Stocking a 37 gallon tank?

Question

I can not stop thinking about what to put in my new tank....i don't even have the tank yet, but I have ordered it...gggrrr!! First I wanted a livebearer tank, then a goldfish tank, then a sorority of female bettas! The only thing I have narrowed it down to is freshwater...unless there is a realativly easy seahorse that tank bred specimins will eat frozen foods. I know ther are some...but I can't find them. Basically I want something REALLY exotic and out there, hard to take care of. I am not a beginner, but i'm no expert either. This is the first tank I can actually desighning and stocking that is bigger than 8 gallons! lol! I help my parents with there big freshwater and saltwater tank, so I understand selinety and saltwater tank stuff. So maybe saltwater....gggrrr! Now I don't even know what water type! So anything REALLY out there, harder that guppies or bettas as I already own both of those....any ideas! Sry about typing so much!

Answer 1

If the tank is designed for freshwater, stick to freshwater, converting it to saltwater would be a right headache.

Maybe think of going for a biotope option, such as piece of the amazon or a fast flowing stream, there are dozens of options there. With imaginative aquascaping (and no not with day-glo substrate in a great big skull with a nemo bubbler - gah) you can create quite dramatic tanks.

Look through sites like practical fishkeeping and fishbase for unusual regional fish and set up ideas. For that size tank I would say avoid fish that grow over 4"-5" when mature and its not big enough for the most well known biotope, the mbuna cichlid set up, that needs 55 gallons or more.

Answer 2

Check out Discus (ciclid), they are meduim size, so won't get too large for your tank. I've had "orange" ones, they are really bright yellow. OR perhaps an Arrowana. Although the Arrowana will eventually out grow your tank.  And I also ike the Malwani from African, also ciclid, smaller but very brightly colored.  

Answer 3

try an african cichlid tank. they need lots of rocks on their tank and a high alkalinity. peacock cichlids come in a variety of colors (from cobalt blue to sunshine yellow)  they would fit perfectly in to your 37 gal. tank.

Answer 4

http://www.aquahobby.com/gallery/e_Gnath...

If this is the elephant nose you are talking about, I would recommend yo NOT get it. This fish gets to be about 14 inches long... That is going to be way too large for a 37 gallon tank.

If you like Angelfish, get a pair of them, along with some fast swimming, non-finnipping fish.

If you are really up for a challenge, you could try getting a Puffer. Be warned however... you really have to be on top of tank maintenance as puffers are really sensitive to water conditions.  They also require a diet mainly consisting of crunchy foods, like snails, or ghost shrimp (to a smaller extent). Some puffers are brackish water fish. This means they live in marine estuaries where fresh water from rivers meets the ocean. The water becomes a mixture of both and the salinity is roughly half what the ocean is.

If interested in Puffers, please visit http://www.thepufferforum.com/forum/  to find a species that would fit your tank. Read through the forums to find out the general care techniques for them. The people on tpf are very knowledgeable and friendly.

Hope this helps.  

Answer 5

Try Butterfly fish or Elephant Nose. Both exotic and hard to take care of. You can find them and stuff about them at Petco.com under the live fish and rock section.