Need help for saltwater themed freshwater aquarium build

Myself Supipto from India-Kolkata
just like original nano reef tank with a pair of clown fish , i want to build a saltwater themed fresh water tank but remember I want fresh water fish, no brackish no black water , any fish stock ideas ? please share . oh I also looking for a fresh water fish that almost looks like saltwater clown fish, can you you help me with this also ? its a 22 gal I am going to place not a single plant in there, just some stone sand and fake coral .I want to make it looks like awesome nano reef with a pair of clown fish ,but I want to create it with fresh water and fresh water fish. if i have a bigger tank i will definitely go for Malawi Cichlid , money is not the problem, dont have space in my house for the bigger tank, some one said then rent a room for fish tanks, lol i am not that rich ..but for now i am thinking about mollies-platies ...may be ... what you think ? So I am here to discuss and talk about this , and looking for you suggestions … just keep your thought posted i will read every one's post thank you for your support and help ...

 

Yeah platys come in every colour of the rainbow so you might be able to find ones that look like clownfish. I think there is a tiger variety.
The only problem is that livebearers like plants.
I would skip the mollies, they need 30g imo. I've kept some in a 20g, they weren't happy.

 

That exact challenge was posted some months ago already. If I remember correctly consensus was, that it's almost impossible to do.

A challenging setup, need help | 445204 | Freshwater Aquarium Builds

 

What about shell dwellers? They dont need plants.

 

is platys need plant so badly ? everyone just keep your thought coming may be i can find what i am looking for ?????

 

Kohaku swordtails look somewhat similar to clownfish. You could do a single pair of those in a 22 gallon probably. What are the dimensions of this tank?

The other option I'd say is neolamprologus similis shell dwellers. They have stripes, not really the same as a clownfish does but if you put a bunch of shells around and in the fake coral decorations, they'd live in those shells and in effect it would like they are living 'in' the coral like clownfish do in anemones.

 

How about clown killifish.
They are very small but some are spectacular in colour. Also called the rocket killifish.

yes they might like plants to breed but that is not your intention. As these fish are killifish 20 gallons is a big tank for them.

Not sure how they would go with bright lights ether.

i have this species and see them each time I look in the tank ,but in my case I have floating plants.
I have them with cherry shrimp no problem, just saying.

 

Why dont you do some background plants that look like seaweed like bolbitis and others. Then u could keep ur platies

 

snoo : nice idea but no plant .
fly : killi fish may be a good idea, but honest;y i dont like then at all
nata : kohaku is not available here at all , shell dwellers are available hand hard to find, they are awesome fish , but they are not colorfully attractive like saltwater fish or even malawi cichlids ,
thanks you all
guys cmn help me fish what i am looking for , keep you thoughts coming

 

A single clown pleco with a kribensis cichlid? The pleco has stripes like clownfish and the krib just looks like a saltwater fish.

 

Final suggestion, a mix of german blue, electruc blue and golden rams with a schooling fish OR a schooling fish with some brightly coloured killifish like gardneri. I dont understand why you dont like killifish, they are some of the most colourful freshwater fish, this is my male gardneri:

 

What about using anacharis as seaweed and then you could have your platys. Or do a coldwater tank with a paradise fish (although I'm pretty sure they like plants too)

 

I know you are all helping me but I am so helpless, strictly no plants!

 

I know you are all helping me but I am so helpless, strictly no plants!

Maybe if you show us something like what you want we could actually help. Honestly a bigger tank may be your best option if you are going to be picky.

 

I know you are all helping me but I am so helpless, strictly no plants!

Just do the scape u want. Rocks and fake corals. For fish look at the suggestions above. There are lots that dont require plants

 

if had a bigger tank then i will do something similar to this , but the challange is to create same thing in small version

or

i gave you a view of what i want but in a small tank, any idea guys ???? which fish ???
22 gal ? i try to make 2 time but no result, it seems to be impossible...this time if i cant set it up i gonna go for a little bigger tank [ 36/20/20 inch which is 62 us gal ]which i already set up with other fish, all fish i have i going to sell them

 

Let's see if I can properly summarize this:

-Freshwater
-No plants
-Must resemble clownfish
-Must fit a small (22 gallon) tank
-Can't be something you don't have easy access to
-Can't be killifish
-No honey gourami
-Can't be anything else that you don't like

Does that sound accurate to what you're looking for?

EDIT: Included restriction against honey gourami as well.

 

yes something like that , but no killifish no honey gourami , no plants ,
omg last point you .. you .. , thats not true

 

yes something like that , but no killifish no honey gourami , no plants ,
omg last point you .. you .. , thats not true

Except...

...killi fish may be a good idea, but honest;y i dont like then at all

Good luck solving this one!

 

Ok I think I've solved it. Something like this, but you use a blue light and some glofish danios or tetras. They have all the colours of saltwater fish but they're freshwater.

 

not natural and they need special food to keep the color good and bright , low immunity and low life span yes they are available but very hard to find, and specially good quality one is rare here in kolkata. but i will looking for it , i like the suggestion ,

 

Why cant you do a 22g saltwater tank with clownfish?

 

Why cant you do a 22g saltwater tank with clownfish?
i cant afford salts

 

What things are available near you?

 

These are all really creative suggestions!

What is it about the clownfish you like? The color? Stripes?

They might be hard to find, but albino tiger barbs look kind of similar, and worse case you go without plants and use the fake coral. Even plain tiger barbs could work.

Although there may have been another thread you posted saying you don't like barbs.

 

These are all really creative suggestions!

What is it about the clownfish you like? The color? Stripes?

They might be hard to find, but albino tiger barbs look kind of similar, and worse case you go without plants and use the fake coral. Even plain tiger barbs could work.

Although there may have been another thread you posted saying you don't like barbs.

Tiger barbs get a bit too big for a 20g. If he had a 30g or larger it would work.