Just not clear on what i need to do.

[FrogKing024]

I was hoping to get a 30 gallon tank and make it into a tropical community tank With The Following Fish:
1 Black Molly
1 Balloon Belly Molly
3 Red Mickey Mouse Platies
5 Glofish Danios
1 Zebra Danio
Maybe a Longfin Albino BN Pleco? (I highly doubt that I Will get one because it is very rare that my LFS has it in stock, and aren't plecos supposed to be messy?) Please tell me whether the tank will be overstocked with and without the BN. But my main question is, i know that you're only supposed to add 3 fish at a time, but all my livebearers will be males, And I Know the males are notorious for fighting, so should i add all of the boys at one time? Will the Mollies and Platies fight? If not, I can just add them as i would normally,right? Would the Black Molly Bully the Balloon Belly because of the odd body shape?
Thanks again,
The Mysterious Frog King (LOL, that is SO fun to type :))

[mommy1]

If you cycle the tank with ammonia you can add all the fish on your list at once minus the pleco because it would appreciate a more mature tank. Aggression with live bearers is usually due to fighting over the females, and if it is all males, and you have a nice sized group, aggression should be at a minimum.
The tank will not be overstocked with all the fish on your list but I urge you not to get a balloon fish of any sort. These fish are bred be deformed and I personally don't agree with the practice, of course it is your choice, I just have to throw my opinion out there.

[talldutchie]

If we're throwing opinions.. I have a thing against genetically engineered fish like those glofish. However, unlike glofish balloon varieties of anything are much more likely to develop problems with their digestive system which would be a good reason to steer clear.

Alternative to this proposed stocking is to stick with platies but get several different colours and add the danios to that.

[Azurescriber]

The number of fish is fine for a 30g (with, I assume, adequate filtration?), but I have the same issue with balloon mollies/anything. They are just deformed, poor things. Unhealthy fish.

The glofish I don't have problems with, since they function the same as normal danios. I personally think they are unnatural looking, but as long as they are not dyed, then to each their own. You could have a larger school of them if you wanted, or even another school of smaller fish if you have good filtration.

The pleco....definitely wait until the tank is mature (several months old at least) and have some driftwood in there.

[Triton]

Just tossing my input out there:

I'd try to stick with just the platys and danios for swimmers rather than the mollies. Just becareful because if you get any female platys you will get fry, if that happens talk to the LFS, maybe they will take the fry as you need to get rid of them

Long fin BN pleco would be great in a 30, make sure to provide a few pieces of driftwood and two small pleco caves for him to call his own

I too disagree with the selling of "balloon" anything because of the long term health of the fish.

[Drew's_Fish_99]

Before I throw my input in there,(forewarning, everyone on the forum is very opinionated towards this stuff.) are you wanting a natural looking tank? If so steer clear of both glofish and balloon fish. IMO, fish of that nature are very unnatural looking and make a tank look very artificial. Mollies, Plaities, a pleco and a naturals variant of a few danios would go nicely in this tank. Especially if you plan on planting it. Even using fake plants to make a natural looking tank with some driftwood would look great! I used to have glofish, and to be honest, was very displeased with them. They really only look good under a black light with a big school of their own kind in there with them. They don't look near as good with natural fish and a normal tank setup. Unless you want a tank specifically for glofish, I'd skip them.

[talldutchie]

Which is a matter of taste. PErsonally I agree with Drew on this. One thing though.. any attempt at a natural tank goes out of the window with a bad gravel choice.

[FrogKing024]

I was setting up the tank with fish my lil sis loved, and she loves unnatural looking fish, so for the glofish and Balloon Mollies it was love at first sight. I knew that the Balloon Mollies were selectively bred, but had no idea about the pain and suffering they went through. Natural looking tanks look a lot more beautiful to me, so I'll just cross out the Glofish. Would a Black Molly be okay by itself? I guess i'll add 2 Red Platies to even out the fighting, and get 9 Zebra Danios. I tried to explain to my sister that Zebra Danios are uncolored Glofish, and she seemed content with that. How many Black Mollies could i get without being overstocked?

[Faded]

I'm going to give my full opinion here, you have been warned.

The balloon fish are unnatural, and extremely ugly. The very existence of these has stained the hobby as a whole, and makes finding certain fish, such as Boesemani Rainbowfish and Blue Rams even more difficult to find. While they may appeal to a beginner, once you get deeper into the hobby, you will probably regret it.

As for the colored fish(not including tattooed, don't even get me started on that), I don't have as much of an objection. They can live normal lifes, but I do have one certain problem. The very idea of modifying nature for your own pleasure isn't appealing to me at all, even though this is not nearly as bad as the balloon fish. When I started out, I purchased 3 of the electric green tetras, of which 2 are alive today(also note that when I started out I didn't take note of proper schooling numbers). Anyways, if I had the choice today to go back and change my purchase, I definitely would of bought 6-8 of the regular variety.


Anyways, enjoy your tank and make the decisions you feel are right.

[Andrews]

Since everyone is just throwing out opinions, I'll jump in..
Taco Bell is gross and Journey is over rated.

[FrogKing024]

This is my new plan:
1 Black Molly
3 Fancy Guppies
5 Platies
6 Zebra Danios
Would this be okay? Could i add 2 More Mollies? If not, could i add a few more Zebra Danios, and if so, how many? Also, Thanks to everyone for their awesome replies!

[fishmommie]

This looks pretty good. You might want to get 3 female platies and 2 males or even 4 females and 1 male. In any event, females should outnumber the males so the females don't get too bedraggled from the male's constant chasing.

