What should i add?

[kevinknight91]

Currently my 30g Tank has:

8 rummy nose tetras
1 electric blue ram

lots of live plants
and rocks and a bridge with hiding places.
A HOS filter and a sponge fliter

Fish i like but know i can't have all of them:
A discus
kulhi loaches
pygmy cory catfish
neon blue freshwater goby
black knife fish
cherry shrimp
betta
various fancy pleco
banjo catfish
krebins

What would be your dream 30g setup along these lines?

[Boundava]

-Well the tank is too small for Discus, even one as they get to be dinner plate size and need immaculate, specific water parameters.
-Loaches like populations of at least 3 or more which you can do in your tank; but you need soft substrate/sand for their barbles.
-Catfish also at least 6 at time with soft substrate/sand for their barbles.
-Neon blue freshwater goby need highly O2 rich, clean water with high filter turnover and eat algae, preferably off of a sand substrate. Don't think a HOB filter is enough for them.
-I believe the knife fish will outgrow your tank, need minimum of 150 gallon tank
-Sorry but the ram may eat the shrimp, an expensive treat.
-Betta and ram may fight
-Depending on the pleco, they do add quite a bit to the bioload of your tank and some may be too big for a 30 gallon. Hard to say without knowing which one you were looking at. Also you will need to upgrade filter, a HOB will not be enough when you add a pleco to your tank.
-Banjo catfish seem like an option, but are nocturnal so you may not see them out.

-Sorry don't know what a krebins is...


SO....
If I was adding fish to your tank I would go with a long fin BN and add 3 or 4 kulhi loaches. I have an albino BN and he is out in the open almost always, I also have 4 dojo loaches (bigger versions of the kulhi) and they are so active and so fun to watch as they play with each other, look for food or just lay and posture on plants and driftwood. Again you would need to have sand or a sand-like substrate because they search for food using their barbles and "smell" (poor eyesight)and if they are damaged by gravel they will die (corys also search and depend on their barbles to eat). Also think about a canister filter if you are going with a pleco.

Banjos look nice but I have a feeling you would not see them. I have 2 clown plecos and almost never see them.

[fishmommie]

great advice from Boundava. She pretty much nailed it.

I especially agree on an Albino Bristle Nose pleco. Very hardy active fish and visible. I have a fully grown 4 inch ABNP in my 30

If you decide to go with cory cats, I would advise against the pygmies. They are so tiny, you'd rarely see them. But you could do 6 regular cory. I'm told that the bandit cory are really sociable and visible.
As for upper dwelling fish - you could increase your rummies to a larger school which would look spectacular.
Or you could add some harelquin rasboras. Pretty little fish, good schoolers and swimmers and nice color and they'd be a good size to go with the rummies.

I have a pair of kribs in my 30. I don't think I'd want to put them in with the ram in that small of a tank, though. Dwarf cichlids get very territorial and you may see some bullying or fighting. But they sure are beautiful fish :o)

Let us know what you decide. I'm sure others will weigh in with some great advice. There are so many options.

[Boundava]

great advice from Boundava. She pretty much nailed it.

I especially agree on an Albino Bristle Nose pleco. Very hardy active fish and visible. I have a fully grown 4 inch ABNP in my 30

If you decide to go with cory cats, I would advise against the pygmies. They are so tiny, you'd rarely see them. But you could do 6 regular cory. I'm told that the bandit cory are really sociable and visible.
As for upper dwelling fish - you could increase your rummies to a larger school which would look spectacular.
Or you could add some harelquin rasboras. Pretty little fish, good schoolers and swimmers and nice color and they'd be a good size to go with the rummies.

I have a pair of kribs in my 30. I don't think I'd want to put them in with the ram in that small of a tank, though. Dwarf cichlids get very territorial and you may see some bullying or fighting. But they sure are beautiful fish :o)

Let us know what you decide. I'm sure others will weigh in with some great advice. There are so many options.


Oh, ok Kribs..yes I agree a pair would not work with your ram, too territorial when breeding and at same level within tank.

[kevinknight91]

Thank you both for so much great feedback!

I have the normal black aquarium gravel from petco. Would areas of black sand on top it be good enough for the cores and kulhi? like would they just spend their time on the sand and avoid the uncomfortable gravel or would they not know the difference and go on harming their barbells? There is a nice area full of java moss they could sift thru without hurting their barbells as well. i'd prefer not to take all the plants out and do a complete substrate change when my plants are doing so well.

If i pair the ram and stick with just the 2 rams and rummys how many rummys would be happy in a 30g?

I do monitor my water conditions carefully and the rummynose help me know if the water is perfect because their noses change colors when the parameters are off. Would a discus be okay for a year until i move into my new house and upgrade to a 55g? I also have friends who could take the discus after a year if it outgrows my tank.

I'm in no hurry to add more fish i want this to be the perfect aquarium and i'm going to wait until i get back from vacation in January.

[Boundava]

Unfortunately the sand and gravel will separate with the gravel on top and sand on bottom. It would be better to try and remove the gravel and add sand to tank. You can do this while you are doing a water change, and keep the fish in there. Depending on how clean your gravel is-and how deep it is, it shouldn't muck up the water too much. I would do a good pre rinse if you are going with sand. Choose a good pool filter sand if you are not going with aquarium sand. Be careful with other sands (basic hardware or crafting) as they can have coatings of anything including petroleum on them. I did something very similar in my 29 when I removed the sand I had and added Eco-complete. I just pulled the plants and décor out and because the sand is a little harder to lean out than gravel...I actually had to move my fish to a storage container with tank water while I changed the sand out.

The other fish sound like a good choice ( one more Ram, and more rummys). If you want a better idea on how your stocking works with the filter and current fish you have you can give aqadvisor.com a try. I don't follow it to a T, but its a good guide. Just change your fish from "juvenile" to "adult".

[fishmommie]

again, good advice from Bondava

I will tell you though, that when I set up my first aquarium almost 3 years ago, I did not know that cory cats shouldn't be on gravel. (my bad for not researching and for listening to the LFS advice) So I added 6 to my tank. I only recently changed out the substrate to eco complete and I still have the same cory cats. I couldn't see any damage to their barbels when I transferred them back to the tank. My gravel, however, was not sharp. all the little pebbles were round. Sand of course would be ideal. And you can get pool filter sand at Menards very inexpensive.

As for the discus, I'm afraid you might be sorry if you tried it. Discus do require pristine water conditions - and juvenile require daily or at a minimum every other day water changes. They can't tolerate nitrates so waiting for your rummies to lose color would most likely be too late for the discus. Additionally, I wouldn't have less than a pair in a tank.

[James`]

You said you have lots of live plants? Expand there... What type of lights do you have? Get more