# 30g community aquarium



## Torn (Apr 12, 2008)

Hello, complete beginner here.  

I will be getting a 30 gallon tank soon and was wondering if my fish wishlist was suitable for this size aquarium and are also compatible with each other. I'll do a fishless cycle before I add anything and plan to have real plants. 

1 Bristlenose Catfish
2 or 3 Dwarf Gourami
6 Neon Rainbow
6 Black Phantom Tetra

Any comments or suggestions if these fish aren't suitable would be great, thank you.


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## crazy4fish (Dec 31, 2007)

i think that might be a little overstocked considering how much swimming space the rainbows need.

gouramis are territorial and many people say that they should be kept alone unless in a large tank. you might be able to keep 2 if its a male and female but 2 males would probably fight.


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## pash19 (Apr 10, 2008)

i have 6 gouramis 2 male 4 female and they get along fine, they may bicker once and awhile but other than that they're fine


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## Torn (Apr 12, 2008)

Thanks for your opinions. So do you think it would be ok to have 1 male and 1 female Gourami and 4 Rainbows? Or is there another fish anyone can suggest to replace the Rainbows that might suit my tank better?


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## Cody (Dec 22, 2007)

Neon Tetras? Cardinal Tetras? Rainbows need a lot of swimming space. How long is your tank?

The 1M 1F Gourami would be best. It may be hard to find a female DG though, as most sold are males, or females with a ton or hormones pumped into them.


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## Torn (Apr 12, 2008)

It's 80cm long. I like cardinal tetras, if I got them instead then would 6 be ok?


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## Cody (Dec 22, 2007)

Cards like being in big groups. Like 10+. You should be able to have 10. Your live plants will help them feel secure too. Be good wit Water Changes and it should be easy.

Or, you could ditch the Phantom tetras, and get 6 cories. That would look good. You would have every level covered with some sort of activity then.


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## Torn (Apr 12, 2008)

Thanks very much, you've helped a lot! 

New plan:

1 Bristlenose Catfish
2 Dwarf Gouramis
10 Cardinal Tetras
6 Corys, not sure what kind yet!


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## herefishy (Dec 14, 2006)

Finding a female gourami may be a daunting task. Most lfs's only sell males because they are more colorful and sell faster. But, you may get fortunate to have an lfs that buys the assortment which includes females, generally.

Choose cardinal tetras over neons, as they are hardier and somewhat larger. The cardinals are also more colorful, show more red.

Be sure to add some wood in your layout for the bristlenose. Most exotic plecostomus' need wood in their diet.


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## Torn (Apr 12, 2008)

Thanks herefishy, I'm going to get my new tank at the weekend so I'll have a look at what fish they stock then. If they don't have female Gouramis then I might have to buy online. It's a long way off yet anyway but I'm so excited!!


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## Amphitrite (Sep 8, 2006)

You mentioned that you want to get live plants for the tank. Have you given any thought to what sort of substrate you plan on using?


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## Torn (Apr 12, 2008)

Not really sure yet, I was thinking maybe a natural coloured fine gravel. I haven't read up much on substrate types yet though.


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## crazy4fish (Dec 31, 2007)

i dont know much about live plants but many people say that eco-complete works really well.

by the way i like the cory idea. i would get either panda cories or peppered cories. but thats just my opinion. i think those kinds are so cute.


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## tophat665 (Sep 30, 2006)

I think I would want at least 90 cm for Rainbows, though 120 would be even better. This may be off the reservation, but Diamond Tetras have much the same shape and size as Praecox rainbows, though the coloration is much more a straight up silver than silver blue, and the finnage is a lot different. If you went with a small school of Black tetras, a slightly larger school of Diamonds, double that in cardinals, a bristlenose, you could probably put a dwarf gourami in there. (I'd say that you would want a 90 cm tank for 2, 120 for more on those as well.)

Alternately, you could go biotope and add a dwarf cichlid or two rather than the gourmis - Rams, Apistos, or Keyholes might work well.


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