What fish for a 49 gal tank...

AaronCombs

So I just totally stumbled upon a 49 gal tank.

No substrate, etc... so I've got a plain tank, and will be building from that.

my plans, DIY filtration system.
I would like a sand substrate, never used it before but always wanted at least one tank with it.

However I can't decide on what kinds of fish to go with.... And what to decorate it with....

I do want colorful fish, so give me ideas on what I should do...

Some examples, Cichlids, Guppies, etc...
Driftwood, no driftwood... plants(what kinds), no plants... etc..




Thanks for you assistance.

Aaron

mollies

You should do a African cichlid tank.
Let me ask this first. What are your measurements of your tank?
You will need sand, Rock work and fish.. lol
If that intrest you then i will add more.

AaronCombs

Ah yes the size... lets see
length 36" width 18 1/4 " height 24"
Comes up just over 49 gal ... so i rounded down.

also what specific kinds of african cichlids would you recommend?

mollies

Do you know what your water's PH is?
African cichlid's Require a Higher PH of 7.6 to 9.0.
They like to dig Up the sand and make big craters in the sand. That is a way the males show signs of getting ready to spawn.

Well there are lots of Cichlids you could go with.
Here are a few.
1. 8 Demasoni's, 2 yellow labs.
2. 2 yellow labs, 2 kenyi's.
3. 2 red zebras, 2 kenyi's.
Ect ect.
You could go with wich ever one you want realy. There is a list of three difrent ways you could go.
I would go with the Mbuna's as they stay alittle smaller. If You want here is a web sight to look up some African Cichlids/ Livefishdirect.com.
Ps I will post more tomorrow. If you have any more questions keep them comeing. Some one will answer them for.

AaronCombs

well the tank isn't setup yet. I want to take note of what all I have vs what I need to buy to set it up.

I can adjust any of the levels accordingly as needed, so I'm not worried about any of that in regards... this is more of an open discussion for any kinds of fish to make it colorful.

I'll check out the links to take a look. Thanks for it.

iamntbatman

Adjusting pH and hardness is no walk in the park. I strongly encourage you to choose your fish based on your water parameters, not the other way around. You can raise pH and hardness fairly easily and safely with dolomite/crushed coral but it can be very difficult to safely lower pH and hardness.

AaronCombs

well it wouldn't be the first time i've raised or lowered it...

I'd have all that done before fish are purchased, initially.

However normal pH runs about 7.2 in all my tanks. without adjustments.

herbwin

You may want to avoid many chichlids as they may move the sand all around the tank.

I enjoy the color and activity of smaller schooling fish, perhaps a mix or barbs and danios, or a mix of tetras.

Whatever you pick, try to add some various loaches, they will love the sand!
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AaronCombs

lol I have a 100 gal tank full of a mix of danio's and tetra's... lol so i'm nixing that one off... lol

I'm a danio freak so that what I am asking for other kinds of fish, I don't know a lot outside of the Cyprinids and Atherinids category.

mollies

Did you find any of the cichlids you liked?