Suggestions For 4X2X2

[NickAu]

this would be an excellent setup for the beautiful Pearl Gourami, which is a largish fish but less inclined to nastiness than some similarly-sized gourami, and not often seen to the best advantage when relegated to a small tank.  A group would be stunning in a planted tank.

I so agree, A male and say 2 females, I have a male and a female in a 2 foot tank and watching them interact is quite fasanating. They seem to have settled in now and even touch my fingers with their feelers, I call it shaking hands, They both take food from my fingers.  Pearl Gouramis are beautiful peacefull fish, they can be a bit shy at first, and I know some will disagree with me on this but I think they should be kept in a species tank with maybe some mid tank dwellers like rasboras, and if you like bottom feeders.

 

[Gidge]

So what would people recommend housing with Angels then? Aside from larger dither fish.
 
Got a question about wood too! What wood can/can't you put in a tank. Apart from silly things like treated pine
I found a really nice piece out on a property, it's completely dry as a bone, but no idea what tree it is off. I'm currently soaking it in the bath tub to see if anything other than tannins come out. After about 1.5hrs the water is a nice tea colour. I also poured boiling water over it several times before soaking in the tub.

 

[Byron]

So what would people recommend housing with Angels then? Aside from larger dither fish.
 

 
If you are considering angelfish, you want a small group, five is about minimum, up to perhaps seven in your sized tank.  Acquire them at the same time, generally from the one tank.  If you want to combine varieties, ensure they are about the same size (and still get them at the same time).  Angelfish once placed into a new environment will quickly form an hierarchy within the group, and once they do, it is not usually easy (sometimes not even possible) to affect this.
 
Angelfish are sedate (as opposed to active swimming), cruising around together, so for tankmates you want similar quiet fish.  Corys work well, and most of the smaller-sized pleco-type catfish do too.  The larger-sized hatchetfish (the silver species in Gasteropelecus and Thorocharax) will work for the surface area provided you have some floating plants.  For mid-water (in the range of the angelfish) many of the peaceful tetras can work; the disk-shaped are better than the linear generally as they have less chance of being eaten.  Here you need to avoid any species with a penchant for nipping.
 

Got a question about wood too! What wood can/can't you put in a tank. Apart from silly things like treated pine 

I found a really nice piece out on a property, it's completely dry as a bone, but no idea what tree it is off. I'm currently soaking it in the bath tub to see if anything other than tannins come out. After about 1.5hrs the water is a nice tea colour. I also poured boiling water over it several times before soaking in the tub.
 

 
Collecting wood can be a real risk, but so can acquiring wood from a store unless you know what you are getting.  First, never use "soft" woods (the pine you mentioned along with all conifers are soft woods).  "Hard" woods like oak, beech, maple are OK from this aspect.  Second, be careful where you collect it; wood will adsorb any liquid it comes into contact with, and these may leech out months later.  Collecting from a forest well away from any roads, industrial areas, etc. is best.  Third, the wood must be completely dead; this means it has been separated from the living tree for months if not years (depending upon the size) so all internal saps have dissipated.  Fourth, soaking and boiling may remove "critters" but depending upon how thick the wood is, some may remain.  The greater risk though is from substances that may be in the wood as these can be much harder to remove.
 
The tannins are harmless, and even beneficial to soft water forest fish (like angelfish).  It is the unseen you have to be careful over.
 
Byron.

 

[Gidge]

Thanks Byron.
 
I found the wood out in the country, it's as dead as a door nail. It's just shy of 4ft long and has quite a large end to it. We cut into the thickest part and it's completely dry. It was about 5kg and it floats in the bath tub haha. It's absorbed quite a lot of water now. I drained the tub this afternoon and so far no more tannins have come out - definitely not as fast as yesterday! So we'll see over the next couple of days. It's starting to sink a little bit but not a huge amount. It also softened any loose bark on it so I've scrubbed that off.
 
Thanks for the info on the angels too.

 

[Byron]

I missed the bathtub part previously, sorry about that.  This is very risky too--soap residue, cleaning chemicals, etc. if present (and you can bet they are) will be absorbed into the wood, and may be released much later in the aquarium.
 
B.

 

[Gidge]

I missed the bathtub part previously, sorry about that.  This is very risky too--soap residue, cleaning chemicals, etc. if present (and you can bet they are) will be absorbed into the wood, and may be released much later in the aquarium.
 
B.

 The bath tub isn't used, and I washed it previously with boiling water. Anything with bleach in it will deactivate in hot water, So I should be pretty safe with that I think.