aquarium coffee table

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paddyo

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Aug 2, 2004
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Dear all

I have recently taken delivery of an aquarium coffee table (110 litres; 29 US gallons; 24 UK gallons.) I have enjoyed a 50 litre aquarium for a year or so, but now wish to expand the hobby.
My questions are - do any members have any views on which fish I should stock? I am undecided. Thinking maybe of a species tank. Coldwater or tropical (I'd need to buy a heater)? In my smaller tank I have 5 neons, 3 harlequins, 4 rummy-noses (which I really like), 2 puffers, 3 corys, a plec and a couple of plecs, an otto and a dwarf loach. I quite like the idea of schooling fish. I would appreciate any suggestions for my new coffee table set up to help me make up my mind (cold or tropical.) I'm thinking that I may have to go for fish that are not too easily frightened by movement, given that this is a centre-piece in my living room.
Also, the tank is yet to be cycled. Would you recommend any hardy cyclers? Thank you in advance for your thoughts and suggestions.
 
I'd go with fancy goldfish...something that would look good when viewed from above...as would be the case with the cofee table. You are limited to 1-2 fish max, however...and make sure the filtration is sufficient to handle the load.
 
I'd recommend a fishless cycle, using media from your established tank to speed the process along.

I would probably go with african butterfly fish, as they look fantastic when viewed from above. What are the dimensions of the tank?
 
Thank you for your replies so far. You have certainly got me thinking. Goldfish - yes, worth thinking about, especially a fancy variety. Never thought about butterfly fish before, but they sound interesting.

My coffee table aquarium measures 40 inches length by 24 inches width by 7 inches depth.

There is a gap of a couple of centimetres between the tank and the lid. Will this be a problem for potentially jumpy butterfly fish?
 
Being so shallow, I would avoid goldfish--the fancies will be scraping the bottom! The africans would be a good choice for viewing, but you would have to cover that gap or they would jump out.

Are you tied to it being FW? With those dimensions, I would put in 2 inches of sand, 30 pounds of live rock, and make it SW, with a buch of little crabs, shrimp and a couple jawfish. You'd want to figure out something to aotomate FW topoff for evaporation with that much surface area, but you'd get a cool view of the critters.
 
Interesting idea, OG. That would look cool...what about lighting?
Also made me think of some little flounders or something...not sure that would work in the long run though.
 
For the critters, no special lighting would be needed. In fact, many inverts would be much more active in a low-light tank. Corals wouldn't be an option, but still would be a cool setup.
 
Can you post a pic, the tank sounds awesome. Where did you get it? How much does it cost?

Whatever you decide to put in it, I would go with a sand bottom, so that the fish stand out somewhat. I would put a harem (1m 3f) Apistogramma Cacatuoides in it. They would be expensive, but the tank sounds like it was made for apistos.

Disclaimer: Mooman is an apistogramma nut and would probably try to keep them in his bathtub if his fiance would allow it.
 
I would go with the sw idea with crabs, etc. I dont think they would get as stressed with all the knocking noises associated with a coffee table.
 
Thanks guys

I hadn't thought of salt before. Never considered it an option, but I'll certainly look into it. Always been warned that it is difficult to set up.

The coffee table looks fantastic. i bought it off ebay for £700. It has decent lighting. I think I'll definately go for sand substrate.

Half the excitement is in deciding which fish to go for...
 
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