Hey yall.... newbie here

[kenneth]

:) I am new to the aquarium thing but i have plenty of guidance by experienced people that i know. I was wondering what would be the meanest looking, aggressive, rugged fish i could comfortably (for him/ her) fit in a 30 gallon tank? It is like 30" long, 12" deep, and 18" high. I really appreciate it. Fish with teeth showing are cool :D I could have one or two fish only if neccessary. Thanks :)

[1tankneverenuff]

Teeth? Perhaps the Vampire Characin or Wolf Fish?

[Leopardess]

Those get HUGE, in excess of 20". Kenneth, take any advice you get with a grain of salt. Some people have a pension for sticking unsuitable fish in unsuitably small tanks:rolleyes:

What about a school of really mean guys? What are they called....bucktooth tetras (Exodon paradoxus. Don't think they get too big either:)

Not sure if you could even find those and they are known to even nip at each other...

I'll keep thinking:)

[kenneth]

Thanks for the quick replies!!! Like i stated earlier i want the fish to be comfortable so i guess i definately need something smaller in size. And i understand what you mean Leopard. I will look into the tetras thanks :)

[Leopardess]

You know, i just thought of something else. Maybe if you have fish that look really mean but can be in with other fish you'd like that? Look into African butterfly fish (Pantodon buchholzi).

If you want something totally different, you could get african clawed frogs - shouldn't be kept with fish though or they'll probably kill them.

They don't have showing teeth but Tiger Barbs have quite the reptutation for being aggressive/nippy:) And they're pretty too:)

[aquariumfishguy]

Just make sure you dont get fish so mean/aggressive that you become afraid to stick your hand in the water to clean your tank....


....hey, it happens! :p

[kenneth]

Cool! The butterfly certainly looks "different." I think i want something that looks a little meaner though. I really don't want frogs either. I do like the tetras you pointed me to. they look cool and i might look into getting some. Thanks!

[1tankneverenuff]

Actually my African Butterflies were both quite aggressive towards any other top-dwelling fish. But mid-level and bottom-level dwellers he never touched. He was just territorial in his own little area...

[kenneth]

Also, i know cichlids aren't very aggressive looking but i like them. They seem to come in some really cool colors and they remind me of bass. Would these work in my aquarium? If so how many could i fit comfortably in there? Thanks

some of the ones i really like are the electric yellow african, red zebra african, yellow peacock, and the demansoni cichlid. :)

[kenneth]

Anybody with suggestions for the cichlids? It would be much appreciated :cool:

[daveedka]

Kenneth,
I really like your attitude of keeping your fish comfortable, Cichlids come in all shapes and size, and I know little to nothing about the africans in particular. I do the South and central American thing. I might suggest you hit the species profiles on this site, and also try Aquariumstuffers.com. Not necessarily to buy but they have a lot of pictures and give basic info and adult fish size so you can find a cool fish and then see if he is small enough for your tank. I know Rams don't get real big, and are not known as mean fish but they are awesome to watch. And not overly difficult to keep if you stay on top of your maintenance and give them good clean Water. The meanest Little fish in the world IMHO is the tiger barb. The more you put together the meaner they get. I had many a nice fish terrorized when my Brother wanted tiger barbs in our aquarium as kids.

[kenneth]

Thanks! I will have to say, i think i have my mind set on getting some dwarf puffers. When i saw them and read about them a little, i pretty much made up my mind. I am thinking maybe 8-10 for my 30 gallon tank. This morning i went to a fish store and got my ph kit, as well as some chemicals to treat the water. After testing the water, and making sure everything was ok, i went and got 8 black mollies to help the cycling process. They are actually fun to watch and they follow my finger already but i don't plan on keeping them any longer than i need to. When i don't need them anymore, my boss is going to give me what i paid for them so he can feed them to his Oscar. :(