30 gallon tank - What fish?

[Cichlid_Man]

OK,
My son has re-claimed his Buenos Aires Tetras from my tank and all I have in there is my pleco.
I am trying to figure out what type of fish to put in there that will grow really nicely, yet still have ample room.
I know that Oscars or Dempseys are out, but what else can I put?
I want either 2 or 4 of one type of fish.
Something hearty and not requiring salt.
Thanks!

[genitor]

angels maybe

[Drumachine09]

angels maybe

I was going to say the same thing. Two koi or calico angels would be nice.

[freshwaterfishlover]

Any Swordtails
Any Danio
Any Gouramis
Hatchets
Silver dollars
3 angels
Cory Catfish
Platies
Tetras
Any guppies
Frogs
snails
shrimp
Crayfish
Cichlids- Small kind

Let my tell you whats out of the question
Non Cory catfish(any other kind of Catfish is out)
Oscars
Goldfish
Parana
Sting Ray
Arrowana
Kohi

I have a 29 Gallon and this is what I have\

4 red Swordtails
4 Giant Danio
2 Silver Dollars
2 Peral Gouramis
1 Lepard Cory Catfish
1 Bronze Cory Catfish

[Drumachine09]

3 angels

I would only go with two angels, and maybe some small non fin nipping fish. 3 is pushing it, if you plan on keeping them for a long time.

[jeffs99dime]

i'd say tetras

[cocoa_pleco]

a nice school of cardinals

[freshwaterfishlover]

I have many live plants that grow well without fertilizer, but I read that fertilizer is like natural food for the plants. I want to put fertilizer not because my plants are not growing well, but because it is recomanded. What kind of fretilizer do you recomand and how much for how much?(oz, pounds for what price)

SORRY I THOUGHT FOR SOME REASON I WAS MAKING A NEW POST. DELETE PLEASE!!!!!!!!!!

[cocoa_pleco]

i use co2 fertilizers that you can buy at a lfs. Theyre little machines that give off bubbles.
I have the machine and a old skool tablet one

[Incredulous_Ed]

You could put 4 rainbow sharks in there if you have an incredible amount of hiding places. but that's really pushing it

[Cichlid_Man]

Everybody has great suggestions!
I like the idea of 4 rainbow sharks by Ed!
What is their size at maturity? 4 would fill a 30 gallon?
Sorry for the questions, but cichlids are what I know best :-)

[Drumachine09]

Everybody has great suggestions!
I like the idea of 4 rainbow sharks by Ed!
What is their size at maturity? 4 would fill a 30 gallon?
Sorry for the questions, but cichlids are what I know best :-)


Rainbow Sharks will reach anywhre from 4 to 6 inches, depending on water and food. 4 would be REALLY pushing it, as they do not tolerate another shark of the same species. If you wanted to do two, what i would do is put a divider in the middle, and put one on each side, but make sure you have at least two caves per side so they can claim one for themselves. After a week or so, you could remove the divider. They are very neat fish to watch, but will harass smaller fish to the point of where they are stressed to death. My RS eats the occasional flake food, along with a 1/4 of a block of tubifex worms. You feed them by smooshing the small block against the glass about 3 inches below the water level, they will come up to take small nibbles off of it. Feeding peas once a week is also a good habit to get into, because it will "clean out the pipes" so to speak. Good tankmates would be hard to find, but you should look towards larger semi agressive fish to curb the RS agression. Good luck!

[Cichlid_Man]

Thanks!
I didn't know rainbows couldn't even stay with themselves?
Going through all that trouble with dividers for just 2 fish seems like a pain, but they ARE nice fish!
I don't know what to do.

School of cardinals, maybe tetra as Jeff said...
Mix it up like freshwaterfishlover said????

I am going to the lfs today and decide when I get there.
The sharks are real nice but I am not sure yet.

I just edited this because I read that rainbow sharks should be kept either in groups of more than 6, or to have just one.
It also says they will be compatible with other sharks, so since 6 or more is out of the question, how about one rainbow with either a Bala or an Iridescent shark?


Thanks all!

[Severus]

Personally with a 30 gallon i would put a few Rams in there. You could easily put 3-5 and it would be a very impressive tank. Whether they are Blue,Gold,or Bolivian...

[Drumachine09]

Personally with a 30 gallon i would put a few Rams in there. You could easily put 3-5 and it would be a very impressive tank. Whether they are Blue,Gold,or Bolivian...

That sounds like an awesome idea.

I wouldnt keep many sharks, even in large groups, personally. I think the rams is a good idea if you dont try the two sharks.

[cocoa_pleco]

rams are nice. I had a bolivian for a while

[Cichlid_Man]

OK,
I couldn't get the idea of having a shark in the tank so I started with one rainbow shark.
He loves the tank!

I added in a whole school of Buenos Aires Tetra.

The tank is just so active. I am really happy with what I did.
I couldn't find any rams at all :-(
Small town, what could I say.

I also put a nice cave in there so now I have 3, and I put some live plants too.

The tetra should be OK with the shark. They are not small tetra.

Oh...I had mentioned maybe a Bala?? I hear they grow to 12"...

I would love to have a tank full of assorted sharks, but not now.

[Drumachine09]

Balas are extremely active, which is why the need large tanks. plus, they do tend to mess with your tank decor.

Whoa i just realized, when i joined a month ago, i was askiing all of the questions, and now,k i am answering some. Cool:thumb:

[cocoa_pleco]

Balas need a group of 6 to school, and the min for 6 is 125g, so no.

[ivan09193]

If you've got a pleco in there, the short answer is next to nothing. Plecos, depending on the variety you've got, can get huge. We're talking about 20 inches at the maximum size. Plus, they can live for over a decade, so be sure that you're ready to take care of it in the long term. If you want a nice algae eater, try a dwarf otto next time.

[Incredulous_Ed]

Joe, the rainbow sharks really like krill. It enhances their color.

[Drumachine09]

Joe, the rainbow sharks really like krill. It enhances their color.

Ill have to try that with mine!

[Glasstapper]

Personally with a 30 gallon i would put a few Rams in there. You could easily put 3-5 and it would be a very impressive tank. Whether they are Blue,Gold,or Bolivian...

heh. I was going to scream out "DWARF CICHLIDS!!" but I see you've beat me to the punch. (Well, not with the girly screaming, but with suggesting dwarfs).

Cool that you went with the sharks, though. I've never kept those before, but from what you're saying, their activity seems to be right up my alley. Darn having to leave!! I want to stay with my tanks! >:( Eh. I'll be back home in no time and back to dreaming about fish. ;)

so uh.....how's about some pics of that shark you got there?