I just got a 40 gallon breeder and thought I would share my experiences.

I moved over an established 250gph filter and added a Aquaclear 70 to help get my cycle started.

The tank stats are:

40 Gallon Breeder @ 36x18x16
200watt Visi-Therm Stealth Heater (Highly recommended!)
Aquaclear 70 @ 300gph
Generic HOB @ 250gph
Custom Cut Plexiglass Cover
25watt All Glass Aquariums Strip Light
30lbs Natural Gravel
3 Pieces of Resin Driftwood

Inhabitants:

2" Goldfish
1.5" Zebra Danio x5
1.5" Rummynose Tetra
2" Senegal Bichir
3" Dojo Loach


I wanted a nice school of fish, so I went with the zebra danios since they are such hardy fish. I saw the single rummynose tetra swimming around in the tank and since he had been adjusted to higher pH water and had been in there for awhile, I decided I would pick him up to. While at PetSmart the other night, I noticed the Senegal Bichir and one of my favorite fish, the Dojo Loach. Of course I had to pick them up for my 40 gallon. I'll be adding some live plants very soon. I have more anachris and amazon swords than I know what to do with. While the resin driftwood in the tank has fake plants that look very nice, I still want the benefits of having live plants. I'm curious as to whether or not an amazon sword would survive with a 25watt light.. I know I'm not even pushing 1 watt per gallon, but lumens are just as important as wattage. I know my amazon swords and anachris are growing extremely well in my 29, and it's got the basic lighting that came with the tank. It does have 20 lbs of eco-complete planted substrate though...

Here are some pictures of my new tank. I'll keep adding pictures as the tank progresses. (You'll have to forgive the poor picture quality. These we're taken using the camera on my phone. As soon as I can get my digital camera, I'll post some better pictures. Til' then, enjoy these pictures and let me know what you think!)

Here's a picture of the tank before the gravel and driftwood we're added. It still has the 'rigged' glass cover on it.



Here's a picture of the tank with gravel and driftwood, however it is still set up in the floor.



Here's a closeup of the driftwood in the tank.



Here's a picture of the stand my brother-in-law built me. It only cost $13 dollars to build and is extremely sturdy. The picture shows the stand before the 3/4" piece of plywood was added to the top.



Here's a picture of the tank after we put it on the finished stand.



Here's a picture of the senegal bichir that was recently added.



I'll post some more pictures soon! Til' then, be sure to post your comments!

very nice what about a backgroudn though i think it pulls a tank together

I certainly agree. Not sure what kind of background I want to go with though. Whether I want to go with a solid color, or choose a background that has the plants on it. I added some anachris last night in the corners of the tank and it actually looks really good. I'm going to go get some more amazon swords as soon as I get a chance. I think that even though it's only 25 watts, it has enough lumens to get the plants to grow. Like I said, it looks like it's 100x brighter than the one that came with my 29. It's funny, actually, because if you come up my driveway, you can look at the window to the computer room, and it glows a purpleish blue. Like if all the other lights in the house are out, you see one purple window. You can't even tell the light in the 29 is on.

I'll check into that background and I'll be sure to post some more pics.

someone up the road has a huge tank with the plant lights, the police thought there was a pot house starting so they raided......boy was the guy ticked. thought I would share, right now the lights on my tank have the natural light lightbulbs in there that I took from around the house as I am too cheap to go out and by a new hood for the tank..., works real well too, pics in my sig

Hahaha! Now THAT sounds like my kind of luck, don't you think Sergeant Major? It's a strange eerie glow. I'll have to keep that in mind, haha!

I finally figured out what I wanted to do with my 40 gallon. I have been looking for suitable tank mates for my bichir all day long, and I have finally found some compatible ones. The dojo loach is eventually going to be a meal for the bichir, or the dojo loaches 'eye hooks' are going to kill the bichir. Since I just bought him, I am going to either put him in my 29 gallon until he gets bigger, or I am going to find a good home for him.

I am going to purchase 3 or 4 Three-Spot Gouramis, since they only get to about 5 inches or so, too big for the bichir to eat, and then have the single senegal bichir. This should max out my tank, but provide an active community of fish. I want to add as many plants as possible, and hopefully one day have CO2 on the tank.

I'm going to try and get some information on some MTS or Ramshorn Snails to add to the tank to control algae on the glass and the plants.

Let me know what you think about my idea.

As most of you probably know my smaller dojo loach passed away due to unknown causes. :(

3/3/06 -

I went to the petstore today and picked up two bleeding heart tetras and a rainbow shark. The bleeding heart tetras look AWESOME and provided they do well and are still swimming around in the aquarium when I get back from vacation, I will definitely be back to get 4-6 more of them. I want a nice school of 8-10 individuals.

The senegal bichir does NOT like his new tankmates though. :lol: You can tell that he's really moody around the tetras as well as the rainbow shark. I guess they are moving in on his 'turf'. I expect to see some nips before they get settled in.

Other than that, the tetras make a great addition to the tank. The rainbow shark will help keep the food that falls to the bottom taken care of. I'll post some pics as soon as I can find my camera...

good luck :)

Mazza, your quote:
The dojo loach is eventually going to be a meal for the bichir, or the dojo loaches 'eye hooks' are going to kill the bichir.

Just so you know they lack this trait. They don't have that protective gear. Unlike many other loaches. They rely on their speed and agility. Please don't make him food! :rolleyes: