30 gallon long new tank for warm water fish. Help!

[MammaBearinTN]

Tank will consist of a sand substrate, driftwood, plants, small cichlids and appropriate tank mates.

f you have any advice for me, websites, books, pictures etc, I would greatly appreciate it.

 

[Sgooosh]

what are your water qualities? kh gh ph
seriouslyfish.com
i think maybe not go for the driftwood, chiclids dont like low ph if you want to go for driftwood, soak it for a few weeks or a few months to get rid of tannins(brown stuff that makes the water look like pee that lowers ph)

 

[Sgooosh]

oh yeah forgot to mention, anubias is yucky for chiclids so they wont destroy it. you can get a tiny chunk for $5 or 6 at petsmart

 

[MammaBearinTN]

Thanks so much for your help!

 

[MammaBearinTN]

Here's my city's water parameter's straight out the tap.
Alkalinity (ppm) 57
Hardness (ppm) 74
Hardness (grains/gallon) 4.3
pH (units) 7.1

 

[Sgooosh]

Here's my city's water parameter's straight out the tap.
Alkalinity (ppm) 57
Hardness (ppm) 74
Hardness (grains/gallon) 4.3
pH (units) 7.1

yah too small/weak for chiclids, maybe change to tetras theyre cool, many varieties!!! maybe a smal pleco, some corydoras, you can add the wood nevermind because if your ph is that low you will have to raise iwth rocks or rift salt (thanks essjay!)

 

[MammaBearinTN]

yah too small/weak for chiclids, maybe change to tetras theyre cool, many varieties!!! maybe a smal pleco, some corydoras, you can add the wood nevermind because if your ph is that low you will have to raise iwth rocks or rift salt (thanks essjay!)

Well, I've been told by several people that size of the tank (30 G, 36" long) is fine for one pair of South American rams, and if I'm lucky I might be able to have two pairs, but I'm not counting on that. Perhaps you were thinking of African cichlids? I will add a school of fish, and something to clean up, and that's about it. I know it's going to be several months before the tank is ready for GBRs, but I'm willing to wait.

I do appreciate you taking the time to respond. Thanks!

 

[Sgooosh]

Well, I've been told by several people that size of the tank (30 G, 36" long) is fine for one pair of South American rams, and if I'm lucky I might be able to have two pairs, but I'm not counting on that. Perhaps you were thinking of African cichlids? I will add a school of fish, and something to clean up, and that's about it. I know it's going to be several months before the tank is ready for GBRs, but I'm willing to wait.

I do appreciate you taking the time to respond. Thanks!

no, the hardness and ph is too low.

 

[Naughts]

Mikrogeophagus ramirezi – Ram (Apistogramma ramirezi, Papiliochromis ramirezi, Microgeophagus ramirezi) — Seriously Fish

www.seriouslyfish.com

I think it's tricky findng a shoaling fish to add that tolerate the high temperatures that rams need. Maybe cardinal tetra?

Paracheirodon axelrodi – Cardinal Tetra (Cheirodon axelrodi, Hyphessobrycon cardinalis) — Seriously Fish

www.seriouslyfish.com

Hopefully others can offer more (original) options.

 

[Sgooosh]

Mikrogeophagus ramirezi – Ram (Apistogramma ramirezi, Papiliochromis ramirezi, Microgeophagus ramirezi) — Seriously Fish

www.seriouslyfish.com

I think it's tricky findng a shoaling fish to add that tolerate the high temperatures that rams need. Maybe cardinal tetra?

Paracheirodon axelrodi – Cardinal Tetra (Cheirodon axelrodi, Hyphessobrycon cardinalis) — Seriously Fish

www.seriouslyfish.com

Hopefully others can offer more (original) options.

cardinals need lower hardness and ph i think so i dont think theyll be together. however maybe some smaller chiclids may work. op, as long as yuo add rift lake salts and limestone, you will be okay. @Essjay can explain as they did to me

 

[Naughts]

@Sgoosh, as already stated, you are thinking of African cichlids when you talk about hard water.
South American cichlids need soft water.

It is really not helpful offering advise when you have no experience with the fish and are not prepared to read the posts/ listen to the OP properly.

 

[Fish4dawin]

Cardinals and rams make a strong combination. However, if you are planning on adding corys, sterbais would be good. If you raise the temperature to 26-27 degrees, your cardinals and rams' colours will really flare up. There are not many corydoras that like warm water so sterbais are probably the best to go for if you plan on raising the temperature to that height.

 

[Essjay]

@Sgooosh
There are cichlids which come from Africa and cichlids which come from America. And even cichlids from the same continent don't all like the same water.
African cichlids include hard water cichlids from the Rift Lakes, and soft water cichlids from rivers (kribs are an example of soft water African cichlids).
American cichlids include soft water south American cichlids and harder water central American cichlids.

So we need to know where any cichlid comes from to know what kind of water they need. In this case, rams come from south America.

 

[Sgooosh]

oh my bad i was blind. ur ok i think

 

[MammaBearinTN]

no, the hardness and ph is too low.

Well, now I'm confused. LOL I thought GBRs liked soft water?

Cardinals and rams make a strong combination. However, if you are planning on adding corys, sterbais would be good. If you raise the temperature to 26-27 degrees, your cardinals and rams' colours will really flare up. There are not many corydoras that like warm water so sterbais are probably the best to go for if you plan on raising the temperature to that height.

This is exactly what I desire, but I don't know if my tank floor is big enough (36" X 13") I'm afraid the corys would intrude too much on the GBR's territory, and I'm thinking that might not end well.
Here's what I would like ideally, but I realize I have constraints:

A pair of GBRs.
Some sterbais - how many?
A school of Cardinal tetras - how many?
A centerpiece type fish. Gourami? Suggestions welcome.

The GBRs would be added last after the tank is well established, and I'll probably use a Seachem 55 with pre-filter on a planted tank.

I realize I might be more successful if I added a few GBRs and let them pair up on their own, but I'll cross that bridge when I come to it.