26 gallon bowfront - What to do with it?

I needed a temporary grow out tank so on a bit of an impulse I bought a 26g bowfront. I was originally going to get a 29g on the $1 per gallon sale at Petco but by the time I had purchased a top, light, filter, heater and stand I would be into it about the same as the little kit I got all ready to go. The thing that made me do it was that they had a bowfront stand that was normally $100 for $45 due to a damaged box, contents looked good. So my dilemma is this... Ive never really had a smaller sized tank. After I grow out my little heterospila and get a single male to go into my 210g I really have no use for the tank and dont even have a clue what to stock in it. If it were bigger like a 36-46g bow I would come up with a ton of ideas but Im drawing a blank on this one.

What would you guys suggest for a 26g bowfront? Or should I just get a bigger tank?

You could experiment with a couple of the smaller sa cichlids. There have been a few folks talking up acaras recently. This would be a great tank for them! Or you could go with dicrossus and get a few spawning groups going.

The footprint of the tank is like 24 x 15 x 20 so that would limit the size of the fish quite a bit. Seems like even the 'small' cichlids would be too big. Almost seems like I would be limited to dwarfs. I really dont know, when I look at the tank I think it would work for maybe a single 5-6" fish....

DMD123 wrote:The footprint of the tank is like 24 x 15 x 20 so that would limit the size of the fish quite a bit. Seems like even the 'small' cichlids would be too big. Almost seems like I would be limited to dwarfs. I really dont know, when I look at the tank I think it would work for maybe a single 5-6" fish....

If you are not into small community fish or planted tanks your limited in what can be put in there and look cool. From personal experience if you are a cichlid lover then Dwarf cichlids are the way to go. They pretty much have the same characteristics as their larger cousins. I love the dwarves as much as the large cichlids which was my 1st passion in this hobby. I was only limited by tank space when it came to large cichlids until converting over to smaller species. When I 1st set my my 1st small tank (30 gallon), I stuffed it with woods and attached low light plants such as Anubias and ferns. Once your tank is well established maybe find some kick but Apistogramas or Rams and toss in a school of 6 Amber tetra. This would make for a neat 30 gallon tank! The dwarf Acara is a new addition to my dwarf cichlid community. Some species are super cool! I like them a bunch.
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Ember tetra
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Dwarf Acara (picture stollen )
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Cool pics! I could maybe see a dwarf type pike or something like that.... and Ive thought about some live plants.   

Took a look on [You must be registered and logged in to see this link.]

They have tons of small things like cory cats, barbs, tetra and apistos. Even a few types of gourami and plecos would work. If I moved up to a 36g bow or a 40B it would open a ton of options including moving one of by bichir in there or even a puffer. I have been looking at Congo puffer and hairy puffer too.

Well this one is done all too soon. I decided it would be more practical to go with the 40B. A 36x18 footprint with the large fish I raise gives me a ton of options after my grow outs are done. So sad to say the 26g bow goes back to Petsmart and now I need to pick up the Petco 40B that is on the $1 per gallon sale.

40Bs are awesome. Sometimes you just gotta part with the old (new) and go in with the new (new?)!

DMD123 wrote:Well this one is done all too soon. I decided it would be more practical to go with the 40B. A 36x18 footprint with the large fish I raise gives me a ton of options after my grow outs are done. So sad to say the 26g bow goes back to Petsmart and now I need to pick up the Petco 40B that is on the $1 per gallon sale.

 

MRTom wrote:40Bs are awesome. Sometimes you just gotta part with the old (new) and go in with the new (new?)!

I also had to take advantage of the fact that my wife gave the OK on another tank and did not balk at the size. In fact she said with the size of fish I raise she could see why I would want the 40B instead of the little 26g bow. Got to take those moments when you get them. All you married guys know what Im talking about.   

I don't understand how anyone could be opposed to another tank.  A nice-looking, well maintained aquarium is a beautiful addition to any room.  

Glad your wife approved it DMD.  I think there are some African cichlids that would fit in there.  

the thing that keeps me from getting another tank is thinking about running all the extension cords to a generator when the power goes out to keep all my fish alive... and my wife upset because I do not plug in the refrigerator.

Betty, my wife would love the color of African cichlids. I think she would also just enjoy fancy goldfish for their color also. She does have her opinions but in the end she always says 'it's your hobby'. It was quite surprising that another tank was even mentioned by her. In the past I had three tanks going and we had 'the talk' about hobbies taking up too much time.... and these were smaller easier to keep tanks! I think she has just got used to my hobby after all these years and realizes it really does not take any more time to add this tank when it is right next to another that has easy water access and is kept clean.