Tropical Fish

[Cameronb_01]

Hi Everyone,
I have just purchased a 450 Litre tank and I was wondering if anyone could give me some suggestions as to what fish to get. I would like something very colourful, large and interesting and preferably reasonably easy to find. I have not yet decided whether it is going to be a freshwater or tropical tank but it definitely can't be marine. I am pretty new to fish keeping so please bear with me. If there is a good one plz send a pic.
 
Thanks a lot Cameron 

 

[Ninjouzata]

to TFF Cameron! Hope you enjoy yourself here.
 
Some questions first..is your water soft or hard? What is your pH? You can usually check your water company's website for this information or give them a call.
Limescale build up in kettle or shower would also be an indication of hard water.
 
What are the dimensions of your tank? Length, width, and height please

While the volume of water is helpful the dimensions are even moreso as some fish require different things, like angelfish need a taller tank.
 
Are there any specific colors or sizes you're looking for? What sort of substrate do you have, if any?
 
Also, before you pick up any fish..you'll want to cycle the tank by following THIS. It might sound complex at first but read it a few more times (don't skim!) and it should click. If you have any questions feel free to ask.
You'll want a liquid test kit (API is a popular brand for this) and some ammonia which you can find sources for HERE.

 

[sawickib]

Hi! 

to TFF!
 
Whats your waters pH, kH and gH? Also what are the dimensions?
 
I think by freshwater or tropical you mean tropical or coldwater? Coldwater fish are mostly goldfish.
 
Some cool fish for your 120 gallon could be an oscar, or a large group of geophagus jurupari, google images really dont do these guys right, the ones i own are stunning. Id be able to recommend more if you could kindly give some more specifications on the fish you like

 

[star4]

Juwel rio 400 is a brilliant tank , you can house quite a different variety of fish because of the size.  Being as you say you are new to fish keeping firstly you need to fully cycle the tank first before you think about fish. Once the tank is ready and you know if you have hard or soft water, ph levels etc etc you can look at fish.
 
Do you want to run a heater? there are lots of temperate fish to choose which prefer cooler water, not just goldfish, weather loach, american flag fish, white cloud mountain minnow's, hillstream loach.

 

[sawickib]

Juwel rio 400 is a brilliant tank

, you can house quite a different variety of fish because of the size.  Being as you say you are new to fish keeping firstly you need to fully cycle the tank first before you think about fish. Once the tank is ready and you know if you have hard or soft water, ph levels etc etc you can look at fish.
 
Do you want to run a heater? there are lots of temperate fish to choose which prefer cooler water, not just goldfish, weather loach, american flag fish, white cloud mountain minnow's, hillstream loach.

I said mostly hehe im not really good with coldwater lol

 

[star4]

 

Juwel rio 400 is a brilliant tank

, you can house quite a different variety of fish because of the size.  Being as you say you are new to fish keeping firstly you need to fully cycle the tank first before you think about fish. Once the tank is ready and you know if you have hard or soft water, ph levels etc etc you can look at fish.
 
Do you want to run a heater? there are lots of temperate fish to choose which prefer cooler water, not just goldfish, weather loach, american flag fish, white cloud mountain minnow's, hillstream loach.

I said mostly hehe im not really good with coldwater lol
 

 
lol, I am not that good either,

 

[Cameronb_01]

Thanks so much everyone for all of the responses. 
I have attached a picture of my tank below with dimensions. I have not decided whether or not my tank is going to be cold water or tropical, I think tropical though. I have a heater which can go up to 32 centigrade. I would like something quite exotic and I have no colour preference so long as the colours are bright, exciting and plentiful. The PH  of my water is 7.8. I am still waiting for the cirax for my filter which is why the water is so dirty. I have not yet cycled the tank but shall do that soon. 
Please send me pics or links of your suggestions!!
 
Thanks so much!! 

 

 

 

[star4]

Your 7.8ph is that a stable ph or just what you have measured since setting up? Sometimes the ph can go up or down once the tank is cycled and has settled.
 
