Starting a 40 Gallon Tank

[Flying_Diamond]

well, the inch per gallon rule is very outdated. there's so much to take into consideration now when stocking a tank that you really can't rely on that rule, and no one really does anymore. depending on elements like the fish's bioload, your filtration, footprint of the tank, and fish territories, you can stock over or have to stock under.

in regards to your stock, you should really only keep one angel in the tank, unless you have a breeding pair, which i don't think you're intending. they would otherwise probably get aggressive with each other as they got older.
in regards to the gouramis, in general, you can't keep any kind of gourami with another gourami, unless they're females, but most stores only sell males. i'd go with one dwarf gourami if you like them, or you'll probably have aggression issues and they'll harass each other pretty bad.

kuhli loaches will go well with just about everything you have in your list. they're a bottom dweller and keep to their group on the bottom, but you'll need at least 5-6 of these to keep them active and happy.

you have a lot of schooling fish picked out there [tetras, danio, glass cats], but i would probably stick to one or two. i have heard about glass cats being very sensitive, so i wouldn't really recommend you starting a tank with them. danios are very hardy and will most likely thrive in your aquarium, with a school of at least 6. the gold neon tetras wouldn't get big enough to keep with an angel fish, they would end up as food, maxing out at 1.5 inches. the pristella tetras should get big enough at 2 inches to avoid being a snack for the angels at their full size. some other tetras to consider would be lemon tetras, bleeding heart tetras, and rummynose tetras. none of them nip and they would all get big enough to stay alive with an angel. i'd pick two tetra or danio species though and get 6 of each.

and i don't know much about acei cichlids, but i'm pretty sure coming from the psuedotropheus genus that they'd be like a yellow lab and pretty nippy and aggressive with anything not in its genus and probably wouldn't be suited for a community tank, but maybe a species only.

 

[zpromoter]

After doing some research, it seems to me that the acei cichlids (a pair of them) would be very easy to start off with. They are real easy to care for and have a gentle temper. They also like to swim in the top half of the aquarium leaving you something for the bottom. Maybe a few Kuhli loaches on the bottom.

http://www.cichlid-forum.com/profiles/species.php?id=1460

 

[jm1212]

Thank you all very much for your advice! I really really really appreciate it!

I will take your advice on the plants montanafish gal. Although I was also looking at the Dwarf Hairgrass, I thought it looked kinda neat and it said it was an easy plant.

I will do a fish in cycle using only my media from my 10 gallon tank just to be positive that I don't get any unwanted disease. Pretty much do what you suggested zpromoter waiting a week and then putting some hardy fish in. I especially like your idea about the plastic cups and plants.

I have been running through some of the freshwater fish on the internet and found some that I really like. They are mostly non aggressive fish although some are semi aggressive (from what I've read). I just want to run the list by your guys here on the forum just incase. Now I have also heard of the 1 inch per gallon of aquarium space. Should I use this rule or could I go over a little bit?

Here's my list of fish that I liked. I know I probably wont be able to put all of these in my tank but I'd be able to get an idea of what goes best with each other.


Ghost Glass Cat- glass catfish are very timid fish and should be kept in large groups or they will pine away in your tank. keep them with only the most peaceful fish, or in a species tank.
Neon Blue Dwarf Gourami (I'm thinking 2 of these guys would be neat)- dwarf gouramis are aggressive towards one another, so it would be better if you only kept one per tank, but are peacful towards other species of fish (not including other species of gouramis/bettas). that said, you could have an angel with a dwarf gourami. i have had alot of success keeping the two species together. the only problems i ever had with dwarf gouramis is that it can be difficult to keep them alive for more than a few months. a few years back i had a dwarf gourami that was super hardy and lived for quite a long time, but nowadays they tend to be more fragile and short-lived.
Veil Angel (I wanted to go with the black and albino one but they are semi aggressive so if you think just 1 in the tank that is cool with me)-angels are not really that aggressive at all. they'll pick at one another when they are in a school and can be nasty when breeding, but other than that they are just as peacful as any other community fish. they will eat small fish though, and this includes neons, cardinals, male guppies, endlers, and otos. in your tank, you'd be best off if you kept only one angel.
Acei Cichlid-Acei cichlids are african cichlids, and can be pretty aggressive. while they are great to look at since they are so colorful, it is not a good idea to keep them in a community setup like the one you are planning, or with CA/SA cichlids (the angel). if you want some type of cichlid in your tank, besides the angel, try some bolician rams or festivum. both will coexists well with the angel well.
Gold Neon Tetra- gold neon tetras can be a challenege to find and keep, mostly because they are pretty rare and are so inbred. gold neons are essentially neons without the blue stripe. regular neons are already pretty fragile, and the extra inbreeding that the gold morph requires makes them very sensative. plus, with the angel they'll be eaten once it gets bigger. you'd be better off with something like lemon, glolite, diamond, or bleeding heart tetras.
X-Ray Pristella Tetra- these guys can be nippy, so its not the best idea to keep them with angels or other fish with long fins.
"Glo-Fish” Danio[FONT=&quot]- glofish are essentially zebra danios and should be treated as such. that said, they really are not good tankmates for angelfish. they tend to be hyperactive and nippy, so a slow moving angelfish might be picked on. if you like something with bright colors and lots of activity, look at platies. they make great tankmates for angelfish and are active and swim all over the tank. plus, they're easy to breed.
[/FONT][FONT=&quot] [/FONT]Kuhli Loach (I found these and thought they were awwweeesoomme)[FONT=&quot]- kuhli loaches are great bottom feeders and are pretty active. they're social fish and will work well with angels, just make sure that you have a nice big group of them. also, it may be a good idea to cover filter intakes with a sponge or filter media bag to prevent them from swimming up the intake into the filter's impeller or media (depending on the filter).
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dont use the inch per gallon rule. simply put, it doesnt work at all, in any situation for any fish.

