Stocking ideas for 40 gallon

[Asherbonnie]

Just picked up a 3 month old 40 gallon tank with lids and gravel for $30 (score!), now I need to figure out what to put in there.

I have plans that I made for a 80 gallon tank but I think I will wait until I get the 80 gallon instead of shot gunning it and narrowing the list down and doing it in the 40 gallon.

In the future 80 gallon I'm putting in Congo Tetra's, Cardinal Tetra's, Banded Rainbowfish, Cory's and Kuhli's. So I would prefer not getting them for this tank.

I also have a cichlid tank I am re-doing. I'm designing it around my male Venustus.


I was thinking that maybe I could do a tank with Angel's ?? I've never owned Angels before and I'm not sure how I would go with them, they are beautiful but I understand they are quite aggressive.

I'm up for other suggestions as well. Ill have a go at anything :-)

The tank is about 145 litres 36''L x 12"W x 20"H

[ddavis1979]

The 20" height would be nice for angels and I think that is a good choice. I am a fan of the Koi, the gold pearlscale, and the silver pearlscale.

[Asherbonnie]

The gold & silver pearlscale look beautiful and very 'me' loving shiny things !

Now, is it true that it is better to have 1 angel instead of 2? If I had 2 I would get a m/f combo as I'm guessing that wold cause less conflict between the two, but would they be more aggressive to other tank mates ? Would this mean that I would have to get more aggressive tank mates or is it just easier to just have the 1?

Im not settled on the Angel just yet, just exploring my options.

[fishmommie]

A 40 gallon tank would be the ideas size for 1 angel and maybe a small school of non nippy fish. If you put 2 angels in a tank that size you're most likely going to have aggression issues. While a mated pair might work - unless you are positive they are mated, there is no guarantee that you don't have 2 males or 2 females or if a male and a female will actually mate. Additionally the size of your tank would be an issue as they would eventually outgrow it.
Great score, btw!

[ameliaaahx]

Great score! I would recommend just one angel as a pair would dominate the entire tank. I would recommend a school of Harlequin Rasbora as they are too high-bodied to swallow and not nippy unlike many tetras, and a school of cories to inhabit the bottom.

[Asherbonnie]

Alright, well that sorts out that problem for me.

ameliaaahx - I was thinking that same sort of combo, school of cory cats and Rasbora's or black skirt tetra's maybe.

Also, GREAT score! I'm just stoked about it!


Any one else have any suggestions about fish other than Angels?

[Cascade]

You could do a planted tank with a light stocking (chocolate gourami, dwarf cichlids, etc), or a sand-and-rock tank with shell dwelling cichlids - I've done both of those and enjoyed the tanks very much.

[ameliaaahx]

Black skirt tetras I would probably not recommend as they get fairly sizable and I think can also be prone to nippiness. Black Phantom tetras might be a safer bet?

For other suggestions I would recommend dwarf cichlids. I have German Blue Rams and Gold Rams and I adore them, or there are the hardier Bolivian Rams if you don't feel up to the challenge of the GBRs (they can be quite sensitive to water parameters, although I've had no trouble keeping them myself). There are also Apistos such as the Cockatoo Apisto, or other dwarves like Kribensis or Flag Cichlids. A mated pair of any of these and a school of nice tetras (maybe neons or Rosy tetras?) would look rather striking.

[dizzydezzy]

Well, if you like SHINY things, check out pearl gouramis... they are the more peaceful of the gouramis and do ok with most tankmates (although I would not keep more than 1 male per tank..).

Or a heavily planted tank stocked to the brim with tiny tiny micro fish - celestial pearl danios, chili rasboras, pigmy cories and otos - you could easily have 10 of each.

[Asherbonnie]

Thanks everyone for the suggestions, they all sound great, its going to be hard to decide what to get.

A Gold pearlscale angel sounds really good, but then Gourami's sound good as well.

I also like the smaller cichlids too and I might have a further look into Rams, they're so lovely in colour but need to learn more about them.

A tank full of micro fish also sounds great. My father has a tank full of different species of Danio's with a couple of goldfish and its just gorgeous and very active.

Oh the choices are endless!