stocking a 48gal

[Jim]

I might be getting a 48 gallon tank soon and i was thinking of what i could put in it.

I like medium to big fish.

Here are a few fish i would like to keep off the top of my head :

severums
oscars
clown loaches
angles
Maby discus ($)

Any others that you think would look nice feel free to suggest them and it will make my day lol.

And also what kind of filtration i would need for thease different types of fish.

Thanks
JIM

[blueturq]

African cichlids are cool, lots of colour and movement (lots of ppl here keep them and have bred them, so they'll be able to help you with that i'm sure! )

Yellow Labs, Acei, Demasoni, Red Zebras are VERY nice Africans and are small enough to have a bunch of them in a 48 gallon.

I don't know about Oscars....  I mean, a 48 gallon is what.... 48x13x18? so i'd say just get ONE Oscar.... but on the other hand, i've read that they do better in at least a 55 or a 75 gallon aquarium.

Severums... they would be cool, but i'd say just get one since they get to around 8 inches and you'll want some room to stock your aquarium with other fish i'm sure.  So ONE Severum just to play it safe in terms of stocking a 48 gallon.

Clown Loaches... 3 of those would be cool in your tank... from what i've heard from people, they get to around but are slow growing.

Angels... they would be more than happy in a 48 gal.

Discus... would be more than happy in a 48 gal aswell.

If you like "larger" type fish then a Severum would be a good idea.

Blue Acaras are nice too, they get about 8 inches and are very colourful.

Do you like small but colourful cichlids aswell?

Jewel cichlids, Firemouths, Convicts.... those are some ideas too!

I'm sure that others here will chime in aswell!

[Jim]

i was thinking of fish that are on the bigger side.

Now i have to decide what to get lol

-Oscar
-Angles
-Severums

could i have any of thease together? or with blue acaras?

Thanks Blueturq

[blueturq]

Angels and a Severum *MIGHT* do ok together but i'm not 100% sure.

Angels and a Blue Acara together?.... hmm.... not sure, good question.

Oscars are a definite NO NO with Angels.  

I really wouldn't risk putting an Oscar in a 48 gallon tank anyway.

1 Severum and 1 Blue Acara would do fine together generally speaking, and a 48 gallon aquarium is not a small size either!

Good thing you are asking on here and being precautious before you purchase anything!

Keep doing your research and look at the various cichlids out there (there are way too many to count! lol) and see how you like them, and then research them accordingly!

[Mettle]

I wouldn't do an oscar in a 48 gallon. Given the tank space they can easily reach over a foot in length. A lot of oscar enthusiasts say a 55 gallon tank is the minimum for one oscar - but I am of the opinion that 75 gallons is the minimum.

You could probably do a pair of severums in a 48 gallon.

Angels would also do fine I'm guess depending on the exact measurements of the tank. Angels do best in 'tall' tanks as they are a very vertical fish... At least that's my understanding.

Jewels might be a good choice. They can actually reach 6" in length and are some of the most colourful fresh water fish out there, from what I've seen.

You could also do a small heard of keyhole cichlids. They reach 4" and like discus do best in groups. They are also extremely docile. I've seen keyholes that were 2"-3" in size living alongside emperor tetra fry that were no bigger than 0.25-0.5". So you could get a nice community tank going there.

You could also think about some type of geophagus species. Ones like I have (geophagus steindachneri aka the red humped earth eater) only get about 6" for males and the females normally stay a touch smaller than that. (I also have a trio for sale right now! ) The male gets some nice pink/blue tones to him when he's 'in the mood'.

I would personally stay away from the fish that get much over 6" just because with the tank size you're talking about they won't have the space they need for life and you'd have to probably upgrade again.

Another idea is a jack dempsey... Or if you have the $$$ you could do an electric blue jack dempsey. I know of someone who keeps her electric blue jd with angels.

[blueturq]

Dempsey's get more than 6 inches though don't they? like around 8 to 10 inches? :?

[Mettle]

About 8" I believe.

But they aren't as messy as, say, an oscar...

And I said I would personally stay away from fish that get over 6". But am still trying to offer up viable ideas.

[blueturq]

About 8" I believe.

But they aren't as messy as, say, an oscar...

And I said I would personally stay away from fish that get over 6".

Well.. I understand that an Oscar would be very large and may not be THE BEST choice for a 48 gallon... I mentioned that earlier.

But am still trying to offer up viable ideas.

As was I

[jfox]

Angels and a Severum *MIGHT* do ok together but i'm not 100% sure.

I have Angels and Severums together and they are all happy no fights.

[Jim]

thanks!

how much about do electic blue jd's go for?or just jd's?

i like the sound of a jd with angles.

[Mettle]

I wouldn't personally keep a regular jd with angels. The reason why you can do it with an electric blue is because they're so mild mannered. Not really aggressive at all...

I think people were buying some 2" blue jd's from Tim for about $15 or so. (CHeck thread in classifieds.) I'm not sure if he has any left right now though... I know Super Pet on Merivale has some in (not sure about the size) but they want something like $60 a fish and that's a bit steap (for the size they were when I was there, anyway).

[Jim]

ok thanks

[CdnRednek]

You could probaby do regular JD's, if you got them small to get used to the angels.  They grow fairly quickly, and by growing up with the fish, they won't be too aggressive.  Blue JD's are more mild and would do much better.  My blue is only about an 1", and he's great.  If you want blue JD's, the LFS in Petawawa had them for about $6.  Even with gas prices, it's better than $60.  Call to confirm some left though.

[Jim]

alrigth thx

I'm not in a big rush to buy the fish though because i dount have the tank YET.

but soon

JIM

[Jim]

i've come up (with some help) a list of fish that i could have in my 48gal please tell me if any of these fish wouldent do well together.

1 FM, 1 Sev, 1 Nic, 6 to 8 Rainbowfish, 3 Clown Loaches,1 BN pleco

yes theres no angles  :?  haha

Thanks
JIM BO

[blueturq]

That sounds good Jim!

FM get about 6 inches max.

Sevs get about 8 inches.

Nics get about 10 inches. (which is about the same size a JD)

Clown Loaches get about 12 inches but they apparently grow slow.

BN Plecos get about 6 to 8 inches maybe... and they are going to occupy your tank bottom with the clown loaches... so that should be ok.

If I am wrong plz correct me....