View Full Version : fish only what size?
ocdavep
01-31-2008, 1:46 PM
so i'm going to be buying a new aquarium and finally talked my g/f into fish INSTEAD of trying to do seahorses... what a pain lol. The problem i am running into is that i already have a nice sturdy dresser that i want to use as a stand. The dimensions are 42"L x 17X W. I was originally going to get a 55 gallon tank but that is obviously now out of the question... I know i want to put a lion in it and maybe a couple of clowns. she wants a copperband butterfky fish. I guess what i'm getting down to is, what can i get aquarium would be a good choice for this stand that i might be able to fit all of these fish into? I plan on upgrading down the line, so don't think i'm going to smash a full grown volitan into a 20 gallon or anything. : ) All comments accepted!!! Thanks.
If you'd really like to keep all those fish, I'd seriously consider a tank larger than the dimensions you're limited to by that dresser. Are you confident the dresser will hold the weight of a stocked medium size fish tank over the long term?
A standard 38g tank should fit on there (36" x 12" or 36" x 16" is the footprint if I remember correctly), but I wouldn't put all those fish together in there. It would be small for the copperband butterfly, which comes with a recommended minimum tank size of 50g. If you wanted a dwarf lion and a couple of clowns, that wouldn't be as bad, but it's still on the small side. It's important to keep the diet of lionfish in mind as well as the implications that it has on water quality. Even then, I find tanks over 29g that are < 18" front to back less appealing for sw just because they can be more difficult to stack live rock in a manner that is anything but a wall of rock against the back. I find it hard to really get creative and the live rock can really start to eat into the amount of swimming room left for the fish. That's purely my opinion, of course, but I think you could do much more with a larger tank and be happier by keeping all those fish together.
ocdavep
02-01-2008, 12:10 PM
i've been looking on craigslist at 55 and 75 gallon tanks with stands. i know the stand would be fine but it just isn't going to be big enough of an aquarium for what i want. someone told me today that lions put off a tremendous amount of waste and they limit what you can have in there to clean it up. is this true? i've never heard lions to be such a pain (with the exception of eating things). I really want a lionfish since they are one of my favorites. thanks!
Yes it is true that they make a mess when eating and will eat pretty much anything that will fit in their mouths. They will adore you if you feed them expensive cleaner shrimp for instance.
clown-lover
02-01-2008, 5:51 PM
:rofl: Grins.. you are just to much sometimes.
ocdavep
02-02-2008, 8:33 PM
elaborate.
Grins
02-02-2008, 10:15 PM
elaborate.
on...?
ocdavep
02-03-2008, 10:09 AM
Grins.. you are just to much sometimes.
..
clown-lover
02-03-2008, 10:14 AM
They will adore you if you feed them expensive cleaner shrimp for instance.
My post was in reference to this line of her post.. Was a definite tongue in cheek statement.. I was actually howling after I read it..
ocdavep
02-04-2008, 12:01 PM
agreed it was hillarious hah. i thought i was being attacked for a minute lol. yes the lion would love meals that cost more than most peoples! haha
kryptic4l
02-04-2008, 12:27 PM
depends on the lion fish too, for some a 55 never will never even be close to big enough as they can get huge.