Hi folks,

I just purchased my first aquarium (46 gallons) and will be beginning my fishless cycle tonight.

I've tried my luck at the hobby in the past and needlessly killed some fish because I really didn't know what I was doing. This time I'm really aiming at getting it right.

Do you guys have any stocking suggestions for a 46 gallon bowfront tank? Not anything too difficult, obviously

Thank you

Live plants.

my .02

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fw leiden since 1979, fo salt since 1979, mixed reef 55g 2002-2009. Strong emphasis on the tank taking care of itself. Balanced with plant life, no water changes, tap water, no filters in FW. Only dosing calcium, alk, mag in marine reef tanks. http://www.aquariumforum.com/f15/my-...ods-26410.html
recent tanks (till 2009) 7 years- 10g FW leiden 7 yrs, 55g mixed reef 7, 2 yrs, 20g FW leiden, 10 g fw leiden , 29g mixed reef, current tank 55g leiden

Based on what I've read, live plants seem like quite the hassle for someone who doesn't really know what he's doing yet...

perhaps a different hassle.

But with the plants I use I do not use a filter, airstone, powerheads, water changes and so on. So after I setup it up initially all I do is feed the fish and replace evaporative water. And once a year harvest some plants and sometimes fish.

Still just my .02

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fw leiden since 1979, fo salt since 1979, mixed reef 55g 2002-2009. Strong emphasis on the tank taking care of itself. Balanced with plant life, no water changes, tap water, no filters in FW. Only dosing calcium, alk, mag in marine reef tanks. http://www.aquariumforum.com/f15/my-...ods-26410.html
recent tanks (till 2009) 7 years- 10g FW leiden 7 yrs, 55g mixed reef 7, 2 yrs, 20g FW leiden, 10 g fw leiden , 29g mixed reef, current tank 55g leiden

Interesting... what is the initial setup like and how would I go about knowing which plants to use?

excellent questions.

search for beaslbob builds here.

Try to insure you get a mix of fast growing and slower growing plants and that the plants are true aquatic plants.

for a 10g I use 4-6 bunches of anacharis, 4-6 vals, 4 small potted types (crypts, swords) and a single amazon sword. Plant the tall one in back, the potted right and left and the amazon sword kinds in the center.

For substrate I use 1" canadian sphagum peat moss, 1" play sand and 1" pc elect (pro's choice infield conditioner). I wet each layer clea up the mess then do the next layer.

Plant the plants before filling with water then fill the tank with water poured over a dish.

wait one week.

add 1 fish

wait one week with no food being added.

add more fish. If live bearers like plattys the first is a male and now add 2 females. for other fish add 4 more.

start feeding a single flake per day.

just my .02

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fw leiden since 1979, fo salt since 1979, mixed reef 55g 2002-2009. Strong emphasis on the tank taking care of itself. Balanced with plant life, no water changes, tap water, no filters in FW. Only dosing calcium, alk, mag in marine reef tanks. http://www.aquariumforum.com/f15/my-...ods-26410.html
recent tanks (till 2009) 7 years- 10g FW leiden 7 yrs, 55g mixed reef 7, 2 yrs, 20g FW leiden, 10 g fw leiden , 29g mixed reef, current tank 55g leiden

I'd look into an african cichlid tank. They're colorful, relatively hardy, and you could put like 8 of them in a 46g tank. Live plants can be a pain in the ass, but they're very worth it in a nice big tank like that. Good luck!

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16g-2 guppies, 1 bolivian ram, 3 neon tetras,2 khulis
55g-1 red tail shark, 1 rubberlip plecos, 2 banjo cats,
2 silver dollars, 6 white clouds,

I went with 3 Mollys in my 37 gallon tank for a couple of weeks then added 3 platys and an algae eater. Now I'm just waiting for the water to stay clear for a while to see if I've attained a balance between the beneficial bacteria and the detriment from feeding & fish. I do not have live plants.

The fish store said the Mollys were good because they are pretty tough, same for platys. I got the algae eater to help tidy up the bottom of the tank.

I'm a beginner too, best thing you can do is be patient. Keep the water changes to a minimum and get a an API Master Kit for Fresh or Saltwater (your needs) to keep an eye on the water.

I also recommend you ask a knowledgeable sale aid to help you pick out the same sex for each species of fish. All of my Molly's are male and Platys are all female so I don't have to worry about breeding.

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37 Gallon Aqueon Bow Front Tank
Tropical Freshwater

Fish in Tank
2 Mollies
1 Platy


Fish in the Ground
3 Mollys
2 Platys
1 Algae Eater

I wouldn't call plants a hassle at all. If they are root plants just buy root tabs. There are plenty of easy, large, low light, and low maintenance plants you can get. Mosses, Java Fern, Amazon Sword, Jungle Val, Anubias, Anacharis.....

Welcome back to the hobby!

Alot of options with a 46. I would suggest stopping by your lfs.. alot. look at fishes and see which ones you prefer/like.

For me, I currently perfer many small fish vs several big fish. As such, I tend to favor the smaller shoaling fish. Neons, tetra's etc.

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100 Dirt + Stuff. To be Angel baby tank.
37 Planted. http://www.aquariumforum.com/f45/pla...nal-20774.html
29 Tall community tank. 5+ Years up and running.
15 Soon to be RCS tank.

welcome to the hobby again! Read up on the nitrogen cycle, and plants arent nearly as tough as you would think.

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"Being ignorant is not so much a Shame, as being unwilling to learn".-- Benjamin Franklin

would suggest hardy fishes, your local fish store should be able to help you. Start with very small numbers of fishes, perhaps a pair or two. Gradually add. There are certain thumb rules in terms of fish size(when it is fully grown) and water volume. Keep within that. Planted tanks/barebottom/unplanted substrate each one is different. So kindly indicate what you plan to do, we have excellent expertise in this group to guide and help us.

some good info for a newbie like me