I have had fish most of my life and I currently have a 10gal with tropical fish and recently acquired a 30 gallon bowfront (Super excited ) but I haven't decided yet what to put in it. I love the colors of a salt water tank but don't want to try that route until I am able to get 100+ gallon tank. I want to add something with bright colors into the bowfront would prefer to not have super aggressive fish. There are already an african cichlid tank and a green terror tank. I want something different for mine. lol Any ideas from anyone about what would be good? I'm open for any ideas and will be doing research before I jump feet first into a certain kind of fish. I want to know I will have the time to take care of them and such. Just thought this would be a good place with all the fish enthusiasts to get some great ideas.

bright colors but dont want to do africans? hmm............... dwarfs, or rams... bolivian rams are super colorful and would look awesome in your tank.

apistogramma caukatoides, would be bright

Victorian cichlids.

I have thought about going with a victoria cichlid and breed them but I don't feel experienced enough and would probably get over run with fry if they took off well. That wouldn't be good. But it would be kind of fun. I like the fulu's and the flameback's but again I don't feel experienced enought to go with that route.

if you really want to get into SW later on with a 100 gallon, I suggest you go with a SW setup now to see how you like it. The buy in for a 100 gallon set up is a lot to pay just to find out you don't have the patience or don't like SW.

That is true but you can't put much in a 30 gallon can you? I have also heard the smaller the tank the more the maintenance is on it to keep balances correct. The bigger they are the more self sustained and maintaining they are if set up properly.

I am currently doing research in the Dwarf Cichlids and so far I like what I see and says they are easy to maintain. I'm liking this idea and it would be fun to have the bigger cichlids in the 75 the green terrors in the 55 and then the dwarfs in the 30

Do you ever visit the SW section to look at some setups?

Not lately but I will check it out.

Thought you said no african cichlids?? victorians are africans.. lol.... oh yeah, and about your exp level, seriuosly they are the hardiest fish ever... Not very easy to kill at all. and the water parameters are easy to get to where they should be by just adding some corals, or crushed coral substrate.

I didn't realize there were dwarf cichlids. I am used to his african cichlids that get about 5 inches or so. I wouldn't be able to put many of those in a 30 gallon. Maybe 3 or 4 lol

I looked in the SW section but saw that they don't have very much in their tanks the same size as mine except coral mainly. Maybe 2 or 3 fish. I'd like to have more than that. I know they say 1" fish per gallon, but I currently have 12 fish in my 10 gallon tank and they aren't an inch a piece. I have a bala shark and an angel fish, plus a pleco and they all are doing well.

that 1" a fish thing is a selling point.... it meant more for a cubic inch of fish..... and also dependent on your filtration....
you could do the shellies everyone seams to love they stay small... there also was a cichlid that stayed about the size of a guppy but i don't remember what there called i saw them in a community tank once a while back

I love the shellies I have in my 50g

Well the tank I got has an eheim canister filter (rated for up to 70 gallons) as well as a whisper filter. Pretty heavy duty filtration system I thought for a 30 gallon. That's why I couldn't pass up the deal, it was tank, both filters, light bar, lid, heater, brillo srubber, and stand for 100. Looks pretty much brand new. Top glass thing needs scrubbed but other than that it's super nice.

nice then will all that i would think you could get 6-8 normal Africans in that tank with out issue but smaller could get way more... tetras guppy's lol

I don't know how much protein skimmers and such cost, I am currently on unemployment and going to school, so I can't spend too much. I thought about just buying pieces per month, but what else would I have to do to get it up to a SW tank?

You dont want africans right??? or did you change your mind and now considerin africans???

like I said before, rams, apistos, dwarfs, are all cichlids from south america/central america that are super colorful and you get that cool cichlid personality from them! after readin all the posts so far though, sounds like africans is still an option... So my first suggestion would be some Mallawii african cichlids, like peacocks! or saulousi! you will get the best color out of thoughs guys, Bright yellows, reds, blues, etc

With the salt water can I add the live sand, then later add the coral, then slowly add fish? Buy things piece by piece and get things going slowly or will it not sustain properly doing this method?