If its a stable 7.8 you are pretty open to a wide range of fish, "most" community fish will do ok at that pH, barbs, tetra etc, some american cichlids you may get away with - would need research on each though. I think (only think as I dont keep them) you can have some types of malawi cichlids at that level also, again though research would be needed, a malawi cichlid tank would be really colourful and lively. With the addition of coral sand and rock you may get the ph upto 8.

 

[Cameronb_01]

It is the figure I got off my water suppliers website,

 

[Ninjouzata]

Are you going to cycle it following the method I linked (which you can find at the top of the page whenever you need it)? I just want to double check and make sure you're starting off on the right foot!
Is that gravel in the tank? Is there any chance you'd switch to sand at some point? There are plenty of options without sand but a lot of bottom dwellers do prefer or absolutely need sand so that is why I ask

 
Are you going to be doing live plants you think or artifical ones? Just curious.

 
Some fish with color off the top of my head right now (brain fart, sorry) are rainbowfish (boesmani, red irian, turquoise and lots more) and peacock gudgeons.
When trying to find info on fish a good place to look is seriouslyfish, I usually type in the name of the fish and seriously fish into google and find them that way. You can ofcourse always ask about them here too.
 
If/when you can..a good thing to do is go to your LFS and write down the fish that interest you, then post it here. Then we can see which ones are suitable/compatible

 

[madmonkey04]

I would get 8 Corydoras melanistius and 15 Glowlight tetras and the rest is up to you.

 

[Cameronb_01]

Yes it is gravel in the tank but it is very, very fine gravel which is practically the same size as sand. I do not have any immediate plans to change to sand. I can use either live or artificial, I have not yet decided but I think at the moment live plants seem more appealing. The only scenery, (apart from the gravel) which I have already bought is one quite large stone, some media and a large natural piece of wood. I also have a couple of queries about cycling: at the fish store I asked about cycling and they said it was just leaving the tank with the filter on for two weeks in order to create bacteria before putting in the fish. Is that basically what cycling is? Is there anything else I need to do? Will 2 weeks be sufficient? Thanks for everything which you have already suggested!
Now that you know plz send me some more suggestions if possible.
 
Thanks so much Cameron 

 

 

 

 

[sawickib]

Cycling with just the filter on will do nothing but add oxygen and age the water. To cycle you need to add ammonia of some sorts, usually from liquid household pure ammonia, from hardware stores more than likely. This process usually takes about a month if you start from scratch, or maybe 2 weeks if you have pre-cycled media.
 
What do you think about... Bichirs (if you like these i can go into further detail in which ones can go in your tank), african knife fish, nandus nandus, african bushfish, red severum, angelfish, pearl gourami, synodontis, pictus cat, peacock eel, yellow tail eel, elephant nose fish and thats all that comes to mind atm, obviously these are not all compatible so pick which ones you like and i can further assist you, if you like any

 

[Cameronb_01]

Thanks so much!! I now understand cycling 

 

 I looked at all the fish you suggested and more and I really like the Pearl Gourami and the Red Severum, I also like the Bichir but it says that I need a 250 gallon tank to hold one!! I also like the Electric Blue Jack Dempsy but it is very aggressive, are there any alternative peaceful ones you could suggest? The snakeskin discus is also very nice. Are there any colourful shoals which you could also recommend?
 
Thanks so much for your help Cameron 

 

 

[Ninjouzata]

Did you read the two links I sent you in my first response? HERE is an article on fish-less cycling, read it carefully

And HERE are some ammonia sources.
You'll need a liquid test kit as well, API is a popular brand for that. Here is the API master test kit:
 

 
I personally adore the fish Saw mentioned, but they are not always the easiest to take care of. At least in regards to feeding (except for the gourami, angel fish, and maybe pictus cats).
 
I think for lots of activity and color perhaps some marbled or silver hatchetfish for the top, some type of gourami for the centerpiece (pearl are lovely), cardinal tetras and harlequin rasboras for the middle, and maybe sterbai corydoras for the bottom