# New to this and have questions



## grzyly12 (May 19, 2011)

Hi, I am new to the hobby and I am starting a 40g freshwater tank. My previous experience in keeping fish was a couple of goldfish from a fair that I won (one of them surprisingly lasted for 6 years). My first question is the tank that I am receiving was once a saltwater tank. I have read online that you need to use a vinegar and water solution but I do not know the ratio. 

My second question is that I do not know if the fish that I want to keep are compatible with each other. Here is a list of what I want.

5+ Checkered Barbs
7+ Cherry Barbs
5-7 Assorted Cory Cats
1 Giant Gourami 
1 or 2 Angelfish (whichever will work better)
If not the Angelfish then either a pair of Kribs or a pair of Rams

Any other suggestions are greatly appreciated.


----------



## funlad3 (Oct 9, 2010)

As for stocking, I'll leave that for someone else, but I do know how to clean an old SW tank. Like you said, vinegar and water works well. If you have it in a 3:1 water : vinegar solution, you should be fine. Wipe it down or fill it up, it doesn't much matter. What you'll need to do though is to completley dry out the tank, and then rinse it with fresh water to eliminate all traces of removed salt and vinegar.

Good luck and welcome to Fish Forums!


----------



## MetalHead (Aug 18, 2010)

if you drop the plans for a giant gourami, the 40's stock list seems fine to me. Ensure that your filters are running least 3x your tank volume. If you do keep angels, make sure you drop the cherry barbs. Depending on the size of the Cherry Barbs and the Angels, the barbs could end up as potential food for the angels.


----------



## grzyly12 (May 19, 2011)

If you say no Cherry Barbs then what would work in its place? I want to have a fish that is colorful in my tatank but will not become a snack for the angelfish(and please no.neon tetras I personally just do.not like them). 

And thanks for the ratio on the water to vinegar solution.


----------



## grogan (Jan 23, 2011)

funlad3 said:


> As for stocking, I'll leave that for someone else, but I do know how to clean an old SW tank. Like you said, vinegar and water works well. If you have it in a 3:1 water : vinegar solution, you should be fine. Wipe it down or fill it up, it doesn't much matter. What you'll need to do though is to completley dry out the tank, and then rinse it with fresh water to eliminate all traces of removed salt and vinegar.
> 
> Good luck and welcome to Fish Forums!


LOL! funlad3: way to call the stocking issue.

Future tank addict: look at a natural fish landscape verses 'What fish should I get". Not so much an assortment of random tropical fish that will co-exist but rather fish in their natural environment in your living room.


----------



## humdedum (Feb 18, 2009)

The giant gourami can grow to 28 inches, and will probably end up costing you a lot in food, let alone tank expansion. 

Clown rasboras grow to 3 inches, and they're pretty colorful.


----------



## Danio king (Feb 25, 2011)

no gourami just the angels, thats still a lot of fish for a tank that size IMO but as long as you keep on water changes you should be fine.


----------



## egoreise (Mar 16, 2011)

You should pick one kind of cory cat. Six is a good number for them, too.


----------



## grzyly12 (May 19, 2011)

Ok. Thank you for all of the suggesgions! 

I really like the peppered cory cat so I will get that. I womt get the gourami. Amd should I just get the angelfish? Or would the rams or keibs be okay with the angel?


----------



## toddnbecka (Jun 30, 2006)

To get a pair of angelfish, Ram's or krib's you start with 5-6 juvies and swap off the extras after you have an established pair. Simply putting together a random male and female isn't likely to work out. 
What are the dimensions of the 40 (12" or 18" front-to-back)? The footprint of the tank determines the stocking allowance, bigger footprint would allow 2 pairs of cichlids, taller tank only 1 pair. A single angel should be fine either way.


----------



## egoreise (Mar 16, 2011)

toddnbecka said:


> To get a pair of angelfish, Ram's or krib's you start with 5-6 juvies and swap off the extras after you have an established pair. Simply putting together a random male and female isn't likely to work out.
> What are the dimensions of the 40 (12" or 18" front-to-back)? The footprint of the tank determines the stocking allowance, bigger footprint would allow 2 pairs of cichlids, taller tank only 1 pair. A single angel should be fine either way.


Absolutely true. My mom got four angelfish, and two of them paired off. The other two are males, and they got the living crap beat out of them by the male in the breeding pair. One of them is now blind in one eye. Now I fear putting together any two or more angels without being ready to rehome one.


----------



## grzyly12 (May 19, 2011)

Its 12" front to back. But I was thinking if I dropped the gourami and the angel and the cherry barbs and imstead got 4 rams or kribs and hope for a pair and then a school of tiger barbs instead. Would this work?

Im open to any commemts.


