Fish For New Aquarium

[The Avenging Narwhal]

Hello again

Since I've gotten my hands on a 380 litre tank, I'm contemplating which fish to include in it. It's a dairylea-shaped tank and is about 55 inches long. What do you think of this lot of fish for it?

Rainbow Shark
4 Synodontis Upside-Down Catfish
Pleco
15 larger-sized Tetras (like Penguin Tetra size)
3 Dwarf Gouramis
3 Bala Sharks

 

[RustedKnight]

Surely those bala sharks would outgrow that tank??

*inexperienced*

 

[mattlee]

the bala sharks will be too much for that tank im affraid. as long as the pleco isnt a gibbi or common then it should be fine

 

[The Avenging Narwhal]

Even a 1-foot pleco is too large for the tank? I'm surprised by that, they don't even swim about that much.

 

[mattlee]

Even a 1-foot pleco is too large for the tank? I'm surprised by that, they don't even swim about that much.

commons and gibbis are one of the more active plecos and get much bigger than a foot.

 

[The Avenging Narwhal]

Ah, fair enough, I'll keep an eye out for a fancier, smaller pleco then. Probably much less effort in general. What do you think then of 3 more Dwarf Gouramis or something isntead of the Bala Sharks?

 

[mattlee]

Ah, fair enough, I'll keep an eye out for a fancier, smaller pleco then. Probably much less effort in general. What do you think then of 3 more Dwarf Gouramis or something isntead of the Bala Sharks?

if the tanks is tall enough how about a group of angel fish instead? there are quite a few decent angels about at the moment including the new blue colour form. very nice once mature
gouramis in my experience are trouble, ive not been able to keep a group without them fighting and getting stressed. i also had a pearl gourami that was constantly harrassing my bristlenose. no more gouramis for me from now on this however is just my experience with them im sure others have kept them without any trouble......
maybe a nice group of rainbow fish (boesemani are nice)
its a decent sized tank and there is a good selection of fish that can be put in but dont get carried away with big fish like bala sharks etc as they need 6 foot+ tanks. dont forget the small cute fish you buy from lfs will turn into bigger ugly fish in time and some turn into huge monsters so do plenty of research before buying your stocking for the tank.
i have a group of 7 denisoni barbs and they are amazing fish to watch and stick together like glue, they also look gorgeous

 

[moochy13]

endless plec options, depends on how deep your pockets are i guess. i recently got a rusty plec which is something a little bit different to the norm, but not wallet busting either. they do like plants though. how about some cory's on the bottom ? lots of great looking types to choose from. i like penguin tetras, in my experience they will stay close to the top of the tank, so i'd also be after something that would be more mid range. ive also got red eye tetra that look great, are nice and active, cheap and shoal together well mid tank. not sure how big they get though, mine are new.

 

[N0body Of The Goat]

How about an African theme 380l? Something like...

6 Upside Down Catfish (Synodontis nigriventris, who should be thought of as African Cory Catfish, very social and apparently rarely get any bigger than 6cm [not 10cm as often suggested]
1 Harlequin Shark (quite similar in personality to a RTBS, but much less common) [hmm, maybe not!]
3 Congo Bushfish (Microctenopoma congicum) or 1 Leopard Bushfish (Ctenopoma acutirostre)
10 Congo Tetras or 10 Yellowtail Congo Tetras
4 African Butterfly Fish
2 Kribs or 2 Thomasi Cichlids or 1 larger Synodontis catfish (not brichardi, who need good current)

 

[The Avenging Narwhal]

Thanks for all the feedback. Ideally I'd prefer to go for something you can get out of a local tropical fish shop, so nothing too exotic. I'll consider a few small angelfish instead of gouramis; I had a betta once and it was fairly aggressive towards my tetras at times and its tail constantly got nipped etc. I am tempted to stick with 4 upside down catfish and a small pleco as bottom-feeders since I don't feel that there are enough hiding places in my tank (Greek ruins theme) for another 4 corys or loaches as well, plus it means that there'll be more than enough food to go around.