# 30g tank ideas? (:



## eaturbyfill (May 22, 2012)

My husband and I may get a new tank in the future, and if we do, I would like to know my plan way beforehand so that I could do the proper research. So, any ideas? I would like to have my first community tank when we are able to expand and get another one. I have only ever kept simpler things like Bettas and Goldfish by themselves. 

Here's the thing, though. I don't want fish that are going to breed, because it would stress me out and I wouldn't know what to do. Any suggestions are welcome, and I appreciate them in advance! Thank you for your time! :-D


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## marshallsea (Apr 30, 2012)

Not to ignore your question(which im not qualified to answer), how did you do in your speech today?


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## eaturbyfill (May 22, 2012)

Unfortunately, I have to present tomorrow because the class ran out of time. ): So now I have to be nervous another day!


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## marshallsea (Apr 30, 2012)

eaturbyfill said:


> Unfortunately, I have to present tomorrow because the class ran out of time. ): So now I have to be nervous another day!


Poor you! Nothings as bad as the build up before.


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## eaturbyfill (May 22, 2012)

marshallsea said:


> Poor you! Nothings as bad as the build up before.


I completely agree!


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## eaturbyfill (May 22, 2012)

Everyone please help out! I have a few fish books from the library and would like to put them to good use before the return date


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## Termato (Feb 21, 2012)

*More information needed first.*



eaturbyfill said:


> Everyone please help out! I have a few fish books from the library and would like to put them to good use before the return date


Community Tanks are always fun. They are super fun to look at.

Before I suggest any fish, could you give us some more information on your water.


Tank Size: *Possible 30 Gallon*

pH Level:

gH or kH (Water Hardness): 
If you do not know what this is I would recommend reading this: http://www.tropicalfishkeeping.com/freshwater-articles/water-hardness-ph-freshwater-aquarium-73276/

If you do not know how to find out these numbers you can do one of two things:

Call your Water Company/Department as ask them for your General Hardness (If they give you the Calcium or Magnesium Hardness that works too)
Take a water sample to your Local Fish Store and get it tested for your Hardness.

This information is crucial before giving you any real suggestions, we want the fish to be healthy and happy after all ;-)

Are there any types of fish you had in mind? Are you considering a planted tank?

All these questions will help my suggestions.


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## eaturbyfill (May 22, 2012)

My most recent water test showed a PH of about 7.2, alkalinity low to moderate, and the water is pretty soft.

I am not sure whether or not I want to do a planted tank, so if it is best for the fish I decide to get, I will do a planted one (even though I know practically nothing about it, everyone has to learn sometime!).

I am considering any fish that would do well in these conditions


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## Stormfish (Apr 30, 2012)

eaturbyfill said:


> Unfortunately, I have to present tomorrow because the class ran out of time. ): So now I have to be nervous another day!


After doing many speeches, teaching classes and doing conference presentations, let me assure you that everyone gets anxious when they have to stand up and speak in front of others. That said, everyone knows, understands, and respects those jitters! 

As for the fish, my suggestion is to walk around the aisles of your local aquarium shop. See which fish capture your interest. Write down their names and then start looking them up for info. Tank size requirements, water requirements, how big they get, how many for a minimum shoal, compatibility with other fish, etc.

In the meantime, get your tank started so it can begin cycling. Since it takes a while, you'll have time to research and decide upon the fish you want.


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## Termato (Feb 21, 2012)

eaturbyfill said:


> My most recent water test showed a PH of about 7.2, alkalinity low to moderate, and the water is pretty soft.
> 
> I am not sure whether or not I want to do a planted tank, so if it is best for the fish I decide to get, I will do a planted one (even though I know practically nothing about it, everyone has to learn sometime!).
> 
> I am considering any fish that would do well in these conditions


If you could give me a number for the gH or kH that would really help.

*Plants*

A planted tank has many benefits, and not very many negatives. The plants will soak up ammonia faster than your bacteria will, allowing you to put more fish in the tank without over stocking it.

Plants use ammonia, nitrate and other harmful chemicals as food. The more the fish put out, the more they grow. 

