Species Tank Help Please

[jasonovich]

i have a 190l or 40g tank i was hoping to put 3 or 4 ghost knife fish in but after reading they grow upto 19" figured it was not the best idea. now im thinking tiger oscars, pirhana, discus or any others if anyone has any suggestions?

 

[blaha]

its still too small for any of those from what ive read. 1 ghostknife would work same with maybe one oscar but ud prolly have to eventually get a bigger tank if u even only had one of those fish

 

[jasonovich]

its still too small for any of those from what ive read. 1 ghostknife would work same with maybe one oscar but ud prolly have to eventually get a bigger tank if u even only had one of those fish

yeah thats what i thought, dont suppose you have any suggestions for a species that would look good in a tank?

 

[RadaR]

Hi,
40G isn't big enough for Oscars, Pirhanas or Knife. Generally if you can't house a fish when it's fully grown, don't get it at all. Discus could work, but they aren't for beginners because of the water quailty they demand and need.

 

[jasonovich]

Hi,
40G isn't big enough for Oscars, Pirhanas or Knife. Generally if you can't house a fish when it's fully grown, don't get it at all. Discus could work, but they aren't for beginners because of the water quailty they demand and need.

yeah i really like big discus. im not a beginner i have a 50g mixed tropical tank for a year or so now and a 35g for a blue lobster so how many discus would you recommend?

 

[blaha]

something else you could try is Bala Sharks, now most people say that 55 or 70 gallon is best for them but if you get them small they usually dont grow to be the full size that you see. But like I said 40 is still a little too small for them. 40 gallon is kinda hard to do a species tank because its kinda too big for people to want to fill with livebearers or tetras but then its too small for some of the bigger fish.

 

[RadaR]

Hi,
40G isn't big enough for Oscars, Pirhanas or Knife. Generally if you can't house a fish when it's fully grown, don't get it at all. Discus could work, but they aren't for beginners because of the water quailty they demand and need.

yeah i really like big discus. im not a beginner i have a 50g mixed tropical tank for a year or so now and a 35g for a blue lobster so how many discus would you recommend?

In a 40G I'd say 6 Discus. The tank would have to have very good filtration. A good sized Ehiem. This will keep control of the waste that the Discus create, you are going to need all the nitrifying bacteria you can get. It's best to use RO water for Discus and then add minerals back into it or add some tap water to it because RO water is to pure on it's own. The RO water will grant you the soft water Discus need. Discus need big water changes. 50% water changes every few days. A good pellet or flake should be used to feed them aswell as frozen foods like artemia, daphnia and bloodworm. Use wood and plants to make them feel safe.

 

[severum boy]

something else you could try is Bala Sharks, now most people say that 55 or 70 gallon is best for them but if you get them small they usually dont grow to be the full size that you see. But like I said 40 is still a little too small for them. 40 gallon is kinda hard to do a species tank because its kinda too big for people to want to fill with livebearers or tetras but then its too small for some of the bigger fish.

Not even a 70gal is ok for Balas, look far above 100 for a happier fish. Stunting a fish is unacceptable and should not be done. As Fred says, if you cannot cater for an active fish that SHOULD get to over 30cm in a 5x2x2 foot tank, then dont do it.
A sp. tank for Elephant noses will work well, but on the whole there are few fish for your size tank that are fun enough to warrent a sp. tank for them. Elephant noses with Congo tetras is a popular combanation.

 

[rabbut]

Hi,
40G isn't big enough for Oscars, Pirhanas or Knife. Generally if you can't house a fish when it's fully grown, don't get it at all. Discus could work, but they aren't for beginners because of the water quailty they demand and need.

yeah i really like big discus. im not a beginner i have a 50g mixed tropical tank for a year or so now and a 35g for a blue lobster so how many discus would you recommend?

Most lfs in my area recommend a minimum size tank of 4X2X2 foot for discus, which is 400l, or about 80gal? Mebe the 40gal is a bit on the small side, or mebe the lfs's are wrong again......... Ususaly one discus to every 5 gal is recomended as a maximum, so if the discus keepers on this forum think your tank is large enough, 8 would be a maximum I belive. No dobt a discus keeper will be along shortly though, to say for cirtain.........

 

[jasonovich]

thanks for all the advice. im thinking 4 or 5 discus now. the size of the tank is a bit small but unfortunatly i darent risk anymore weight in my bedroom.