Office Tank-suggestions Needed

[Willie5566]

I am considering getting anothter freshwater tank. I did one about 10 years ago and had some pirranas. I just left salt water fish after almost 3 years. I still love fish but I would like something that takes a lot less time. I also would like some fish for my office.

I am looking for some tank suggestions. I want something that looks really classy but it can not be very big (something 12-20 inches wide by 30 to 40 inches long. Height really does not matter).

I would also like some suggestions on fish tha I could keep in a tank that size. I will badly miss the color that I had with saltwater. I really would like my freshwater fish to be exotic, whether it is their beauty or even a fish that exhibits really unusual behavior.

I appreciate any help you all could give me. I am not completely sold on this yet. I just want to see if there is a viable option for me. If I can do something nice, then I will definitely do it.

 

[Ficious]

thats about 70 gallons...


if you want something exotic try an african tank...two green spotted puffers would grow up nicely (bout 5 or 6 inches) and make your tank look like its saltwater. you could add sand, and rugged reef-like rock to it. also crushed coral for substrate is good because puffers prefer a high ph

 

[jkrekord]

Small shoaling fisr, rams, and other stuff like that would be quite classy... Malawi Cichlids would be good too.

 

[Loony Fish]

if you are really experienced, try a blue ram.
if you are kind of experienced, try some dwarf puffers,if you are kind of new, some tetras

 

[Willie5566]

SOme great stuff so far. I looked up the green spotted puffer. It looks like when it becomes an adult it needs to be kept in saltwater. I am not sure if I am getting bad info or not but the site I was on looked legit. Are dwarf puffers saltwater as well?


Malawi Cichlids are my favorite so far. Are they hard to keep?

 

[Hawkins]

a popular office/desk choice is a Betta.. comes in MANY colours, and the males are spectacular.

 

[minxfishy]

Malawis really need a 4ft tank (so I was told when I wanted to set up a malawi tank in a 3ft).

Dwarf puffers are completely freshwater.

 

[jacko9901]

you could get some chocolate gouramis. rare and exotic fish.

or some killies or rainbowfish. nice and colourful.

 

[tyyrlym]

thats about 70 gallons...

You're over estimating that I think. That's something in the 30 to 50 gallon range.

Personally I love tetras. You can get a lot in a tank that sized and ones like neons, rummy-nosed, and serpaes are very colorful and lively. Gourami's come in quite a few beautiful colors but can be on the delicate side. Some of the dwarf cichlids like Rams and Cockatoos are very good looking but one or a mated pair is all you can put in a tank that sized.

Oh, one thing about the tank. Even a 20 gallon tank can weigh in at 200 lbs, so keep that in mind if you're going to put it on a desk or something. 10 pounds per gallon is a good rough estimate so be careful about how big a tank and where you put it.

 

[Miss Wiggle]

i would just go for a nice community tank as it's easy to keep but make very careful/clever fish choices so it's not run of the mill.

if you want classy looking then decor has to be natural all the way for me, live plants, natural wood etc. i'd go for a black sand substrate and a plain black background, then the colours of the plants and fish really pop out against the dark background.

google takashi amano for some inspiration looks wise!

then fish wise it's going to depend on the size of the tank, if height is no problem then i'd go for angelfish. tank must be 18" tall as a minimum though. just go for the natural colouring (silver with black bands), they're such peaceful majestic fish that the sight of them gliding through a beautifully planted tank can't help but look classy.

I'd then complement them with a shoal of a medium sized tetra/rasbora's..... if you've the room then I think Congo's are a stunning fish.

Also I'd think about a shoal of cories or a big group of ottos and a load of amano shrimp who will help to keep the tank clean and algae free.

the trick to classy looking community tanks often lies in shoal numbers, if you go for minimum shoal numbers so you can get more varieties in then tanks can end up looking a bit Noah's arkey! All a bit technicolour dreamcoat and gaudy!! If you just pick maybe 4 species and get the biggest groups of them that you can then the whole look is much more cohesive, calm and striking.