stocking freshwater fish

i have been dealing with aquariums for only a few months. bought my girlfriend a 10 gal. tank and stocked 6 tiger barbs. Every since then i have been hooked and considered this has a high possible hobby i could get into.

I ended up buying a 38 gallon tank for my self gonna set it up as a freshwater aquarium. just set up the tank it self just a hour or so ago. hopefully going to start the fish less cycle in the next few days.

now i am curious to what kind of fish i should stock in this 38 gallon aquarium. Me personally i would much rather have more than just a few fish so i don't really want to get just a few fish that ends up growing big.

does anyone have any suggestions of a few types of fish that would be great for this new 38 gallon fish tank? i would be sure to do research on any suggestions to get knowledge of the suggestions posted.

 

I'm partial to cichlids. I have a 125 gallon african Hap/Mbuna tank. You could do some dwarf mbuna or shellies in a tank that size. Check out cichlid-forums.com and go to beginner cookie cutter set-ups in the library. I'm not exactly sure the dimensions of a 38 but I think you would be safe with the 29 gallon cookie cutter +1 or 2 more.

 

actually one thing i might add regarding my thread. is that i have no experience in having live plants in an aquarium. so i'm not so sure if there is any fish that is dependent on having live plants or not.

also is it possible to travel 30 minutes to 1 hour with fish? because that's the closest i have to a good place to get all kinds of fish. i have a local shop. but they do not have a wide selection.

 

Well... IMO they a planted tank with a variety of live bearer fishes.( fancy guppies, mollies platy..etc etc.. even neon tetras would be great. it will look stunning and you'll be amaze at the new born babies from the live bearers .. they do it like rabbits! but for freshwater...and in your tank size..a planted tank should be off the hook! good luck