comments in red

 

[jm1212]

After doing some research, it seems to me that the acei cichlids (a pair of them) would be very easy to start off with. They are real easy to care for and have a gentle temper. They also like to swim in the top half of the aquarium leaving you something for the bottom. Maybe a few Kuhli loaches on the bottom.

http://www.cichlid-forum.com/profiles/species.php?id=1460

acei's are gentle when it comes to african cichlid standards, but they can still be pretty nasty.

 

[zpromoter]

acei's are gentle when it comes to african cichlid standards, but they can still be pretty nasty.

yeah thats what I figured.

 

[DieselJunki]

Decisions decisions . . . This is what I have changed to since reading everyone's replies and doing some research.

Kuhli Loach – These guys are a definite yes I'm going to get them. I plan on getting atleast 6 so they will be happy.

Diamond Head Neon Tetra or Rummynose Tetra - I'm kind of torn between the Rummynose Tetra and the Diamond Head Tetra. I wont get both but am still deciding.

Topsail Platy - Red Wag Platy - I really like both the topsail and the red wag. Am I able to get a school of each of these guys (and still keep a school of tetras) or just one of them?

German Blue Ram - I was reading up on these guys and they look incredible. Although I did hear the are very hard to keep but I think it would be neat after I had an established tank for awhile if I could get a breeding pair of these guys. Will they keep with an angel in there?

Veil Angel – I'll only get 1 of these guys.


and for plants I still have the
Java Fern
Dwarf Hairgrass
anyone have another suggestions about plants that I can stick in there? Maybe some floating moss?


Does anyone have any suggestions on which filters I should use. I know someone suggested a Marineland Penguin 200 or 350. Any other suggestions though?

 

[Ozymandias]

you could try the Blue Rams thay i honestly don't think there the hardest fish to keep aslong as you acclimate them to your tank slowly and you got them locally (so thay where probably already in water that was similar to your tank water).

for plant look into some of the swords splants like amazon or mellon swords and cryps are good low light plants.

for filtration i would take a look at the Aquaclear filters. thay allow you to mix and mach what media you want to use and even use some of your own. thay really are my favorite HOB filter.

 

[Flying_Diamond]

your stocking decisions are looking much better.
i would go with rummynose tetras.. because i like them better, but that's just my opinion. i have some in my 55 and they're very tight schoolers and their red noses are absolutely brilliant.

platys don't need to be kept in schools so you could get one of each if you'd like.

a ram would look very nice in the tank and they get along well with angels, but i'm not sure if you have enough room for a breeding pair. maybe just one would work if you keep up with your weekly water changes. :]

i would also reccomend a marineland penguin bio-wheel power filter. they're really efficient in my experience and last quite longer than any other filter i've used has.

as for plants, you could also try some amazon swords, anubias, java moss, hornwort, crypts, or micro sword. all of those would look good, depending on what kind of light you're running.

 

[DieselJunki]

Ok I will probably go with the rummynose as I was leaning more towards them anyways.

Yay I can have both platys!!

Once my tank is all established and there have been fish living in it for awhile I may just try a ram.

For the HOB filter I have decided on the Penguin Power Filter 350B.

I will research more on those plants.

Now another question. Out of the fish I have listed what would be the hardiest fish to start off with in my tank after I had let it cycle for abit? I hear the rummynose is a little sensitive so could I do a couple platys?

 

[bushwhacker]

deiseljunki what fish are in your 10 gallon tank? to cycle that 40 you could take the whole filter and the fish from the 10 and put them all in the 40. put the filter you get for the 40 on there run them both for a few weeks. by then the 40s filter should be ready move all you stuff back to the ten and stock your 40 g.