Asian Theme?

[Yunli]

I want to go with an Asian themed tank, for as much as I can. It's only 30 gal, so it's not the widest of possibilities.

So far I have 10 tiger barbs and some random grass plants thumbs2:

Tiger barbs don't really go good with much, so I was wondering what would both fit the theme and the tigers. I've got the whole backpaper and models inside the tank, just wondering about fish and plants.

I have a pretty non-helpful light, so I shoudl probably stick with ferns and mosses, any suggestions there? What about bamboo :sconfused:

If most asian plants and fish are larger, I'll probably save it for my dad's tank which is 55gal and he's currently cycling it.

[Crispy]

I think most loaches are asian. Get a small school of loaches to do your tank cleaning.

[Yunli]

know any of the smaller variety ? < 6 in.

[wolf_eyes]

kuhli, yoyo, and zebra are all fairly common small variety loaches.

[Crispy]

^^^^ yup yup, perfect for an asian theme!

[deadhead324]

Harlequin rasboras or gold barbs will work in addition to the loaches.

[Yunli]

How many loaches do you need to have for it to be okay? I read the primer and it said like 6-8 :sconfused:

[Crispy]

How many loaches do you need to have for it to be okay? I read the primer and it said like 6-8 :sconfused:

depends on the loach, but you can have 4 or more with no problems IMO.

[Yunli]

Whats good for the top of the tank ish area? Like barbs are lower middle and loaches middle bottom?

and what about plants?

[wolf_eyes]

harlequin rasbora tend to be in the middle-top range

[troy]

A pr of wrestling halfbeaks would work for the upper levels of the tank.

[Glub]

For plants, look at varieties of cryptocoryne. They're probably your best bet for lower lighting conditions and fit with the asian theme very well.

I've always liked kuhlis, so that's my suggestion for a loach.

As said, 4-6 of them seems to be a good number, but more is always better! Kuhlis aren't schooling fish, but they use their colours and patterns in a group to make it harder for predators to single out the shape of an individual fish. From what else I've read on kuhlis, they also use 'scouts' to check for danger (not sure if that's true though).

But yeah... More kuhlis = happier, more confident kuhlis.

Can't suggest a fish for the upper section of the tank though as I'm not too sure about what tiger barbs will and wont go after...

There are however fish compatibility charts located on this site, so you can always check your tiger barbs on those.

[Pterophyllum]

Hmm, Kuhli Loaches are good too but if you get some tetras that MAY develop longer fins later on in their lives, you might want to be careful..

I hear Tiger Barbs are fin nippers. Had the problem with my angels before a long time ago :(

Oh, tiger barbs like to be together in groups :)

You might be able to get some to mate with eachother and have a next generation :)