Advice For A 180 Us Gallon Tank

[kpris]

So I've been browsing around to get a bigger fish tank. The one i currently have my eye on is around 180 US gallons and i'm really struggling deciding what kind of fish i want to get.
I def. want freshwater tropical that's for sure. I love bright colours and am not really a huge fan of cichlids except for maybe the electric yellow one ^^ I know very commercial but i love watching them at the store.
So is it possible to get fish that aren't cichlids or catfish that would go well with the electric yellow cichlid?
If not any other suggestions?
What would be just about the smallest fish i could put in with a fish of that size?
Absolutely any other input you wish to give? I'm very open at the moment to ideas. =)
Please and thank you.

 

[groovitudedude]

It depends. Do you already have the EY cichlid? What experience do you have with fish? Are you good at keeping puffers, eels, barbs, what? If you wanted a larger puffer, you could possibly get a fahaka for a tank that size, or a spiny eel, but both are very demanding on the tank. What fish have you had in the past, and what fish do you currently have?

 

[kpris]

I've never actually had puffers or eels. This would be my first large tank ever and so i don't have alot of experience with all the new varieties of fish i would now be able to get. I have barbs though and i've had absolutely no problems with them at all. I've had gourami's (dwarf ones), and all sorts of beginner fish, platys, mollies, tetras etc... I've got a Borneo Sucker catfish and some randoms like glass fish.
So basically i'm looking for beginner larger, cooler fish =) And not so concerned about getting a GIGANTIC fish. To be honest they kind of freak me out.
Oh and no i haven't actually bought the cichlid yet

 

[Camad727]

I've never actually had puffers or eels. This would be my first large tank ever and so i don't have alot of experience with all the new varieties of fish i would now be able to get. I have barbs though and i've had absolutely no problems with them at all. I've had gourami's (dwarf ones), and all sorts of beginner fish, platys, mollies, tetras etc... I've got a Borneo Sucker catfish and some randoms like glass fish.
So basically i'm looking for beginner larger, cooler fish =) And not so concerned about getting a GIGANTIC fish. To be honest they kind of freak me out.
Oh and no i haven't actually bought the cichlid yet

You could maybe go for a south american/central american cichlid tank, with Blue Acara's, Firemouth cichlids, maybe an oscar, a festivum. The thing about the electric yellow cichlid is that it is a lake malawi cichlid and so requires really hard water (high ph), and so will not go with many fish. The central american cichlids show amazing colours as well and are not so aggresive towards each other, so it is possible to have a more community type tank. check the central american cichlid page on liveaquaria.com:

[URL="http/liveaquaria.com/product/scateg.cfm?pCatId=889"]http/liveaquaria.com/product/scateg.cfm?pCatId=889[/URL]


For the bottom you could get a nice big pleco, lol ok no catfish

You have many options for such a large tank, so have fun with it.

 

[CFC]

He said he doesnt want Cichlids or catfish so suggesting a SA Cichlid tank isnt helping

African cichlids like the EY you like generally dont mix well with community fish, i'm sure some people have done it but its not normally advised.

There are lots of nicely coloured larger community fish available but without knowing what you can get in your local area suggesting fish is pretty pointless, we could give you a list of 20 fish only for you to find that you cannot buy any of them in your local shop.

 

[Camad727]

He said he doesnt want Cichlids or catfish so suggesting a SA Cichlid tank isnt helping

African cichlids like the EY you like generally dont mix well with community fish, i'm sure some people have done it but its not normally advised.

There are lots of nicely coloured larger community fish available but without knowing what you can get in your local area suggesting fish is pretty pointless, we could give you a list of 20 fish only for you to find that you cannot buy any of them in your local shop.

maybe he is only aware of there being african cichlids

 

[kpris]

Firstly thanks for the input =)
Secondly it's a she not a he XP trivial but it reads a little weird
Thirdly I am aware of there being american cichlids. I've just spent the past hour reading up on all the different types of cichlids but to be honest most of them kinda scare me. (I love pet fish but i'm terrified of the ocean and almost everything in it) So large ones that aren't all that large with friendly bright colours is what i'm after XD
Also about buying fish, I'm fairly sure that most of the ones that i would be interested in would NOT be in my local pet store or any pet store remotely near me so i am probably going to resort to buying online. It doesn't really matter if it's not readily available to me just yet, i'm just trying to get my head around possible similar choices.

 

[Camad727]

Firstly thanks for the input =)
Secondly it's a she not a he XP trivial but it reads a little weird
Thirdly I am aware of there being american cichlids. I've just spent the past hour reading up on all the different types of cichlids but to be honest most of them kinda scare me. (I love pet fish but i'm terrified of the ocean and almost everything in it) So large ones that aren't all that large with friendly bright colours is what i'm after XD

You could have a rainbow fish tank, they aren't sacry at all, and when kept in good water quality with a varied diet are some of the most colourfull fish you can get. They are also very peacefull and can be kept with smaller fish, I have 6 boeseman rainbows

 

[kpris]

Just googled rainbow fish and i keep getting that kid's story book would you happen to know the scientific name of it?

Also know of any good places that i could buy online and would ship to Australia? I know one or two but they have different species so it's always good to know more. ^^

 

[CFC]

If you are in Australia you'll have no problem finding rainbow fish as most species are Australian natives

Heres some info on rainbow fishes http/badmanstropicalfish.com/rainbow.html

 

[kpris]

=) fantastic
They are quite cute except a couple of them look like fish you would eat... =/ My dad loves to fish and fish that look eatable remind me of the ocean...
Man i'm frustrating myself T_T

Anyway thanks again everyone for your input =) Given me alot to sleep over, speaking of which i should probably do so now. I'll come check up on the forum tomorrow ^^

 

[fiskkeeperpro]

although they are cichlids, manybe a south american tank with
Discus
Rams
Tetras (cardinal and rummynose)
corys
maybe rainbow fish? (not south american but boesmani rainbows look nice)

Just a thought, would look a very nice tank especially if it were planted with large pieces of bogwood

 

[DarkSide]

I would definately agree with the rainbow fish.

Another one one of the larger small fish that I personally think are very nice to look at, are Giant Danios their yellow and silver really start to show when they are in good water conditions, they are very showy fish that will chase each other around, and I have had 2 I had previouly attain a length of 4 inches. So a large school of them would be fabulous.