What to put in a 40 gallon tank?

[ChrisCook]

Right,
I've acquired a 40 gallon tank:

If you were starting from scratch what would you do with it?

What fish? How many fish?
What plants?
How much gravel - what gravel?
What water temperature?
What ornaments if any?

 

[DaveW]

tAKE A LOOK AT THE PINNED TREADS AT THE TOP OF THE BEGINNERS FORUM. lOTS OF GOOD INFO .

 

[ChrisCook]

 

[modernhamlet]

Right,
I've acquired a 40 gallon tank:

If you were starting from scratch what would you do with it?

What fish? How many fish?
What plants?
How much gravel - what gravel?
What water temperature?
What ornaments if any?

Nice tank. That pic shows a couple of nice pieces of driftwood, right? To utilize those, I'd go with a South American community tank.

Fish:
2 Pterophyllum scalare (angel), 1m:1f
3 Apistogramma agassizii or cacatuoides, 1m:2f
6 Megalamphodus megalopterus (black phantom tetra) or similar peaceful tetra species
1 Ancistrus temminckii (bristlenose plec)

These fish will probably be happiest at around 77-79 F degrees.

Plenty of plants, particularly Broad leaf dwarf sword and Amazon Sword (Echinodorus bleheri), maybe a Vallisneria species or Tropical Hornwort depending on your taste.

Both pieces of driftwood and maybe a river rock cave or two

Small to medium sized red, brown, or black gravel to show off the plants and fish.

That's my take at least. Good luck with your tank!

 

[MrMashashin]

I would ahve to agree with modernhamlet, angels+tetras=nice anything. The angels are basicly the main attraction and the tetras are a background thing for activity. Some plants that go over very well are the anarchis (i thinks thats how it's spelt) They grow in minimal light and if you ever get a guarami or 2, its funny to watch them pick the leaves off, not so funny to clean up their mess though. Oh and one more thing, is it going infront of that window, if so expect algae.

 

[ChrisCook]

Modernhamlet:
The picture only shows a small amount of the driftwood (bogwood?) that I got given with the tank. I'd guess there are about 12 fairly large pioeces that came with it - enough to completely cover the bottom but I don't really see the point in that (but will happily be corected!)

I will do some research in to the fish you mention - without wishing to appear too silly, why do you go for 2 females and 1 male for the Apistogramma agassizii/cacatuoides?

Myfollow up question to your point about plants is - do you line the complete back of the aquarium with plants and leave the front empty i.e. using the plants as some kind of backdrop, or do you scatter them 'randomly' in all locations (front and back) in the aquarium?


MrMashashin:
The picture I added was the one which was on Ebay (I bought it on Ebay) but the tank will be next to a window but not in full view - there will however be plenty of light entering the tank when the curtains are not closed. Is algae a huge problem? I gues sI can add some algae eaters??

Chris

 

[modernhamlet]

Modernhamlet:
The picture only shows a small amount of the driftwood (bogwood?) that I got given with the tank. I'd guess there are about 12 fairly large pioeces that came with it - enough to completely cover the bottom but I don't really see the point in that (but will happily be corected!)

Of course you don't want too much wood in your tank. With all that wood at your disposal though, you should feel free to play with different placement ideas: quantity, position, height, etc. I'm sure you'll find something that works for you. Start with a couple of medium sized pieces placed left-center and right-center and see how that feels. It's all up to personal taste really... just leave room for the plants and fish!

I will do some research in to the fish you mention - without wishing to appear too silly, why do you go for 2 females and 1 male for the Apistogramma agassizii/cacatuoides?

Apistos are harem breeders. Males will generally fight with one another and having more than one female will allow each to get a break from the male's advances and raise fry, when necessary. More females are, of course, fine. A pair will work too, but make sure the female has plenty of plant and wood for hiding places.

Myfollow up question to your point about plants is - do you line the complete back of the aquarium with plants and leave the front empty i.e. using the plants as some kind of backdrop, or do you scatter them 'randomly' in all locations (front and back) in the aquarium?

Oh dear... I don't pretend to understand the intricacies of aquascaping. It really is an art in and of itself, but in general, taller plants go in the back, shorter plants towards the front. If you want specific placement and lighting advice, I'd suggest asking in the Planted Tank section. Pretty knowledgable bunch there. But again, like the wood placement, it's pretty much up to personal taste.

Regarding the algea issue: a bristlenose will be a big help against algae. Lots of plants will be even more help, as they'll outcompete algae most of the time. That said, never expose a tank to direct sunlight if you can avoid it. Algal blooms are not fun.