large fish for planted tank

[panboy]

i have a heavily planted tank, and i have all my fish that i want except 2 large fish.

i was originally going for discus, but then decided it was best not to as maintaining a tank full of plants plus discus would be very time consuming.

i dont want angels, but something around that size. any ideas? thanks

 

[Doggfather]

How big is the tank exactly? The size of the tank will obviously depend on the size of the fish you can get, also, a list of tank mates will be useful.

 

[panboy]

oops, oh yeah, its a 46g

 

[Cheese Specialist]

oops, oh yeah, its a 46g

...and the tankmates are?

 

[CFC]

Large fish and planted tanks dont really work well together, larger fish tend to uproot and damage plants just in their natural movements unless it is a very very large tank. You can use graceful fish like angels and discus in planted tanks but they will still need quite a large free area too.

 

[panboy]

oops, oh yeah, its a 46g

...and the tankmates are?

geez, im out of it today....

i have....

10 rummynose
8 cardinals
4 zebra loaches
1 bolivian ram
4 paradise fish
3 otos and 1 SAE

if i got large fish, i would get 2, and move all my paradise fish to another tank.


CFC, thats exactly what im looking for. angels would be perfect but im just looking for something a little different. and discus, well they are soo nice, its to hard to keep them, lol.
i believe i have plenty of swimming room for a couple of large fish, and i might even consider moving one of the schoals of tetras if its needed.
thanks

 

[clutterydrawer]

how large is large? pearl gouramis are nice and get to 5" which to me is large, but to a lot of peopel would be very small

 

[panboy]

yeah 5 inches in plenty for a 46g,

pearls are a good idea, anything else?

 

[Dwarfs]

Pearls look that big, they just have big fins (they're also wimps, mine is )

 

[guppymonkey]

Most large fish will tear up plants but some do so more then others. If you don't mind replanting every once in awhile some cichlids would probably go well with what you have. Not extremely large cichlids though because anything over a few inchs would probably have your other fish for lunch. If you wanted a kribensis though it would work very well. They don't tear up plants and do well in a community tank. Not to mention that they are usually quite pretty looking.

 

[Bangin]

You wanna see big fish in a planted tank? Take a look at these big boys. (Lots of great pics) http/www.arofanatics.com/members/michaelkoh/housevisits/

 

[panboy]

You wanna see big fish in a planted tank?    Take a look at these big boys.  (Lots of great pics)  http/www.arofanatics.com/members/michaelkoh/housevisits/

hmm maybe not that big, lol.


never heard of kribensis, any special requirements for these?


is it true gouramis have been breed in farms so much that it has affected the quality of the fish? like its health? i read that somewhere, but don't remember where.

I am liking the blue gouramis also. (edit: not anymore as i found out they can be a little to agressive)

is there any other ODD type of fish, something not so common. maybe a little more work to keep, but not as demanding as discus. im easily willing to spend the time for a couple of fish.

 

[Opcn]

If you want something out of the ordinary you could go with a Congo Spoted Puffer Tetrodon Schotedeni at 4" (doesnt see fish as food) but I can't think of any other suitable oddballs.

And Bangin thats an awesome tank. Cool link

 

[tear-scar]

If we say tetras, rasboras and barbs are all small fish than your options are:

Dwarf SA cichlids (appistogramma sp., rams) (hiding places reduce territory aggression)
Kribensis (I personally vote for SA cichlids over these guys though . . .)
Gouramis (large schools reduce territorial aggression)
Betta (1 male only, don't keep with gouramis)
Discus (you exed this)
Angels (you exed this)
Large Rainbowfish (these guys are pretty interesting . . .)

>Edit: Big fish, for the most part, are just clumsy oafs.