what fish should i get

Hello there,

My 37-gallon fish aquarium is almost done with the cycling process. I'm trying to figure out what kinds of plants and fish I should get. As far as lighting goes, I'm not sure what wattage the bulb is, it doesn't even say on the bulb. All it says is full spectrum bulb for aquarium and plants. It's like a violet light. Anyways I'd like some advice on what kind of plants and fish I should get.

So far I was thinking about mollies, balla shark, and danios. I'm not sure what else I should get, I don't want an aggressive aquarium. With those fish I just mentioned think I can add an angel fish?

I'm thinking about hornwort, java fern, and water sprite. Any other suggestions?

Thanks for the help.

hm since you have 37 gallon tank and you dont want to keep aggresive fish so you may keep tetras,platy,tiger berb,red tail shark.

andfor plants you may keep anubias sp,anacharis sp,echinodorous sp...

i agree, you may also want to get only male or female lifebearers, (guppy,molly,platty,sword tail)because each female can have up to 70 (but will mostly have 20 or so)fry (baby fish) and even though the idea is nice, or either they will become snaks or youll have to do alot of babysiting,.... ask for the fish go, youll need some cleaners for sure, its always good to get a corydora, oto, and or some ghost shrimp. oto are algea eating fish so that will keep algea down, or any other algea eater will do. and cory and shrimp will keep uneaten food down so you wont get any amonia jumps. these are also nice fish so you wont be loosing much as cosmetics look. as for other fish goes, check out this compatibility chart, http://www.petco.com/assets/livefish/ freshwaterchart.html
thats a good way to make a list, you dont want to just go to the store and buy random fish or they will end up eating ot picking at eachother, and for the light 2 wat per gallon is a good rule, but life plant is another story, you may need some co2 shots for the plants and good soil. i havent had much luck with most plants but i did get some to grow without much effort as well.
let me know how it goes and post some pictures when you can!!! -Good Luck-

Phoenixflames,

thanks so much for your response. So you guys are suggesting livebearers eh? well with these guys am I still okay with the addition of angel fish and sharks? Also with the addition of ghost shrimp, do they need other supplements of food other than uneaten food?

To tell you the honest truth, I really want plants, but at the same time I don't want to go through the hassle of having to fertilize and adding CO2 injections to the soil. Aren't there some plants out there that hardly need any maintenance like: Hornwort, java fern, water sprite, etc...?

Also, I will have some pictures of soon for sure.

If your aquarium is a 37 tall like some of mine, the light reaching the substrate will be minimal. As suggested above, anubias, crypts and java ferns do well in low light. However, they grow slowly.

Now about the fish. Don't put an angelfish in with any small fish. They're very effective predators. If you want angelfish, get six of about the same age but different sizes. In less than a year, you should have one or two pairs. Each spawning pair needs its own aquarium, and so do the resulting fry. Juvenile angelfish can be kept in a community tank, but mature ones are territorial and aggressive.

Well, I was thinking about getting small angels, I saw some that were only 1.5-2in... If I were to pair them with other community fish when they are small will they be very territorial when they grow in size?

Yes, they will. I love raising angelfish, but all of them are in single species tanks.

Sorry I won't be able to advice much on some of the bigger more aggresive fish, I have a small aquarium with tetras, and guppies. But yea if you want some nice angelfish and balasharks try to keep them with similar size fish like gourami or discus, to keep from lossing eat to hungry and agresive naivors. But do a bit of research to see what you like and what will work for you. Everyone here is very noligable, and we have some good experts. John and Achintya are among the best.

you keep discus with gourami???????if you keep discus then you should provide a discus community tank.the compatible fish for discus is angels,tetras,clown loach,cory.
for more information you may visit my blog about discus... http://discusfishcaresecrets.blogspot.com/

sorry achintya, I ment one or the other. The biggest thing I beleave is finding good tankmates for angel. Or exactly what are you planing to get redwing?

Dwarf gouramis are usually peaceful, somewhat larger than most live bearers, and colorful. However, many aquarium shops sell only males, because the females tend to be sort of dull. Without a female, the male could become somewhat aggressive.

Well I know for sure that I want to get mollies. I really like their dark color, it will go perfect with my tank setup.

So basically I'd like anything else that will be good with mollies...

Also, how many mollies should I get? They are schooling fish correct?

I don't think mollies achool, and its best to get 1 male for every 2 females. Otherwise the males will be a bit more agressive and or he can harrass the females to much and stress them out to the point they get sick. And since they are comunity fish most all comunity fish will be okay. Tetras are good additions, those also come in many types. I have some neon, cardinals, and black neons. Some glass fish and guppies. Those would also go will, glass fish are also really nice fish, check em out.

now it depends on you that what fish will you choose?

How do you tell the sex of your mollies? Do you think the fish store people actually know? I mean I know they are supposed to experts and what not but you never know sometimes...also, I was planning on just going to petsmart to get my fish, they are a bit cheaper than the local fish store near my house....those guys at petsmart no nothing about their fish or reptiles & amphibians... they were dumbfounded when they found out that there were no fish in my aquarium yet....I was like "well...I'm still cycling buddy" they just told me to throw my fish in....

Anyways, yeah sorry for rambling on about that...

When it comes to pet stores you have to remember most will hire anyone that has "customer service" experience. Doesn't mean they even know the difference between a salt and fresh water fish. Some have never even dealt with fish. But then there's also those people that love animals so much they deside to work at a petstore to help other people. So its always best to be prepared.

As for determening the sex of any livebearer I have a few post that may help. Check these out.
http://www.myaquariumclub.com/sexing-life-bearing-fish- 234464.html
http://www.myaquariumclub.com/sexing-fish2367517.html

I haven't had time to do any updates on the second one, I also wanted to post pictures to help out. But ill see when I can finish it, that should help out a bit, just take some time before you call anyone over and look for that fin, once you've spotted a healty fish that meets your criteria keep an eye on him/her. -Good Luck-