Planning my first tank

Hi all!

I've been reading up a little about keeping fish and I'd like to have some at home. I plan on keeping them for the forseeable future, and have had it in mind for a few years before taking the plunge.

So far, I think I've learnt the basics about preparing/cycling the tank (write ups here were useful), situating it, feeding/maintenance, and at the moment I'm trying to figure out what type of fish, creatures and plants I'd like to have in there. Maybe you could help with that?

Broadly, I'd like to have (eventually!) a few (3-5) large fish (full grown size 4" or so), and a lot of smaller fish (full grown size 0.5"-1.5"), with plenty of colour... all in a reasonably large tank about 1m long. I'd like to have a few plants growing and maybe in a few years something small and exotic also in there. No idea what yet - it seems cruel to keep a nudibranch, but they are awesome looking and maybe it would be practical eventually to keep one, or something like it that is well understood and content in captivity.

One of the things I've read is that larger fish can eat smaller fish, so perhaps what I have in mind isn't possible? Or maybe there are larger fish that won't eat smaller ones if you pick the right ones? I've no idea how to start picking compatible fish.

I've been offered a medium sized tank for free, but also looking at larger tanks for sale. Given that it can take a few months for the ecosystem to settle, would it be better to just get the larger tank now (by large, I mean 1m long, 200L) instead of planning to use the free one for a year or so with smaller fish and then move to a larger one? Any extra things to consider there?

You have an clean canvas to plan your new tank on. Do lots of research and ask the members here about any fish compatability before you buy. Not all big fish eat smaller fish. Enjoy planning your new project.

Hello,
My best advice is go for the ultimate size you'd like. I started 4 1/2 months ago and have invested so much in this you have no idea (I am no example to follow). I thought i'd get cheap used tanks and when i wanted to upgrade easy, But i can assure you today what i regret the most is not having gone big the first day (5-6 aquariums, 5-6 filters, 5-6 lights, 5-6 heaters and it goes on and on). Even on tight budget you will be spending so much more by constantly upgrading. And you lose so much on resale value so don't count on that.
That leads me to a proposal LOL
I have a 240L tank 60 cm tall and 90cm long with nice dark oak wood cabinet. I keep Discus in it but I want to go bigger. Since i leave in an apartment i don't have the space to keep it. Can sell you a whole package with filtration (already cycled). It had a few scratches but there is a thread on fixing that and the actual tank is really nice and sturdy (10mm glass no top braces getting in the way). Anyways no emergency and no pressure.

Thanks for the encouragement guys. I'm reading up now about the type of larger fish that are available and don't eat smaller guys. I know I won't be introducing them all at the same time, but I think I'll try and plan what it might look like in about 6 months and work back from there.

So, I'll be trying to find about five 4" fish, maybe 2 or 3 of one type and the rest singles. I'd like some of them to be interesting to look at - either striking colour, or with dangling/waving appendages - anyways as silly as that seems to write, that is what I have in mind.

There are probably more options with the smaller fish, so maybe I'll try pick the bigger fish for starters. How about a pair of Angelfish (not for breeding). I've read one article saying that Anglefish do better in groups of 5- that being so, would it be OK to have a pair of them? I see there are many types of Anglefish, so just asking generally.

For smaller fish, Black Neon Tetras apparently are calm enough not to nip at Anglefish, and they like the same water conditions. Am I on the right track here?

Miamiheat - thanks for the advice about the trouble that a small 'starter' tank might bring, I think I'm seeing the benefits of starting with the tank that I'd like to leave there for 10 years.

EDIT - the email notifications from this forum went into the gmail spam - if that's a common problem then maybe it might be an idea to note it on the 'registration complete' page, because I didn't see the email that my forum account was active, for the same reason.

Ive noticed the pm notification in my gmail spam even all the subscribed thread went to the inbox. I sorted it on gmail settings. One of my fav fish are gourami, lots of colour with tangley bits. Worgh looking up.

Thanks for the tip! I really like the look of the pearl gourami, and apparently they are relatively hardy, which will probably suit my beginner skills well.

Someone's female gourami in this image.

My friend used to have pearl gourami. It lived for a couple of years with no problem, while other fish died from time to time. So, even though I am not an expert on the fish, I can also recommend this one as a beginner fish.

Pearl gourami is a great starter fish, it was one of my first, they are hardy and look great. the boesmani rainbow fish are a nice sized fish, look great and will grow to a couple of inches, I find them to be hardy fish and a group of 6 to 8 do look impressive. It can be difficult to find decent ones hovvever, and the females dont have great colour. the juveniles all look the same in the LFS so there is a bit of pot luck involved.

finally my last suggestion is one of my favourite fish, i have 8 to 10 at anyone time in my 180 planted tank, the odessa barb, under rated but stunning fish in a small group., and despite the bad reputation of barbs for nipping fins, these guys are peaceful yet playful.

Let us know what you go for....