albinos you see in the shop).

 

[marcush24]

we want something unique, and different... sorry for being picky, what do ya think?

 

[Angel98]

My ADF is fine in the tank and he is a funny little character, i love watching him! I might get 2 more so he has sum buddies to play with. I think ADF's are 2 small 2 even eat small fish like Neon's. My Neons are almost the same size

we want something unique, and different... sorry for being picky, what do ya think?

Look up Black Ghost knife fish, they are unusal i think, i bought one yesterday and also look up Glass Catfish, they are weird!

 

[marcush24]

Cool! Looks like we will be investing in a few ADF's then. The local pets at home sells them, along with some shrimp things lol I want a fish that is reasonable sized, and bright yellow.

Iv just looked at the Black Ghost knife fish, but they require a 50 gallon tank, or is tht nonsense? lol

 

[Angel98]

I wanted a fish that was bright yellow but i cant find any. The only bright yellow one ive seen are chiclids but they have 2 be kept with the same species because they are aggressive. I had a Gold Gourami and he was yellow but he was aggressive and i had to take him back to the shop so i dont recommend you get one of those either.
Yeah i got my ADF's from Pets at home, going to get some more tomorrow

 

[Angel98]

Cool! Looks like we will be investing in a few ADF's then. The local pets at home sells them, along with some shrimp things lol I want a fish that is reasonable sized, and bright yellow.

Iv just looked at the Black Ghost knife fish, but they require a 50 gallon tank, or is tht nonsense? lol

Yeah they grow up to 20 inches in captivity but mine is about 2 inches at the moment. He will need a bigger tank in the future. Its another thing you need too look up, is how big fish grow (which is what i didnt do at first)

 

[marcush24]

20 inch?! Thats big! lol We will just go down to pets at home next week and have a look around, theres also a Garden center nearby called Wards that sell all good lookin fish etc. Are corals just for Marine tanks? or safe for tropicals? Cos I want a marine look in the tank.

 

[dwarfgourami]

I would stay off the Black ghost knife, both because he is going to outgrow the tank and because he is likely to eat smaller fish when he grows.
As for glass catfish, these are schooling fish and can actually die from being kept on their own. Even if they survive, it is still cruel to keep a schooling fish in an unsuitable way.
Live corals can only live in saltwater. Dead corals- yes, you can have them, but they alter the water chemistry, which may not be good for your fish. You can always get plastic.

When you go round the shops, leave your money at home but take a notebook and note down the details of any fish you like the look of. Don't buy until you have researched a species thoroughly and made sure you can cater for its needs. Remember fish are as diverse as mammals- you wouldn't go out to buy a mammal without finding out first if it was going to grow into a hamster or an elephant. At the end of the day, it is not going to be so much about what looks unusual as what you can give a good home to.

There are some fish that you may well find attractive that I'm going to warn you off now (sorry to sound negative, but there is nothing more depressing than a tankful of dead fish):

elephantnose fish- look wonderful, but very hard to keep alive even for the pros

pangasius shark- grows far too large for your tank, more of a public aquarium fish, really

silver/bala shark- grows large and needs to be in a school

shark catfish- like the above, but also needs brackish water

puffer fish- lovely little critters but aggressive and need to be in a species tank with no other fish

piranhas (yes, lots of shops stock them)- need big tank, heavy filtration and no other fish

common or sailfin plecos- big and messy

ALso, you may like the look of the brightly coloured African cichlids- they are indeed both pretty and interesting, but they won't go with other fish, and even setting up a tank with these takes quite a bit of expertise and extra research.

But there are lots of other fish that will do fine in your tank. Just remember- research, research, research. Never impulse buy.

 

[dixaisy930]

Killifish might be a good option for you. Although, they might be difficult to find in a chain lfs. Most killifish have bright colors, and are peaceful for the most part. There are some that grow big enough to eat smaller fish.

 

[Angel98]

20 inch?! Thats big! lol We will just go down to pets at home next week and have a look around, theres also a Garden center nearby called Wards that sell all good lookin fish etc. Are corals just for Marine tanks? or safe for tropicals? Cos I want a marine look in the tank.

Why dont you just set up a marine tank? Might be a bit more expensive but at least you can have lots of coloured fish and the coral that you want?

 

[gs500graham]

If you want something bright yellow there is the labidochromis caeruleus but you would have to keep a species aquarium as these are african rift valley cichlids and can be verry aggresive ( i have ten along with many more different species )