Another fish that would be worth considering is the sword tail. The red velvet wag is gorgeous and would be nice in a 30 gal. Just a thought.

[Drew's_Fish_99]

As far as stocking goes you could add more mollies yes. Has far as temperament and aggression, honestly not sure. I don't have any experience with that species. I'm guessing it would be fine but someone more knowledgeable I'm sure will let you know for sure. I like to heavily stock my tanks so I would say yes to both a few more mollies and danios. But that's me. I also over filter by quite a bit which I advise you do to. Also, if you haven't already bought your aquarium, don't go with a starter kit aquarium set. It may seem cheaper at first, but you'll soon realize that you end up spending more on better lighting, bigger filter, and the last one I bought the heater went out on me. In the long run its cheaper to buy each separate piece.

[Azurescriber]

I would think about getting a few more male guppies...they are actually known to still be a bit aggressive to each other even without females. Though with having a lot of room and places to hide, you might be ok. Try and see. :)

Don't get any females, you will be SO overstocked in no time.

Try looking at the sailfin mollies...they are stunning! A black and a platinum one would be beautiful.

So maybe one more molly and 2 more guppies if needed? As always, add new fish slowly and check parameters often.

[FrogKing024]

I'm hearing great ideas from everyone, but could i add 1 more molly, 2 more guppies and 1 more zebra danio, or would that be pushing it? Lol it's hard to imagine what the tank would look like. As said before, i will overfilter.

[Azurescriber]

I say go for it! It wouldn't hurt to add fish one at a time after your initial stocking, to make sure you can keep up with water maintenance. For example, after a fishless cycle, get most of the fish you want, but wait to add the second molly, a few more guppies, etc.

The danio school should be added all at once...their bioload isn't as large as the others and they will show better behavior the more fish they have in the school.

Have you looked at leopard danios? Same species, just genetically altered. Their natural rainbow sheen really seems to come out more though.

[Trillianne]

Have you looked at leopard danios? Same species, just genetically altered.

Just to be perfectly clear, leopard danios are a perfectly naturally occurring color variation of zebra danios. The leopard danio pattern is a natural, spontaneous mutation in how the coloration is expressed. The original leopard danios were birthed by zebra danios.

All of these are normal danio color varations:
http://embor.embopress.org/content/embor/7/9/893/F1.medium.gif

I say this because some people equate "genetically altered" with other genetic mutations caused by humans, such as the manipulation to make glofish.

[FrogKing024]

Thanks everybody, i think i will just get 1 molly though. My parents certainly won't be into me having 3 30 gallon tanks, and so if the mollies fight, there will be no where to put it if the mollies decided not to get along( I'm upgrading to a 30 gallon tank for my goldfish.). What about this:
1 Black Molly
5 Guppies
3 Platies
6 Zebra Danios
1 Dwarf Gourami
P.S.: While i'm here, I may as well ask: Which breed of fancy goldfish works best with fantail goldfish?

[Azurescriber]

Just to be perfectly clear, leopard danios are a perfectly naturally occurring color variation of zebra danios. The leopard danio pattern is a natural, spontaneous mutation in how the coloration is expressed.


Ok, I was being sloppy with my words. Thanks for calling that out. :) They are a mutation of the "normal" type, but I thought that they were bred for that mutation--therefore genetically altered in my mind, but not what people typically think of. The difference with glofish is that genes were artificially induced.

And OP, dwarf gouramis can get stressed out easily by active fish like danios, and/or can be aggressive. Check with your LFS on their (live) returns policy just on case things don't work out.

[Triton]

Since everyone is just throwing out opinions, I'll jump in..
Taco Bell is gross and Journey is over rated.

How dare you... That crosses a line...


:)

[Trillianne]

@Azurescriber

No worries, it wasn't meant as a calling out. Just wanted to clarify since there has been discussion about selective breeding/breeding for deformity, genetically engineered (by man), and dyed on the thread.

[Stlouisfish]

:
P.S.: While i'm here, I may as well ask: Which breed of fancy goldfish works best with fantail goldfish?

I am no expert on goldfish, but be aware that the smallest type of goldfish will grow to 6" - they are coldwater fish and need a larger tank or a pond to be happiest.

[FrogKing024]

Could I add a Bolivian Ram too? I looked on Aqadvisor and they said my tank would only be 84% Stocked with the Ram, but i know from reading previous forum posts that it isn't always reliable. I plan to purchase a 55 Gallon Filter, but would the current be too strong?

[mommy1]

I don't see a problem with a ram. But, be aware they need a well planted and mature tank. Add the ram last and let the nitrates decide if you can add one. You definitely have room, but if the nitrates go over 20ppm between water changes you shouldn't get a ram.

[FrogKing024]

I don't see a problem with a ram. But, be aware they need a well planted and mature tank. Add the ram last and let the nitrates decide if you can add one. You definitely have room, but if the nitrates go over 20ppm between water changes you shouldn't get a ram.
Yes! Thanks. So some Java Fern would be okay? I was gonna have just fake plants but I guess i'll add The Java Fern, Marimo Balls And those floating plants that i can never remember their name. (Not Duckweed) Do they require live plants? If so that really shouldn't be a problem.

[mommy1]

Live plants would be preferred, but fake will be fine. You could also make a cave or two from some driftwood and rocks.

[FrogKing024]

Good Deal. I've finally decided what to do for my tank! :) :) :)