The main issue with plants is lighting. Without good lighting you have no chance of having good healthy plants. With stock tanks, all low light plants will do fine. 

Java Fern and Anubias are my two favorite low light plants. They both grow slow which makes it hard to judge their health; but if their green their good...and they look beautiful.

The biggest issue people run into with planted tanks is over exposing their light. With too much light you will get algae. It is best to start off with a few low lights plants and see how they do. Then get a few more. 

Fertilizers and C02 are not needed. In the case where you do have a decent amount of plants OR high light plants, you could get Flourish Comprehensive by Seachem. It is an all around fert for plants. It is liquid based and you use VERY little of it per dosage. It covers both rooted and floating plants. 


*Fish*

I always use this thread as a reference. You can keep any fish on this list in their respective groups. All Schooling fish should be kept in a group of AT LEAST 5 fish.

http://www.tropicalfishkeeping.com/freshwater-aquarium/nano-fish-96186/

Now for my personal recommendations hahaha.

A 30 gallon tank is going to give you a lot of options, but here is what I would do with it:

6-8 Kuhli Loachs or Cories
20 Cardinal Tetra
1 Dwarf Gourami OR 2-3 Dwarf Cichlids like Cockatoo or Bolivian Rams


Good luck!


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## eaturbyfill (May 22, 2012)

I would gladly give more specifics if I had them, but I just have a general test kit from a pet store. Will those schools reproduce?

Also, could I keep two schools (6 to 8 each) together without difficulty?
If so, what combinations are least likely to breed and most likely to get along?
Two types of Tetras
Two types of Danios
Two types of Barbs
Two types of Rasbora

Or
Tetra/Danios
Tetra/Barb
Tetra/Rasbora
Danios/Barbs
Danios/Rasbora
Rasbora/Barb


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## Termato (Feb 21, 2012)

eaturbyfill said:


> I would gladly give more specifics if I had them, but I just have a general test kit from a pet store. Will those schools reproduce?
> 
> Also, could I keep two schools (6 to 8 each) together without difficulty?
> If so, what combinations are least likely to breed and most likely to get along?
> ...


Yes, water parameters permitting. If you have two schools in a 30 gallon and that is all you have you could keep about 10-12 maybe 15 of each depending on the species size.

Honestly though, I prefer the bigger schools of one fish, they look amazing. That is just me though.

Tomorrow you can try calling the water company. They can give you that information. Usually as Calcium Hardness. Their closed now most likely (6:49pm over here).


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## eaturbyfill (May 22, 2012)

Yeah, it's already past business hours here, too. 

Would this work (assuming the water is good for the species)? They're my favorites.
1 Dwarf Gourami
4 Corydoras
8(?) Tiger Barbs
8(?) Cardinal Tetras
and some easy plants


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## Termato (Feb 21, 2012)

eaturbyfill said:


> Yeah, it's already past business hours here, too.
> 
> Would this work (assuming the water is good for the species)? They're my favorites.
> 1 Dwarf Gourami
> ...


That's barely 3/4s stocked so you can put more fish in there and I would not put the Tiger Barbs with Cardinals. 

Tiger Barbs are more aggressive and should be in a species only tank or a large tank that will give them more room. What about Rasboras or another kind of Tetra.

I would do something like this:

12 Cardinal Tetras
12 Harlequin Rasbora
8 Cory (3" species)
1 Dwarf Gourami


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## eaturbyfill (May 22, 2012)

How about Zebra Danios or Rasboras instead of barbs?


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## Olympia (Aug 25, 2011)

I like it! But the rasbora will be washed out if you don't happen to have soft water, not that nice orange.
Also, if you take good care of them, any group of fish may start reproducing. Though you should be fine with these fish, often they need to be enticed into breeding a bit more.
_Posted via Mobile Device_


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## eaturbyfill (May 22, 2012)

Thank you for the advice, Olympia! I haven't had a chance to call the water company, but at home tests indicate the water is soft.