----------



## toddnbecka (Jun 30, 2006)

Tiger barbs are a bit aggressive for Ram's, may work out better with krib's. Either way the Cory cats won't be happy, they prefer less rowdy tankmates.


----------



## grzyly12 (May 19, 2011)

Ok, then instead of the tiger barbs would black ruby barbs work? And actually the more I research the more I think that Im going to drop the Cory cats and get 3 Yoyo loaches instead. Would this work?


----------



## toddnbecka (Jun 30, 2006)

I'm not familiar with the black ruby barbs. Checkered barbs and cherry barbs are pretty easy to get along with, not hyperactive and nippy like tiger barbs. Yoyo's are also an active species, stand up to most cichlids well enough but may be a bit cramped in a 3' tank. A pair of cichlids will claim at least half the tank as their territory, and that space may be in the center if they decide it's more suitable than a corner. 
I currently have a pair of cutteri with a few remaining fry in a 36x12 40 gallon tank. They share it with a Carapo knife who mainly hangs out in one corner while the lights are on, then cruises the tank after dark. Also a couple dozen oblongum juvies that are still small enough for the Carapo to chow down occaisonally (those aren't happy fish...) and a few BN pleco's. The cutteri pair keep the oblongums confined to the sides and upper corners of the tank, while the BN mainly stay out of their way as much as they can.


----------



## grzyly12 (May 19, 2011)

Ok. So what if I just took out the rams altogether? Then my updated list for fish would be:

5+ Checkered Barbs
3 Yoyo Loaches
6+ Black Ruby Barbs
Any other suggestions on what would be good to go with these guys?

Here is a link to a basic profile of the black ruby barb: 

http://www.seriouslyfish.com/profile.php?genus=Puntius&species=nigrofasciatus&id=156


----------



## toddnbecka (Jun 30, 2006)

A gourami and/or a trio of livebearers would probably work with those.


----------



## lohachata (Jan 27, 2006)

never put too many angels in a tank..you will wind up with this....










yeah...i know...i forgot to clean the glass....lol


----------



## grzyly12 (May 19, 2011)

Wow! That is a lot of anfelfish! Is that the only fish in the tank?

If I were to add dwarf gouramis, could I adc them in a trio or should they be kept to just a pair or just one by themselves? 

If I were to add livebearers would swordtails work for a trio should I get platys instead?


----------



## toddnbecka (Jun 30, 2006)

Female dwarf gourami's aren't too common, but a single male or pair should be fine. Swordtails need a well-covered tank, they're jumpers.


----------



## lohachata (Jan 27, 2006)

actually that is a little less than half of a 75 gallon tank..the other half was just as full..had angels...cories and plecos in the tank.


----------



## grzyly12 (May 19, 2011)

Wow! Good luck with that. Now I know not to get any angelfish.


----------



## lohachata (Jan 27, 2006)

something that i have learned over the years...
angels are awesome fish...and they can be kept with other fish....BUT !!!
1.they need a deep tank to develop their beautiful finnage..since you have a 40 gallon tank with a depth of 
16" do not buy veils..only standard fins..
2.understand that they grow pretty fast and get fairly large..bodies as big as 5" not including fins...
3.they love to eat little fish...never have anything under 1 1/2" in with them.
4.their fins are food to many other fish such as serpae tetras..RESEARCH their tankmates thoroughly.
5.i would say that you could easily maintain 3 or 4 in a 40 long..
6.unless you are breeding or pushing for rapid growth keep the temp at 78 degrees.
7.get some heavy black plastic sheeting and cover the back and sides with it..the fish will be more comfortable 
and their colors will show up better...

as for tankmates....6-8 corydoras...emperor tetras..bleeding heart tetras..congo tetras..red or black phantom tetras..
silver tips..lemons..and a number of others..a couple of bushynose plecos or 5 or 6 otocinclus..
i would suggest 30-40% water changes once or twice a week..


----------



## grzyly12 (May 19, 2011)

Thank you for all of the info on the Angels! But unfortunately I'm not getting any because of the other fish that I want to get instead. If this tank goes successfully then I will think about getting another tank and adding the angelfish then but not in this tank. 

Here is the updated list:

5+ Checkered Barbs
6+ Black Ruby Barbs
2 Dwarf Gouramis(one male and one female hopefully)
3 Yoyo Loaches
3 Swordtails/Platys(still deciding on which ones I want)

If you have any other suggestions, that would be great. Good luck with that tank full of angels by the way.


----------



## grzyly12 (May 19, 2011)

Actually I changed my mind again. Here is my new list of what I hope will work.

3 Yoyo Loaches
6 Black Ruby Barbs
8 Tiger Barbs

What would go good with this group of fish?


----------

