Okay, it took me some time, but I think I've got something.
I might have overdone it a bit, but I just love aquascaping ^^;
The numbers are just a guideline, your tank is bigger then anything I've ever had, so you probably could fit more in there.
My suggestion is a planted tank, just because it's my own favorite type. I centered the design around sailfin mollies and a shark.
Suggested fish:
6 Sailfin mollies; 2 males, 4 females.
Marble, silver or gold would be the most beautifull.
If you can find them a small group of
'shubinkin' and/or
'koi' swordtails may look nice with them, and you wouldn't have to worry about them hybridising.
10 zebra danios
and 10 cherry barbs (make sure the females outnumber the males)
I picked these fish because they are fast, active, playfull and gentle, while still being hardy. Also I personally find that the red and blue colors create a very nice contrast.
Alternatively, you could go for a larger red/blue combo: 7
Rosey Barbs and 7
Praecox Rainbows. I've never kept rainbows before, but if they are like other 'round bodied' tetras they'll probably squabble more then the barbs.
As a bottom feeder I would love to recomend the Red Tail Shark.
They have a bit of an (undeserved) bad rep, but that's because they are semi teritorial. An unhappy shark will lash out, but if he is not kept with other sharklike fish, and has his/her cave, he'll probably not hurt any fish.
I have kept the shark before, with zebra danios, rosey and cherry barbs, female bettas and guppies and sword tails.
He will chase fish, but he won't actually go out of his way to kill it. Male guppies are a bad idea, since they are too slow and tire too easilly, but any fish that can swim well, or is feisty enough to stand their ground (bettas) is no problem.
The Red tail is not the same as the
rainbow shark, which doesn't grow up to get that dramatic black color. The rainbow always has a black dot in the tail, and no white tips.
There is also an
albino variant.
I sugested the larger fish as an option if you feel iffy about the shark being with small fish. Though if you don't like sharks, I sugest bandit and or panda corries.
An adult Bandit with a juvenile Panda.
As tank design I was thinking of this:
Black/dark substrate to bring out the colors of the fish, especially to contrast with the white of the sailfins if you go for that.
A
pot with holes for the shark, which you can buy at a store or at a garden center (you may have to make your own holes then).
A large log to seperate the back 'garden' from the front of the tank. This wood will help keeping the plants in their place and prevent the bottom soil from sliding forward. Making the back of the tank higher will also create an illusion of depth.
The twigs on the left are meant to contrast with the plants, adding an extra dimesion.
If you like you can stack some rocks around the pot to make more hiding holes for the shark.
The plants I picked out are all easy to keep, and need an average or medium amount of light.
A good bottom soil and the occasional dose of liquid fertilizer go a long way. You may need an CO2 injection, but I've always managed without it.
As a small foreground plant I suggest Dwarf hairgrass. I must admit I've never kept them myself, but I read they aren't too difficult.
For the thin and long I think the Vallisneria is a good plant, it's grasslike and grows like weed. This is one of the first plants I've kept succesfully, and still a favorite. If it gets too long just grab a pair of scizzors and give it a haircut. There's also a variant with corckscrew like leaves.
For the feathery type I suggest the cabomba. Also an easy plant, and baby livebreeders love hiding in it.
Keep it as a medium plant, you can pinch off the longer shoots and stick them in the ground, they usually start growing right away.
For the large plant I have a few ideas.
Eighter Swords (ruffled, ozelot, porto alegre) or Anubias (giant or coffee). I've never kept the anubias, but the swords I have. They are a little more difficult then the Vallisnaria and Cabomba, because for them fertilizer is more important. They grow slower too, but look magnificent.
If you want something else there is also the Brazillian Pennywort and the Java Fern. Note on the last one, it's a low light plant.
Lastly I'd like to suggest you tie some bushes of java/willow moss to the pot, rocks and wood.
It's a very slow grower, and it can look like a filthy mess before it settles, but it's worth the wait. My current patch took half a year to actually attach itself to the cork.
Speaking of cork, if you want to do something crazy, tie some moss to pieces of cork and let them float around like little islands.
Fry like java moss, and because of it's dense structure, if the barbs spawn above it, they won't be able to eat their eggs.
Another haven for fry is the eared watermoss (salvina). It's a floating plant, that can quickly croud the surface, so you may need to scoop out a few handfulls every month or so, but it makes excelent compost for plants (the ones above water that is).
Don't keep the water level too high if you keep these though, if they burn they make a bit of a mess.