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## marshallsea (Apr 30, 2012)

eaturbyfill said:


> Thank you for the advice, Olympia! I haven't had a chance to call the water company, but at home tests indicate the water is soft.


I study profiles at top of home page and make a pros and cons list and eliminate the ones that dont match what I have. Btw, the speech?


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## eaturbyfill (May 22, 2012)

That's a good method. I'm going to go make a post in the other thread that's about it now


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## Termato (Feb 21, 2012)

Olympia said:


> I like it! But the rasbora will be washed out if you don't happen to have soft water, not that nice orange.
> Also, if you take good care of them, any group of fish may start reproducing. Though you should be fine with these fish, often they need to be enticed into breeding a bit more.
> _Posted via Mobile Device_


This is also true for any fish that enjoys soft water.

The danios will work, but personallu i dont like that fish. Rasboras would work too.

Get us a number on the calcium and we can give you some better advice
_Posted via Mobile Device_


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## eaturbyfill (May 22, 2012)

Why don't you like them? Just curious
_Posted via Mobile Device_


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## Termato (Feb 21, 2012)

*Danio*



eaturbyfill said:


> Why don't you like them? Just curious
> _Posted via Mobile Device_


There are a few reasons. Mainly their coloration though and lack of finding a good source to get them from.

The local pet stores around me only carry an extra long finned version of the Zebra Danio where the caudal, anal and pectoral fins are abnormally long...really really abnormally long. Only the dorsal fin was really kind of normal. They look weird. Those I would never consider buying. The fish looks like it has trouble swimming.

The ones are the LFS have fins from this long to AT LEAST twice as long as the ones in the picture below:









In the PetSmart and PetCo around me, the Danio's are don't have those long fins. I like these ones more BUT they are always sick or just don't look healthy so I never get them from there. I would consider them if I found a good source and had space for it.

I honestly love the stripes on the Zebra Danio. They are beautiful. I just have not seen any in stores where their colors, fins and overall health looks good. That is the main reason I don't like them, because the stores around me don't sell good stockings of them. I don't like the ones they keep, so I guess its an unfair judgement on my part.

If I EVER found a Zebra Danio that actually looked like this I might give it a try:








The Caudal and Anal fin on the picture above have really prominent stripes. I cannot find any like this and the stripes is the entire reason I would get the fish.

The Celestial Pearl Danio would be the danio I would not even think twice about buying if I found them in good health. I have never even seen one of those in person (no surprise there). I love the coloration on them, although they stay really small.

I prefer barbs, rasboras and tetras over danios mainly because of their look. I prefer more colorful fish. I have also found that the tetras and rasboras look better while schooling, at least to me, because of their colors.

Overall their coloration and behaviors lead me to choose different fish because of my personal preferences. Danio's are great and beautiful fish though.


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## Byron (Mar 7, 2009)

Some of my comments have been covered already, so I won't detail those. Water parameters are important, contact your water supply people, they may have a website.

You will likely be looking at soft and slightly acidic water fish. You mentioned no breeding; so avoid livebearers (which need harder water anyway). Soft water fish are egg layers and while many will spawn if the environment is to their liking, fry rarely appear because the fish eat the eggs.

And plants are worth having; all these fish will be better off with plants. This needn't be involved, there are many easy plants, but decent lighting is essential. You don't have the tank yet, but depending where you buy it there will likely be a basic hood with it, containing some type of light. In the 30g size range, a fluorescent tube is preferable. We can discuss good tubes later.

Once the water parameters are known, you can begin narrowing down your search for fish. Many things factor into a compatible community aquarium. Beside water parameters (which all fish must share) there is the level of activity. For example you mentioned gourami earlier; with these sedate fish you do not want active swimmers like Danio and barbs; nor do you want fish inclined to be feisty and nip fins, like many barbs but some tetra will too. Comments on these issues are included in our profiles, second tab from the left in the blue bar across the top. Data on water parameters and numbers in the group are also included. Have a look at species in the characins, Cyprinids, catfish sections to start.

Byron.


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## eaturbyfill (May 22, 2012)

I would like to thank all of you for the information! I'll keep doing my research for when the time comes.


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